PITTSBURGH Will fund shortage derail maglev plan?

The other finalist for the federal funding is the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A futuristic, high-speed train that uses powerful magnets to move at speeds upward of 240 mph still has strong support among officials in western Pennsylvania and Harrisburg.
But what will be decided in the next few months is whether that support counts for much of anything in difficult economic times.
Early next year, Congress will take up reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act, a piece of legislation that authorizes funding for everything from highway construction to railroads. It also includes $950 million earmarked for the construction of a magnetic levitation train, or maglev.
Only two finalists -- Pittsburgh and the Baltimore-Washington area -- remain for the maglev funding. The U.S. Department of Transportation will be in a position to choose the site by late winter or early spring, said Warren Flatau, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration.
Doubts
Maryland officials are already expressing doubts as to whether they can afford the $475 million in matching state funds it would require to get the project going there. Even if state government finds the money, they say, it would require millions of dollars more from private investors.
Those doubts in Maryland might seem a godsend to supporters in western Pennsylvania. But they're facing the same problems -- specifically, questions about where the money would come from even if the federal government reauthorizes its share of the funding.
"The decision to fund this project was made under the Clinton administration. The Bush administration has not canceled the project, but they've never given a clear indication about whether they're prepared to fund it," said Jim Roddey, Allegheny County chief executive. "We also have to be realistic. The county and the city don't have any money to put up right now, and it will be difficult for the state to come up with a half-billion dollars."
Gov.-elect Ed Rendell remains committed to the project despite the financing problems, said his spokesman, Ken Snyder.
"There is no question that we have a fiscal crunch in Pennsylvania and all decisions have to be made in that context," Snyder said. "But the governor-elect believes the cure for what ails us is to expand economic growth and revenue, which would require investment."
Transportation officials in Harrisburg said that by the time the project moved past the planning stage, the economy could be on the rebound.
Regardless, the state will still need federal backing on the project.
Changing priorities
Transportation experts say the $950 million in federal funds were approved long before the effects of the current economic slump were widely felt and eight months before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, altered financial priorities at both state and national levels.
"The Bush administration has not been supportive of high-speed rail or alternative transportation and they've kind of been boxed in with Amtrak's troubles," said Jeremy Plant, a professor of public policy and administration at Penn State University. "Maglev doesn't fit into that. The suspicion is that funding may be held back."
Pennsylvania, however, does have one advantage in Republican U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, a supporter of the project who sits on the Senate Transportation Appropriations subcommittee.
"Maglev has been a longtime priority of the senator and will continue to be so," Specter spokesman Bill Reynolds said.
State Sen. Jack Wagner, D-Allegheny, said that if federal money is there, the state will find a way to fund the project.
"This is a very unique opportunity and Sen. Specter has been fighting for this all along," Wagner said. "If the federal money is available, the state component of the money would also be there."