Partnerships for Corridors and High Speed Service

Stephen Gardner

Vice President, Policy and Development

Amtrak

1

37% 45% 56% 50% 50% 51% 55% 56% 63%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Fiscal Year/Quarter

Trip

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and

Tra

in

Air

Rail

The first slide of a new era!

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

Jan-02 Jan-03 Jan-04 Jan-05 Jan-06 Jan-07 Jan-08

Month

Mon

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Rid

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050100150200250300350400450

Ret

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Passenger Travel and Energy Use

35122650

3261

0500

1000150020002500300035004000

Auto Amtrak Air

Mode of travel

BTUs

per

Pas

seng

er M

ile

Source: DOE 2008 Transportation Energy Data Book

New York-DC Air-Rail Share

Hiawatha service

• 2008 was an amazing year for Amtrak

– Record ridership and revenue

– An unmistakable demonstration of our relevance in the age of congestion and rising fuel prices

• Widespread public acknowledgment that improved intercity passenger rail service can help address many major national challenges:

– Congested airports and highways

– Rising fuel costs and energy independence

– Climate change and environmental concerns

This is our moment – and we know what we need to do

2

New rail policy framework

The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA)

–Clear vision for Amtrak and intercity passenger rail within

the national transportation scheme

–Establishes a new partnership between Federal

government, states, Amtrak, and the freight railroads:

States strategically plan rail service

US DOT integrates this state planning into a national system

Amtrak helps design and operate services, often over freight

railroad hosts

3

ARRA – high-speed rail and intercity rail investment

• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds the PRIIA vision

Requires enduring state commitment - operating and capital funding

Demands results

Acknowledges different stages of development and recognizes infrastructure and state budget limitations

• Amtrak has many roles

– Grant recipient/partnerCan lead or partner with states for fundingCan help bridge multiple state projects

– Service planner

– Liaison between other partners

– Service provider (an umbrella term that covers a lot of responsibilities)

4

What Amtrak brings to the table

1. Expertise, knowledge, and

capacity– Leaders in planning and forecasting

– Unparalleled employee base

– Expert train, infrastructure, and rolling stock operations, engineering, and maintenance

– Unmatched commitment to safety

– Marketing capacity

– Existing labor agreements

– Honest broker between States, commuters,

freight hosts

Wilmington shops

Los Angeles UPT

5

What Amtrak brings to the table… continued

2. Network of interconnected and complementary routes in 46 states– 310 daily trains

– Served 515 stations in 2008

3. Statutory access to host railroads and agreements withall major carriers

4. Existing liability protection for state-supported services

5. National maintenance and operations

infrastructure– Repair and overhaul facilities

– Reservation and ticketing system

– Stations and terminals

– Fleet

The Amtrak System

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Successful collaborations – a glance at some results

• Pacific Northwest– Partnership with Amtrak, WA and OR,International and 2 freight railroads,

BNSF and UPRR

– 7Th most heavily traveled corridor,14.4% ridership increase in FY08 (774,421) highest ridership since inception of state supported service in 1994.

• California – More than 60 daily corridor trains on three routes, Up from 8 trains in 1974

– These corridor services generate almost a fifth of Amtrak’s annual ridership

• Michigan– Amtrak’s ITCS train control system has allowed maximum speeds on

Michigan Line to reach 95 mph

– Acceleration to 110 mph planned

7

Positioning Amtrak for new and stronger partnerships

• State partnerships are Amtrak’s future

–We have new leadership and partnerships are the priority

–CEO Joe Boardman is reaching out directly to states and freights to form new partnership

–Policy & Development and Government Affairs Departments will be your contacts

Western

Don Saunders (AVP,State and CommuterPartnerships West)

Jonathan Hutchison(Dir, Gov’t Affairs - West)

Central

Mike Franke (AVP,State and CommuterPartnerships Central)

Derrick James (Sr. Ofcr, Gov’t Affairs - Midwest)Todd Stennis (Dir, Gov’t

Affairs - South)

Eastern

Drew Galloway (AVP,State and CommuterPartnerships East)

Ray Lang (Sr. Dir, Gov’t Affairs - Northeast)

Todd Stennis (Dir, Gov’tAffairs - Southeast)

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Our process for the ARRA HSR program

• Amtrak’s objective is to be the operator of the national high speed rail network

• Ongoing ARRA outreach and project development effort

–Outreach Letters

–Identifying key projects within Amtrak system

• Amtrak is looking to partner with states on projects that:

–Meet ARRA requirements and criteria

–Are mutually beneficial

–Provide new growth opportunities

–Have a high likelihood of success (operating funding, agreements in place, long-term commitments, executable)

9

A looming challenge - equipment

• Insufficient current coach and locomotive fleet and supplier base to support new services

• Amtrak is:

– Investing $92 million of $1.3 billion in ARRA Amtrak funds into our existing fleet to bring stored rolling stock back to service

– Leading the PRIIA-required “Next Generation Corridor Train Equipment Pool” Committee

– Considering the need to procure an “interim fleet” derived from available designs in the next 2-3 years that will provide much-needed rolling stock

– Beginning planning with the FRA and states for a new generation of compliant high-speed equipment that can operate in corridors across the system

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Summary

• Amtrak is the nation’s intercity passenger rail operator. We are dedicated to partnering with you to develop and improve the national system

• PRRIA and ARRA create tremendous opportunities, but pose real challenges – there’s a lot on the table and it will take unprecedented cooperation and effort to seize it

• We want to be an essential part of your intercity rail development plans and stand ready to work together with all parties to ensure success

Failure is not an option!