SB 28-22: High Speed Rail Act (Debating)

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

AN ACT
To improve transport and connectivity across our nation.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of Atlasia in Congress assembled,

Section I. Title

i. The long title of this bill shall be the "Expansion of High Speed Rail and Mass Transit Act." It may be cited as the "High Speed Rail Act."

Section II. Definitions
i. High speed rail is defined as a railroad capable of supporting trains in excess of 120 mph.

Section III. Construction of High Speed Rail Arteries
i. A high speed railway shall be constructed along the western coast.
     a. The Department of Transportation should negotiate possible connections through Canada and Mexico.
ii. A high speed railway shall be constructed along the eastern coast.


Section IV. Creation of National Rail Authority
i. The National Rail Authority is hereby established under the Department of Transportation and tasked with the responsibility of overseeing construction, rail route development, and consumer-end transit program implementation.
ii. The National Rail Authority shall consist of members appointed by the President of Atlasia.
iii. The layout of the seaboard routes and placement of cross-country rail routes shall be the responsibility of the National Rail Authority.
iv. Congress shall retain the ability to legislate new routes or override the decisions of the National Rail Authority if necessary.

Section V. Appropriations
i. $80 billion shall be appropriated for the construction of new rail and adaptation of old rail for the creation of the seaboard routes.
ii. $250 million shall be appropriated for surveying and planning of cross-country rail routes.
iii. $3 billion shall be appropriated for the construction of connecting routes to off-route cities.
iv. $150 billion shall be released for construction of new rail and adaptation of old rail for the creation of cross country routes pending a finalized route plan from the National Rail Authority.
v. $8 billion shall be released for the construction of connecting routes to off-route cities pending a finalized route plan from the National Rail Authority.

With a final tally of 5-2-0-2, this bill passes.
X SevenEleven

Sponsor: SevenEleven
Status: Debating

[Lumine]

The promised report to Congress, for context:

On the seventeenth year since the founding of the REPUBLIC,
under the Presidency of Ted Bessell and the Vice Presidency of Scott

REPORT / POLICY

High Speed Rail in Atlasia
A report on current regional efforts to build HSR (2021),
Directed to the House of Representatives and the Senate

1.- INTRODUCTION:

With only ACELA and the partly built - amidst great difficulties - California High Speed Rail in any meaningful state of operation/planning in 2016, the development of High Speed Rail in the Republic of Atlasia was fairly limited in comparison to a number of developed countries, with high profile efforts such as the Japanese Shinkansen, the massive expansion of Chinese railways, and the controversial HS2 in the United Kingdom - recently given a major push by Prime Minister Owen Smith - relatively dwarfing the scale of Atlasian efforts post Reset. Although to this date both the Federal Government and the South have declined to pursue HSR legislation - with the only federal attempt vetoed in 2018 -, extensive efforts have been planned, ordered and put in motion in both Lincoln and the Commonwealth of Fremont,   with an ambitious scope behind them.

2.- LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES:

Planning for the first HSR systems in Fremont and Lincoln started between June and September 2017 with the creation of FremontRail and LincolnRail, public companies owned by the regional governments with an initial task of - respectively - two and four main lines respectively, with an initial allocation of 4-5 billion dollars. The main legislative milestones are the following:

• FREMONT - Railway Transport Act (June 2017): The start of HSR development in Fremont, this bill signaled the creation of FremontRail, and allocated 4bn for the construction of a Commonwealth-wide HSR with two main routes: San Francisco-Boulder and Las Vegas-Los Angeles. It allowed for a transregional connection between Santa Fe and El Paso if the South developed a HSR, which has not taken place as of 2021.

-

• LINCOLN - LincolnRail Act (September 2017, repealed): The start of HSR development in Lincoln, this bill created LincolnRail - with an initial 5,000 workers -, and allocated 5bn for the construction of a region wide HSR with four main routes: Portland-Philadelphia, NYC-Chicago, Fort Wayne-NYC, Detroit to Indianapolis. It allowed for a transregional connection between Philadelphia and Annapolis-Baltimore if the South developed a HSR, which has not taken place as of 2021. Bill was repealed and replaced in April 2020.

