NJ transit and the Northeast Corridor commuter lines, from Boston to Washington D.C., may well be at the mercy of a single sentence
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in the legislation that would control all 456 miles of railroad from Amtrak and privatize it.
The legislation, proposed by U.S. Reps John Mica and Bud Schuster, to take control of the corridor and award a contract based on the highest bid, will still maintain the commuter rail services at the current level. But look closer and you will find that privatization of the corridor may give rise to future problems. What if a private operator of the corridor decides to increase the rates for NJ transit and other commuter lines to pass through their railroad? How will the commuter lines be protected then? The proposal in its current form does not have sufficient details to protect commuter lines.
David Peter Alan, the Lackawanna Commuter Coalition president, says that in the absence of proper framework to regulate the price of local operation, fares could substantially increase if NJ transit or other commuter lines get held up for higher fees and trackage rates, which a private NEC operator could very well insist upon.
The corridor is the spine of NJ transit. If a private operator hikes user fees, it may become impossible for NJ transit to operate. The legislation mentions only that the current commuter rail services on NEC will continue to be operated at present levels, there are no details on how long or if the terms of the agreement that NJ transit has with Amtrak will stay in effect.
Those in charge of public transportation have concerns and valid ones at that. A lot remains unsaid in the bill. Two of the concerns raised by William Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association, are about how the privatization plan will affect the existing and new commuter services, and also that an advisory commission for the bill must include representatives of commuter rail operations.
The legislation does not talk about who will mediate over disputes that may arise over upgrades to the corridor or usual operations. It also does not mention a process for increasing commuter services.
There are possible protections that NJ transit could use, such as shared NEC management between New York and Morrisville Pa, between the NEC owner and NJ transit. But it is unlikely that the federal government may grant these protections.
If the legislation is passed, it will set up a Northeast Corridor Executive Committee. This committee will oversee the federally owned rail line and consist of the following members:
• Secretary of Transportation
• One member from Northeast Corridor States
• Two members appointed by Congress
• One member with expertise in public-private partnerships
The executive committee will have the power to decide the capital improvements that will be done on the NEC with the following priorities in descending order:
• Safety
• Projects that benefit the largest number of riders
• Work that improves reliability
• Projects that cut travel time
• Lower operating costs
The bill also suggests that projects be undertaken to inconvenience only the smallest number of passengers.
Current compensation for access provision will be maintained for the freight and commuter rail services, according to the bill. Compensation disagreements will be handled by the Surface Transportation Board. Involvement of another transportation agency, such as the Surface Transportation Board, is necessary to keep trackage fees at reasonable rates for public interest.
Alan says that he would like to see the Federal Railroad Administration and the APTA involve themselves more in the privatization bill debate. The FRA’s perspective would be very valuable because they know exactly what is going on in the railroad industry.
