Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta took his “Amtrak Reform Road Show” west of the Rocky Mountains for the first time this week. Mineta came to the Bay Area on Wednesday and Thursday to promote the Bush Administration’s Amtrak reform plan, which he intends to introduce to Congress early next week.
On Wednesday, Mineta rode a special CalTrain “Baby Bullet” train from Milbrae to the CalTrain terminal in San Francisco. Mineta’s appearance was initially reported to promote the federal investment that made the modernization of the San Jose-San Francisco commuter operation possible. However, the event quickly turned to be Amtrak-focused when one reporter told Mineta that Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) had called for Mineta’s resignation at an event held earlier that same day.
“I do wish Norm would consider resigning,” she said. “I don’t understand why someone who has been an advocate for transportation for so many years can do this.” When a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle told Mineta about these comments, he responded, “She should resign, she hasn’t taken up the reform legislation.”
The official statement from DOT for this event stated, in part, “‘If anyone doubts that the President’s and my intercity passenger rail reform plan can work, they should take a closer look at the Baby Bullet service,’ Mineta said after riding the train from Millbrae, CA to San Francisco. ‘Our Amtrak reform plan will give local officials nationwide the ability to follow the Caltrain model to breathe new life into passenger rail travel.’”
Mineta and his staffers moved onto Sacramento on Thursday for another press event. Instead of holding the event at Sacramento’s Amtrak station, the event was held in the press room of the State Capitol building. Members of the public were not permitted in the room. Mineta’s comments followed very closely along the lines of comments made at his other events. Criticism of Amtrak’s on time performance continued, this time targeting Amtrak’s San Joaquin service. The San Joaquins’ on time performance has suffered primarily due to a levee break and washout of the railroad trackbed last June between Stockton and Martinez. On going repairs to this piece of railroad has required extensive single-tracking, two subsequent shutdowns of service which resulted in intense freight train congestion. Such assertions continue Administration patterns of blaming Amtrak for problems that it has no control over.
NARP again thanks all the rail advocates who turned out to spread the truth about Amtrak and passenger rail. Special thanks to NARP board member Jim Salvador and Train Riders Association of California Executive Director Alan Miller for coordinating pro-Amtrak efforts at Thursday’s event, including distribution of a joint NARP-TRAC news release.
A letter from NARP President George L. Chilson to Secretary Mineta was released to the media on Wednesday. The letter focuses on what NARP sees as the shortcomings of the Administration’s proposal. “For these and other reasons, we are gravely concerned that in its zeal to achieve ‘Amtrak reform,’ the Administration has rushed to embrace a plan that is not grounded in reality, ignores critical issues, addresses the wrong problems and proposes “solutions” that, if implemented, would lead not to the improvement but to the demise of all intercity passenger train service in the United States. The letter can be read on our website.
The consequences of a zero-budget request are beginning to affect Amtrak. This week, Standard & Poor’s lowered Amtrak’s debt rating outlook from stable to negative. Reuters reported that, “A negative outlook indicates that S&P is more likely to cut the company’s debt ratings over the next 24 months. Debt ratings cuts can raise a company’s borrowing costs. S&P rates Amtrak’s corporate credit at ‘BBB,’ or two steps above junk status.
The new commuter rail operation between Belen and Bernalillo through Albuquerque, NM will be called the “Rail Runner.” The name and paint scheme, arguable one of the most interesting in North America, were unveiled last week by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. The service is still on target to begin by the end of the year.
One of the largest passenger rail line hubs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was announced last Friday by Congressman Kenny Marchant (R-TX) during a news conference in Carrollton, TX. Just under $10 million in federal funding under the proposed TEA-21 renewal (TEA-LU), will go toward the development of what is to be the first suburban transit hub in the region. The center will be a hub for trains to downtown Dallas, Denton to the north, DFW International Airport and Fort Worth to the west and suburbs to the east of the Metroplex. The hub will be an interchange point for light rail, commuter rail and bus services.
Amtrak is a travel option for many Greyhound passengers affected by recent cutbacks. A news released issued on Thursday is similar to one issued after last year’s Greyhound cutbacks. The release is viewable on Amtrak’s website.
A clarification on last week’s news item about the new three day advance purchase requirement for membership discounts: it is actually a three day advance reservation requirement, not purchasing requirement. Reservations must be made 72 hours prior to train departure. Normal hold limit policies and/or ticketing for un-staffed stations still apply, as do refund policies for late trains.
Northeast Corridor Regional service will become all-reserved, seven days a week, effective Monday, April 25. Weekend Regional service has been all-reserved since last November and has been very effective in reducing standee conditions onboard trains. “The positive customer feedback we’ve received from our weekend passengers since November made the decision to implement the all-reserved status seven-days-a-week a natural next step,” said Amtrak Vice President of Marketing, Barbara Richardson. NARP applauds efforts to increase passenger comforts, but has expressed its concern to Amtrak that potential passengers will be turned away and that lines at ticket windows in the Northeast Corridor will be lengthy.
This is the week that Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta promised to unveil the Administration’s new Amtrak bill. A draft of such a bill indeed floated around Washington this week, but as of this morning you couldn’t find it on the home page of either DOT or the Federal Railroad Administration, and we are not aware of any formal “unveiling”. So long as the document remains unofficial, we’ll simply say that it is roughly the same as the Administration’s 2003 bill.
“Bush’s Amtrak budget hurts Miss.” was the headline over the (Jackson) Clarion-Ledger’s publication of a letter from the mayors of 11 Mississippi cities with Amtrak service. They said nearly 100,000 people boarded or alighted in Mississippi last year, then continued: “Having Amtrak service in our towns [also] is a source of civic pride and is a key part of our economic development. Virtually every town served by Amtrak in Mississippi is…renovating or has already completed renovations to its train station. Some of these projects cost the city in excess of $20 million with the train station serving as an anchor to a larger downtown development project…[Thus] we are urging members of the Mississippi congressional delegation to oppose pushing Amtrak into bankruptcy by ending its subsidy and request that they work to secure federal funding to preserve and expand Amtrak service in Mississippi.”
