Obama
Awards States $8 Billion for
High-Speed Rail
Work on a
high-speed rail network connecting
U.S. cities is set to accelerate
as President Barack Obama awards
$8 billion in stimulus act
high-speed rail funding to 31
states.
The
president announced the
long-delayed awards today in
Tampa, Fla., where work is under
way on a $1.25 billion high-speed
passenger rail corridor between
Tampa and Orlando.
Following
up on his State of the Union
pledge to create jobs, the
president promised to “put
people to work building high-speed
rail lines.” The $8 billion will
serve as a “down-payment” on
13 high-speed passenger rail
corridors, the White House said.
Some of
those rail lines will run along
rail freight corridors, and
freight rail networks could
receive a considerable injection
of infrastructure funding from the
awards.
The
Federal Railroad Administration
has said much of the funds will go
into existing freight lanes to add
regular Amtrak passenger trains or
speed up existing ones.
Under FRA
guidelines, states receiving
high-speed passenger rail funding
will be required to have written
agreements with any “host”
freight railroads, said Edward R.
Hamberger, president and CEO of
the Association of American
Railroads.
“This
ultimately will help ensure that
higher speed rail does not
compromise the vital present and
future role of freight rail in
America’s economic recovery,”
he said.
The $8
billion was slated for high-speed
rail in the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act last year.
“Through the Recovery Act, we
are making the largest investment
in infrastructure since the
Interstate Highway System was
created,” Obama said.
One of the
largest awards — $2.25 billion
— goes to California to purchase
right-of-way and construct track
for a high-speed rail corridor. In
the Midwest, $1.1 billion will be
used to build a high-speed
corridor linking Chicago and St.
Louis, Mo.
How
ARC will help you get a share of the $8 Billion
for High-Speed Rail.
President Obama
made railroad workers his top job
priority in the State of the Union
speech with a $8 Billon dollar down
payment for a lot of construction
of the new rail system. “Through the
Recovery Act, we are making the largest
investment in infrastructure since the
Interstate Highway System was
created,” Obama said.
ARC sees the
railroad industries in two segments, as
Class 1 Railroads and Regionals, as well
as large group railroads such as Rail
America all being first tiers. The
smaller group railroads, single
shortline railroads and railroad
contractors as second tier. Second tiers
make up just a little more then half of
all track workers.
January 2010
Railway Age magazine just reported
that Class 1 railroads presently have
33,561 track workers with an estimated additional
40,000 track workers working for
second tier railroad track operations.
Our 30-year-old railroad-consulting firm
has called every second tier
railroad track operation three times a
year for the last three years.
The $8 Billion dollars
for the high-speed rail is going through
the FRA to the Class ones. The Class
ones will draw down on the most
experienced railroad track workers from the
second tier smaller railroads and
contractors.
I went
through this personally in the
beginning of my 38 year railroad career
when in 1976, with only 2 years working
for the former Norfolk & Western now
Norfolk Southern, a Conrail recruiter
came to me and others in 1976 saying "the
government is giving money away and they
are giving it away through Conrail".
The railroad
industry typically does $40 billion per
year in business. The $8 billion
government investment while just a
"down payment" is 20 % of
the US Railroad’s annual business.
Over
the next few years much like 1976, the
US government intends to increase the
railroad work force by at least 20,000
new railroad workers over the next few
years.
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Rail
Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment
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Rail Track Layers, just as ...
John D. Boyd | Feb 2, 2010 3:16PM GM
The
Journal of Commerce Online - News Story
FRA would aim to recoup $50
million for its services in 2011
President Obama’s budget proposes to
have the Federal Railroad Administration start charging for some
of its safety inspection services, to bring in $50 million in
fee income during the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
The “railroad safety user fee” is
intended, the budget said, “to help offset the costs
associated with railroad safety inspectors and their
activities.”
Obama also tucked in a request to spend
$4.5 million for the FRA to hire 31 full-time equivalent new
rail inspection and grant program workers.
A government spokesperson said the idea of
a safety user fee has been around for some time, and was
previously authorized but never put into the budget proposal.
The FRA would have to develop a plan on how much to charge for
what services, and introduce it through a formal rule-making
process.
Up to now, the FRA has not charged user
fees for its services. It does assess civil penalties for
railroad infractions of agency rules, but those are paid
directly into the federal treasury while the safety user charges
would be a new fee income for the FRA.
The proposal comes as the president is
injecting billions of dollars of new federal spending into the
rail network to spur development of inter-city passenger rail
service. Much of that money, both from an $8 billion stimulus
program and an ongoing $1 billion continued yearly allocation,
will go into existing freight railroad lanes to either add new
passenger train service or improve average speeds where that
service already operates.
John D. Boyd
The
Railroad Industry is seriously short
on experienced railroad workers and is
turning to thousands of "Railroad
Consultants" to train and
manage
railroad operation.
Obama also
tucked in a request to spend $4.5
million for the FRA to hire 31
full-time equivalent new rail
inspection and grant program
workers."
If you have a
few to 30 years railroad experience,
now make tens of thousands of dollars
providing Railroad Consulting services
working from your home.
Railroad
Consultants are located around the
country and have set up offices from
home and manage others. Retired
Railroad workers work as "Railroad
Consultants," can make their
maximum every month that the Railroad
Retirement Board allows in a few days a
week or less. Make phone calls from
home and travel a lot or very little
depending on what type of work you are interested
in.
Newer
railroad workers train to
become "Railroad Track Safety
Inspectors", "Locomotive
Inspector" and other Railroad
Consulting services that are dispatched
by "Railroad Consultants".
Now
get paid as you learn.
Work as a "intern" to a Railroad Track Safety Inspector
for Allen Railroad Consulting the parent company of
this web site which has been performing track safety inspection for 35
years. "Track Inspector" program gives you up to 3 months PAID
On The Job Railroad Track Safety Inspector Management
Training Program. Put in your new Track Inspection Portfolio 40+
track safety inspections per month for industry and railroad
nationwide. Qualified Track Safety have starting salaries of
from $50-65K per year.
The
Federal Government in invest Billions of
dollars to create 10,000 new railroad
workers jobs over the next couple of
years starting at $45,000 per year. With
15 million Americans out of work the
railroad industry has plenty of workers
to choose from. You
will be required to to be trained and certified
to work on the railroad track likely at
your own cost. Hiring railroad companies
provide up to 3 months on the job
training but in most cases does not
provide certification.
The
railroad industry has more then 20
railroad training providers (see list of
training providers @
http://www.railroaddata.com/rrlinks/Railroad_Training_Programs/).
