A Shot at High-Speed Rail

By Jon Greenberg on Thursday, April 16, 2009.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, will give a ceremonial start to the state’s first road project paid for with stimulus dollars. The groundbreaking takes place on Route 101 in Epping tomorow. But while LaHood might be celebrating the laying of new asphalt, he and the president say transportation policy in the future will take a different path. One that runs on rails and bus lines. NHPR’s Jon Greenberg has more.

At the White House, President Barack Obama unveiled a high-speed rail initiative. The president compared the effort to the construction of the interstate highway system launched during the Eisenhower administration.

A major difference is, in 2009, high speed rail won’t be everywhere. A few select corridors will get their share of some 8 billion dollars in the stimulus package. The northern New England states are hoping the Boston to Montreal route will end up in that group. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says successful proposals must have three qualities: participation of several states, private investment,

LaHOOD: And a full recognition that not all the money is going to come from the federal government. We're going to initiate, we're going to help communities and corridors be creative. But they're going to have to be creative too, particularly on the funding side."

Historically, New Hampshire has come up short on money for rails. If it can manage to overcome that, it might be able to finesse another potential stumbling block. Current state plans focus on commuter rail service to ultimately link Boston and Concord. Those trains go too slowly to be called high-speed, but LaHood says he’s open to using some of this money for intermediate steps.

LaHOOD:There are trains that deliver people to Amtrak stations just as they do on the Northeast Corridor and so those opportunities could be part of an overall corridor plan. JG: And therefore qualify for some of the $8 billlion that way.// LaHOOD: Correct.”

If the Obama administration has its way, there are bigger changes in store when the federal highway bill is reauthorized this year. LaHood says he believes in the idea of livable communities and he will press for spending that puts less money into roads and bridges and more into other means of travel.

LaHOOD: People don't always have to be in their cars. They could be on light rail, they could be on street cars, they could be on buses, they could be walking, they could be on their bike. And finding other forms of transportation that are less frustrating and can get them to where they're going.”

In paying for these changes, LaHood says one idea is NOT on the table. An increase in the federal gas tax. He says at a time of record unemployment, that would be completely wrong.

For NHPR News, I’m Jon Greenberg