-

• FREMONT - The Pacific Railway Act (October 2017): The first Fremont expansion of HSR, it allocated 10bn for the construction of three interior lines of FremontRail: Northern Pacific (San Francisco-Seattle), Central Line (Sacramento-Omaha), Transdakotan (Salt Lake City-Minneapolis).

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• LINCOLN - Lincoln Rail Expansion Act (Tabled, March 2018): The first attempt at an expansion of Lincoln Rail, aiming to expand Line Two and create Lines Five and Six. It was estimated by the GM office at the time that the total cost would reach around 3bn, leading to the bill being tabled.

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• FREMONT - Fremont Railway and Pan-Regional Transport Act (May 2018): The second Fremont expansion of HSR, allocating c. 1bn for two new lines: San Diego-LA and an extension of the LA-Las Vegas line to Reno.

-

• ATLASIA - High-Speed Rail Act of 2018 (Vetoed, June 2018): Thus far the main attempt at a nation wide HSR, seeking to establish a High-Speed Rail Commission among other efforts. Citing issues such as profitability, eminent domain and a lack of repairs for existing lines, the bill was vetoed by President Fhtagn.

-

• FREMONT - Pacific Railway Reauthorization Act (March 2019): Acknowledging recent issues cited by a GM story, the Fremont regional government allocated an additional 10bn for the three interior lines ordered in 2018 (Northern Pacific, Central Line, Transdakotan).

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• LINCOLN - The Rail Investment Act (March 2019, repealed): Seeking a diagnosis, a six member commission was ordered to be formed to assess rail conditions in Lincoln, with the task of submitting a report before July 2020. The bill was later repealed in April 2020.

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• FREMONT - Public Transportation Expansions/Connections Act (April 2020): Among other various dispositions surrounding public transportation, the bill allocated 500 million for new local stops in smaller cities. It purported to establish express lines as a firm percentage of rail traffic, but the bill as written only established "TBD %". It also ordered the completion of the Front Range Commuter Rail in Colorado. The original bill - later heavily amended - sought a major expansion of FremontRail, estimated by CG Clyde to cost around $5 trillion.

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• LINCOLN - L. C. 6.21 - Lincoln Roads and Infrastructure Act (April 2020): Part of a major overhaul of Lincoln regional legislation, previous dispositions on LincolnRail were replaced by a new “Lincoln Roads and Infrastructure Act”. This meant the re-establishment of LincolnRail under the Lincoln Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, ordering the construction of four routes: Portland-Philadelphia, New York City to Chicago, Fort Wayne to New York City, Detroit to Indanapolis.

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• LINCOLN - Amendment to L. C. 6.21 (December 2020): The previous omnibus bill was amended to order an expansion of the new LincolnRail, ordering four new routes with mandated stops at several small cities. It does not provide allocated funds for this project.

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• FREMONT - Amendment to PTECA (January 2021): Among other things, it gives priority for a high speed commuter rail from Albuquerque to Las Cruces.

3.- BACKGROUND:

Both LincolnRail and FremontRail have experienced their own share of problems as their development and construction has started, particularly in 2018 and 2019. In Lincoln, a general strike was threatened in September 2018 by the United Transportation Union and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, citing a "persistent failure" of LincolnRail to comply with minimum wage legislation amidst a debate surrounding the effects of separate regional legislation. In Fremont, a number of issues were unveiled on March 2019, revealing cost overruns, issues with building the Transdakotan line across the Rocky Mountains, and problems with state and local governments in terms of planned modifications to existing stations in key cities of the Commonwealth.

4.- CHALLENGES:

In spite of the major advantages offered by HSR in terms of public transportation, a number of experts have questioned the ambitious scope of both FremontRail and LincolnRail, particularly from a point of view of its eventual cost. With the comparative experience in other developed nations suggesting substantial costs for projects already smaller and more focused on urban zones than either Atlasian projects, there are reasons to believe earlier estimates and funding allocated in previous legislation has been insufficient in regards to the actual scope of the challenge, with the resulting problems in planning, development, construction, and the eventual use of the extensive lines.