New York DOT Commissioner Joseph Boardman, the Bush Administration’s nominee for Federal Railroad Administrator, will be among the prospective nominees to testify at a hearing of the full Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday, April 12, at 10:00 a.m. The last administrator, Allan Rutter, left office in June, 2004. Amtrak Board Members Enrique Sosa and Floyd Hall originally were scheduled to be witnesses Tuesday as well, but they were removed from the agenda. They were Presidential recess appointments and still need Senate confirmation in order to serve beyond this calendar year.
A House Appropriations subcommittee will hold a major Amtrak hearing April 27. This used to be an annual ritual, until then-Chairman Ernest Istook put a stop to it. The new subcommittee chairman, Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI, Royal Oak), recognizes the importance of the issue, although he has not generally been supportive of Amtrak. He clearly is more respectful of his colleagues and their concerns than was Istook. Reps. John Sweeney (R-NY) and John Olver (D-MA) strongly supported Amtrak in their March 18 questioning of Secretary Mineta.
The Washington Nationals, the former Montreal Expos major league baseball team which has moved to the nation’s capital, debuted this week. The team’s website has a release that begins, “Monday started enthusiastically for the Nationals. The players didn’t just talk about playing the first game in Nationals history. They bragged about taking the train to Philadelphia after the Nationals played an exhibition game against the Mets in Washington, D.C. Some of the players had never taken Amtrak in their lives until Sunday night and are willing to ride the train again instead of flying in a plane. ‘It seemed quick. When you have a short train ride, you can’t complain,’ said infielder Jamey Carroll...Reliever Joey Eischen said he wished the Nationals would travel by train all the time. Eischen usually needs sleeping pills to knock him out during plane rides.”
Amtrak suffered two derailments this week.
The Portland section of the westbound Empire Builder derailed Sunday morning around 9:30 AM while going around a curve west of Home Valley at 60 mph. “All four cars left the tracks and slammed into an embankment, where they rested on a sharp angle…[of the 115 people on board] most were uninjured although 30 passengers sought medical attention, with 14 being taken to area hospitals…Inspectors appeared to be focusing on problems with the tracks as the most likely cause for the mishap.”
On April 5, the Oregonian reported: “Railroad crews and track inspectors reported multiple problems with a curved stretch of track in southern Washington just days before [Sunday’s Amtrak derailment]. Cy Gura, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, cited four reports of track abnormalities and said 18 concrete ties had worn down on the track, causing the Amtrak locomotive and its cars to jump off the rails near Home Valley, Wash…”
Also that day (April 3), at about 6:20 PM, Amtrak’s westbound Empire Corridor Train 287 east of Rochester, NY. The cars remained in-line and upright, and there were no reported injuries to the 109 passengers and crew.
New Jersey Transit suspended six engineers and is giving special safety training to all the others after six trains ran stop signals between November 3 and March 22, New York City’s WINS Radio reported on April 6. Four of the six incidents involved trains leaving or approaching New York’s Penn Station. The other violations were at Secaucus Junction, also on Amtrak’s mainline.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration said it expects the price of unleaded regular to hit a peak national average of $2.35 a gallon in May (vs. $2.22 last week) and to average $2.28 April-September. According to today’s New York Times in an article headlined “U.S. Report Sees Gasoline Prices Moving Higher Still,” “analysts said consumer concern about what it costs to fill up at the pump was also pulling down the percentage of people who think the country is on the right track.”
The Department of Homeland Security announced transit security grant allocations which were approved as part of the fiscal 2005 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. Transit will receive $130 million ($108 million rail, $22 million bus) of the $150 million earmarked for non-aviation transportation security projects. Ferries will also receive $5 million from a separate account. Full details can be read on the Department of Justice website.
Amtrak removed all Acela Express trainsets from service today. Routine inspections have revealed hairline cracks in parts of the disc brake mechanism. All Acela Express service is cancelled through Wednesday and future service will be dictated by the speed of repairs. Much more will be known after engineers have a chance to further study the problem this weekend. To partially compensate for the loss of Acela service, Amtrak is adding cars to Regional service and running some extra trains.
An Amtrak authorization hearing is set for Thursday, April 21, at 9:30 A.M., before the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine, of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The hearing, under Chairman Trent Lott (R-MS) will be webcast on the Subcommittee’s website.
The Amtrak Board has been working on a plan for the company which is expected to be unveiled in advance of that hearing.
House Transportation & Infrastructure Chairman Don Young (R-AK), Ranking Member James Oberstar (D-MN), Railroads Subcommittee Chairman Steve LaTourette (R-OH), and Ranking Member Corinne Brown (D-FL) yesterday introduced an Amtrak reauthorization bill, H.R. 1630, and a high speed rail bill, RIDE 21 (H.R. 1631). They are identical to the bills Young and Oberstar introduced in 2003.
The Bush Administration, for its part, released its Amtrak reform proposal to the general public yesterday. The bill looks similar to the Administration’s 2003 bill. However, the legislation continues to authorize only “such sums as may be necessary,” to come from general funds. It is well known in Washington, however, that an authorization is merely a “begging license” and no assurance of actual funding. Consistent with recent DOT statements, the bill contemplates shifting all operating expenses to the states, which NARP believes is a death sentence for passenger rail. The bill would divest Amtrak of “unneeded real estate and other facilities,” which could deprive the railroad of income that has helped to reduce operating grant requirements.
Secretary Mineta, in his April 13 letter transmitting the new bill to Congress, laments there is “no prospect of an end to increasing subsidy” without acknowledging the main reason for the increase: the Northeast Corridor capital program that he claims to support. He draws largely irrelevant analogies between what he proposes for Amtrak and what has happened with the Alaska Railroad, mass transit and commuter rail, and ownership of Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National and Dulles International Airports.
The Senate Commerce Committee held a confirmation hearing for Joseph H. Boardman to be the new head of the Federal Railroad Administration on Wednesday. Boardman, who is currently the head of New York State’s department of Transportation, defended Amtrak and said that zero subsidies are not the way to solve the railroad’s problems. “If confirmed, I believe we have to work in collaboration, it will not be zero. If we can reform and make the changes necessary to support rail transportation, that will not occur,” Boardman said (as quoted in the Associated Press). AP also quoted Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) saying “he was supporting the nomination in part because Boardman ‘assured me he would fight hard for Amtrak.’” Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) tried to pin Boardman down on the willingness of the State of New York “on its own” to fund and operate the Empire Corridor and Adirondack services. Boardman refused to be that specific, though he insisted in general terms that “New York will be committed to supporting passenger rail.”
