Panel of railroad experts urges Congress to address transportation infrastructure needs

Joe Boardman, president and CEO of Amtrak, accompanied by members of the Amtrak Chicago Gateway Blue Ribbon Panel, outlined railroad infrastructure needs in Chicago to urge Federal policy and funding for transportation infrastructure at an October 26 Newsmaker event.

Jack Quinn, former chairman of the Railroads Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and current president of Erie Community College, noted, “The nation’s transportation policy will expire in just a couple of days, and the two houses of Congress have begun the first cautious steps toward a real discussion of the nation’s need.”

Quinn said that the Senate’s surface transportation bill would include Amtrak in the federal government’s surface transportation program for the first time, although it doesn’t provide Amtrak with predictable, guaranteed funding.

Howard Learner, founder of the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago likened the effects of delays in the Chicago rail system to the air traffic delays generated when problems arise at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. In both systems, problems spread across large parts of the country, he said.

Boardman said “Chicago’s congestion problem creates an economic vulnerability of $799 billion every year, impacting six key industries constituting 85% of U.S. domestic product.” The problem arises because, as a video that was played at the event noted, “All roads lead to Chicago,” where major rail lines converge from every direction.

Tom Carper, a member of the Amtrak Board of Directors, explained that at-grade crossings create backups that generate the economic effects that Boardman mentioned when trains wait for each other as automobile traffic does at street intersections.

“These disruptions cost money. For example, UPS loses $100 million a year for every five minutes of daily freight delay across its network,” he said.

“Today much of the freight arrives in Chicago in giant intermodal and commodity unit trains. They move slowly through the city, blocking crossings and causing tie-ups at antiquated rail junctions,” he added.

An example of the infrastructure investment required to fix the system is the Englewood Flyover in Chicago, highlighted in a report by the panel. An overpass, placed in service in 2014, has eliminated over 4,000 minutes of commuter train interference to Amtrak trains annually, according to the panel.