High-speed rail corridors: US looking for private interest

Date February 07, 2009
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Mass transit systems are not widely extended in the US, or better to say, they are but they don't have good quality. Japan, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, South Korea, and Taiwan have developed incredibly speedy train networks and redefined mobility in their respective nations.John Mica (R-FL), Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City (I), and former Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters announced that they would be soliciting bids from private and public groups for the development of high-speed rail corridors.So far, more than 80 companies and state departments of transportation have responded to the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) request for expressions of interest to develop high-speed rail corridors."This overwhelming response is remarkable given the current state of the economy," said House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republican Leader John MicaUSDOT officials have identified 11 corridors throughout the country. Each corridor has been authorized for US$5m in preliminary engineering studies.The corridors are:- The Northeast Corridor;- The California Corridor;- The Empire Corridor (in New York);- The Pacific Northwest Corridor;- The South Central Corridor (Texas-Oklahoma-Arkansas);- The Gulf Coast Corridor;- The Chicago Hub Network;- The Florida Corridor;- The Keystone Corridor (Pennsylvania);- The Northern New England Corridor; and- The Southeast Corridor.The call for EOIs was launched last December and final proposals must be submitted by September.. All corridors are expected to be pursued on a DBFMO structure (develop, finance, construct, operate and maintain high-speed rail service in 11 federally designated corridors). Interested parties include:Groups that submitted basic informationGovernmental Agencies
  • New York State DOT
  • MTA Metro-North Railroad
  • North Carolina DOT
  • Florida DOT
  • Georgia/South Carolina/North Carolina DOTs
  • Texas High-Speed Rail
  • Baltimore Development Corporation
  • Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District
  • Missouri DOT
  • Florida High-Speed Rail Authority
  • Connecticut DOT
  • Oxford Area Transit Services
  • Ohio Rail Development Commission
  • Michigan DOT
Existing Operators
  • Stagecoach/Virgin Group (some U.K. rail)
  • DB (German rail)
  • RENFE (Spanish rail)
  • Peter Pan (U.S. Bus Operations)
  • Systra (controlled by France's SNCF rail)
  • FirstGroup America
Train ManufacturersOther Corporations or Individuals, including Engineering Groups and Architects
  • Roesling Nakamura Terada
  • VBN
  • Dahlin Group
  • Parsons Brinckerhoff
  • Wilbur Smith
  • Steer Davies Gleave
  • Stantec Consulting
  • HDR
  • Skanska
  • Bouygues Travaux Publics
  • ARUP
  • Railway Service Corporation
  • HNTB Corporation
  • Firetall Energy Systems
  • AECOM Transportation
  • Ansaldo STS
  • Prointec
  • Maglev, Inc.
  • Global Rail Consortium
  • RIM Services
  • J&J International
  • John Gilmer
  • Gateway Planning Group
  • Edward Cho
  • Balfour Beatty
  • PassPort Railroad
  • Maria Pose Aller
  • Moffatt & Nichol
  • Gannett Fleming
  • Kevin John Scott
  • Quandel
  • Consultrans
  • Robert H. Terry
  • Cintra
  • Hatch Mott MacDonald
  • Macquarie Capital
  • Triangle Railroad Company
  • AZTEC Engineering
It should be pointed out that the fact that an organization submits its name for consideration at this stage does not necessarily mean that it will continue through with the process by September.In November, the FRA plans to establish commissions staffed with governors and mayors, and representatives from rail labor, Amtrak, freight railroads and transit agencies to review and rank the proposals. The commissions then will report their findings to Congress, beginning with the Washington, D.C.-to-New York City corridor. Once House and Senate committees have held hearings on the D.C.-to-New York corridor, the FRA can submit reports for other corridors to Congress.We will see how things develop but it seems that we are going to hear a lot about this. There are so many corporations, administrations and people interested in these projects that it makes it very complicated. I don't really understand how such a complex idea is not divided in several parts. 11 corridors are many corridors and much money will be involved.I want to point out that Obama's package money is looking for projects and each institution tries to make noise in order to get it.

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