President Biden signed the historic Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law on Nov. 15. Now that IIJA is law, what exactly is in it for passenger rail?

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission’s potential expansion under a new federal long-term regional rail plan dominated discussion at the 2021 Annual Meeting held Oct. 13-15 in Detroit.

A Midwestern passenger rail network centered on Chicago, building on current state-supported services, that connects metropolises from the Twin Cities and Kansas City to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Nashville with multiple daily round trips. That vision, known as the Midwest Regional Rail Plan, was unveiled Oct. 13 at Chicago Union Station by the the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission and the Federal Railroad Administration.

In a July 23 letter to Midwestern members of Congress, the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission (MIPRC) endorsed the planned $66 billion allocation to rail in the bipartisan infrastructure framework and reaffirmed its strong support for passenger rail policies in both the House (H.R. 3684) and Senate (S. 2016) reauthorization bills, but asked federal lawmakers to include reforming the 13-year-old law requiring states to pay for Amtrak services on routes that 750 miles or shorter.

As Congress debates and votes on the House’s and Senate’s versions of surface transportation reauthorization, and their inevitable melding in a conference committee, MIPRC has created a side-by-side comparison for reference. The chart shows funding and program authorizations in the INVEST in America Act (H.R. 3684) and the Surface Transportation Reinvestment Act of 2021 (S.2016), and their provisions compared to what MIPRC has asked of Congress in its Surface Transportation Reauthorization principles.

A transformative investment in passenger rail took the first step toward becoming law this week in Congress when the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee's transportation re-authorization bill was considered in committee. The INVEST (Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation) in America Act, introduced on June 4 by Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair Peter DeFazio, was marked up by the full Committee on June 9 and passed, by a 38-26  vote, in the early hours of June 10.

As Amtrak proposes to reconfigure the national network, it’s also time to reconfigure the cost-share for these new corridor services. The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission has been working to preserve and improve our nation’s and region’s passenger rail system for 20 years. Based on our extensive knowledge of and history working with both Amtrak and our state DOTS, MIPRC is offering a proposal for a wide-ranging re-envisioning of Amtrak to ensure the development of the strong, national passenger rail system our country needs.

MIPRC is asking Midwestern members of Congress to support the $80 billion passenger rail investment in the proposed American Jobs Plan and strengthen several aspects of federal passenger rail policy and funding when re-authorizing the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, which expires in September. In a May 14 letter emailed to members and their transportation legislative aides, MIPRC also stated its support for Amtrak’s proposed $5.4 billion grant request  for federal fiscal year 2022.

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission is seeking regional planning funding and a major revision of the federal law that dictates when states must cover the tab for passenger rail in the latest version of its principles and positions for renewing the FAST (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation) Act.

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission is asking the Biden administration to give “equal consideration” to states’ passenger rail plans and Amtrak’s as it refines the details of how its proposed $2.7 trillion American Jobs Plan will spend about $80 billion on passenger rail.

UPDATE: The current version of the U.S. House THUD COVID-relief legislation (S. Con Res 5), contains $1.5 billion for Amtrak, specifically $820,388,160 for the Northeast Corridor and $679,611,840 for the National Network.

MIPRC is asking Midwestern members of Congress to support $1.54 billion in additional FY 2021 funding for Amtrak as part of their pending COVID-19 relief legislation to restore daily service on the national passenger railroad's long-distance train routes.

As Congress closes in on a deal for new COVID-19 relief legislation and FY 2021 appropriations, MIPRC is asking Midwestern members to ensure Amtrak gets enough funding between relief and 2021 appropriations to restore daily long-distance service and provide crucial funding for state-supported Amtrak services.

Commissioners, partners and allies of the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission met via Zoom on Nov. 10-11 for MIPRC’s 2020 Annual Meeting, to assess regional developments since 2019 and plan for 2021.

MIPRC asked Midwestern members of Congress to support the provisions and authorizations for passenger rail development contained in the TRAIN Act (Division D--Rail) of the House of Representatives’ proposed new five-year surface transportation authorization bill, HR 2, the “Moving Forward Act,” and to support a few important additions. (The bill was approved in the House on July 1 by a 233-188 vote).

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission supports the on-time performance standards in the Federal Railroad Administration’s proposed new rule Metrics and Minimum Standards for Intercity Passenger Rail Service. In formal comments filed June 1, MIPRC lauded the rule, jointly developed by FRA and Amtrak, agreeing with its main components while offering several suggestions on how particular aspects of the rule can be strengthened.

MIPRC Chair Bob Guy offered brief testimony in support of the Federal Railroad Administration’s proposed notice of proposed rulemaking on Metrics and Minimum Standards for Intercity Passenger Rail Service during the agency’s April 30 telephonic public hearing.

The efforts of MIPRC  and other passenger rail advocates to support Amtrak’s request for $1 billion in emergency funding  for this fiscal year – including money to offset state losses – paid off late last month when Congress passed, and President Trump signed, the latest COVID-19 relief/stimulus bill.

MIPRC today sent a letter to Midwestern members of Congress in support of Amtrak’s request for $1 billion in emergency funding  for this fiscal year – including $200 million to offset state losses – and include it in the latest COVID-19 relief/stimulus bill currently being negotiated.

One key to successful passenger rail service is reliable schedules giving travelers a certain – or near-certain – expectation that trains arrive at or leave the station when the timetable says they will.