Now that the Obama administration has awarded $8 billion in high-speed rail grants to more than two dozen states, with $2.5 billion more coming soon, why not keep thinking big when it comes to bullet-train expansion?

That's the ethos of a new report released today by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) calling for a New Deal-like public works juggernaut that would eventually connect all major cities located within 100 and 500 miles of each other. For a look at how such a system would remake the American rail map, check out the image above.

"The first step in building the network is to set a national goal with an ambitious time frame, just like we did for the Interstate Highway System or getting to the moon," U.S. PIRG senior analyst Phineas Baxandall wrote in a blog post unveiling the report. "We can link all our major cities by 2050, if we set our minds to it."

Given the political wrangling over the deficit that continues to paralyze Washington, however, it's worth asking how an ambitious rail program would be funded. The U.S. PIRG answers that question in several ways: First, the group calls for a dedicated revenue stream for inter-city passenger rail in the next long-term transportation bill, with local investments matched by the federal government in the same 80:20 ratio that highway plans receive.

"By financing transportation projects equitably," the report's authors write, "states will be able to make rational transportation decisions based on the needs of their residents, rather than on the chances of securing a lucrative federal match."

Secondly, the U.S. PIRG aims to put government support for Amtrak -- often derided by conservatives for its reliance on federal subsidies that also benefit road projects -- in perspective. When evaluated as a share of U.S. GDP, government investment of passenger rail looks stunningly low compared with other industrialized nations. The imbalance is visible in the chart below:

(Chart: U.S. PIRG)

From the U.S. PIRG report:

To begin to dig out of that hole, the federal government should invest steadily increasing levels of funding in passenger rail. We probably cannot hope to match the $300 billion China will be investing in its high-speed rail system between now and 2020, but we should endeavor to match the level of investment provided by other industrialized nations, as a share of GDP, in their rail networks.

The Vice President and his wife share a tender moment -- on the Acela. (Photo: NYT)

Biden doesn't get too political in the piece, eschewing calls for more Amtrak funding in favor of a paean to the "emotional connection" he experienced riding the rails during his 36-year congressional career.

But the vice president, who has taken on a central role in the White House's high-speed rail push, closes with a strong endorsement of inter-city trains as pollution reducers:

Consider that if you shut down Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, it is estimated that to compensate for the loss, you'd have to add seven new lanes of highway to Interstate 95. When you consider that it costs an average of $30 million for one linear mile of one lane of highway, you see what a sound investment rail travel is. And that's before you factor in the environmental benefits of keeping millions and millions of cars off the road.

The House is poised to take up a jobs bill later today that provides $37.3 billion in new transportation spending, including $27.5 billion for roads, $8.4 billion for transit ... and a holiday gift for General Electric?

Could this cleaner GE locomotive be coming soon to Amtrak? (Photo: Inhabitat)

GE's transportation division recently joined its main labor union in a lobbying campaign aimed at winning federal money for Amtrak to buy its lower-emissions locomotives, which are catching on in China but not in the U.S.

And tucked into the new House jobs bill is language that appears to give GE the opening it has sought. The bill states that its $800 million in Amtrak funds can be used (emphasis mine):

for fleet modernization, including rehabilitation of existing and acquisition of new passenger equipment, including fuel-efficient locomotives.

What's more, the House jobs bill also includes language requiring the Transportation Secretary to adhere to "buy American" rules for Amtrak even if the equipment in question "cannot be bought and delivered in the United States within a reasonable time." (Existing law allows the U.S. DOT to waive Amtrak "buy American" rules in such cases.)

Of course, there's no guarantee that Amtrak management will opt to use any new job-creation money to purchase GE trains -- and the House jobs bill faces a decidedly uncertain fate in the Senate. But given the punishing layoffs that GE Transportation made this year at its plant Erie, PA, one wonders if local workers will begin to press the company about possible re-hiring.

Late Update: It's worth noting that the stronger "buy American" rules apply across the board for construction projects in the jobs bill, as Bloomberg reported this afternoon.

Amtrak IG Fred Weiderhold left earlier this month after 35 years at the rail corporation. (Photo: WSJ)

The bipartisan congressional investigation focuses on a report commissioned by Amtrak IG Fred Weiderhold several months before his June 18 departure. The report, prepared by the firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, confirmed Weiderhold's past contention that the IG's "independence and effectiveness are being substantially impaired" by in-house policies at Amtrak.

But one particular charge in the report caught Congress' attention: that Amtrak managers prevented Weiderhold from monitoring their use of economic stimulus money without their approval.

As the oversight committee's chairman, Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), and senior Republican, Rep. Darrell Issa (CA) explained in a letter sent yesterday to Amtrak chairman Thomas Carper:

[T]he legal analysis found that Amtrak management claims that all expenditures of funds designated for the Inspector General must be approved by Amtrak management. In other words, the Inspector General may not use funds provided by Congress to investigate potential waste and fraud in stimulus programs without the consent of the organization being investigated. This is contrary to the clear intent of Congress and is unacceptable.

