The Infrastructure Bill in Congress to provide tax credits for short lines to help them afford to upgrade to 286K cars. This bill will provide $10,000/mile/year of tax credits to the short lines for a five year period. So a 50 mile long short line could get as much as $2.5Million in transferrable tax credits to spend towards repairing infrastructure (track, bridges, tunnels, etc).
Keep your favorite line around. Write your congressman in support of H.R. 876. Over 150 Congressmen/women already have cosponsored. If 219 will, the bill can pass without a vote…
A little bit of extra info. The Bill has now been filed in the U.S. Senate as S. 1703. It is officially called the Local Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2003.
Man talk about the red tape you go through to contact Sen Dewine and Voinovich wow![:0] although it is congress I shouldn’t be surprised[;)]
stay safe
Joe
Just got the update. So far 152 Congressmen and 6 Senators are on board. We need 45 more senators and 57 Congressmen to get it to George’s desk. The Senate Bill was just filed a few weeks ago so more will likely sign up there pretty fast…
Got the latest update on the H.R. 876/S. 1703. House co-sponsors are now up to 160 Congressmen. All of New Jersey’s Congressmen are now co-sponsors thanks to a big effort by the NJ Shortline Assn.
Thanks to all who have voiced their support here and/or contacted their Congressman. Co-sponsors are continuing to be solicited. Your help is still needed.
Congress is looking at SAFETEA (T-21) legislation and expects to address it in late January or Early February according to Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert (R-Ill), in a speech to a Republican function at the Fort Orange Club last night in Albany, New York.