Oklahoma rail advocates rallied to save the Heartland Flyer on Monday at the Oklahoma State Capitol Building in Oklahoma City. Among the speakers was Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett who said that the Heartland Flyer’s yearly subsidy, approximately $2 million, is the cost of one-quarter of a mile of urban interstate. “This isn’t a story about the little train that could. This is a story about a little train that has already proven it could,” Cornett said, “Let’s fund the Heartland Flyer into Kansas,” referring to efforts to extend the train north to a connection with the Southwest Chief at Newton, Kansas.
The crossties on the Susquehanna River Bridge on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor will be replaced in a six week project beginning on May 2. This will require two track operation from the Bush River Bridge to just west of the Susquehanna River Bridge then single track operation on the bridge itself over to Perryville. Several MARC commuter trains will turn back short of Perryville and Amtrak trains will experience delays of 20-30 minutes.
A brief review of major changes coming up in Amtrak’s April 25th timetable change:
Southbound Silver Meteor will depart New York one hour later, restoring five days a week connection from upper New York Stat
Westbound Lake Shore Limited will depart New York one hour later, restoring connection from northbound Silver Meteor.
Downeaster sees schedules sped up 10-15 minutes from trackwork improvements
Pennsylvanian name will return: westbound train will depart New York City at 9:55 a.m., arrive Pittsburg at 7:05 p.m. seven days a week. Eastbound will depart Pittsburgh 7:20 a.m. Monday-Saturday and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Westbound Capitol Limited will depart Washington 85 minutes earlier, making better connections with Pennsylvanian at Pittsburgh.
Operations at Hammond-Whiting are being downsized: the station will become unstaffed and only Wolverine Corridor trains 350, 352, 353, and 355 will stop at the facility.
All Regional trains in the Northeast Corridor will be come all-reserved, seven days a week. NARP has expressed its concern to Amtrak about passenger convenience and lines at the ticket counters. Amtrak says that the weekend all-reserved policy has been very well received by passengers and will reduce standee conditions on many trains.
Vermonter has new times, restored bus connection to Montreal.
Westbound California Zephyr will depart Chicago one hour earlier at 1:50 p.m.
Connection point for Southwest Chief Thruway Bus service to Laughlin and Las Vegas, NV will change from Needles, CA to Kingman, AZ.
The NARP Board of Directors will meet next week in Washington, D.C. The hotline may be uploaded slightly later than usual, but will be posted by 6:00 p.m.
Yesterday, Amtrak testified in favor of a $1.8 billion federal grant for the railroad in fiscal 2006 was heard in the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The testimony was given by Chairman David Laney and President/CEO David L. Gunn. Amtrak’s board, which now consists exclusively of Bush appointees, also endorsed Amtrak’s continued ownership of the Northeast Corridor, and creation of a federal-state funding partnership for rail corridor development in which the federal share would be 80%. They stated the need for “some sort of reliable funding source.”
For the long-distance trains, the board endorsed “limited continuing operating and capital funding for agreed upon” long distance services “at levels sufficient to support routes that meet…performance thresholds [which they propose be established]; possible limited infrastructure investment targeted to add capacity that would benefit both passenger and freight rail growth.”
The Amtrak plan, now available at Amtrak’s website, adopts many ideas which Secretary Mineta has been pushing, including a requirement—to be phased in over several years—that states pay for 100% of the cost of corridor services, including overhead costs.
Currently, the federal government through Amtrak funds overhead for all the trains it runs—including so-called “state-supported trains”. For example, Missouri pays about $6 million for St. Louis-Kansas City direct operating losses, while Amtrak funds overhead costs to the tune of another $3 million.
The feds through Amtrak also cover direct operating losses of many corridors—100% for New York State’s Empire Corridor and Chicago-Detroit-Pontiac; 50% for Seattle-Portland; 66% for Chicago-St. Louis and 30% for Pacific Surfliners (southern California).
So the Amtrak plan involves a significant shift in cost burdens onto the states.
The plan also shares Secretary Mineta’s vision of other companies eventually competing with Amtrak for the right to operate state corridors, with a legislative “fix” that puts those other companies on a “level playing field” with Amtrak in terms of rights of access to freight railroad tracks, and the costs of that access. This appears to contradict the freight railroads’ clear position that Amtrak should be the only intercity passenger operator.
The plan would move Amtrak employees out of the Railroad Retirement system into regular Social Security, and it would also eliminate applicability of a key provision of the Railway Labor Act to “Amtrak or other future operators of intercity passenger rail services.” Under the change the board proposes, contracts would expire and the parties free to exercise self help (for management, the ability to impose a new agreement; for workers, to strike); this would replace the lengthy procedures where self help only follows a National Mediation Board determination of an impasse. The board’s top priority, however, seems to be a “level playing field” for Amtrak and potential competing carriers, rather than a particular definition of what the level is.
Chairman Trent Lott (R-MS) opened the Commerce hearing by calling an Amtrak reauthorization this year “one of my top priorities,” and indicated his determination to pass such a bill if it “truly improves the situation…we must be honest with ourselves…if profitability is not going to happen, we must acknowledge that and continue anyway if appropriate. We’re going to get something this year, one way or the other…I want the Administration to be involved…we’re going to have something ready to go to the floor this summer.” Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) praised Lott for his energy and determination.
During the Senate Commerce hearing, Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Conrad Burns (R-MT) and Mark Pryor (D-AR) made strong statements in support of long-distance trains. Burns also noted the importance of Amtrak for “freight,” a reference to Amtrak’s continuing and profitable package express program.
Also yesterday, at a hearing of the Senate’s Transportation/Treasury Appropriations subcommittee, Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua Bolten, under relentless questioning from Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) clearly reaffirmed the administration’s budget request for Amtrak. It remains zero, notwithstanding the Amtrak Board’s action and Secretary Mineta’s carefully worded statement in reaction to what the Board approved.
Mineta, in his statement about Amtrak’s release, “happily” said Amtrak, “after some 34 years and $29 billion of taxpayers’ money…is now acknowledging that its current business model is unsustainable and in need of serious reform.” He also cited Japanese railways as evidence that passenger trains can be profitable. He did not mention Japanese gasoline prices, highway tolls, and population density, nor did he say anything about funding for Amtrak.
