New Hampshire competes for $1.5 million grant

Written by jrood

Peter Burling, chairman of the Rail Transit Authority in New Hampshire, envisions a rail line running between Boston and Concord, N.H., at speeds of up to 90 mph, the Concord Monitor reports. The rail would carry Massachusetts shoppers to Nashua and travelers to Manchester Airport. It would take sports fans to Celtics games and workers to their jobs in Boston.  

Burling is convinced that
it is possible, but it will not be easy. He faces several major obstacles: a
clash with Pan Am, the railway company that owns the tracks; opposition from
some backers of the state’s bus system; and $8 billion in a pot of federal
funding that has $101 billion in requests this year.

And Burling must convince
the public that rail is a realistic goal. "New Hampshire is 25 years
missing in action when it comes to rail transit," Burling said in a
meeting with the Monitor’s editorial board this week.

Burling said he has heard
that the federal government will set aside $8 billion a year over the next six
years, and $500 billion for inter-city and high-speed rail over the next 10
years.

"The (Obama)
administration is trying to catch up with demand," Burling said.
"They know (rail’s) popularity is off the charts. People want it
back."

State Rep. Bob Williams, a
Concord Democrat and head of the House Transportation Committee, said he is
"cautiously optimistic" that New Hampshire will get the money.

New Hampshire is asking for
$154 million to upgrade tracks with new rails, ties, rail cars, sidings and
digital signals, and an additional $50 million for railroad acquisition, to buy
the rights to the tracks. The state will submit an application for planning
money, asking the federal government to pay $1.5 million, with an equal state
match, some of which would be funded with private donations.

Burling is hopeful that
even if Concord does not get construction money this year, it will get the
planning money and could then do the engineering and design and apply for more
money in the future.

Burling, a former state
senator and member of the Democratic National Committee, is tasked with
establishing the new rail line. In his vision, the rail would run along an
existing freight track line, through Massachusetts to Nashua, Manchester,
Manchester Airport and Concord. There would be 12 to 14 trains a day taking 90
minutes to travel between Concord and Boston. The cars would be fitted with
wireless Internet and clean diesel technology.

Burling pointed out that
the state has the Vermonter to the west and the Downeaster to the east, but
nothing in New Hampshire’s center. He said Amtrak, which runs the Vermonter and
Downeaster, would also manage the Concord rail line.

Burling said market studies
have estimated ridership at 3,000 to 5,000 people each weekday from Manchester
and an additional 1,000 to 1,500 people from Concord. "We think there is a
market for 12 to 14 throughout the day," Burling said.

Burling also accused Pan Am
Railways, which owns the tracks, of being an obstacle to the plan by refusing
to grant the state operating rights. Burling said if a deal cannot be reached
with Pan Am, the state could potentially use its rights of eminent domain to
take the tracks. Amtrak also has some power to compel trackage rights over
private railroads, Burling said.

Pan Am recently got into
one dust-up with the state after it accused a state commissioner of improperly
awarding a contract to a railroad company owned by a state representative
without an open bidding process. In 2007, Pan Am and the state came up with a
plan for Pan Am to operate a new rail lane, but two separate plans eventually
evolved as to where the train would go and how much of an upgrade would be
done.

David Fink, president of
Pan Am, said that if Amtrak approached him to try to create a deal like the two
companies have to run the Downeaster, he’d be open to the idea. But he
confirmed that he is no longer in discussions with the state about the rail
line.

Burling said Pan Am would
benefit from the project, since its tracks would be upgraded with federal money.

Fink responded, "I’m
not asking for anyone to upgrade my tracks.

Fink said he was skeptical
of the plan because even if the state got federal money, it would still need
$10 million to cover operating costs.

"I think when the
state is laying people off, reducing jobs, it is not the time to ask for $10
million to run a passenger train," Fink said.

Burling said $5 million to
$6 million of the cost would come from the fare box. Some money could come from
federal grants.

One possibility for
generating revenue would be creating tax increment financing districts, in
which the additional tax revenue coming from the rail properties would go back
to maintaining the trains.

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