[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 30, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8361-S8362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself, Ms. Snowe and Mr. Leahy):
  S. 1087. A bill to provide for the modernization of port and rail 
access in northern New England, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.


   the older industrial region rail/port access and modernization act

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I rise today with Senator Snowe to 
introduce legislation to aid the growth of commerce throughout New 
England. The Older Industrial Region Rail and Port Access and 
Modernization Act aims to improve northern New England's aging rail 
infrastructure and ocean ports to speed delivery of goods and people 
throughout the region.
  New England was built by the railroads. But in our modern economy, 
highways have captured a majority of the commerce, supplanting rail. As 
we reach the end of this century, our region has begun to recognize the 
importance of railroads, and their vital role in our expanding economy. 
Efficient highways run north to south in northern New England, but we 
have no east to west roads sufficient to handle growing trade and 
commerce. As Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine work together to compete 
in this global economy, our success is dependent on our mutual efforts 
to improve access to markets. We will succeed only if modern freight 
railroads can serve the entire region and through our ports bring goods 
to market across the Nation and around the world.
  Rail lines throughout northern New England have been neglected for 
many years. Crumbling rail beds and constricted passage has limited the 
movement of freight and passenger trains and restricted rail access to 
deep water ports. Older bridges, deteriorated tracks, inadequate 
tunnels all contribute to a rail system that fails to fulfill the needs 
of the three-State area. As a result, commerce throughout the region 
suffers.
  A recent report by Cambridge Systematics, entitled ``New England 
Transportation Initiative,'' indicates that northern New England's 
economy cannot fully expand without a carefully planned and implemented 
intermodal strategy. The study predicts that Maine's ports will 
gradually lose business to southern ports, primarily in New Jersey and 
New York, because of inadequate rail transportation and port access. In 
addition, the study predicts that business and jobs in New Hampshire 
and Vermont will not keep pace with other regions without a better 
strategy to efficiently move goods and people.
  An exhaustive analysis by the Eastern Border Transportation Coalition 
regarding the trade and traffic flows across the eastern United States-
Canada border projected a trade increase of close to 200 percent by the 
year 2015. The report also outlines that this increase could be 
hampered by a lack of adequate transportation options and overcrowded 
roads and highway border stations. To avoid this setback, rail options 
must be available. Without proper infrastructure development, New 
England's chance to take advantage of such economic growth will 
diminish.
  The legislation we introduce today will authorize Federal spending to 
rehabilitate rail beds in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, enabling 
them to improve their freight rail traffic and better handle the 
movement of goods and people with their borders. States will be able to 
apply separately to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation for individual 
grants. Grant funding is provided for a variety of categories: Port 
development and access; bridge and tunnel obstruction repair and 
replacement; repair of railroad beds; and development of intermodal 
facilities, including intermodal truck-train transfer facilities. 
Revitalization of these resources will allow freight and passenger 
trains to move freely throughout the region, reconnecting railroad 
towns long separated by the hazards of unpassable tracks.

  The bill also establishes a loan assistant program. Railroad 
companies in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire will be able to access 
low interest loans to improve their rail lines in the region. The loans 
can be used for purchase of rolling stock, development of maintenance 
facilities, and many other capital improvements.
  Without this legislation, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine may fail 
to benefit from future growth opportunities. Even though international 
shipping trade is expected to increase by 20 percent in the next 5 
years, New England is less likely to benefit from the influx of 
business and jobs because of its decaying rail and port infrastructure. 
Improving rail lines will bring new life to our region, strengthening 
our industries and thereby our economies.
  Mr. President, I would urge action on this legislation, because, as 
we are learning, ports and railroads are the life lines that will help 
to ensure the well-being of all of northern New England.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague and good 
friend, Senator Jeffords of Vermont, to introduce the Older Industrial 
Region Rail/Port Access and Modernization Act.
  There is an old Yankee saying ``you can't get there from here''. If 
we do not take steps to upgrade our aging transportation infrastructure 
in order to allow us to be a vigorous competitor for the movement of 
goods, that saying may become a sad reality. That is why the bill we 
introduce today is so important to northern New England's future, 
because its purpose is to revitalize our aging rail infrastructure. As 
much as rail is a part of our Nation's history, it is also the pathway 
to a bright economic future.
  The bill, which covers Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, will 
provide funding for improving and modernizing our freight rail system--
removing obstacles like low bridges that constrict the use of double-
stack trains, and intermodal facilities construction and maintenance. 
It would also provide funding to assist Maine's ports in updating and 
modernizing their facilities

[[Page S8362]]

and rail transport access. This upgrading is particularly important as 
studies have shown that Maine's ports are losing business to southern 
ports because of inadequate rail transport and access.
  Under the bill, an 80/20 Federal/State share grant program would be 
created. The States could use this money for first, connecting all 
railroads to ports; second, removing, repairing or replacing bridges or 
other obstructions that inhibit the use of double-stack rail cars; 
third, repairing, upgrading and purchasing railbeds and tracks and 
fourth, constructing, operating and maintaining intermodal truck-train 
transfer facilities and train maintenance facilities.
  Intermodalism is the future, as we have seen from the success of 
ISTEA. I have seen it at the intermodal facility in my hometown of 
Auburn, ME. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater visited the 
facility earlier this year with me and other members of the Maine 
delegation. After the visit, he told me that Auburn was a model 
facility that he would use in his travels as an example of how well the 
concept works when done correctly. Our bill will provide States with 
the flexibility to encourage new facilities and to upgrade current 
ones. It will provide our businesses with better, faster, more cost 
effective access to out of State markets and it will increase the 
viability of our three ports--Portland, Eastport, and Mack Point--by 
making them more attractive options for shipping and receiving goods.
  More important is the basic fact that a modern transportation system 
is vital to any economic development. Our bill will allow the northern 
New England States to upgrade their aging infrastructure to ensure that 
we do not allow future economic development and growth to slip away 
because we cannot meet the transportation needs of business and 
industry in the coming years.
                                 ______