As a reminder of the reality we face, USA Today featured a major anti-Amtrak editorial piece on Thursday, rehashing many of the negative sterotypes of Amtrak service. CBS Nightly News also featured a strongly negative piece, with Joseph Vranich featured as an “Amtrak Expert.”
Amtrak says that Acela Express will not return before the summer, and nearly all Acela slots have been back-filled with New York-Washington Metroliners starting April 25. A few Regional trains are being eliminated. Starting a week later (on May 2), there will be two Boston-New York Metroliner round-trips At least for the first several days of the Acela crisis, Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor ridership is actually up, although revenues are not. Metroliner fares are lower, and these trains have more seats than the Acelas.
Last night, NARP Executive Director Ross Capon appeared on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer; the transcript is available on their website. Capon is also scheduled to appear Monday, April 25, at 10 A.M. on “Radio Times” on WHYY, available on the air in the Philadelphia area (91.1 FM) and streamed on-line (the program is also archived).
Efforts to raise the pre-tax deduction that is eligible for mass transit fare purchase have moved forward. Last week, NARP joined several other associations in signing a letter to Senate Finance Committee members requesting an increase. The benefit, currently capped at $105 a month, would be increased to $155. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) sponsored an amendment to TEA-21 renewal committee to raise the level and it was approved. It appears that the full senate will take up TEA-21 renewal next week: with a financing showdown set for the floor of the Senate.
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (R.) signed a bonding bill this week to start construction on the Northstar commuter rail system. Included in the 2005 Capital Investment Bill is $37.5 million earmarked for the Northstar Commuter Rail project. “The Northstar Commuter Rail line is a good project,” Pawlenty told ABC Newspapers. “It is going to provide relief to commuters who are tired of sitting in their cars.”
The NARP Board of Directors is meeting in Bethesda, MD (a suburb of Washington, DC). Last night, the Association held its annual legislative reception at the Rayburn House Office Building. Today, the board considered business of the association, received advocacy training from Stephanie Vance of AdVanced Consulting, heard a keynote luncheon address from David Gunn and an afternoon address from Ed Hamberger of the Association of American Railroads. More details about the meeting will be posted to our website next week.
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, The Judiciary, the District of Columbia and Independent Agencies held its annual Amtrak appropriations hearing on Wednesday. The new chairman of the subcommittee is Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI), who replaced Ernest Istook (R-OK).
Knollenberg relied on “sound bite” assertions regarding per passenger subsidy and every rail advocate’s favorite, “it would be cheaper to buy Amtrak passengers plane tickets.” Knollenberg made it clear to Amtrak that $1.82 billion will not be achievable in the current budget environment. Nonetheless, Amtrak President and CEO David Gunn made a clear and concise case for the $1.82 billion funding level and clearly explained why separation of management and maintenance does not work in a railroad environment.
In a written statement submitted to the committee, NARP Executive Director Ross B. Capon refuted the claims of Knollenberg and other anti-Amtrak statements and emphasized the utility and relative low cost of operation of Amtrak’s long distance trains.
Also Wednesday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee “marked up” (or approved) a “clean” Amtrak reauthorization, H.R. 1630 and a rail infrastructure investment bill, “RIDE 21” (H.R. 1631). This bill is sponsored by Chairman Don Young (R-AK), Ranking Member James Oberstar (D-MN), Railroads Subcommittee Chairman Steve LaTourette (R-OH), and Ranking Member Corinne Brown (D-FL). The bill is essentially identical to the 2003 legislation introduced by Young and Oberstar. It authorizes (but does not appropriate) $2 billion a year for Amtrak and provides for a federal-state funding match partnership.
Young said, “Although serious disagreements still exist about Amtrak’s long-term management strategy and structure, there is a common understanding of the need for near-term funding…The legislation also contains funding accountability procedures closely modeled on those already in effect under the current appropriations laws.
“I think very little is understood about the enormous progress Amtrak has made in the past year to improve the quality of the track, the rail bed, its rolling stock and to upgrade its operations,” said Oberstar. “In David Gunn, Amtrak has a true railroader heading that organization. He is arguably the best person we’ve had in that position since Amtrak was created in 1970.”
While the Amtrak reauthorization was passed out of committee on a unanimous voice vote, Representative Mark Kennedy (R-MN) attempted to introduce an amendment that would have required Amtrak to print the cost of the per-passenger subsidy on each ticket issued. Kennedy withdrew the amendment under pressure from fellow Republicans.
The House of Representatives Republican letter to Appropriations leaders has been closed and sent. The final count was 22 members, one more than last year. Thank you for your efforts! If your Congressman is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, he/she did not sign this letter, as it would essentially amount to signing a letter to him or herself. The 22 Republicans are:
Steve LaTourette (OH), Mike Castle (DE), Sherwood Boehlert (NY), Rob Simmons (CT), Michael Fitzpatrick (PA), Frank LoBiondo (NJ), Tim Johnson (IL), Todd Platts (PA), Curt Weldon (PA), Chris Smith (NJ), Peter King (NY), Jim Saxton (NJ), James Leach (IA), Phil English (PA), Jerry Weller (IL), Jim Gerlach (PA), Scott Garrett (NJ), John McHugh (NY), Joe Schwarz (MI), Mike Ferguson (NJ), Sue Kelly (NY), Randy Kuhl (NY).
The formation of a “Passenger Rail Caucus” will be announced at a press conference on Thursday, May 5, at 10:00 a.m. on the Cannon House Office Building Terrace (near the intersection of Independence and New Jersey, SE) here in Washington, D.C. This is a bi-partisan effort being led by Reps. Mike Castle and Michael Fitzpatrick and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rob Andrews (D-NJ). If you live in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, please attend this event! The Congressmen want a big turnout from the train-riding public. No matter where you live, encourage your Representative to join this caucus!
During a break in the House Appropriations hearing, David Gunn told an Associated Press reporter that indications are that the consortium of Bombardier and Alstom underestimated the brake life of the Acela Express equipment. “I believe they misjudged the life of the rotors…Their life expectancy was less than they had planned and they were caught without a supply,” Gunn said. Bombardier has countered with the fact that the brakes’disc face (front of the disc) showed normal wear. The official investigation as to what caused the brake spokes to crack is still being conducted.
