Amtrak lays out priorities for surface transportation bill

The national passenger rail service says it wants to see more railways developed in the next surface transportation bill, and wants to play a central role in the process.
 
Amtrak called Tuesday for the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) — legislation Congress is gearing up to consider — to include "multi-year funding for intercity and high-speed rail" and a national rail strategy that has "a clear and leading role" for Amtrak.
 
“The development of intercity passenger rail and Amtrak’s national system should be afforded a significant role in the nation’s federal surface transportation programs,” Joe McHugh, Amtrak vice president for government affairs, testified last week to the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Railroads.

"If our nation’s intercity passenger rail system — and the transportation system of the United States as a whole — is to be developed and sustained, it is imperative that Amtrak and other federal rail programs be integrated into a comprehensive and truly multi-modal surface transportation authorization bill,” McHugh said.
 
Congress recently passed a short-term extension of the SAFETEA-LU bill, which funds highways and public transportation through September. House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica (R-Fla) has criticized the short-term extensions, and supports a six-year bill.
 
The Obama administration has proposed spending $556 billion on transportation over that period, but Republicans in both chambers have indicated that increase is unlikely to gain legislative traction.