Although most of LincolnRail and FremontRail's successive funding projects have allocated sums no greater than 10bn, such investments - while seemingly reasonable at the time of planning -, a number of critics noted that actual construction costs would be several times higher. With the two most successful examples of relatively low cost High Speed Rail - Japan and China - requiring anywhere between $10 to 20 million dollars per mile - in Japan due to starting decades ago, in China due to low labor costs -, the ultimate goal of several HSR lines stretching for several hundred miles (1.200 in the shortest possible San Francisco to Boulder route) appears to far outweigh allocated funding even at an Asian-like comparatively low cost, and particularly after both California's difficult experience with its own project - by now being integrated into FremontRail - and registered setbacks such as the logistical challenge of building across the Rocky Mountains.

5.- STATUS:

With preparatory works taking place in 2017-2018, early construction of FremontRail has started on their main lines and taken place during the last two years, resulting in a few dozen miles - mostly connecting close cities with high urban density - being successfully constructed. Some challenges have proven more difficult than others for both regional government agencies, including gaining access to suitable land for construction, modification of local stations (in which Fremont has achieved significant success), increasingly high costs compared to allocated funding, and protests by a number of communities regarding environmental concerns, leading - in the latter case - to careful local planning and subsequent delays to prevent further issues. Whereas LincolnRail had also made similarly limited progress, existing efforts were shifted in 2020 with the restructuring of Lincoln legislation and transport issues.

In general, it is believed FremontRail is faring better in the short term than the newer version of LincolnRail due to having received far more substantial funding, although it is believed the drastically larger distances that are to be covered will eventually result in an exceedingly long period of construction barring new - and drastic - sources of funding and vigorous government action. Conversely, although LincolnRail will possess the long term advantage of shorter distances between cities with higher population, as well as the existence of ACELA, the comparative lack of funding with the Commonwealth and its modification of planned lines have substantially delayed the project and led to only a handful of miles built, with its more recent expansion of lines coming under criticism by members of the agency on account of the lack of funding as the region is yet to approve a budget.

6.- GAMEPLAY CONSIDERATIONS:

Due to the separation of duties surrounding the Game Moderator and the Comptroller General, it is not within the purview of power of this office to assign a specific cost to all the previous legislation - and regardless of who is legally entitled to, it would be a monstrously difficult endeavor -, but it is ruled that the general funding allocated to such projects is insufficient in light of similar international and domestic projects, conversations with the Comptroller General, previous rulings by CG Clyde, and reading on High Speed Rail matters. This, alongside a number of issues detected by consulting existing Atlasian legislation and/or following up on claims during legislative debate have led the Pontifex Maximus to the previous conclusions and subsequent rulings.

[/quote]

[Joseph Cao]

Popping in from the House: we were not able to act on either Lumine's report or the concerns of several members regarding the need for an additional HSR line on the West Coast – among others – for a number of reasons, some of which quite frankly continue to escape me. I'd encourage the Senate, including whichever member sponsors this bill, to take up the matter with all due diligence.

[SevenEleven]

I can sponsor.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I can sponsor.

Senators have 24 hours to object.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Popping in from the House: we were not able to act on either Lumine's report or the concerns of several members regarding the need for an additional HSR line on the West Coast – among others – for a number of reasons, some of which quite frankly continue to escape me. I'd encourage the Senate, including whichever member sponsors this bill, to take up the matter with all due diligence.

Okay, that is quite a statement.

For the rest of the post, that should certainly be the priority naturally.

[Sestak]

Right, so:

First of all, the coastal routes. The west coast route seems to be already fully either under construction/planning in three separate pieces (Fremont's Northern Pacific line, authorized 2017, the original California HSR proposal, and the Fremont LA-San Diego line authorized 2018). I think we're all in agreement that building another line there is not actually our intention. I would be open as designating the three lines together as a federal infrastructure project and providing federal government funding, as well. Yet of course from there there is still a lot to decide - including how much to fund and how much to allocate between the three projects (which, in Fremont law, seem to still be budgetarily separate). It would also be helpful if someone could check if Fremont has ever gone back and manually subsidized the SF-to-LA portion or if it's still in RL status - if it is, then (especially given Lumine's reporting) it should probably be granted the most federal funding, possibly with a requirement for the region to match funding to some level.

