U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation

Press Releases

For Immediate Release
06/23/09

Contact:

Jena Longo - Democratic Deputy Communications Director 202.224.7824

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Chairman Rockefeller's Remarks on "High-Speed Passenger Rail: How Fast Will It Get Here?"

Washington, D.C. -

I’d like to start this hearing by honoring and remembering those who tragically perished in yesterday’s catastrophic Washington, DC metro accident.

Current press reports say 9 people lost their lives and many remain severely injured, in what is now the deadliest accident in the history of the Metrorail system.

This Committee takes its role in safety oversight extremely seriously and we will be paying careful attention to the NTSB investigation.

As we hold this hearing today on high-speed passenger rail infrastructure development, let us always be unwavering in our commitment to the transportation safety and security for all passengers.

I would like to welcome all of our distinguished guests on this panel, including Governor Rendell. It is a pleasure to have you testify before the Committee.

Although high-speed passenger rail is not something people usually associate with West Virginia, in fact, travelers in my state routinely rely on Amtrak’s Capitol Limited and Cardinal services.

Indeed, West Virginia’s Amtrak service continues to improve. I am proud to say that in the last year on-time performance of the Capitol Limited nearly doubled while the Cardinal has risen almost 19 percent.

Earlier this year, Chairman Lautenberg and I joined Vice President Biden at Union Station to announce the $1.3 billion allocation of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to Amtrak.

It is so refreshing to have such strong leadership from this Administration that brings attention to the real importance of passenger rail.

I want to make a special point today to say that I believe passenger rail can do so much for our transportation network, our environment, and our energy security.

In fact, one of the provisions of our bill, S. 1036, the Federal Surface Transportation Policy and Planning Act, would establish a national goal to increase the total usage of passenger rail services – and this is a very good thing.

Passenger rail will help us to tackle the climate change crisis and secure our nation’s energy supply. The transportation sector is responsible for one-third of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. We simply must address this growing challenge.

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratories tells us that intercity passenger rail is 17 percent more efficient than air travel and 21 percent more efficient than auto travel. Encouraging greater use of intercity passenger rail will lower emissions and help us conserve energy.

Although we have made large strides to get here today, there is still so much more to be done to prepare our transportation system and move it safely and securely in to the 21^st century.

I want to thank our guests for appearing today, and I look forward to hearing from them on how to make this happen.

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