A tragic accident occurred in Amagasaki, Japan on Monday when a commuter train sped into a curve, derailed, and smashed into an apartment building. The death toll now stands at 106 with hundreds more injured. The focus of blame for the incident has been placed on the train’s engineer (who was a fatality as well). Eyewitness and passenger accounts indicate that 23-year-old Ryujiro Takami overshot a platform at the station just prior to the accident and the traveled at a high rate of speed in an attempt to compensate for the 90 second delay he incurred. Despite claims here in America of Japanese technological superiority, the line on which this accident occurred lacked even a basic speed control system or cab signaling which would have required the driver to slow for the curve or applied the brakes automatically if the driver failed to slow down.
A Norfolk Southern freight train derailment disrupted rail service in North Carolina on Tuesday. The derailment occurred near the Yadkin River Bridge, approximately 40 miles north of Charlotte. Crescent passengers were forced to utilize a bus bridge between two sets of equipment, Carolinian passengers were bussed to Rocky Mount, and the Piedmont was cancelled.
The last rock blast to complete the 21 mile-long Loetschberg Tunnel in Switzerland took place this week. When complete, this tunnel and the sister Gotthard Tunnel will permit vastly improved Swiss-Italian freight and passenger rail transportation. While need for the project has been long agreed upon, it has been plagued with cost overruns and safety issues—eleven employees have died thus far during its construction. The Loetschberg Tunnel is planned to open in 2007; the parallel Gotthard in 2015.
A reminder: Amtrak is once again sponsoring a photo contest for its 2006 wall calendar. Enter the “Picture Our Train” 2006 Wall Calendar Contest by submitting an original color photo of an Amtrak train (sporting the new logo and livery) and your image could appear on next year’s wall calendar with photo credit. The First Prize winner will also receive an Amtrak travel voucher. Amtrak’s website has more information and complete contest rules.
A reminder: NARP provides an action alert flyer to distribute on board trains and in stations. Please get this flyer into the hands of as many fellow Amtrak passengers as possible. This flier is available here on our website.
A letter is circulating amongst House Democrats requesting full funding for Amtrak in fiscal 2006. This letter is similar to the letter circulated a few weeks ago from Republicans. If your House member is a Democrat, please ask him or her to sign! Your House member should contact Steve Feldgus in the office of Rep. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).
Another consequence of the Administration’s zero-funding request for Amtrak has come to fruition. Standard and Poor’s Rating Service has placed Amtrak’s corporate credit (currently at BBB) and senior secured debt ratings on Credit Watch with negative implications. S&P said, “Uncertainty over the railroad operator’s future funding has increased following the Bush Administration’s budget proposal in February, which included a significant reduction in financial support for Amtrak.”
The Washington Post published a blistering anti-Amtrak editorial on Tuesday. Although previously known for its support of Amtrak, the Post seems to have fallen into the trap of blaming Amtrak’s long distance trains for the railroads perceived “massive” financial losses.
In a letter to the editor, NARP Executive Director Ross Capon wrote, in part, “Amtrak says eliminating (long-distance trains) would save at most $300 million a year, but only several years after service ends. It also would leave 26 states without passenger trains. We would have four isolated mini-networks serving 21 states—probably not enough to generate support in Congress for funding anything. Moreover, long-distance trains are heavily used, last year averaging about 364 passengers per run, and subsidy per passenger-mile is virtually identical for long-distance trains and for short-distance trains outside the Northeast Corridor.”
Don’t like what you read in the Washington Post editorial? Then send your own Letter to the Editor of the Post!
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies is expected to hold an Amtrak hearing on Thursday, May 12. This would be the first hearing since the subcommittee’s responsibilities were expanded, and its chairman changed to Christopher Bond (R-MO) (from Richard Shelby, R-AL). Patty Murray (D-WA) continues as the subcommittee’s top Democrat.
Consideration of S. 732, SAFETEA, the big highway/transit reauthorization, will resume when the Senate reconvenes next week. Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT) area expected to offer an amendment to add $11 to $13 billion above the $284 billion now in the bill. Transit advocates are working to increase the share for transit from the bill’s 18.2% to 18.8%, the share contained in TEA-21 bill that the Senate passed 76-21.
The Missouri legislature has sent Governor Matt Blount a 2006 budget bill that will preserve the $6.2 million operating subsidy for Amtrak. The state provides operational support for the two Kansas City-St. Louis frequencies. The trains’ on time performance and ridership have suffered as of late, primarily due to severe Union Pacific freight train congestion on the mostly single tracked line. Union Pacific, the State, and Amtrak have begun to discuss ways to mitigate these problems—including infrastructure investment.
The State of Georgia has secured $106 million for the long-discussed Atlanta-Lovejoy commuter rail line. The service, due to begin in fall 2006 with an extension to Griffin in 2008, would provide the first commuter rail line in Georgia and is the first stage of a proposed five-line system radiating from downtown Atlanta. The mayor of Macon, Jack Ellis, boiled the economics down very simply, “We can build one mile of rail cheaper than we can one mile of interstate.”
Amtrak has restored the guaranteed connection between the eastbound Capitol Limited (train #30) and the southbound Silver Star (train #91). NARP requested re-examination of this previously broken connection after it was eliminated at the November 2004 schedule change. Amtrak said that improved performance of train #30 (now due in Washington at 11:55 a.m.) and the potential gained revenue from restoring the connection more than offset the occasional alternate transportation arrangements on the rare occasions when train #30 will miss train #91.
Amtrak has issued a new timetable for Northeast Corridor travel (including its associated branches to Harrisburg, Albany, and Springfield), effective May 2. This timetable supersedes the national timetable and will be in effect until full Acela Express service returns.
Metrolink monthly pass holders may use their passes for weekend complimentary travel on Pacific Surfliners to Santa Barbara between now and June 26. Passholders do not need to acquire an Amtrak ticket; just show pass to the Amtrak conductor. Traveling companions who are not Metrolink monthly pass holders must purchase tickets from Amtrak, but one Metrolink monthly pass holder may purchase up to two half fare tickets for children under 15 years old. Not valid for travel on the Coast Starlight.
