High speed passenger rail: viability, challenges and federal role

HIGH SPEED PASSENGER RAIL: VIABILITY, CHALLENGES AND FEDERAL ROLE; CONTENTS; PREFACE; TESTIMONY OF SUSAN A. FLEMING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES, COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; End Notes; FUTURE DEVELOPMENT WILL DEPEND ON ADDRESSING FINANCIAL AND OTHER CHALLENGES AND ESTABLISHING A CLEAR FEDERAL ROLE; WHY GAO DID THIS STUDY; WHAT GAO RECOMMENDS; WHAT GAO FOUND; ABBREVIATIONS; RESULTS IN BRIEF; BACKGROUND.

ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF HIGH SPEED RAIL IS AFFECTED BY MANY CORRIDOR AND SERVICE CHARACTERISTICS, BUT UNCERTAINTIES ABOUT RIDERSHIP AND OTHER ESTIMATES MAKE VIABILITY DETERMINATIONS DIFFICULTNumerous Corridor and Service Characteristics, and Trade-offs between Service and Costs, Influence a Project's Economic Viability; Uncertainty Regarding Forecasts of Riders and Costs, and How Public Benefits Are Quantified and Valued Make Determinations of a Specific Project's Economic Viability Difficult; Uncertainty and Inaccuracy in Forecasts of Riders and Costs.

Lack of Consistency or Standards, and Difficulty in Valuing Public Benefits Relative to Modal AlternativesHIGH UP-FRONT COSTS ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGE TO HIGH SPEED RAIL DEVELOPMENT, AND CHALLENGES; ALSO EXIST IN SUSTAINING SUPPORT AND BUILDING CONSENSUS; Substantial Up-front Investment Requirements Far Exceed Limited Available Public Funding; Attracting Private Capital Is Also a Challenge, Particularly When the Public Sector Does Not Assume Substantial Financial Risk.

Sustaining Public and Political Support over Lengthy Development Process and Reaching Multistakeholder Consensus Will Also Be ChallengesFEDERAL LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN LIMITED, BUT FOLLOWING REEXAMINATION PRINCIPLES CAN ENSURE THAT THE FEDERAL ROLE IS FOCUSED ON YIELDING MAXIMUM BENEFITS; Federal Leadership Has Been Limited, but Recent Legislation Provides for a Potentially Greater Federal Role; Following Reexamination Principles Can Help Ensure the Federal Role Is Effective and Efficient and Focused on Yielding Maximum Benefits.

Identify Areas of Federal Interest, Create Well-Defined Goals, and Establish and Define the Federal RoleIncorporate Performance and Accountability for Results; Employ the Best Analytical Tools and Approaches to Emphasize Return on Investment; Ensure Fiscal Sustainability; CONCLUSIONS; RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXECUTIVE ACTION; AGENCY COMMENTS AND OUR EVALUATION; APPENDIX I. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY; Structured Interviews with Domestic Project Sponsors; International Case Studies; Case Studies of Terminated Projects; Additional Methodologies.