by Clearfield
• Language included in the AMTRAK appropriations bill requires the Federal Secretary of Transportation to reallocate AMTRAK capital costs on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) to commuter rail operators and states with service on the corridor. Freight operators are not being asked to increase their contribution. Nor is the assessment limited to capital projects that directly benefit commuter operations.
• The legislative language requires the method used to reallocate costs to be developed in an open and collaborative process with stakeholders. It has not been. Instead, even before a method of allocation has been selected, the President’s budget has called for a $59 million additional contribution.
• SEPTA stands to be assessed the lion’s share of $59M in additional contributions because it is one of the largest operator’s on AMTRAK’s NEC and, unlike New Jersey Transit, the other largest operator on AMTRAK, SEPTA has not made major direct contributions to AMTRAK capital projects.
• For agencies that do not have funds budgeted for the increased allocation, the USDOT intends to automatically take the amount from Federal Transit Administration (FTA) formula grants to which agencies like SEPTA are entitled to by law.
If we assume 50% of the $59 million comes from SEPTA:
• Locally, almost $30 million of annual capital money is lost. Major capital projects like parking lot expansion, Elwyn to Wawa rail restoration, station improvements and fare collection upgrades are jeopardized, among a host of others,
• At the rate of $30 million annually, over the 12 year span for SEPTA’s capital program, almost $400 million goes towards the improvement of the NEC (maybe),
• Preventive maintenance dollars that have most recently been used to balance the budgets of the Port Authority of Allegheny County and SEPTA might not be available
• Consequently, the likelihood for fare increases and/or service reductions increases
• The legislative language requires the method used to reallocate costs to be developed in an open and collaborative process with stakeholders. It has not been. Instead, even before a method of allocation has been selected, the President’s budget has called for a $59 million additional contribution.
• SEPTA stands to be assessed the lion’s share of $59M in additional contributions because it is one of the largest operator’s on AMTRAK’s NEC and, unlike New Jersey Transit, the other largest operator on AMTRAK, SEPTA has not made major direct contributions to AMTRAK capital projects.
• For agencies that do not have funds budgeted for the increased allocation, the USDOT intends to automatically take the amount from Federal Transit Administration (FTA) formula grants to which agencies like SEPTA are entitled to by law.
If we assume 50% of the $59 million comes from SEPTA:
• Locally, almost $30 million of annual capital money is lost. Major capital projects like parking lot expansion, Elwyn to Wawa rail restoration, station improvements and fare collection upgrades are jeopardized, among a host of others,
• At the rate of $30 million annually, over the 12 year span for SEPTA’s capital program, almost $400 million goes towards the improvement of the NEC (maybe),
• Preventive maintenance dollars that have most recently been used to balance the budgets of the Port Authority of Allegheny County and SEPTA might not be available
• Consequently, the likelihood for fare increases and/or service reductions increases
