US Rail Agencies Still Bullish on Future Despite Ongoing Challenges

Regardless of current struggles over the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s formidable plans—now within the crosshairs of a hostile federal authorities that’s pulling $4 billion in funding—company officers and their transportation friends from throughout the nation stay optimistic that there’s a public urge for food for higher high-speed and intercity rail initiatives within the U.S.

Chatting with attendees of the American Public Transportation Affiliation rail convention on June 30 in San Francisco, LaDonna DiCamillo, Southern California regional rail director for the CHSRA, stated that out of 171 miles of alignment constructed within the Central Valley, 119 are within the test-track part. One other 463 miles have accomplished the environmental assessment course of, with just one 30-mile phase remaining, she added.

The company might look into public-private partnerships because it continues to “reassess the imaginative and prescient” she added.

In one other panel on July 2, new CHSRA statewide regional director Basem Muallem stated that it’s working with BNSF Railway on potential plans for sharing amenities corresponding to storage yards. Future building will implement classes discovered, corresponding to higher figuring out dangers concerning right-of-way acquisitions and utilities, and higher speaking these to stakeholders.

He stated that the company is now utilizing real-time monitoring of high-risk actions corresponding to utility relocations with cloud-based purposes, not Excel spreadsheets.

Amtrak continues to be going sturdy with its capital program, fueled by the IIJA. Its $6.8-billion finances for the 2025 fiscal yr contains $50 billion in “essential” initiatives corresponding to constructing two new electrified tunnel tubes in Baltimore, stated Jennifer Mitchell, government vp of technique and planning.

5 of 10 contracts are underway for the $11-billion Gateway program in New York and New Jersey to construct two new tunnels beneath the Hudson River whereas revamping the 2 present ones, she added. One other $100 million is geared toward growing station accessibility.

Nonetheless within the early planning course of is a 54-mile Excessive Desert Hall that might join Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, linking finally with the California high-speed rail line and the deliberate Brightline West linking the LA space with the Las Vegas space.

Chatting with the problem of megaprojects typically exceeding value and schedule estimates, Arthur V. Sohikian, government director of the Excessive Desert Hall Joint Powers Company, stated: “Once I’m useless and gone, no one will care how a lot it value. Hopefully they’ll simply be utilizing it.”

Rethinking Processes

The thought of utilizing amenities to stockpile long-lead gadgets that contractors may entry if wanted helped the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority revamp its system to take away 250 velocity restrictions because of tight curves and deteriorated observe, stated Phil Eng, MBTA normal supervisor and CEO.

“We deal with state-of-good-repair initiatives nearly like it’s an emergency,” he stated, noting each day calls with the contractors and a plan so as to add extra ones as wanted. The company changed 250,000 ft of rail in 2023, and in 2024 “2.4 million minutes a day got again” to commuters, he stated.

Company leaders in that July 2 session expressed a standard want to see varied federal assessment processes be streamlined, such because the Capital Funding Grants program. “It takes time to get a full funding grant settlement” by way of the CIG program, famous Timothy Lindholm, chief program supervisor for the Los Angeles Metro, including that the method ought to be expedited for “confirmed entities” who’ve utilized for grants prior to now.

Whereas environmentally acutely aware stakeholders “anticipate a strong course of” for related critiques, “our regulatory regime typically emphasizes course of over objective,” stated Dow Constantine, CEO of Seattle’s Sound Transit.

Muallem agreed, saying, “We can not have a assessment be 5 to 10 years.” He lamented {that a} undertaking may wait as much as three years for a allow as a result of the general public remark course of isn’t curtailed sufficient. As for utility relocations, “that’s additionally a course of that takes endlessly” as a result of the utilities “insist on doing it,” he stated. A possible response may very well be: “We are able to do it and present you [what we’re doing],” he stated. “In any other case, you’re killing the undertaking.”

Excessive Hopes for Hydrogen

The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority retrofitted a upkeep yard to accommodate hydrogen-fueled rail vehicles. North America’s first federally compliant self-powered, zero-emission passenger practice, a Zero-Emission Multiple Unit (ZEMU), arrived in San Bernardino County in June of 2024. The passenger practice makes use of a hybrid hydrogen and battery expertise to propel the practice and energy onboard electrical programs. Water vapor is the one emission generated from the propulsion system.

The ability requires each lively and passive air flow together with elevated louvres and a 6-in. line for hearth suppression, stated Pleasure Buenaflor, SBCTA deputy director of transit and rail. 

Whereas hydrogen-fueled autos have been round for a while, their passenger railcar equivalents are nonetheless in infancy, stated Joseph Tax, rail automobile specialist with HDR. Railcars require far more power. For supporting infrastructure, “air flow is your greatest pal,” he stated, including that fuel and flame detectors, hearth suppression and sparkproofing are all issues.

Hydrogen leaks in tunnels pose one other threat, as do charging limitations, discharge charges and eventual degradation of gas cells, provides Martin Schroeder, contract supervisor with Jacobs. 

The ZEMU two-car passenger practice is predicted to enter business service someday this yr.