Passenger-rail projects, including in Washington, get financial boost

RICHMOND, Va. — The federal government is chipping in nearly $30 million for 15 passenger rail projects across the country as Americans continue to drive less and take the train more, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said Tuesday.

The projects are aimed at boosting intercity rail capacity and on-time performance. Those benefiting are two projects each in Vermont, Wisconsin and Illinois; and one each in Arizona, California, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Washington state.

She also released new data showing that Americans, coping with high gasoline prices, drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in July 2008 than July 2007 — a 3.6 percent decline. July also marked the ninth consecutive monthly decrease in vehicle miles traveled, Peters said.

Meanwhile, transit ridership is up 11 percent and Amtrak carried more passengers in July than in any month in its history, she said.

Peters said the decrease in driving means government must rely less on shrinking gasoline tax revenues to pay for transportation projects, including public transit.

"Federal transportation policies that rely almost exclusively on gas taxes are failing our state and local governments," she said.

So for the first time, federal matching funds are being made available for state and local projects. Previously, all federal rail funds have gone directly to Amtrak.

The Washington project that was awarded $6 million in funding is an engineering/environmental review and right-of-way acquisition for a 1.2-mile segment of the Point Defiance Bypass track from Tacoma to Nisqually. A new inland rail track would allow Amtrak Cascades passenger trains (which are run and funded by Washington and Oregon in partnership with Amtrak) to bypass a section of track that has curves and tunnels near Point Defiance and is heavily used by freight trains, slowing the passenger trains between Seattle and Portland. Sound Transit would also use the new route to extend commuter rail service to Lakewood.

Kristin Jackson of Seattle Times Travel contributed to this report.