Is The Silver Line Burning Up The Gold?

According to a 44 page Inspector General report issued last week, lax Federal Transit Authority supervision over construction of the 29 station, 23 mile, $6.8 billion Silver Line rail service from Washington D.C. to Dulles International Airport is leading to cost overruns, schedule delays, and imperiling passenger safety on the trains scheduled to begin service on part of the project next year. Plagued by political battles over funding and passenger safety, the project has been attacked by politicians in some Virginia counties concerned that construction of the rail line will destroy the pastoral nature of their communities.

According to the IG report, FTA took 2 years to complete testing of bridge pilings criticized by the project’s chief bridge manager as unsafe for rail operations and below the FTA standard of 50 year useful life expectance, due in particular to excessive corrosion caused by stray electrical currents affecting the pilings nearest the power rails. Furthermore, the report points out, FTA has not yet insisted on a recovery plan from WMATA for late delivery of the rail cars to move as many as 60,000 riders per day expected to use the line once it opens next year.

Congress won’t approve a fiscal year budget, and attrition is taking a toll on the work forces of many federal government agencies as a result. Is it any wonder that bureaucrats in understaffed offices like the FTA are taking too long to act on problems they know about?

Loudoun County Narrowly Approves Silver Line To Dulles

Though Silver Line rail service from Washington, D.C. to Dulles Airport was nearly put to death in the course of political posturing over a project labor agreement in right-to-work Virginia, through which the trains must pass, the last hurdle to construction of the second phase of the project was cleared Tuesday, July 3, when the all Republican Loudoun County Board voted 5-4 to approve participation in the project. When Virginia’s Republican Governor Robert F. McDonnell finally withdrew his threat to take back $150 million in state funds for the project over the project labor agreement he viewed as overly pro-union, in recent days he urged members of the Loudoun County Board not to stand in the way of construction of the rail line.

Loudoun County’s commitment of $270 million toward construction of the line will save air travelers a $60 taxi ride into D.C., as well as making airport jobs available to workers without cars to make the 46 mile daily round trip to the airfield. Loudoun County will set up a special tax district to fund its share of Silver Line costs, imposing the burden exclusively on owners of commercial developments and vacant land immediately surrounding the to be constructed commuter stations along its stretch of the Silver Line route. Almost all of the residential property in the county will be excluded from the new taxes.

Politicians from Virginia’s state government and from counties neighboring Loudoun are praising the formerly rural Loudoun for deciding to go suburban and participate in the development, rather than blocking commuter access to Dulles for citizens of the remainder of northern Virginia in order to preserve Loudoun’s rural atmosphere. Opponents of the Silver Line project still question whether commuter rail to Dulles will contribute anything to reduced traffic congestion in the region, and the wisdom of suburban Virginia entering into partnership with the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, local governments dominated by Democrats. Republican Board members voting in favor of participation, on the other hand, describe their action as “the vote of a generation, maybe of the century.”

Detroit Light Rail Project Short On Cash and Needed Legislation

Detroit and Michigan Politicians and business leaders who expected Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to deliver a gift wrapped $40 million federal grant for construction of the three and a half mile M-1 light rail commuter line from downtown Detroit to Grand Boulevard in New Center were disappointed Monday when all the Secretary brought to their meeting Monday was a 60 day deadline for answering federal concerns about long term operational funding for the project, and the accuracy of lowball construction cost estimates and highball ridership estimates.  While Detroit Mayor David Bing characterized LaHood’s presentation to the supporters of the $137 million project as enthusiastic, saying LaHood “made it very clear that there’s nowhere else in the country that he’s seen this kind of commitment from the business community,” both LaHood and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff skipped the press conference after the 90 minute meeting with project supporters.

The proposed 3.5 mile line promises 16 minute trips from Congress in downtown Detroit through 10 intermediate stops to Grand Boulevard in New Center, with trains running every seven and a half minutes during rush periods to every twelve minutes the rest of the day. Funding commitments for M-1, led by Kresge Foundation’s $35 million pledge, include promises of $3 million or more each from Penske, Quicken Loans, Compuware, Detroit Medical Center, Ilitch Companies, Wayne State University and Henry Ford Health System, and less generous grants from Chevrolet, Chrysler, Kellogg Foundation, and Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of Michigan, among others. So far supporters have raised pledges totaling $84 million, but LaHood doubts that adding $40 million in federal funds would make up the actual construction costs of the line.

Besides underestimating the cost of building the line, LaHood also suspects the projected initial fare paying ridership of 3 million trips per year is overstated. The feds want better backup of current projections or revised estimates more in line with reality. And, after 2025 M-1 proposes to turn the system and its operating costs to a regional transportation authority, but legislation creating such a local entity is stalled in Lansing, where Michigan Governor Rick Snyder wants the rail line to hook up with a proposed 110 mile rapid transit bus system serving Detroit’s suburbs, Metro Airport, and Ann Arbor. Unless that RTA bill passes soon, Detroit’s light rail future looks bleak.

