URBAN RAIL KEEPS GROWING DESPITE FUNDING HIATUS

This article shows how a real decline in federal funding for urban rail transport in the USA has been compensated by increasing state and local support. The author expects to see both sources of funds increase during the 1990s, bringing a rapid expansion of rail services throughout the USA. Light rail, heavy metros, and commuter systems have had an unparallelled decade of rebuildilng and growth, and their outlook for the rest of the 1990s is usually surprisingly optimistic. Since 1980, 11 entirely new US rail transit systems have opened, while older systems have continued to expand and be modernised. During the 1980s, urban rail ridership increased by nearly 20%. By 2000, 18 more rail systems are likely to have opened in US cities, while existing systems continue to expand. The Surface Transit Assistance Act of 1991 will substantially increase federal support for transit project funding over a period of five years. Federal transit funding was $3.3 billion in fiscal 1991 and will be $3.8 billion in fiscal 1992. During the 1980s, when federal support remained static, a growing state and local commitment allowed significant progress in rail development. Some localities have made even larger financial commitments during the early 1990s. Commuter rail has become the fastest growing sector of US rail transit. By 2000, the number of US rail transit operations may be more than double the number in service as recently as 1980.