This document discusses Amtrak's role in developing partnerships to improve and expand intercity passenger rail service. It outlines Amtrak's expertise and assets it can contribute, including its network, infrastructure, and experience operating passenger rail. The document also summarizes some successful state partnerships and Amtrak's process for working with states on projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It emphasizes that partnerships will be key to Amtrak's future and seizing the opportunities provided by new rail legislation and funding.

1. Partnerships for Corridors and High Speed Service
Stephen Gardner
Vice President, Policy and Development
Amtrak

2. The first slide of a new era!
80,000
Hiawatha service 450
70,000 400
Retail gasoline price (in
• 2008 was an amazing year for Amtrak
Monthly Ridership
60,000 350
300
50,000
cents)
250
40,000
200
30,000
150 – Record ridership and revenue
20,000 100
10,000 50
0 0 – An unmistakable demonstration of our relevance
Jan-02 Jan-03 Jan-04 Jan-05 Jan-06 Jan-07 Jan-08
Month in the age of congestion and rising fuel prices
Trips by Aircraft and Train
100%
80% • Widespread public acknowledgment that
60%
40%
Air
Rail
improved intercity passenger rail service can
56% 50% 50% 51% 55% 56% 63%
20% 37% 45% help address many major national challenges:
0%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Fiscal Year/Quarter
– Congested airports and highways
New York-DC Air-Rail Share
Passenger Travel and Energy Use – Rising fuel costs and energy independence
4000
BTUs per Passenger M ile
3500
3000 – Climate change and environmental concerns
2500
2000
3512 3261
1500 2650
1000
500
0 This is our moment – and we know what we need to do
Auto Amtrak Air
Mode of travel
Source: DOE 2008 Transportation Energy Data Book
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3. New rail policy framework
The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act
(PRIIA)
–Clear vision for Amtrak and intercity passenger rail within
the national transportation scheme
–Establishes a new partnership between Federal
government, states, Amtrak, and the freight railroads:
States strategically plan rail service
US DOT integrates this state planning into a national system
Amtrak helps design and operate services, often over freight
railroad hosts
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4. ARRA – high-speed rail and intercity rail investment
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds the PRIIA
vision
Requires enduring state commitment - operating and capital funding
Demands results
Acknowledges different stages of development and recognizes
infrastructure and state budget limitations
• Amtrak has many roles
– Grant recipient/partner
Can lead or partner with states for funding
Can help bridge multiple state projects
– Service planner
– Liaison between other partners
– Service provider (an umbrella term that covers a lot of responsibilities)
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5. What Amtrak brings to the table
Wilmington shops
1. Expertise, knowledge, and
capacity
– Leaders in planning and forecasting
– Unparalleled employee base
– Expert train, infrastructure, and rolling stock
operations, engineering, and maintenance
– Unmatched commitment to safety
– Marketing capacity
– Existing labor agreements
– Honest broker between States, commuters,
freight hosts
Los Angeles UPT
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6. What Amtrak brings to the table… continued
2. Network of interconnected and complementary routes in 46 states
– 310 daily trains
– Served 515 stations in 2008
3. Statutory access to host railroads and agreements with
all major carriers
4. Existing liability protection for state-supported services
5. National maintenance and operations
infrastructure
– Repair and overhaul facilities
– Reservation and ticketing system
– Stations and terminals
– Fleet
The Amtrak System
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7. Successful collaborations – a glance at some results
• Pacific Northwest
– Partnership with Amtrak, WA and OR,International and 2 freight railroads,
BNSF and UPRR
– 7Th most heavily traveled corridor,14.4% ridership increase in FY08 (774,421)
highest ridership since inception of state supported service in 1994.
• California
– More than 60 daily corridor trains on three routes, Up from 8 trains in 1974
– These corridor services generate almost a fifth of Amtrak’s annual ridership
• Michigan
– Amtrak’s ITCS train control system has allowed maximum speeds on
Michigan Line to reach 95 mph
– Acceleration to 110 mph planned
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8. Positioning Amtrak for new and stronger partnerships
• State partnerships are Amtrak’s future
–We have new leadership and partnerships are the priority
–CEO Joe Boardman is reaching out directly to states and
freights to form new partnership
–Policy & Development and Government Affairs
Departments will be your contacts
Western Central Eastern
Don Saunders (AVP, Mike Franke (AVP, Drew Galloway (AVP,
State and Commuter State and Commuter State and Commuter
Partnerships West) Partnerships Central) Partnerships East)
Jonathan Hutchison Derrick James (Sr. Ofcr, Ray Lang (Sr. Dir, Gov’t Affairs
(Dir, Gov’t Affairs - West) Gov’t Affairs - Midwest) - Northeast)
Todd Stennis (Dir, Gov’t Todd Stennis (Dir, Gov’t
Affairs - South) Affairs - Southeast)
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9. Our process for the ARRA HSR program
• Amtrak’s objective is to be the operator of the national high speed
rail network
• Ongoing ARRA outreach and project development effort
–Outreach Letters
–Identifying key projects within Amtrak system
• Amtrak is looking to partner with states on projects that:
–Meet ARRA requirements and criteria
–Are mutually beneficial
–Provide new growth opportunities
–Have a high likelihood of success (operating funding,
agreements in place, long-term commitments, executable)
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10. A looming challenge - equipment
• Insufficient current coach and locomotive fleet and supplier base to
support new services
• Amtrak is:
– Investing $92 million of $1.3 billion in ARRA Amtrak funds into our
existing fleet to bring stored rolling stock back to service
– Leading the PRIIA-required “Next Generation Corridor Train
Equipment Pool” Committee
– Considering the need to procure an “interim fleet” derived from
available designs in the next 2-3 years that will provide much-needed
rolling stock
– Beginning planning with the FRA and states for a new generation of
compliant high-speed equipment that can operate in corridors across
the system
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11. Summary
• Amtrak is the nation’s intercity passenger rail operator. We are
dedicated to partnering with you to develop and improve the national
system
• PRRIA and ARRA create tremendous opportunities, but pose real
challenges – there’s a lot on the table and it will take unprecedented
cooperation and effort to seize it
• We want to be an essential part of your intercity rail development
plans and stand ready to work together with all parties to ensure
success
Failure is not an
option!
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