Leaders of several State Associations of Railroad Passengers attended the second State ARP workshop today hosted by the Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers in Cleveland. The goal of the meeting was to expand on the first meeting, held last November, and to share and learn best practices in organizational development activities. In the morning, meeting participants were given a presentation by The Foundation Center staff on how to find sources of grants as well as applying for them. Staff also brought leaders on a tour of the foundation center library and explained all of the resources available to not-for-profit associations. In the afternoon, participants discussed membership growth opportunities and methods in which to engage those new members. They also discussed tools that we can put into place which would allow us to engage the public and elected officials more effectively. The next meeting will take place in Minneapolis, MN on October 23, 2005 (following the October 21-22 NARP Board of Directors meeting).
The popular syndicated gameshow “Jeopardy!” will feature a category tonight (May 6th) about railroading entitled “All Aboard!” Check your local listings for airtimes; Jeopardy tends to air in the 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. timeslot across the United States. Can you “run the category” by answering all the questions and get a (virtual) round of applause from the audience?
At yesterday’s Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing—the first Amtrak hearing for the new chairman, Christopher Bond (R-MO)—Senators emphasized the difficulty of funding Amtrak in the current environment without support from the Bush Administration, and while dealing with severe budget cuts the Administration proposed in other popular programs. Bond said, “even if I was to agree that $1.8 billion [which Amtrak requested] was justified, I don’t see how we could provide it.” He chairs what is now called the Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. Under the reorganization, Patty Murray (D-WA) continues as the top Democrat.
DOT Inspector General Ken Mead and Amtrak officials insisted that with $1.2 billion [what Congress provided for this year], Amtrak would not make it through FY06.
Amtrak Chairman David Laney emphasized that all of the increase Amtrak requested is for capital improvements; operating grant needs are basically flat. Mead said Amtrak is spending at a rate of $1.4 billion because Amtrak ended fiscal 2004 with about $200 million in cash. In contrast, President David Gunn said Amtrak might “limp into fiscal 2006 with $20 million” or roughly one week’s cash requirements.
Mead again stated (repeating comments made at previous Hill hearings) that “eliminating long-distance service will not solve the problem,” but would only save about $300 million and those savings “would not be immediate. In fact, in the first year, it may cost Amtrak more to eliminate the service than to operate it because of its labor severance payments (commonly called C-2).”
Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) reported that the California Zephyr handles fewer than 100 passengers a day in Utah, suggesting this means “we do not have a market for transcontinental train riders.” However, the California Zephyr overall is well used. The daily average on+off figures for states it serves are: Colorado 550; Illinois 432; California 393; Nevada 176; Iowa 125; Nebraska 110; Utah 96. The latter obviously reflects having Salt Lake City in the middle of the night; Bennett’s position illustrates why long-distance trains could not survive on a state supported basis.
But Bennett also called the Amtrak Board’s plan “a pretty good piece of work.” He asked Laney, “If you were given a clean sheet of paper, could you design a system that made sense, and that required a lower subsidy than the current system?” Laney said, “Yes, absolutely, I think our plan does just that.” Laney referred to a “reconfigured long-distance service.” He said Amtrak believes long-distance service is important, that “ultimately we may eliminate some routes” but “we might eventually” begin to add others.
Bennett supported Murray’s attempts to get DOT to be specific about what funding it would request. He told Rosen, “You have hit us with a 2x4, now I would advise you to define the carrot.” Rosen, however, said in effect there would be none until Congress actually enacted “reform.”
Sen. Byrd, the dean of the Senate (first elected in 1958) and the top Democrat on the full appropriations committee, argued the importance of Amtrak to small, rural communities, especially as Greyhound has reduced service. He said Bush has many other proposals that hurt rural America, including the elimination of the Essential Air Service program. He said, “not every grandmother can just get behind the wheel” to go visit family. But he also said that “a dead railroad may very well be what we get in the coming year…the challenge of saving Amtrak will be considerably greater due to failure of” his Amtrak amendment on the budget resolution in March. He characterized dropping the long-distance trains as rubbing salt in the wounds of small communities, from which he said a disproportionate number of American “sons and daughters die in the unnecessary war in Iraq.”
NARP issued a news release after the hearing, focusing on the difficulties of funding Amtrak this year.
Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta met for over an hour with NARP Executive Director Ross B. Capon and Assistant Director David Johnson on Wednesday. Also present were DOT General Counsel Jeffrey Rosen, who represents DOT on the Amtrak board and at some Amtrak hearings, Acting Federal Railroad Administrator Robert Jamieson, and FRA Associate Administrator for Railroad Development Mark Yachmetz. There was a lengthy discussion about long-distance trains. Capon emphasized that the “avoidable cost” of these trains is $300 million; a relatively small portion of Amtrak’s total funding requirements. At the end of the meeting, Secretary Mineta expressed the need for continued “give and take.” He readily agreed to another meeting. This does not mean that Bush Administration policy is about to change, but clearly a direct dialogue is good, and may be helpful as Congress and the Administration move forward towards resolving the issue.
“Getting Acela Back on Track” was the title of a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Railroads Subcommittee hearing May 11. The latest problems with the Acela Express trainsets were also the subject of a hearing this week in. The hearing was generally positive and supportive of Amtrak’s quick and decisive action to remove the trains from service when the problem was first identified. Both subcommittee chairman Steve LaTourette (R-OH) and Ranking Member Corrine Brown (D-FL) pointed out that Amtrak’s quick recovery and shuffling of equipment and schedules to re-start Metroliner service would have been impossible if there were multiple passenger rail operators or if control of infrastructure and operations were separated.
Amtrak Inspector General Fred Wiederhold said that his initial investigations reveal that a member of the maintenance consortium that is responsible for day-to-day repairs of the Acela Express trains may have noticed the cracks as early as three years ago. However, these cracks were not reported to Bombardier, Alstom, or Amtrak. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reiterated their concerns about the maintenance contract and settlement of the Amtrak-Bombardier lawsuit.
Senators Trent Lott (R-MS) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) spoke at a Capitol Hill meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Amtrak Intercity Rail Investment Task Force, also May 11. Lott said he hoped to get to work on an Amtrak reauthorization bill as soon as the Senate finishes with the highway bill. “I believe in a national rail passenger system...We’re up to the point where we’ve got to fish or cut bait. The Administration basically has boxed us in. They’ve put us in a position where we’ve got to figure it out…I was pleased that the board testified in support of $1.8 billion [although] I don’t think that’s enough to do what needs to be done.” Lott said Amtrak President and CEO David L. Gunn “does an excellent job – the right man at the right time.” He said some long distance routes may not make it “if the losses are too great, being on time is always a problem, and people aren’t riding.” He also said, “I feel strongly about my rail relocation bill; my lead co-sponsor, interestingly, is John Kerry. We have problems from Mississippi to Massachusetts.” That bill would facilitate removal of rail lines from congested downtown areas.
