Acela trains in Northeast. Photo courtesy W. Hill via RailPictures.net.

House Resolution 6003 is a bill before Congress that, if approved, would:

• Completely fund Amtrak for the next five years.
• Solicit a request for proposals to improve high-speed rail in the Northeast Corridor to more European standards, with the specific goal of reducing travel time between New York and Washington to less than two hours on an express train.
• Instruct the Department of Transportation to identify potential new routes for both basic Amtrak service and high-speed service, including a specific study of high-speed rail in the Southeast Corridor from Washington to Charlotte.
• Appropriate $60 million for a new tunnel alignment in Baltimore, to be approved by 2013.
• Authorize a grant to add a third track and make other improvements to the rail line between Washington and Richmond, improving the prospects of adding VRE service on the Fredericksburg line.
• Instruct the Federal Railroad Administration to study the extent to which biofuels can be used for freight and passenger rail.
• Provide a framework to fund intercity rail plans drawn up by individual states.
• Conduct a study comparing rail service in the United States to rail service abroad, identifying deficiencies in domestic service.

All good stuff. Exactly the type of bill that should be before Congress, unlike ridiculous gas tax holidays. On May 22 the bill was approved by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and is now before the House Rules Committee for consideration for floor time in the full chamber.

Locally the bill has solid support from Washington’s Eleanor Holmes Norton and Maryland’s Elijah Cummings, two of its 41 co-sponsors, and from Maryland’s Steny Hoyer, the House Majority Leader, who says passage of the bill before the August recess will be a priority. As far as BeyondDC is aware, other important locals have yet to weigh in.

Since Congress now has before it a tangible bill that could actually do some good, now would be an excellent time to write in and encourage support for such good behavior. If your Congressperson isn’t one of the three listed above (and hey, even if it is), BeyondDC encourages you to contact them and express support for an excellent bill.