Amtrak taps KPMG for HSR financial planning

The Amtrak vision to bring 220 mph next generation high-speed rail to the Northeast Corridor is taking another step forward with the selection of KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, in association with Steer Davies Gleave to assist in developing the business and financial plan for the project, including maximizing private investment opportunities. The team also includes DWH Strategic Advisors, Sharon Greene & Associates and TranSystems. "The selection of KPMG is the result of a highly-competitive procurement process that showed us there is real interest and enthusiasm in the financial community for advancing the Amtrak NEC high-speed rail project," said Al Engel, Amtrak vice president of high-speed rail. Amtrak intends to build-out its NEC next generation high-speed rail plan using a stair-step approach that outlines a clear, structured and coordinated path to achieve 220 mph service on each of four operational segment openings. The initial operating segment is between Philadelphia and New York and could have passengers traveling at 220 mph as soon as 2023. The other operational segments will open in the following order: Philadelphia to Washington, New York to Hartford and Hartford to Boston. "The Amtrak high-speed project is critical for the future of the Northeast megaregion and we are interested in identifying innovative business approaches for attracting private capital and combining it with public financing sources to help us build it," Engel added. The business and financial plan is to be developed with Amtrak and will address a variety of project financing issues such as risk, credit, debt and investment phasing. It also will identify the opportunities to maximize private investment, determine how much of the total project cost could be paid for with private and public financing and lay out the strategy for forays into the private investment and capital markets. The plan is to be completed by mid-year 2012. Importantly, the business and financial plan will build on the updated analysis of ridership, revenue, operations and maintenance costs and capital investment being produced for the refinement of the Amtrak vision for NEC next generation high-speed rail originally issued in September 2010. The U.S. high-speed rail landscape has changed significantly during the past year and the updated Amtrak high-speed rail report will incorporate those changes with the new analysis and more. It is expected to be issued early this fall.