NARP Executive Director Ross B. Capon’s letter to the editor of the Washington Post was printed on Tuesday. This was in response to a decidedly negative Washington Post editorial on Amtrak. At the same time The Post ran pro-long-distance train letters from Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) and a Post reader from Vienna, Virginia.
Amtrak service between Newark and New York City was disrupted Thursday night and Friday morning by a fire on the Portal Bridge. The bridge—one of several identified by Amtrak as needing significant upgrade in the near future—is on one of the busiest stretches of railroad in the United States: at the peak of rush hour, a train passes over it nearly every minute. Limited Amtrak and New Jersey Transit service resumed this morning with trains traveling at 5 mph across the bridge. It is believed at this time that the bridge suffered no structural damage. Amtrak is working around the clock to restore full service.
Last week, we reported that the connection between the Silver Star and Capitol Limited at Washington, DC had been restored. Amtrak quickly invalidated the connection, citing increasing unreliability of the eastbound Capitol Limited and northbound Silver Star. The Capitol Limited will be affected by several upcoming trackwork projects on the Pittsburgh-Washington CSX mainline and the Silver Star continues to struggle with the CSX trackwork blitz between Rocky Mount and Richmond (an Amtrak train yesterday faced 18 slow orders between Petersburg and Rocky Mount alone). NARP will continue to monitor this situation and encourage Amtrak to restore the connection when train reliability improves.
The Senate on Tuesday passed H.R.3, the six-year (FY 2004-2009) highway/transit reauthorization, by 89-11 after defeating an “anti-transit” amendment by Jeff Sessions (R-AL) 84-16. The bill “guarantees” $293.8 billion, including $53.8 billion for transit. Although both votes were overwhelming, the future remains uncertain. The next step is a House-Senate conference committee. The House leadership seems unwilling to bring to the floor any conference report that exceeds the House-passed level of $284 billion, which is the level acceptable to the Bush Administration. (The House bill has $52.4 billion for transit.) But some “donor-state” senators (most notably the Texas and Wisconsin delegation which symbolically voted “No” on the final bill) find even the Senate funding levels unacceptably low. There might be another attempt to cut transit—this time in conference—to permit more highway spending while backing down from the $293.8 billion total. And there could be delays getting any final product through if the judge confirmation controversy slows Senate action to a crawl.
Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, after a hiatus of nearly a month, did another rail passenger event, this time at the Mobile train station, as part of a week-long bus tour of the southeast to promote National Transportation Week. Mobile probably has lower Amtrak ridership than any other major city the railroad serves, due to tri-weekly service in the middle of the night and the well-documented on time performance problems of the Sunset Limited.
Mobile—on three separate occasions—has been the terminus for failed state-supported trains that ran daily, at more attractive times. The Gulf Coast Limited (Mobile-Gulfport-New Orleans) ran on two separate occasions: April 29, 1984 to January 6, 1985 and June 29, 1996-March 31, 1997. Both incarnations of the train faced funding problems: in the 80’s, Alabama didn’t want to pay their share, in the 90’s Mississippi didn’t keep paying. The Gulf Breeze (Birmingham-Mobile split off New York-New Orleans Crescent) operated October 29, 1989 to April 1, 1995 and faced similar funding problems from the State of Alabama.
For a Gulf Coast service to work well in the future, we need the federal-state partnership Mineta proposes—but preferably with 80% federal funding rather than 50%. We need flexibility in the early years to let states use the federal funds for operations as well as capital. And this partnership must be in addition to Amtrak, not in place of Amtrak as Mineta proposes.
In Mobile, Mineta also issued a broader attack on Amtrak, saying “Across the country, taxpayers are not getting their money’s worth when it comes to intercity passenger rail. All 15 of Amtrak’s long distance trains combined lost more than $908 million in 2004.” The consensus—shared by DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead and Amtrak Chairman David Laney and echoed in Congressional hearings over the past few weeks—is that the ultimate savings from eliminating all long distance trains would be just $300 million a year, and that only after several years of labor protection payments.
DOT posted on its web site a list of alleged losses for all Amtrak routes, including losses totaling $300 million on the four Northeast Corridor product lines. This contradicted the May 12 testimony of DOT General Counsel Jeffrey Rosen, who—answering a question from Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)—said Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor services “break even.”
NARP issued news releases both before and after the event, the later responding to Mineta’s remarks.
Amtrak has announced the elimination of food service for all Empire Corridor trains that run only between New York City and Albany on July 1. Amtrak will close its brand new commissary at the Albany train station. Amtrak states that the service is lightly patronized and elimination will result in savings of approximately one million dollars per year. Food service on Empire Corridor trains continuing west or north of Albany will continue. NARP is urging Amtrak to take a more creative approach.
The Portal Bridge fire near Newark, NJ (reported in last week’s hotline) caused delays for much of last weekend and into this week. One track has been cleared for full-speed operation; the other still has a 30 mph speed restriction on it. Amtrak says that it may take up to one year to make all repairs to the bridge, but that full-speed rail service should resume next week. What is unclear at this time is how long will it take to restore the swing mechanism that permits the bridge to open (the Hackensack River has a moderate amount of commercial marine traffic on it).
The Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers hosted their first annual “Ohio Rail Summit” on Wednesday in Columbus. The event was intended to encourage Ohio rail advocates to lobby for the Ohio Hub Plan with their state legislators. Participants who attended the event got “the ask” from Jim Seney, Executive Director of the Ohio Rail Development Commission, received advocacy training from Stephanie Vance of AdVanced Consulting, participated in a press conference and rally on the Capitol steps, and then attended pre-arranged meetings with their State House and Senate members.
Metrolink will operate three “Beach Trains” this summer on weekends. In previous years, one train per Saturday and Sunday has operated. This year, three beach trains will run on weekends between San Bernardino, Riverside, and intermediate points, en route to San Clemente and Oceanside. Visit the special Beach Train website for more information.
