Posts Tagged ‘America 2050’

Dependable Rail in 2016

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

AMERICA 2050 & REGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION

The State of Connecticut is currently pursuing the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) Rail Project, a major investment that will result in faster, more frequent, and more reliable rail service. The rail project entails adding a second track, upgrading existing stations and rail infrastructure including drainage, signals and communications, and at-grade crossings. Four new stations, as well as new train equipment will also be part of later phases…When complete, the rail project will increase service frequency from 6 to 25 daily round-trips, increase speeds, and reduce travel times. The double tracking, track and signal system improvements will provide moderate reductions in travel times. However, the introduction of express trains will result in substantial travel time reductions for some origins and destinations. For example, express service from Hartford to New York City will reduce the current travel time from 2 hours and 30 minutes to 2 hours.

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America 2050 ACTION ALERT: House Budget Proposal Would Zero Out High-Speed Rail Program and Punish States for Supporting Passenger Rail

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

Please contact your Representative, Senators, and President Obama, and tell them to fight this devastating budget proposal that would reverse decades of progress on vital passenger rail corridors all over the country. Visit www.StandUpForTrains.org today to send a message to your representatives that you want a stronger national passenger rail system.

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America 2050: High-Speed Rail Down, Not Out

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

Until high-speed rail has a dedicated source of funding, like the highway and transit programs, it will always be subject to annual budget battles and the changing political winds of Congress…Yesterday’s budget news underscores the importance of securing dedicated funding for high-speed rail, such as a penny on the gas tax, a percent tax on oil imports, and a passenger rail ticket surcharge that would grow as the program grows over time.

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America 2050: Florida Shouldn’t Have Shut Down HSR, BUT Let’s Move On

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

While Florida’s route was most feasible and ready-to-go, investment in many other corridors, including those in the Midwest, California and Northeast, will underpin long-term economic growth and success

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Biden Announces $53 Billion for High-Speed Rail; the Infra Community Responds

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011

“As President Obama said in his State of the Union, there are key places where we cannot afford to sacrifice as a nation – one of which is infrastructure…As a long time Amtrak rider and advocate, I understand the need to invest in a modern rail system that will help connect communities, reduce congestion and create quality, skilled manufacturing jobs that cannot be outsourced. This plan will help us to do that, while also increasing access to convenient high speed rail for more Americans.”
-Vice President Joe Biden

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Guest on The Infra Blog: Petra Todorovich, Director of America 2050 at Regional Plan Association, Discusses New High-Speed Rail Report

Monday, January 17th, 2011

Petra Todorovich is Director of America 2050, a national urban planning initiative to develop an infrastructure and growth strategy for the United States. Since its launch in 2005, America 2050 has convened some of the brightest thinkers in the fields of transportation, land use planning, social equity, and urban development to create a compelling vision for America’s future growth.

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Why and How Florida’s High-Speed Rail Line Must be Built

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

AMERICA 2050
This week, America 2050 released a report evaluating all potential high-speed rail corridors around the country on their ability to attract riders based on quantifiable regional characteristics, such as concentrations of jobs, population density, and rail transit networks…ome critics may seize on this evaluation to bolster their claims that Florida should not invest in a high-speed rail system. They are misinterpreting the point of our report, which identifies the most promising corridor in each region and points to ways to improve each project’s chances for success.

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High-Speed Rail in America

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

AMERICA 2050
…There is a steep learning curve for states and regions in developing high-speed and even “classic” intercity passenger corridors. This report aims to educate the public and decision makers about the elements of success for high-speed rail as measured by factors that contribute to ridership demand for these services, particularly as they apply to the unique spatial attributes and travel patterns of America.

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Republicans and Infrastructure: Still Together, Despite Disagreements

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

REGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION/ AMERICA 2050
Infrastructure and transportation is traditionally a bipartisan issue - characterized by equal opportunity “pork.” Under intensely partisan congresses, transportation bills passed in 2005 during the George W. Bush Administration, in 1998 during the Clinton Administration, and in 1991 during the George H.W. Bush Administration. The Surface Transportation Assistance Act even passed in 1982 during Ronald Reagan’s administration and with the president’s support, despite the Gipper’s heavily anti-federal-government stances.

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High-Speed Rail: Are We Going Fast Enough?

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

High-speed rail could be the most exciting development in transportation since the construction of our national highway system. America 2050, AASHTO, the United States Conference of Mayors and, of course, the Obama Administration are just a few of HSR’s many advocates. Construction is beginning soon in Florida, and other states and regions already have plans in the works. A national high-speed rail system is more attainable than ever, but will it come fast enough?

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