We need loud supporters in Congress and legislatures

[CHamilton]

Why do rail opponents get their way too often? Because they speak loudly.

We need senators, congressmembers, and legislators all over the country who are willing to shout their support for passenger rail -- just as loudly as the opponents.

The starting point would be a passenger rail caucus that actually does something: the current caucus website hasn't been updated since 2011. And we need equivalent groups in every state legislature.

What national and state elected officials should we approach about creating and/or joining such groups?

 

[Anderson]

I believe our main effort should be at the state level. Congress is a mess right now, but you can get someplace with individual states...and pressure from the states could net some federal funding.'

Edit: It's also worth noting that as far as I can tell, it's been 20-30 years since a state-supported train actually got cut. I know none have been cut since at least '97, and it might well be that the last one to get the ax was the Spirit of California, which fell to a mix of having been oversold and a state government shift...and the former seems to have played a major role, considering that I think the other services were able to be saved after some local howling.

 

[jerichowhiskey]

I subscribed to the website's newsletter and I received an automatic reply:

[SIZE=12pt]Greetings,

Thank you so much for your e-mail.

I apologize for not having the opportunity to inform you that I have left the Office of Congressman Delaney as of December 31, 2013.

You may contact the front office at 202-225-2721 for assistance or if you would like to reach me, you may do so at [email protected] or 203-585-7641.

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John A. Monsif[/SIZE]

I guess if we are to get anywhere on moving that website, we should contact Monsif?

 

[jis]

So Barbara Boxer has apparently come out against raising the gas tax in a year leading upto election, while Obama wants to move passenger rail under an already over committed trust fund mostly funded by said tax and perhaps some proposed additional business tax jiggery pokery on a one time basis. Why are my cynical cells acting up again? Frankly my inclination is almost to try to sell that Brooklyn Bridge one more time right about now. This whole thing smells too much like an election year posturing than anything with any substance at least to naive little me. Sorry.

I agree that most of the action has to be at the state level at present. But do ignore NJ for now. We are in deep stupor and slumber trying to figure out where to place the traffic cones next. Fortunately both New York and Pennsylvania next door appear to hold more promise of late.

But hey, I hear the DEP has just cleared the way for building two small culverts near the Andover Station location, so now construction can proceed apace on the Andover extension. Why it take 14 months or whatever it took to study two friggin little culverts is of course anyone's guess.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Maybe Rogue staffers ordered the studies to take so long to punish NJ Politicians that didn't Endorse Gov. Chrisite? (And if so, Gov. Chrisite is Shocked! Shocked! that they didnt tell him because he's only the Governor! )

 

[siberianmo]

At the get-go I wholeheartedly agree regarding the need for loud supporters of and for passenger rail. The squeeky wheel does indeed get the grease. However, beware the pratfalls.

As many have experienced, being the frequent attendee (individual or group) with perhaps the only opposing view to an agenda item being proposed at a legislative or other bureacratic body can make one persona non grata in a heartbeat (or New York minute). That happened to me regarding expansion plans for a light rail system in my neck of the woods. Without delving into what was - suffice it to say that a balancing act is required in order to make one's points listened to and sustainable.

Cutting through my gibberish, what I am saying is that tact, diplomacy and an educated preparation for rebuttals goes a long way toward influencing the influential.

Another area to understand is if you are a comparative outsider to an insider group, even the best of ideas can get summarily dismissed because you are not one of "them."

Just saying . . .

 

[jerichowhiskey]

I wonder if another thing to consider is having some kind of relationship with railroad manufactures; GE, EMD, MPI, Siemens, Alstom, Bombardier, Kawasaki, Talgo, etc. It seems they are never really in the realm of public relations when their interests can be heavily involved in commuter/light rail.

 

[Anderson]

I wonder if another thing to consider is having some kind of relationship with railroad manufactures; GE, EMD, MPI, Siemens, Alstom, Bombardier, Kawasaki, Talgo, etc. It seems they are never really in the realm of public relations when their interests can be heavily involved in commuter/light rail.

In a couple of cases, these companies have large enough other lines of business that the commuter stuff is a sort-of footnote, at least in North America (Europe is another story). In the case of GE, the sheer size of the company means that lobbying for passenger rail stuff in any form is going to be a distant footnote, and it might well irk some of the more passenger-hostile Class Is unnecessarily.

Edit: A second thought comes to mind, namely that the most successful approach seems to be to get rail stuff heaped in with larger legislation. This is what's happened in Virginia with great success.

A corollary to this is that, with respect to my "focus on the states" approach, if we get a move towards block-granting transportation funding (as the Tea Party folks are pushing), we'd be well-positioned. I don't see a total move towards a block grant system, but I could see some share of funding being freed up in stages. Moreover, I've got to admit...I don't see it as a bad thing in light of how many bad highways have been built chasing federal transportation dollars, or how long it takes to do anything once you get a federal planning process started. If you could "walk back" some of the NEPA BS, it would go a long way towards turning things around.