The Silver Line’s Real Problem Is The PLA

Union bashing, Davis-Bacon hating Republican politicians in Northern Virginia would rather stop construction of Silver Line mass transit service from Washington, D.C. to Dulles International, than see it seamlessly completed under a project labor agreement. What these folks see as a union labor victory in the PLA is in reality something which takes away the power of organized labor to extort concessions from contractors and material suppliers by threatening strikes which could delay completion and drive up overall project costs in these times of rapidly accelerating commodity price increases.

The first phase of building Washington, D.C.’s $5.6 billion Silver Line Metro commuter tracks into Dulles International is on schedule for completion next year, and will run from Tysons Corner to Reston, but the next leg of trackage through Loudoun County is in jeopardy before the all Republican Loudoun County Board. Loudoun County must vote its stretch of track up or down by early July. If the Loudoun portion of the Silver Line fails, the project would have to be rerouted at best and might get killed altogether at worst.

A study from George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis reports that completing the commuter line through Loudoun County will produce 40,000 jobs to the county by 2040, and drive more than $55 billion in potential economic activity. Nevertheless, Republican board members are taking their cues from Virginia Governor Robert E. McDonnell, whose tepid support for the Silver Line construction has not included more than a 5% state contribution towards the cost of building the tracks. Roadblocks thrown up by Republicans to phase two of this project – all pretexts for their desire to get rid of the PLA – include opposition to partial funding through increased highway tolls, a USDOT audit of phase one, and requested appointment of an Inspector General to monitor Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority administration of the construction.

Even if the project could survive a pull out by Loudoun County, financing for construction and operation of the commuter line would have to be renegotiated, a route redesign performed, and new right of way acquired; and the resulting loss of time would undoubtedly drive up the finished project budget by another $1 billion or so. Rather than looking to Richmond for guidance on this issue, Loudoun County should be listening to its own constituents – every major business group in the county supports Silver Line construction as presently planned.

Tunneling Concerns Stump Subway To The Sea

Los Angeles METRO’s plans for a western extension of its subway lines along Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard all the way to Santa Monica Pier were blocked last week when more than 100 witnesses, including angry parents and teachers of Beverly Hills High School students, protested plans to tunnel beneath the school’s 19.5 acre campus on Moreno Drive.  In response, METRO’s board approved the 3.9 mile Wilshire Boulevard phase, but voted to hold public hearings on safety of the high school tunnel before giving the go ahead to the last 5 miles of the project.

Completion of the $5.66 billion project may have to await completion of a study commissioned by Beverly Hills officials to suggest alternate routes around the school. Franny Rennie, Beverly Hills high School PTA president, says student safety should be METRO’s first priority: “Your experts keep saying it’s safe. Well, there’s no guarantee. Our number one point is safety for our 2,000 students. Don’t risk our kids.”  Opposing the delay for public hearings, transit advocate Denny Zane responded: “I see no public evidence that there are genuine risks to the high school,” he responded.

MTA board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslovsky predicted the battle over the high school tunnel may be headed for the courts. “If we’re going to get into a court battle with the school district, let’s get that started now,” he blustered. Maybe the truth is that the Beverly Hills moms and dads who drop their kids off at school in their Bentleys just don’t want a subway stop frequented by the less fortunate anywhere near their precious campus.

Los Angeles Won’t “Buy American” For Subway Cars

Generating a great deal of controversy, and two bid protests, Los Angeles County MTA voted Monday, April 30, to award the $890 million contract for construction of 235 new subway cars to Kinkisharyo International, a Japanese company that doesn’t even have a factory on this side of the Pacific yet. The new cars are needed to put rolling stock on the rails for the Crenshaw, Expo, Santa Monica and extended Gold lines, and to make up for a failed 100 car contract with Italian manufacturer AnsaldoBreda which fell apart late in 2009.

Competing bidders Siemens of Germany and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles of Spain, both of which already have plants on American soil, are prosecuting protests of the award to the Japanese firm. Also opposing the award are the Urban League, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Siemens, which already has a factory in Sacramento, promised to open a new one in Los Angeles, and to invest $5 million in job training programs there. Siemens’ bid could have created up to 1,122 new American jobs, the opponents of the award say.

CAF USA has a plant in Elmira, New York. Though the Siemens price was more than the Japanese concern, CAF USA underbid Kinkisharyo by $104.4 million. CAF’s proposal predicts creation of 205 U.S. jobs. The Federal Transit Administration is reviewing the Japanese bid to determine whether stimulus legislation “buy American” requirements have been met, and final approval of the award is subject to the results of that review. METRO CEO Art Leahy says he is confident the FTA will approve the contract with the Japanese.

