Letter: Rail ridership forecasts are pure folly, Rob Whitfield, DCUG, Fairfax Times, April 6, 2012

Responding to President Barack Obama's call for federal agencies to speed infrastructure development through more efficient environmental reviews, the Federal Transit Administration issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on March 15.

The transit administration news release claims changes proposed will dramatically cut red tape and improve transparency for certain transit projects under the National Environmental Policy Act, and: "will put Americans to Work More Quickly, Revitalize Communities."

The transit administration "anticipates that, for certain transit projects, the streamlined NEPA review process would be five times faster." As an example of transit projects which do not have significant environmental impacts, the transit administration cites "projects to be built within an existing right-of-way where transit or other transportation already exists."

Although the transit administration proposal is well intentioned, the fundamental problems with the Dulles Rail approval process result from the lack of accurate engineering cost estimates and faulty economic and financial forecasts — which are used to justify potential ridership levels and growth in rail service demand. . . .

Click here to read the rest of Rob Whitfield's letter.