New England outgunned on US rail funds
WASHINGTON - New England found itself on the short end of federal stimulus funding yesterday as President Obama announced that most of the $8 billion for high-speed rail projects will go to other parts of the country.
Massachusetts suffered in particular with the denial of funds for a commuter railway to New Bedford and Fall River, one of Governor Deval Patrick’s top transportation priorities.
The six New England states received just under $200 million in rail grants, or about 2 percent of the total the president announced yesterday. Most of that money is for improvement to tracks in the
California got $2.34 billion, Florida re ceived $1.25 billion, and Illinois received $1.24 billion. Those states had better applications and had been working longer on their plans, specialists said.
Massachusetts had asked the Obama administration for $1.9 billion to cover the entire estimated cost of the South Coast commuter project, which supporters saw as a potential boon for communities, some of them economically distressed with high unemployment, nestled on the shores of the Atlantic and Buzzards Bay. Patrick made building the lines, which have been talked about for decades, a campaign promise in 2006.
State and local officials said the application had always been a long shot, because the route was not “shovel ready,’’ as federal officials had demanded of projects funded by the $787 billion economic stimulus bill Congress passed last year. State officials vowed to continue looking for a funding source.
“Obviously it is disappointing,’’ said Representative Antonio F.D. Cabral, Democrat of New Bedford.
“We’re going to keep banging away on it,’’ said Mayor Scott Lang of New Bedford. “I’m not disappointed we didn’t get high-speed money because I never expected we would.’’
Losing out on money from the stimulus package, however, means Patrick’s self-imposed deadline of finding a way to pay for the project by this month will not be met. The administration still says it will break ground in 2012 and have trains running by the end of 2016.
“We weren’t counting on the money, but it would have been terrific if we got it,’’ said Kristina Egan, the administration’s project manager for the South Coast expansion. “The administration remains fully committed to the project and fully committed to finding the funding. We’re moving full steam ahead.’’
Egan said that the lengthy environmental review process had delayed a financing plan, but that it should now be completed in the fall. A request for $71.4 million in federal grants is pending.
New England rail advocates said the region was outgunned by other parts of the country that were far better prepared to seek the funds. California, for instance, had spent more than a decade planning its 800-mile high-speed rail route from Sacramento to San Diego, and voters there had anted up $9 billion.
Critics have also said New England states have historically failed to coordinate their projects, although officials had worked this time around on a coordinated, regional approach.
As the Globe reported last year, the Northeast also faced large obstacles to receiving grant money for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, which carries the nation’s only high-speed train, the Acela, because it lacked a government-mandated environmental study needed to qualify. As a result, the corridor received only $1.2 million for New England, all of it for track work in Rhode Island. The southern section of the route, between New York and Washington, received about $111 million for planning and engineering studies.
Representative John L. Mica, Republican of Florida, the ranking member of the House Transportation Committee, criticized the Obama administration for not paying for crucial upgrades on the Northeast Corridor that could increase speeds.
“Most disappointing is the unfortunate hijacking of the Northeast Corridor, which for the most part was kept out of the selection process and will remain the slow-speed stepchild of passenger rail transportation,’’ Mica said. “With 75 percent of our country’s aviation chronic delays beginning in the New York airspace, it is a shame that the people in that crowded corridor have been shortchanged in this high-speed rail system selection process.’’
A White House official said last night in an e-mail that the plan provided ample funding for the Northeast, but did not respond to a specific question about the corridor.
Most of the money destined for New England - a total of $160 million - is going to support upgrades on a line between New Haven, Western Massachusetts, and Vermont. The project would restore passenger rail service to Holyoke, Northampton, and Greenfield.
Elsewhere in New England, Maine got $35 million to extend Amtrak’s popular Downeaster service from Portland to Brunswick. But Maine’s request for upgrades to the line between Boston and Portland was denied.
Senator John F. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, said projects that did not receive funding yesterday would remain in the pile for the future. Congress has already voted to provide another $2.5 billion for high-speed rail.
“I’m hopeful that those will be in the next round,’’ Kerry said.
Meanwhile, foes of the proposed commuter line connecting Boston, New Bedford, and Fall River said they felt vindicated.
“I would have been shocked had it been funded,’’ said Kyla Bennett, the director of New England Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. “Frankly, I think this project is fiscally irresponsible, and if the federal government were to fund it, I would be quite upset, as should other taxpayers.’’
Critics say that the project is too costly, and that the routing through Easton would endanger Hockomock Swamp.
State Senator Mark C. Montigny, Democrat of New Bedford, a proponent of the plan, said that while winning high-speed money was a long shot, he appreciated the administration’s effort.
“You can’t fault people for applying and trying to throw the Hail Mary.’’
Still, Montigny said he was skeptical of promises to get the project started by 2012, given its history of repeated setbacks.
“When I’m asked, ‘Do you believe in the timeline, and will you put your name on the dotted line to stand by it?’ the answer is no,’’ he said. “I’ve seen too many deadlines pass, too many governors come and go.’’