In a statement released yesterday, Amtrak noted that it had no opportunity to weigh in on the Willkie Farr report and stated that "there was no relationship between the timing of Mr. Weiderhold’s retirement and this report." Carper added that the rail corporation "would like to maintain an open line of communication
and are looking forward to cooperating fully" with the congressional inquiry.

Willkie Farr's allegations of IG interference at Amtrak ranged beyond the stimulus law. Weiderhold's office began a review of New York's Moynihan Station project in March 2008, focusing on the apartment leased by the project manager as well as "the use of lobbying firms and consultants in connection with the project," the law firm's report states.

But when one of Weiderhold's inspectors tried to get a copy the Moynihan project manager's personnel documents, senior managers would only give him "two board meeting minutes, one which had been redacted," according to the Willkie Farr report. (A copy of the 94-page report can be downloaded here.)

Amtrak is back on the air with a new commercial that uses children's toys to make the point that taking a long distance trip via train is far less stressful and more enjoyable than either driving or flying.  While I personally never lined all my matchboxes up in three parallel lines to create a traffic jam in the living room, I guess it's a sign of the times.

The bulk of the commercial shows young boys playing with their toy cars and planes while uttering adult complaints about life trapped in car culture and airports.  The last couple seconds of the ad show another youngster happily playing with a model train zooming around happier toys and proclaiming, "The train has now arrived."  From there, a narrator takes over, "The train has arrived indeed.  Amtrak, enjoy the journey."

Personally, I laughed at one kid glumly wondering, "I wonder how much gas costs today" as his toy car pulled into a plastic gas station.  The chortle was matched followed shortly by another going "An extra bag costs WHAT?!?" as his plastic figurine put on a shocked face.

Over the past year we've seen a spate of advertisements about how wonderful traveling by bicycle is compared to car from health insurance companies, banks and others; so it's nice to see train service promoting itself likewise.  We'll know we arrive when well meaning celebrities shoot commercials about turning off your lights on trains instead of airplanes.

h/t Carfree USA

The five-year Amtrak authorization that Congress passed last week includes a nice inter-modal touch. It states in no uncertain terms that funding can be spent on making trains accessible for bikes:

NONMOTORIZED TRANSPORTATION ACCESS AND STORAGE. -- Grants under this chapter may be used to provide access to rolling stock for nonmotorized transportation, including bicycles, and recreational equipment, and to provide storage capacity in trains for such transportation, equipment, and other luggage, to ensure passenger safety.

Queens Congressman Anthony Weiner got the language into the bill after prompting from Transportation Alternatives. President Bush has not yet signed it into law, but according to the Times, the White House has signaled that he will.

"In the past, Amtrak has claimed that because the funding bill did not explicitly say that the money may be spent on bikes that they couldn't make trains bike-accessible," says T.A.'s Noah Budnick. "Now it should be clear to the most bureaucratic bureaucrat: Federal money for Amtrak can be spent on bike-accessibility."

The bill does not mandate bike-accessibility, so riders will have to contact Amtrak to put it on its agenda. I know I'd like to bring a bike on board the next time I visit my grandmother in DC. A SmartBike location right at Union Station would also do the trick.

Photo of Caltrain bike car near Palo Alto: richardmasoner/Flickr

Johnson said an Obama-Biden victory wouldn't necessarily translate into an avalanche of federal funds for Amtrak. He noted that Al Gore was a big booster of passenger rail when he was in Congress "and yet some of the biggest cuts in service came during the Clinton-Gore administration." 

In 2000, President Bill Clinton proposed a $989 million funding package for Amtrak. According to the Post, the FY 2008 Amtrak allocation was around $1.3 billion.

Photo: relvax/Flickr

Like Joe Biden, Barack Obama also mentioned Amtrak in his acceptance speech to the Democratic National Convention, but only in reference to his running mate's preferred mode of transportation.

There were many, many things to be excited about yesterday, but any livable streets advocate anticipating a call to rebuild and expand our nation's transit infrastructure, or for more investment in clean transportation and sustainable urban development, had to be a little disappointed. In fact, as the New York Observer notes, Obama barely mentioned infrastructure at all, and only then to promise "new roads." And as for energy policy:

As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy -- wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.

Are biofuels, more roads, and easier paths to car ownership really the "change" this country, or the planet, needs? Not even Al Gore or the "We" campaign, with its ubiquitous ads, mentioned altering development or driving habits.

So as Americans celebrate a long weekend of cheaper gas, we leave you with this: How do we do it? How do we seize the "Obama moment," as this call to action by OurFuture.org terms it, to make clean transportation, livable streets, smart growth and the kinds of issues that we care about a part of the national discussion on climate change and energy policy?

Until Tuesday ... 

Photo: Barack Obama/Flickr