Iowa Global Warming

Budget provision, if approved by Senate, will increase federal allocations for rail to $12 billion in this year alone.

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.

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If streetcars, or trams, someday make a return to downtown Des Moines, it’ll be hard to imagine a happier group than the men who had breakfast together at The Machine Shed one Monday last month.

They were there for the inaugural meeting of Des Moines Streetcar Friends, a collection of former motormen, local historians and railroad enthusiasts with an average age of close to 80.

The gathering was arranged by one of the youngsters at the table, Earl Short, 70, of Waukee, to further discussion of building a streetcar museum in Des Moines.

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Let’s be honest: Trains are an easy sell. The public seems to be falling in love with trains again – and for good reason. They’re graceful, powerful, simple and nearly as American as Apple Pie itself. They’re an iconic aspect of our culture; rooted in our hearts by scenes of bittersweet goodbyes on the station platform and adventurous travels out west. Despite being overshadowed by jet planes and electric cars in recent decades, our fascination seems to remain endless, manifesting itself to this day with hobbyists and children alike. After years of being relinquished to our subconscious, however, I think its time we reconsidered them – as the face of a transportation revolution that could lift our ailing economy and forever improve our dated transportation sector.

Trains have come a long way since Leeland Stanford drove the Golden Spike in Salt Lake City one hundred and fifty years ago. They’re three times more efficient than cars, six times more efficient than airplanes, often the fastest and almost always the most hassle-free way to travel. And we’re working to bring them back in a big way. To get involved, just send me an email or give us a call!

Iowans helped Amtrak set a ridership record this year, spurring optimism about a possible expansion of passenger railroad service in the state.

But the nation’s sharp economic downturn could temper that enthusiasm and limit how much state tax money is available to subsidize new Amtrak routes in Iowa, state officials said.

A total of 64,260 passengers got on and off Amtrak trains at six Iowa stations during the 12 months ending Sept. 30. That was an increase of 3 percent from a year earlier.

The total Iowa passengers was the highest since Amtrak was established in 1971.

Nationwide, 28.7 million people rode the trains, the sixth straight year of record ridership, the railroad said.

“Certainly over the past year we saw strong growth nationally, and higher gasoline prices through most of this year are the single largest reason for the increase,” said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari in Chicago.

Iowa’s ridership mark was set despite severe flooding that shut down southern Iowa train stations for about three weeks during the peak summer travel season.

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