Council on Foreign Relations. March 7, 2012.
Rail is an essential component of a balanced national transportation system and a globally competitive economy. The American Society of Civil Engineers, which graded U.S. rail infrastructure with a C-, notes that the rail industry requires $200 billion in investment by 2035 to meet projected future demand. In the United States, modern freight and passenger rail systems share the same corridors and infrastructure. But while privately owned U.S. freight has succeeded in remaining competitive with other transportation modes, federally run passenger rail has struggled. Experts say the continued success of freight rail will require billions in new funding to avoid congestion, particularly if plans for expanding passenger rail proceed. [Note: contains copyrighted material].
http://www.cfr.org/united-states/us-rail-infrastructure/p27585 [HTML format].
The White House. March 12, 2012.
One year ago, the President put forward a comprehensive plan in the Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future that outlined the Administration’s all-of-the-above approach to American energy – a strategy aimed at reducing reliance on foreign oil, saving families and businesses money at the pump, and positioning the United States as the global leader in clean energy. This new progress report showcases the Administration’s historic achievements in each of these areas. The accomplishments in this report, which represent the efforts of six Federal agencies, underscore the Administration’s commitment over the past three years to promoting an all-hands-on-deck, all-of-the-above approach to American energy and building a more secure energy future.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/email-files/the_blueprint_for_a_secure_energy_future_oneyear_progress_report.pdf [PDF format, 20 pages].
Congressional Budget Office. January 2012.
The U.S. has a network of over 4 million miles of public roads. That system has faced increasing demands over time. Almost all of those infrastructure projects were undertaken using a traditional approach in which a state or local government assumes most of the responsibility for carrying out a project and bears most of its risks, such as the possibility of cost overruns, delays in the construction schedule, and, in the case of toll roads, shortfalls in the road’s revenues. Some observers assert that an alternative approach, using a public-private partnership, could increase the money available for highway projects and complete the work more quickly or at a lower cost than is possible through the traditional method. Specifically, such a partnership could secure financing for a project through private sources that might require more accountability and could assign greater responsibility to private firms for carrying out the work.
https://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/126xx/doc12647/01-09-PublicPrivatePartnerships.pdf [PDF format, 44 pages].