For the east coast line, we already have the Northeast Corridor as the only (theoretically) HSR-ready railroad in the country both in-game and IRL. We could, of course, fund improvements and renovations on the Northeast Corridor in an attempt to transition it to carrying "true" HSR full-time (as opposed to current routes who only just barely make the more generous classifications of "high speed"). Yet there are questions here as well. First of all, Lincoln does not seem to have any funding allocated for Acela/NE corridor improvement - should this be done as a solely federal project, or as a combined project requiring funding from Lincoln (and the South in the Southern portion) before it can begin? For what it is worth, I am more open here to just having these improvements be fully federally funded - these are only improvements to an already existing line which has proven to be integral to national transportation infrastructure. In addition, it technically is a trans-regional line and also runs through our nation's capital. Given this coupled with both the disunion in Lincoln's rail system and it's budget problems, I am more comfortable making this a solely federal project.

As for the rest of the east coast south of DC, that's another question. We could make provisions for creating a high-speed ready southeastern corridor adopting the southern portion of Amtrak's Silver Star route (DC-Richmond-Raleigh-Columbia-Savannah-Jacksonville-Miami) or choose some other similar right-of-way and/or have our own built. Once again, the funding is a question. Here I would be much more wary of the project being federal-only, as it lies entirely within the South and, more importantly, requires much more investment as it seeks to create a high speed line where there currently are none. I would prefer a joint funding system where the project would only commence if/when the Southern government agreed to support and fund it.

Finally, I must note that I don't think I support the look into transnational lines at this time. Given the progress of the regions, it seems they are already spreading themselves too thin. I don't want to repeat this mistake at the federal level - best to set out what the key projects are and pump all the federal money into them in order to try and expedite their construction. In addition, the efficacy of a transnational line is not an idea I'm completely sold on in general - any train crossing the Plains is going to quickly become uncompetitive against flying when dealing with transport between larger metros, and building high speed infrastructure in the Rockies would require extremely expensive (and environmentally intrusive) tunneling etc., only to run into the same uncompetitiveness problem. (I had not realized that Fremont was actively constructing Transdakotan and Central lines to high speed rail standards, which I also see as a blunder on their part). Thus, I favor a focus only on pushing federal funding into the coastal railroads, and perhaps one more project set up somewhere else with numerous large metro areas lined up, should Congress so choose.

I am, of course, persuadable on all of these things. But that's where my thoughts stand at this very moment.

[OBD]

Falterin will be administering this thread in the future but probably good to recognize SevenEleven as sponsor of this bill.

[Blair]

This is a bill where I hope we can really make sure we understand fully & take a good amount of time debating and working on.

Especially as the version by the House is partly based on incorrect info.

I'm just flagging this up so on my part people don't think I'm ignoring it & will hopefully have more to say shortly

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

This is a bill where I hope we can really make sure we understand fully & take a good amount of time debating and working on.

Especially as the version by the House is partly based on incorrect info.

I'm just flagging this up so on my part people don't think I'm ignoring it & will hopefully have more to say shortly

At minimum those issues with incorrect info need to be addressed. This was one on my list for Tuesday to focus on but it ended up getting pushed back when things ran long.

[SevenEleven]

I'll be writing an amendment but it'll take some time, if that's okay. Feel free to provide input for me to consider in the meantime.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I'll be writing an amendment but it'll take some time, if that's okay. Feel free to provide input for me to consider in the meantime.

Whats the status on this?

[SevenEleven]

I'll be writing an amendment but it'll take some time, if that's okay. Feel free to provide input for me to consider in the meantime.

Whats the status on this?

It'll take a bit. I've been overwhelmed this week.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I'll be writing an amendment but it'll take some time, if that's okay. Feel free to provide input for me to consider in the meantime.

Whats the status on this?

It'll take a bit. I've been overwhelmed this week.

Understandable just keep us posted on developments.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Anything we could do to assist perhaps?

[Blair]

I'll be looking at offering an amendment on this tonight (which won't address the actual route of the line but will deal with some issues around the construction, job creation and procurement)

[Blair]

Offering this amendment; I believe that any large construction project like this its an important time to ensure that public money is reflecting our values- I always get frustrated when politicians talk & criticise a large corporation for a major scandal but then proceed to give the same company or ones committing similar sins huge slices of public funds.

The amendment offered has both a carrot & a stick to protect workers & companies based in Atlasia.

