Mobilizing the Region
Issue 39June 16, 1995



Northeast Commuter Rail Reprieve from Amtrak Woes?


At a mark-up session in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Wednesday, a provision in the House railroad bill that would require commuter railroads to pay more for the upkeep for the Northeast Corridor was removed.

The latter provision would have fallen heavily on NJ Transit, which accounts for about 40% of non-Amtrak train miles on the entire Boston-Washington line, even though it uses only 58 miles of its track. NJ Transportation Commissioner Frank Wilson has estimated that NJ Transit could pay up to $30 million more to Amtrak per year. Metro-North is in better shape, as its portion of the Northeast Corridor is owned by the MTA and Connecticut DOT. Tracks used by Connecticut's Shore Line East between New Haven and Old Saybrook are owned by Amtrak, but ConnDOT may be able to prevent additional costs there with the leverage afforded by its ownership of the Greenwich-New Haven portion of the corridor. New Jersey Transit is still concerned that the cost-shifting provision could be added back into the bill on the House floor. A similar provision is still in a U.S. Senate bill that has yet to see action in the Commerce Committee.



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