This testimony discusses the future of intercity passenger rail. Intercity passenger rail in the United States is at a critical juncture. It has become increasingly clear that the current approach to intercity passenger rail is not likely sustainable. Given Amtrak's worsening financial condition and opportunities for intercity passenger rail to play a larger role in our nation s transportation system, there is growing agreement that the mission, funding, and structure of the current approach to providing intercity passenger rail needs to be changed. There is less agreement on how they should be changed. Both longer-term fiscal pressures and the new commitments undertaken after September 11th sharpen the need to look at competing claims and new priorities. Stated differently, there is a need to consider what is the proper role of the federal government in intercity passenger rail.

This report addresses the public benefits and investment needs of intercity passenger rail transportation. AASHTO has published an investment needs report for highways and transit, and intends to publish a report on freight rail investment needs. Cost estimates for intercity passenger rail investment presented in this report were developed independently from those contained in the freight rail report. In combination, these reports provide a complete picture of the benefits of the various surface transportation modes to the U.S. and the value to be realized by both the traveling public and shippers through strategic investments.

North America faces a transportation crisis. Gas-guzzling SUVs clog the highways and air travelers face delays, cancellations, and uncertainty in the wake of unprecedented terrorist attacks. New Departures closely examines the options for improving intercity passenger trains' capacity to move North Americans where they want to go. While Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada face intense pressure to transform themselves into successful commercial enterprises, Anthony Perl demonstrates how public policy changes lie behind the triumphs of European and Japanese high-speed rail passenger innovations. Perl goes beyond merely describing these achievements, translating their implications into a North American institutional and political context and diagnosing the obstacles that have made renewing passenger trains so much more difficult in North America than elsewhere. New Departures links the lessons behind rail passenger revitalization abroad with the opportunity to recast the policies that constrain Amtrak and VIA Rail from providing efficient and effective intercity transportation.