Well, maybe America can, although the full flowering of the rail renaissance is unlikely to get under way while Obama is still in the White House. With an initial infusion of $8bn, set aside under the spring’s economic stimulus plan, the Obama administration is embarking on the most ambitious expansion of passenger rail in 50 years, with the construction or upgrade of up to 10 routes from California through the midwest to Florida.

Apart from California, none of the other routes envisaged would meet international standards for high-speed trains. But rail advocates say Obama has still taken an important first step towards the transformation of US rail.

Read the rest of the article here.

Yesterday, the U.S. House passed its housing and transportation bill, which will provide funds for fiscal year 2010. Approved mostly by members of the majority Democratic party, the bill would allocate $4 billion to high-speed rail programs — if the Senate’s version, likely to be considered after the August recess, includes the same provision. If a planned infrastructure bank is authorized by the Congress later this year, $2 billion of the included funds would be shifted there and could be devoted to non-rail projects, though that prospect appears unlikely at this time.

In the President’s Budget, released earlier this year, Mr. Obama asked the Congress to devote $1 billion for the next five years for high-speed rail, in addition to the $8 billion already marked for the program under the stimulus bill. The House’s decision to increase that number to $4 billion is a direct reaction to the huge response from states and the private sphere for stimulus-based federal rail grants. The FRA revealed that forty states had applied for more than $103 billion.

Iowa Congressman Tom Latham (R) attempted to block the inclusion of so much money for rail, arguing that the government shouldn’t embark on what he argued would be a $100 billion endeavor. Yet his amendment was put down by a vote of 136-284, with 40 Republicans voting against his measure — compared to the only 16 members of the GOP voting for the bill as a whole. This indicates strong bipartisan support in Congress for high-speed rail investment and bodes well for similar action in the more conservative Senate.

Get more of the story here.

Recent train trips in southern England reminded me just how pleasant rail travel can be – and kindled my enthusiasm for the prospect of restoring passenger-train service in central Iowa.

My husband and I, visiting a niece and her husband in Fortuneswell, a tiny hamlet on England’s southeastern coast, took a train from London to the seaside city of Weymouth, about a three-hour trip. And from there, we took a one-day sightseeing trip to Bath, about two hours away, home to such grand Georgian architecture that the entire city has been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Trains were on time, the schedules were easy enough to decipher, and heck, even the restroom was clean.

Read the rest of the editorial here.

My time here at the Iowa Global Warming Campaign is winding down as I get ready to travel back to Illinois for the summer. I’ve been given so many opportunities while working here, from engaging with the community to meeting representatives from other environmental organizations to actually getting to write about issues, which is what I’ve always wanted to do. Still, I think just being involved in our work to get passenger rail in Iowa and to get clean energy and energy efficiency legislation passed has been invaluably beneficial for me. It’s allowed me to really understand how everything fits together. Though Drake does an excellent job in showing students how their education applies to the real world, it’s easy as a student to become absorbed in what we are learning in the classroom and forget about the connectedness of things. I feel like I’ll leave here for the summer understanding this better than ever.

Whether their issue is global warming or anything else, those who work to help the environment have so much to take into account. Though it would be nice to focus solely on the environment, this simply isn’t possible. Environmental issues cannot be separated from issues concerning such things as the economy and human health, just to name a couple. What I’ve learned, though, is that this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Making changes to benefit the environment can have a rippling effect and benefit so many other areas.

Where I learned this best was through our work to get a passenger rail line from Chicago to Des Moines. When I heard about this project, the first though that came to my mind were the environmental benefits that would accompany it. Trains are much more energy efficient than other modes of transportation and allow large groups of people to travel together, rather than each person burning gas in his or her own car. What I learned when I began to work with the Iowa Global Warming Campaign to get funding to make this project a reality was that passenger rail is not just good for the environment but benefits everyone.

Rail is vital in our fight against global warming, but it is also vital in stimulating our economy. It creates jobs and brings young professionals to Iowa. It is also more convenient than traveling by car or airplane and by creating a link between Illinois and Iowa, we are working to create an entire Midwest economic network.

What I realized after seeing how rail could benefit much more than just the environment was that environmental issues do not have to, and should not, be separated from other issues. Those who claim that too much attention paid to the environment is harmful to economic growth are simply not thinking broadly enough. The issue of global warming can be overwhelming, but we already know what steps we can take to fix it. Increased energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy will cut down on heat trapping gases. These technologies are also a step into a new global economy for the twenty-first century, one that is grounded in efficiency.

Understanding this relationship between the environment and other areas will be vital for me as I continue my work here next fall and in whatever work I do after graduation. This understanding, though, is important for everyone. We automatically separate our world into categories (environment, economy, human rights, etc.) but being able to see how they are all unavoidably tied is vital.

One of the best parts about working on the rail project was that we were able to attain the needed state funding for it before I left. This just shows me that more and more people are beginning to understand how that which benefits the environment benefits us all. I’m happy that by informing people about rail, I had a small part to play in bringing about this realization. I hope to work in the future to inform more people about the broad reaching benefits of environmental legislation. 

