R COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS JACK BROOKS, Texas, Chairman L. H. FOUNTAIN, North Carolina WILLIAM S. MOORHEAD, Pennsylvania JOHN CONYERS, JR., Michigan LEO J. RYAN, California RICHARDSON PREYER, North Carolina DAVID W. EVANS, Indiana ANTHONY MOFFETT, Connecticut LES ASPIN, Wisconsin HENRY A. WAXMAN, California JACK HIGHTOWER, Texas JOHN W. JENRETTE, JR., South Carolina FLOYD J. FITHIAN, Indiana MICHAEL T. BLOUIN, Iowa PETER H. KOSTMAYER, Pennsylvania TED WEISS, New York FRANK HORTON, New York PAUL N. MCCLOSKEY, JR., California ROBERT W. KASTEN, JR., Wisconsin ROBERT S. WALKER, Pennsylvania CONTENTS Caywood, James A., director, Northeast corridor improvement project, De Leuw, Cather/Parsons & Associates; accompanied by Richard P. Howell, deputy project director for engineering; Joseph Volpe, senior vice president; Ralph M. Parsons Co.; and Charles Lutman, deputy project director for management, De Leuw, Cather/Parsons & Associates. Reistrup, Paul H., former president, National Railroad Passenger Corpora- Sawyer, Kenneth T., former project director, Federal Railroad Administra- Sullivan, John M., Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration; ac- Letters, statements, et cetera, submitted for the record by- 141 230 Copies of letters to FRA regarding FRA/Amtrak contract and lack of 80-123 .......... 37 Material relative to the hearings Number of subcontractors currently under contract by DCP The evolution of the implementation master plan, table Gedney, David, Associate Director, Northeast corridor improvement proj- 262-264 Hennessey, William C., commissioner, New York State Department of 351-353 Priorities submitted to DOT that should be worked on Sullivan, John M., Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration: (III) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT PROJECT THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 1978 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES AND OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:04 a.m., in room 2247, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. John L. Burton (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives John L. Burton, David W. Evans, Andrew Maguire, Robert S. Walker, and Arlan Stangeland. Also present: Benjamin L. Palumbo, staff director; Miles Q. Romney, counsel; George E. Gudauskas, professional staff member; Bruce R. Butterworth, professional staff member; Elizabeth L. Wasserman, clerk; Cecelia Morton, clerk; and Rachel Halterman, minority professional staff, Committee on Government Operations. Mr. BURTON. The Subcommittee on Government Activities and Transportation will come to order. Today's hearing will look into the Northeast corridor improvement project. Thank you for being here. We are here to examine reports that the Northeast corridor improvement project is on the verge of becoming another example of Government-raised expectations being sabotaged by Government mismanagement. We have heard disturbing reports of confusion, duplication, endless delay, and still more study-all at multimillion dollar cost to the taxpayers. We have learned that a project conceived 15 years ago, analyzed in years past in great detail, passed into law in early 1976, and enjoying widespread public support, cannot meet its goal, its deadline, or its budget. This subcommittee, charged as it is with a mandate to assure that the Department of Transportation performs economically and efficiently, is here to find out why these problems exist. As you know, the Department of Transportation is responsible for the Northeast corridor improvement project. The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act, the so-called 4-R Act, set aside almost $2 billion to get the job done. A chief goal was a construction program designed to reduce the trip times between here and New York and New York and Boston by 1981. Initial inquiries undertaken by this subcommittee to date raise serious questions about the possibility of these goals being achieved. In fact, we have found that the goal of rebuilding the corridor so the trip times can be met by 1981 has been virtually (1) |