H0385R1952A05370 BIL:BTW 01/22/18 #90 A05370
AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 385
Sponsor: REPRESENTATIVE HEFFLEY
Printer's No. 1952
Amend Resolution, page 1, line 2, by inserting after
"providing"
at least
Amend Resolution, page 1, by inserting between lines 8 and 9
WHEREAS, Passenger trains, both intercity and commuter, have
traveled this corridor continuously since February 1854 when the
Horseshoe Curve was completed; and
WHEREAS, In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the
Pennsylvanian, despite the five and one-half hour travel times,
covered all of its short-term operating costs, and one year
during that period achieved a 131% revenue-to-expense ratio; and
Amend Resolution, page 3, by inserting between lines 15 and
16
WHEREAS, Section 5 of the Capital Budget Debt Authorization
and Project Itemization Act of 2000-2001 (Act 27 of 2000),
itemization of transportation assistance projects, added three
line items to increase capacity for freight and passenger trains
by adding a third track, including, but not limited to,
engineering, track construction, realignment, grading, drainage,
communications and signal and all other associated costs, in
three district segments; and
WHEREAS, The segments itemized include Pittsburgh to Altoona
Mainline, with an authorization of $117,000,000; Altoona to
Harrisburg Mainline, with an authorization of $132,000,000; and
Ohio line to Pittsburgh Mainline, with an authorization of
$70,000,000; and
WHEREAS, The amounts itemized are available in full or part
to increase capacity on the Norfolk Southern mainline; and
Amend Resolution, page 3, by inserting between lines 25 and
26
WHEREAS, Passengers now traveling west by Amtrak to
Pittsburgh generally must spend two nights in Pittsburgh before
returning to their originating city because there is no
2018/90BIL/HR0385A05370 - 1 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
eastbound afternoon train departure from Pittsburgh; and
Amend Resolution, page 3, line 30, by striking out all of
said line and inserting
and
WHEREAS, Across America, states and authorities supporting
urban and intercity passenger rail operations have increasingly
deployed competition to attract the best service at the lowest
cost with the goal of high performance passenger rail
operations; and
WHEREAS, States and public authorities, including California,
Connecticut and New Mexico, have designed modern, transparent
expedited procurement practices and added service across
existing urban and state-supported intercity routes through a
competitive process; and
WHEREAS, The fully private Brightline Intercity Rail
Passenger Service was launched in Florida in January of 2018;
and
WHEREAS, It is desirable that the Commonwealth adopt an open
and expedited procurement process in order to maximize
competition and private service involvement; and
WHEREAS, It is generally conceded by transportation experts
that in travel markets where there is an increase in the
frequency of service, there is a geometrical increase in the
demand for that service; and
WHEREAS, Providing a safe and reliable transportation
infrastructure is a core function of government; therefore be it
Amend Resolution, page 4, line 3, by inserting after
"providing"
at least
Amend Resolution, page 4, line 13, by striking out the period
after "2016" and inserting
, as well as a review and summary of competitive
practices in other jurisdictions, including California's high
speed rail, Connecticut's new service over the Hartford route
and New Mexico's streamlined procurement process.
Amend Resolution, page 4, line 15, by striking out "and"
where it occurs the first time and inserting a comma
Amend Resolution, page 4, line 15, by inserting after
"Amtrak"
and alternative passenger rail operators and service
providers
2018/90BIL/HR0385A05370 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
Amend Resolution, page 4, line 19, by inserting after
"Amtrak"
, the host railroad and alternative service providers
Amend Resolution, page 4, line 23, by striking out the period
after "operations" and inserting
and locomotive power and rolling stock needed for
proposed alternative operations, including the ideal length
of operational contracts so as to permit financing through
public-private partnerships.
Amend Resolution, page 4, lines 28 and 29, by striking out
the semicolon in line 28 and all of line 29 and inserting
and the feasibility of introducing an option for Altoona
local service as a part of the expanded passenger rail
package.
(6) An evaluation of the options for maximizing public-
private partnerships and introducing competition into
passenger rail service with a goal of creating a high
performance and high speed interconnected urban and intercity
network.
(7) In pursuit of the goal under paragraph (6), a
recommendation for a transparent, expedited approval process
for improving passenger rail service within the existing P3
law, 74 Pa.C.S. Ch. 91, and recommendations for statutory
revisions of Pennsylvania law that will permit service to be
replaced, expanded or added in a timely fashion. In pursuit
of this goal, a designated study group may be established to
solicit estimates and provisional shadow proposals from
Amtrak and qualified alternative operators, which may be
invited to make confidential oral presentations. A
provisional shadow proposal may recommend a plan to add
service or replace current service with an upgraded package.
Each shadow proposal should be made available in advance of
the presentation to the host freight railroad through a
nondisclosure agreement, and the host railroad should be
invited to comment by the study group and may inform the
study group as to the preferred proposal from the perspective
of the freight railroad. After consultation with the
Department of Transportation, host railroad, rail labor and
other key stakeholders, the study group may recommend a
preferred alternative;
and be it further
Amend Resolution, page 5, line 3, by striking out "nine" and
inserting
2018/90BIL/HR0385A05370 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
six
Amend Resolution, page 5, line 5, by striking out "one year"
and inserting
nine months
2018/90BIL/HR0385A05370 - 4 -
1
2
3
4