AN ACT
To improve transport and connectivity across our nation.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of Atlasia in Congress assembled,

Section I. Title

i. The long title of this bill shall be the "Expansion of High Speed Rail and Mass Transit Act." It may be cited as the "High Speed Rail Act."

Section II. Definitions
i. High speed rail is defined as a railroad capable of supporting trains in excess of 120 mph.

Section III. Construction of High Speed Rail Arteries
i. A high speed railway shall be constructed along the western coast.
     a. The Department of Transportation should negotiate possible connections through Canada and Mexico.
ii. A high speed railway shall be constructed along the eastern coast.


Section IV. Creation of National Rail Authority
i. The National Rail Authority is hereby established under the Department of Transportation and tasked with the responsibility of overseeing construction, rail route development, and consumer-end transit program implementation.
ii. The National Rail Authority shall consist of members appointed by the President of Atlasia.
iii. The layout of the seaboard routes and placement of cross-country rail routes shall be the responsibility of the National Rail Authority.
iv. Congress shall retain the ability to legislate new routes or override the decisions of the National Rail Authority if necessary.

Section V (Fair Labour, Fair Work)

1.) No company that has undertaken the activity of blacklisting workers who belong to a trade union shall be eligible for any public contracts resulting from this legislation or paid through federal funds.

2.) In the procurement of any public works relating to this bill a preference shall be given for products and raw materials made within Atlasia.

Section VI. Appropriations
i. $80 billion shall be appropriated for the construction of new rail and adaptation of old rail for the creation of the seaboard routes.
ii. $250 million shall be appropriated for surveying and planning of cross-country rail routes.
iii. $3 billion shall be appropriated for the construction of connecting routes to off-route cities.
iv. $150 billion shall be released for construction of new rail and adaptation of old rail for the creation of cross country routes pending a finalized route plan from the National Rail Authority.
v. $8 billion shall be released for the construction of connecting routes to off-route cities pending a finalized route plan from the National Rail Authority.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

AN ACT
To improve transport and connectivity across our nation.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of Atlasia in Congress assembled,

Section I. Title

i. The long title of this bill shall be the "Expansion of High Speed Rail and Mass Transit Act." It may be cited as the "High Speed Rail Act."

Section II. Definitions
i. High speed rail is defined as a railroad capable of supporting trains in excess of 120 mph.

Section III. Construction of High Speed Rail Arteries
i. A high speed railway shall be constructed along the western coast.
     a. The Department of Transportation should negotiate possible connections through Canada and Mexico.
ii. A high speed railway shall be constructed along the eastern coast.


Section IV. Creation of National Rail Authority
i. The National Rail Authority is hereby established under the Department of Transportation and tasked with the responsibility of overseeing construction, rail route development, and consumer-end transit program implementation.
ii. The National Rail Authority shall consist of members appointed by the President of Atlasia.
iii. The layout of the seaboard routes and placement of cross-country rail routes shall be the responsibility of the National Rail Authority.
iv. Congress shall retain the ability to legislate new routes or override the decisions of the National Rail Authority if necessary.

Section V (Fair Labour, Fair Work)

1.) No company that has undertaken the activity of blacklisting workers who belong to a trade union shall be eligible for any public contracts resulting from this legislation or paid through federal funds.

2.) In the procurement of any public works relating to this bill a preference shall be given for products and raw materials made within Atlasia.

Section VI. Appropriations
i. $80 billion shall be appropriated for the construction of new rail and adaptation of old rail for the creation of the seaboard routes.
ii. $250 million shall be appropriated for surveying and planning of cross-country rail routes.
iii. $3 billion shall be appropriated for the construction of connecting routes to off-route cities.
iv. $150 billion shall be released for construction of new rail and adaptation of old rail for the creation of cross country routes pending a finalized route plan from the National Rail Authority.
v. $8 billion shall be released for the construction of connecting routes to off-route cities pending a finalized route plan from the National Rail Authority.

Sponsor Feedback: Awaiting Feedback
Status: Sponsor PMed

[SevenEleven]

The amendment is friendly.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Senators have 24 hrs to object.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The amendment is adopted.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

What is next here?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So Final Vote?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Senators have 24 hours to object to a final vote.


Let's try this.

[Sestak]

What?