To: Federal Rail Administration
From: Climate Revolution Action Network (CRAN)
RE: Federal Passenger Rail Expansion
Americans have been begging for railroad expansion, and this is the chance for the Federal Rail Administration to do the right thing. We need reliable high-speed railways that prioritize network connectivity and do not put freight service above riders.
Good public transportation is integrated with other local transit services in physical location, operational coordination, and quality customer experience. A successful system needs to support travel from anywhere to anywhere in the network, not just to specific locations such as major city central business districts.
Network planning — rather than isolated corridor or operator-led planning — is needed to bring together service, operations, and infrastructure planning to deliver a coherent rail network.
Climate Revolution Action Network (CRAN) supports continued efforts to expand rail but encourages FRA to plan reliability into their networks. Passengers being able to take a train is great, but passengers being confident about routes, timing, pricing, and safety is critical. If we want more transportation users to travel on rail, we have to do it right the first time.