Amtrak reveals US rail expansion goals after Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure bill

Hours after US President Joe Biden unveiled his $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, national railway operator Amtrak announced its hopes for expansion and social media users revelled in the details.

Mr Biden on Wednesday announced the details of his infrastructure plan to strengthen the US economy after the fallout from the pandemic.

As part of the plan, $80 billion will be allocated for Amtrak and freight rail.

Amtrak is a commercial company that operates most passenger rail services in the US, but it relies on state and federal subsidies and funds.

Mr Biden is a fan of the railway and often rode the train from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, to Washington when he was a senator.

He has been nicknamed "Amtrak Joe".

"The American Jobs Plan will build new rail corridors and transit lines, easing congestion, cutting pollution, slashing commute times and opening up investment in communities that can be connected to the cities, and cities to the outskirts, where a lot of jobs are these days," he said in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Congress still needs to approve the plan and it is unclear how it will be received.

Amtrak chief executive Bill Flynn is aware of that pivotal step towards additional funding and support from the federal government.

“President Biden’s infrastructure plan is what this nation has been waiting for," Mr Flynn said.

"Amtrak must rebuild and improve the North-East Corridor and our national network and expand our service to more of America."

The North-East Corridor, which serves the metropolitan areas of Boston, New York and Washington DC, is easily the busiest part of the national rail system.

But it is in need of tunnel and rail upgrades, because some sections are more than a century old.

Amtrak is also looking to expand. It released the "Amtrak Connects US" plan that describes its vision for the future if it receives federal support.

The company says funding could help to add more than 30 routes, expand services to more than 20 lines and reach another 160 communities across the US.

Amtrak's vision for expansion by 2035 also discusses the expansion of routes and services in cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The plan suggests there should be greater service between Texas cities like Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Austin, many of which rank among the largest US cities.

The company also said supporting Amtrak would help the US to fend off climate change.

Social media users voiced their support.

But Amtrak's plan and Mr Biden's funding proposal did not go without some criticism.

Twitter users made comparisons with rail systems in Asia and the EU, where travellers had quicker, more reliable service.

The company has often expressed interest in expanding its system but faced federal funding cuts and a lack of Republican support.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

UAE tour of the Netherlands

UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match