RRIF Loans and Possible Uses (Gateway vs. Xpress West)

[neroden]

I'm expecting some highly convoluted deal involving Chinese purchase of bonds issued by the Nevada High Speed Rail Authority with the proceeds lent to XPressWest, with the Authority using eminent domain to get land and XPressWest reimbursing them for that, and XPressWest sending payments back to the Chinese company for construction, which then largely get subcontracted back to Nevada subcontractors...

 

[leemell]

You know that Xpresswest does not need eminent domain as they already have approval to used the I15 corridor for their tracks and infrastructure.

 

[Andrew]

The states of New York and New Jersey are looking at RRIF Loans to finance their share of Gateway:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/09/15/cuomo-christie-hudson-river-rail-tunnel-funding/

 

[afigg]

You know that Xpresswest does not need eminent domain as they already have approval to used the I15 corridor for their tracks and infrastructure.

I don't about eminent domain acquisition, but while the Victorville to Las Vegas HSR route follows the I-15 corridor, the tracks will not stay in the I-15 median for many parts of the route. They can't because the design constraints for curve and grades on a highway are quite different from 150+ mph railroad tracks. Plus the electrified corridor will need land for power stations, service access roads, maintenance support sites, construction sites, rail yards, and large footprints for the train stations in Victorville and Vegas.

Pulling up the 2011 Record of Decision approving the DesertXpress route and searching for acres, there are numerous references to acres impacted by or required for the alternative route segments. For example: "The rail alignment would cross through several designated grazing land allotments, all within California. Approximately 442 acres of grazing lands would be directly and permanently converted to transportation uses, assuming the construction of Segment 4C. Most of this acreage consists of the VV3B site (205 acres) and the Segment 4C rail alignment north of I-15 in the Mountain Pass area (176 acres). Segment 4A would greatly reduce the direct effect on grazing lands because it would avoid impacts to grazing lands in the Mountain Pass area by following the existing I-15 freeway ROW rather than traversing a grazing allotment."

So part of the cost for XW is land and property acquisition. Most of it will be desert or grazing lands, so it will be far cheaper than, for example. the cost of land acquisition and eminent domain for a HSR corridor in the northeast or for much of the CA HSR route.

 

[Andrew]

Senator's Schumer's speech on ways to fund Gateway:

https://wagner.nyu.edu/rudincenter/2015/08/senator-schumers-speech-at-the-rudin-center/

 

[leemell]

I haven't looked, but I do remember most of the land is on BLM property not necessitate its purchase.

 

[Andrew]

If Congress does allow NEC profits do be reinvested into Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, why can't Amtrak put those profits into Gateway?

 

[jis]

Because that money is not even enough to maintain NEC in state of good repair. There will be no surplus of any kind of Amtrak is unable to run trains reliably on the NEC while the tunnel is built. That is why large sums of money from outside of NEC operating surpluses need to be found. People who claim that NEC surpluses are not needed to maintain NEC and can be used for building new infrastructure need to get better connected at reality and get better at simple arithmetic.

 

[Andrew]

Because that money is not even enough to maintain NEC in state of good repair. There will be no surplus of any kind of Amtrak is unable to run trains reliably on the NEC while the tunnel is built. That is why large sums of money from outside of NEC operating surpluses need to be found. People who claim that NEC surpluses are not needed to maintain NEC and can be used for building new infrastructure need to get better connected at reality and get better at simple arithmetic.

So, if a "Gateway Development Corporation" does happen, senators have talked about New Starts money and CMAQ funds being put into Gateway--just like they were for ARC. What do you make of that?

Also, could Congress allocate money that is not part of the New Starts money and CMAQ funds into Gateway? I am just trying to get a sense of how the Federal government could pick up half of the funding for the Gateway Project.

 

[neroden]

You know that Xpresswest does not need eminent domain as they already have approval to used the I15 corridor for their tracks and infrastructure.

They have to divert from it in at least three places; both ends and one mountain-climbing section. I'm not expecting any of those places to be *problems*, exactly, but...

 

[Andrew]

Another article on updated information regarding the Gateway Project:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/02/nyregion/early-planning-for-new-hudson-rail-tunnel-is-underway-us-transportation-secretary-says.html?_r=0

 

[Andrew]

Video update on Gateway:

http://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/2015/10/nj_transit_to_lead_hudson_tunnel_environmental_stu.html