Culver spoke to several dozen people at the old train depot on Fourth Street just south of Court Avenue after taking a half-hour train ride from the Valley Junction depot on a refurbished passenger train with an engine, sleeping car and dining car. Local dignitaries and transportation officials accompanied him on the trip.

“We need to modernize our infrastructure statewide,” Culver said. “We’re going to keep fighting; we’re going to get this rail line done in a couple of years.”

The event marked National Train Day and highlighted the need for expanded passenger rail service across the nation, Culver said.

Culver wants to extend service from Chicago to Dubuque, the Quad Cities and Iowa City, and then on to Des Moines, to eventually connect with Omaha.

Read the full story here

Click here to view the embedded video.

Saturday, May 9, 2009
 
WHAT:   Governor Culver will celebrate National Train Day by leading the Governor’s Train Day Special for a special ceremony in Downtown Des Moines
 
WHERE:  Outside Des Moines Historic Depot
              4th Street South of Court Avenue
              Des Moines, IA
 
WHEN:   10:00am

Come show your support for passenger rail and be part of a historic moment!

GOVERNOR’S TRAIN DAY SPECIAL WILL ROLL INTO DES MOINES SATURDAY
 
DES MOINES – Governor Chet Culver will mark National Train Day this Saturday by bringing the Governor’s Train Day Special from Valley Junction in West Des Moines into downtown Des Moines, where he will hold a public event with local leaders and transportation officials promoting the benefits of passenger rail to the state, and read a proclamation declaring National Train Day in Iowa.
 
“Restoring passenger rail service to some of Iowa’s largest cities has been one of my key priorities as governor,” said Governor Culver.  “I look forward to leading this special train into Des Moines on Saturday, and highlighting the economic benefits of passenger rail to our state.  I invite Iowans to come to downtown Des Moines Saturday and celebrate National Train Day in Iowa.”
 
National Train Day is designed to highlight the need for expanded passenger rail service across the country.  Iowa currently is served by two passenger trains – the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief – both of which serve southern Iowa.  Efforts have been taken in recent years to bring passenger rail service back to other portions of the state, with current proposals to bring service to Dubuque, the Quad Cities and Iowa City and longer term plans to bring service to other communities such as Des Moines and West Des Moines.
 
To help spur efforts, Governor Culver’s signature legislative accomplishment – the I-JOBS Initiative — includes $10 million for multi-modal transportation projects in Iowa, including $3 million for expanded passenger rail service in the state.  In addition, the Iowa Department of Transportation will be competing for federal passenger rail funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  All of these steps position Iowa to work with Illinois and Amtrak to bring new passenger rail lines to the state that connect more Iowa communities with Chicago.
 
The Governor’s Train Day Special is being provided thanks to the generous efforts of the Iowa Interstate Railroad, Ltd., and logistical support has been provided by the Greater Des Moines Partnership.  The Governor’s event will coincide with the Downtown Farmers Market.

GOVERNOR’S TRAIN DAY SPECIAL WILL ROLL INTO DES MOINES SATURDAY
 
DES MOINES – Governor Chet Culver will mark National Train Day this Saturday by bringing the Governor’s Train Day Special from Valley Junction in West Des Moines into downtown Des Moines, where he will hold a public event with local leaders and transportation officials promoting the benefits of passenger rail to the state, and read a proclamation declaring National Train Day in Iowa.
 
“Restoring passenger rail service to some of Iowa’s largest cities has been one of my key priorities as governor,” said Governor Culver.  “I look forward to leading this special train into Des Moines on Saturday, and highlighting the economic benefits of passenger rail to our state.  I invite Iowans to come to downtown Des Moines Saturday and celebrate National Train Day in Iowa.”
 
National Train Day is designed to highlight the need for expanded passenger rail service across the country.  Iowa currently is served by two passenger trains – the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief – both of which serve southern Iowa.  Efforts have been taken in recent years to bring passenger rail service back to other portions of the state, with current proposals to bring service to Dubuque, the Quad Cities and Iowa City and longer term plans to bring service to other communities such as Des Moines and West Des Moines.
 
To help spur efforts, Governor Culver’s signature legislative accomplishment – the I-JOBS Initiative — includes $10 million for multi-modal transportation projects in Iowa, including $3 million for expanded passenger rail service in the state.  In addition, the Iowa Department of Transportation will be competing for federal passenger rail funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  All of these steps position Iowa to work with Illinois and Amtrak to bring new passenger rail lines to the state that connect more Iowa communities with Chicago.
 
The Governor’s Train Day Special is being provided thanks to the generous efforts of the Iowa Interstate Railroad, Ltd., and logistical support has been provided by the Greater Des Moines Partnership.  The Governor’s event will coincide with the Downtown Farmers Market, a popular summer event that features locally made goods and products.
 
Saturday, May 9, 2009
 
WHAT:                Governor Culver will celebrate National Train Day by leading the Governor’s Train Day Special for a special ceremony in Downtown Des Moines
 
WHERE:             Outside Des Moines Historic Depot
                             4th Street South of Court Avenue
                             Des Moines, IA
 
WHEN:                10:00am

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.