Son of a Locomotive Engineer Heads House Railroad Panel
“I became interested in the railroad subcommittee be-cause the railroads are sort of in my blood,” Quinn said. He has an interest in railroading’s fortunes that is spelled out in federal dollars — and could have implications for trucking’s fortunes.
Upgrading the nation’s aging, sagging rail infrastructure without triggering competitive backlash from other modes may well be one of Quinn’s biggest challenges. He is seizing the high ground as Washington renews its interest in the traffic congestion that plagues vast areas of the nation’s road and street network. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta is pointing the spotlight on congestion at every opportunity, and the chairman of the full House Transportation Committee, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), has made fighting congestion his "No. 1 priority"(2-19,p.1).
The hue and cry echo the public and legislative chants of the late 1980s that eventually heralded a shift in policy emphasis at the federal level from laying more asphalt for freeway lanes to enhancing modal choices and the intermodal connection. That shift was captured in the famous ISTEA — the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.
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