WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, on Thursday discussed improving the resilience and reliability of the Northeast Corridor and incentivizing green infrastructure projects with Deputy Secretary of Transportation Polly Trottenberg and the Government Accountability Office’s Acting Director of Physical Infrastructure Elizabeth Repko at the U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) and Related Agencies hearing on protecting our nation’s transportation systems. 

“We've got a 10 year old train station in Branford, Connecticut that has a sign posted outside of it ‘parking area prone to flooding,’ and there are lots of days where you can't get into that parking lot. You can't access the trains because it's underwater, and there's been exhaustive studies about the vulnerability of the entire line given that so much of it rests, especially in Connecticut, right along the water,” said Murphy.

In a question to Trottenberg on improving the Northeast Corridor, Murphy said: “I think we've got a once in a lifetime chance to be able to adapt the rail line for climate but also to be able to improve the experience of riders, and I'm going to support as big an appropriation as possible, but I think it'd be a lot easier to get bipartisan support and taxpayer buy-in with respect to the rail investments if we find some mechanisms to get state buy-in.” Murphy continued, “How do we make sure that that Amtrak money, which is going to be spent in part on resiliency, leverages state buy-in and doesn't just replace state expenditures or state partnerships with Amtrak to improve the reliability of the line?”

On the importance of incentivizing green infrastructure projects, Murphy said: “Vice President Harris and I had a piece of legislation called the Living Shorelines Act, which would try to incentivize both state, local, and federal funding into these kind of projects, and my sense is that we're really good at building gray infrastructure, hard infrastructure, because green infrastructure like reefs or dunes just don't have as much engineering experience behind them...but they provide enormous benefits because they're helping to protect shorelines, but they're also doing a pretty good job at enhancing ecosystems and protecting habitats.”

Last month, Murphy asked U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Department of Commerce Gina Raimondo about the Biden administration's plans to invest in the repair and modernization of America’s rail infrastructure at a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee hearing. In March, Murphy applauded the inclusion of rail funding in the American Jobs Plan. Murphy also led a letter urging the Biden administration to support $55 billion in long-term funding for passenger rail infrastructure in order to repair the Northeast Corridor rail network.

Murphy wrote to President Biden calling for investments in living shoreline coastal resiliency projects to help coastal communities combat climate change and rebuild the economy.

You can read Murphy’s full exchange with Trottenberg and Repko below: 

MURPHY: “Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Appreciate the hearing. I actually want to pick up where Senator Braun left off because I have a similar concern you had, I think a dialogue earlier with Senator Coons, about the Northeast rail corridor, which is perpetually at flood risk.

“We've got a 10 year old train station in Branford, Connecticut that has a sign posted outside of it ‘parking area prone to flooding,’ and there are lots of days where you can't get into that parking lot. You can't access the trains because it's underwater, and there's been exhaustive studies about the vulnerability of the entire line given that so much of it rests, especially in Connecticut, right along the water.

“But to Senator Braun’s point, I want to make sure that when it comes to what may be a historic investment in the Northeast Corridor, that we ask states to do their fair share. Listen, I think we've got a once in a lifetime chance to be able to adapt the rail line for climate but also to be able to improve the experience of riders, and I'm going to support as big an appropriation as possible, but I think it'd be a lot easier to get bipartisan support and taxpayer buy-in with respect to the rail investments if we find some mechanisms to get state buy-in. 

“And this is a little different than transit, obviously the Jobs Plan has a transit component to it but then it has a specific Amtrak component to it and just by virtue of the fact that the busiest stretch of Amtrak is in the Northeast, much of that funding will find its way to our area. 

“So, I'll ask this question in the frame of resiliency because much of the money for Amtrak will be used to build resiliency, and maybe it's the same answer as you had for Senator Braun, but how do we make sure that that Amtrak money, which is going to be spent in part on resiliency, leverages state buy-in and doesn't just replace state expenditures or state partnerships with Amtrak to improve the reliability of the line?”

TROTTENBERG: “Very important question and I do just want to make clear, I think, excuse me, the proposal for rail funding, although certainly a good portion of it would go for the Northeast Corridor, it is certainly envisioned that we would be making rail investments all over the country. Just want to be clear on that point.

“A good example that I know you're very familiar with Senator, what we're doing on the Hudson River Tunnel, which is so important for the whole Northeast Corridor line and certainly, you know, calling on both New York State and New Jersey to be, you know, financial participants and real partners at the table and that is clearly a model.

“And as you know in recent years, Amtrak and the states have worked out, you know, a more thoughtful set of cost sharing relationships, so I think there's some good templates in place there. You know, we should be force multipliers, federal dollars and state dollars as well.”

MURPHY: “Great. Second question, I'll direct this to you Director Repko, would love the Secretary's input as well. On the topic of what is referred to as green infrastructure, the idea that you can use dunes, wetlands and oyster reefs to protect shorelines from flooding.

“Now Vice President Harris and I had a piece of legislation called the Living Shorelines Act, which would try to incentivize both state, local, and federal funding into these kind of projects, and my sense is that we're really good at building gray infrastructure, hard infrastructure, because green infrastructure like reefs or dunes, you know, just don't have as much engineering experience behind them. 

“That it's a little bit harder to imagine because you don't have as many folks who have done them. But they provide enormous benefits because they're helping to protect shorelines, but they're also doing a pretty good job at enhancing ecosystems and protecting habitats. 

“So I don't know if any of your sort of work has revolved around this issue of how you incentivize green infrastructure and certainly would love the Secretary's input on whether the Department has thought about how to promote those kinds of projects.”

REPKO: “Thank you for the question, Senator. One of the examples that we do cite is more of a green infrastructure project that's happening in Delaware. I think that really the federal government has certain levers that they can pull as it relates to disaster resilience, and some of that relates to information, which I think is very important, having a set of climate information that's consistent, that folks across the state and local government can use to make their projections and also having design standards.

“Those are two open recommendations that we have because at the federal government again, we don't build as much. We give a lot of this to states. We have to give them a road map that helps them get to a place that's easier. Folks have been doing other infrastructure projects that didn't have resilience in it for years, they do have experience with that. We need to make it easier for them to make this shift." 

MURPHY: “I'm over my time, Mr. Chairman, but those design standards are something that I think would be really important to think about, especially for these projects that happen with less frequency but have pretty tremendous upsides. Thank you.”

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