Source Notes 11

High-Speed Rail Proposals Sought by Federal Government (Civil Engineering, 02/2009)

Summary:

Civil Engineering magazine reports that on December 16, 2008 in Washington D.C. the Federal Rail Administration wrote an article in the Federal Register to request research into 11 possible high-speed rail corridors.  The FRA’s request signals that passenger rail programs are becoming a more important issue in national politics.

Topic:

High-Speed Rail Policy

Category:

Academic Research

What is it?

a scientific periodical article

Publication Information:

The name of the publication is Civil Engineering.  The article was published in February 2009 in the United States.

Author:

Jay Landers

Location:

Civil Engineering

Accessed:

February 10, 2009

Support:

FRA, Federal Railroad Administration

Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act

Mark Yachmetz, FRA’s Associate Administrator for Railroad Development

Federal Register notice, the article in the Federal Register by the FRA

Paul Dean, director of government relations for the American Public Transportation Association

The Federal Rail Administration is the government organization that makes the initial request for research into new projects that follow guidelines set out by the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008.  That act specifies guidelines for how safe and efficient new high-speed rail projects must be.  Mark Yachmetz says that all the corridors have rail transportation, but not on the scale that the federal government is requesting.  The Federal Register notice specifies the criteria that rail project proposals need to meet before an official review by rail experts.  Paul Dean says funding is going to be the main problem in any of the proposed projects.

Audience and Agenda:

Ulrich’s Periodical Directory gives Civil Engineering an unspecified readership of 101,210.  Professional civil engineers and enthusiasts probably constitute the main readers of Civil Engineering.  They use it to keep up on current projects and other engineering developments.  They expect scholarly reviewed articles about developments in the engineering world.

The article publication and thus the article is funded by the American Society of Civil Engineers.  The society is funded by its members and publication sales.  They are seeking an audience that is well-informed on engineering issues.  They are trying to advertise the federal government’s increased interest in developing the United State’s infrastructure.  The executive board of the publication authorized the creation of the article.

Usefulness:

The document was created with the permission of the periodical’s executive board to advertise new possible engineering projects.  There is no reason a professional engineering magazine wouldn’t support new possible engineering project.

It is trying to address professionals in the engineering industry.  Those same professionals will be advising politicians and staffing departments of the federal government.

It is making the argument that rail is becoming a more important mode of transportation.  The FRA has designated the same high-speed rail corridors two time before, but this time might be different.  High-speed rail has become much more popular since the nineties and 2001.

It leaves out information about the federal government trying to establish high-speed rail corridors in the 1990′s, and in 2001.  It also leaves out any information about the limitations of the efficiency of rail.  This source is trying to romanticize high-speed rail, but it still includes another major instance of federal support for high-speed rail.

Focusing on all high-speed corridors, this source relates to Source Notes 17.  Being published in a professional magazine, this source relates to Source Notes 12, Source Notes 14, and Source Notes 15.

Works Cited:

No Author Listed. “American Society of Civil Engineers.”  Wikipedia.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_of_Civil_Engineers#Finances

No Author Listed. “Ulrich’s Periodical Directory.”  http://ulrichsweb.com/ulrichsweb/

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Filed under: Academic Research, American Society of Civil Engineers, Federal Rail Administration, Federal Register, Mark Yachmetz, Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, Paul Dean