Well, you may ask, where are the full blooded American bidders? There aren’t any. Since Budd stopped manufacturing rail cars on April 3, 1987, and sold its designs to Canadian rail car and aircraft maker Bombardier, there hasn’t been any all-American passenger rail car maker on the scene. So much for Congressional mandates that stimulus funds be used to purchase products “Made In USA.”

Can A Single County Block Silver Line Trains to Dulles Airport?

The first phase of building Washington, D.C.’s $5.6 billion Silver Line Metro commuter tracks into Dulles International is on schedule for completion next year, and will run from Tysons Corner to Reston, but the next leg of trackage through Loudoun County is in jeopardy before the all Republican Loudoun County Board. Loudoun County must vote its stretch of track up or down by early July. If the Loudoun portion of the Silver Line fails, the project would have to be rerouted at best and might get killed altogether at worst.

Loudoun County’s projected share of the track and station construction cost is projected at $275 million, plus $16 million in annual operating subsidies to Metro once trains to Dulles begin operating. Despite a study from George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis reporting that completing the commuter line through Loudoun County will produce 40,000 jobs to the county by 2040, and drive more than $55 billion in potential economic activity, Republican board members are taking their cues from Virginia Governor Robert E. McDonnell, whose tepid support for the Silber Line construction has not included more than a 5% state contribution towards the cost of building the tracks. Battles over a labor agreement signed by the airport authority which the Republican governor considers unduly pro-labor have stalled final gubernatorial approval of a preliminary commitment of $150 million in operating subsidies for the commuter rail project.

Even if the project could survive a pull out by Loudoun County, financing for construction and operation of the commuter line would have to be renegotiated, a route redesign performed, and new right of way acquired; and the resulting loss of time would undoubtedly drive up the finished project budget by another $1 billion or so. Rather than looking to Richmond for guidance on this issue, Loudoun County should be listening to its own constituents – every major business group in the county supports Silver Line construction as presently planned.

Changing Trains Across The Hudson

April 19 the Senate Appropriations Committee reported out a measure approving $20 million for continued design and engineering work on Amtrak’s Gateway Project, the last survivor among three projects to build a new pair of tunnels under the Hudson River to relieve rail congestion in the Northeast Corridor leading to Manhattan’s Penn Station. The Access to the Region’s Core rail tunnel project was scotched by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and a proposed extension of the Number 7 subway into Seacaucus, was scuttled by the New York MTA. Gateway is projected to cost a total of $14.5 billion, and would provide tunnels for both commuter trains and high speed rail into Penn Station.

Of course, Senate Appropriations approval is just one step in the process. The bill will still have to pass floor votes in both houses of Congress, and get President Obama’s signature. Gateway was originally announced in February 2011, with a projected price tag of $13.5 billion and a completion date of 2020. Now the price has increased by $1 billion, and the timeline extended to 2025. And the Gateway project has detractors, even among rail and transit advocates. Long Island Railroad’s Director of Planning Joe Clift points out that Gateway is designed more for inter-city high speed rail than cross Hudson commuters, and Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole acknowledges that Gateway will not double peak hour commuter service, and that northern New Jersey commuters will have to change trains to reach Manhattan.

Gateway would increase NJ Transit commuter service from 20 trains per hour up to 36 per hour. So, while planning funds may materialize soon, there is no final agreement among the various agencies involved about cost sharing, nor is there any immediate prospect that $14.5 billion in construction funds will be committed to the Gateway project.

While Congress Dithers, The Streetcar’s The Thing

Given the reluctance of Congress as a body to pass any long term reauthorization of federal funding for public transit, and the desire of tea party Congressmen to repeal all federal money for mass transit – “let the poor folks walk” seems to be one of their popular rallying cries – most of the new urban mass transit construction going on these days is for short run streetcar lines.  Atlanta, Cincinatti, Dallas, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, and Washington D.C. are all beginning or continuing with construction of short run street car lines, at project costs ranging from $18.5 million per mile in Salt Lake to $77.0 million per mile in Los Angeles.

Why street cars? The obvious answer is that the municipalities already own the streets, and therefore right of way acquisition cost is always zero for these projects. Add the obvious lack of any requirement for elevating the tracks or tunnelling them underneath the urban landscape, and if you have to spend 100% of your own money, why, the streetcar is the way to go. While a few streetcar projects have received federal cash from the mass transit portion of the Highway Trust Fund, or from TIGER grants under the Obama stimulus legislation, many are fully funded by state and local governments. If you have a short urban commute and don’t want to drive yourself, you may soon be riding a streetcar.