Today begins the week-long Memorial Day district work period. Most House and Senate members will be back in their districts this week. Check the websites of your Representative and Senators to see if they have any town hall meetings or public appearances scheduled. Attend and encourage others to. Encourage your elected officials to support full Amtrak funding ($1.82 billion). Encourage your representative to sign on as a co-sponsor to H.R. 1630 and H.R. 1631.
If you are traveling, be sure to download the flier from our website and makes copies to give to fellow passengers. It is important for as many people as possible to understand the importance of sending even a short pro-Amtrak note to their legislators.
The deadline for Democratic representatives to sign on to the pro-Amtrak letter to House appropriations leaders has been re-extended until next week. As of yesterday afternoon, 49 Democrats had still not signed. Click here for a list of those who have not signed. The House website has the contact information you need. Ask your representative to sign if he or she has not; they should contact Steve Feldgus in Rep. Menendez’s office.
Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta sent to Amtrak President & CEO David L. Gunn late May 25 a strange letter demanding immediate cost-saving measures. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) responded yesterday and NARP issued a statement today.
Mineta threatened to withhold $60 million in federal money already appropriated to Amtrak for FY ’06. Mineta said he may withhold the money from Amtrak to use for commuter services if Amtrak should run out of money this year. Because Amtrak’s board-approved budget counts on receiving its entire federal appropriation – including the $60 million – any decision by Mineta to withhold the full $60 million could trigger a crisis at Amtrak. (Amtrak’s Board consists entirely of Bush appointees.)
The law requires Mineta to give Amtrak that $60 million “during the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005” except to the extent that, “as of the date of transfer,” funds are “needed by the Surface Transportation Board to pay for any directed service order issued through Sept. 30, 2005.” A directed service order [to maintain commuter rail service on Amtrak facilities] would only be necessary if Amtrak shuts down.
In other words, Mineta appears to be twisting language intended to minimize a crisis into justification for his creating a crisis.
Senator Murray said that Bush Administration budget policies “have been one of the largest contributors” to Amtrak’s cash problems. From her release: “In response to a question by Murray, Gunn testified that the Bush Administration’s stated goal to put Amtrak into bankruptcy and the failure of a Senate amendment to restore Amtrak’s funding has had a significant negative impact on Amtrak’s cash position. Gunn testified that, as a result of those events, Amtrak’s bond rating was downgraded, the railroad’s insurance costs and accounting costs increased, and the financial requirements by Amtrak’s suppliers were tightened.” This was at a May 12 hearing of a Senate appropriations subcommittee.
Costs of an actual Amtrak bankruptcy would be horrendous. Gunn, speaking Wednesday to the Transportation Research Forum in Washington, DC, said Amtrak is the “Alamo” of high speed rail on this continent. He called the knowledge of Amtrak employees about “our most precious asset…if we lose that, you can’t look people up in the Yellow Pages to run the railroad.” Unfortunately, Mineta’s letter reinforces the view that there are people in the Administration who want an Amtrak bankruptcy but who do not understand that it would force a shutdown of the railroad, raise serious questions about the ability to get it started, and impose huge costs on both the public and private sector.
NARP’s release included these statements from Executive Director Ross B. Capon: “If Mineta really agrees with most Americans that ‘intercity passenger rail is too important to just stand by and watch it die,’ as he has written, he should not make public statements that drive up Amtrak’s costs. He should not make demands which assume that cutting still more operating expenses can significantly improve Amtrak’s bottom line over the next four months.
“Instead, he should work constructively to help Amtrak manage around the cash problems created by the temporary withdrawal of Acela Express trains. He should get better acquainted with the facts. [The release noted that many of the items on our ”Amtrak Fact Check” are responses to Mineta’s misstatements.]
“Sadly, Mineta’s letter reinforces the view that there are people in the Bush Administration who want an Amtrak bankruptcy but who do not understand that it would force a shutdown of the railroad, raise serious questions about the ability to get it re-started, and impose huge costs on both the public and private sectors.”
With the current extension of TEA 21 (highway/transit authorization) expiring May 31, the House and Senate this week extended it for the seventh time, through June 30. The President is expected to sign the extension bill, which simply extends funding another month.
Greyhound’s long-anticipated service cuts in the southeast were acknowledged in a company press release this week. “Effective June 21, 2005, the company is making changes that will streamline and simplify its route network in the Southeast region, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These changes, aimed at making travel more enjoyable for the majority of our customers, will eliminate time-consuming and costly stops in areas where customer demand is low to nonexistent.” Specific stations have not yet been listed by the company, but an employee website is tracking announcements—generally as state DOT’s receive word of them.
The new Capitol Corridor station at Oakland Coliseum was dedicated earlier this week. Full service begins on June 6. The station is adjacent to BART’s Coliseum /Oakland Airport station and will provide service to Oakland Athletics (baseball), Oakland Raiders (football), and Golden State Warriors (basketball) games. Passengers can also take advantage of the existing “AirBART” shuttle service to the airport. “This intermodal stop along the Capitol Corridor route is another connection to BART and other local transit agencies,” said Gene Skoropowski, Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority.
Cascades and Coast Starlight service between Portland and Eugene, OR will be disrupted for approximately one month while the Union Pacific railroad replaces ties in single-track territory. During four seven-day periods (June 1-8, June 16-23, July 1-7, and July 16-23) and one final two day period (August 1 and 2), the Coast Starlight will be delayed approximately two hours waiting for the track gang to clear. Cascades trains 504 and 509 will not operate between Eugene and Portland (but have substitute bus service). Trains 500 and 507 will operate, but experience delays.
The most important thing rail passenger supporters can do now—beyond contact your own legislators if you haven’t already done so—is put a flier such as the one available on our website into the hands of as many Amtrak passengers as possible.
The first, major step in the fiscal 2006 funding process is expected June 15 with the House appropriations subcommittee chaired by Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) expected to “mark up” (write and approve) its funding bill. The bill covers a wide range of programs, as reflected in the name: “Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, The Judiciary, District of Columbia.”
NARP’s Ross Capon will be among the witnesses Thursday, June 9, when the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads holds a hearing on “Amtrak’s Food and Beverage Operations,” as Amtrak’s $80 million loss on food service has come under heavy criticism recently.
Residents across the state of Montana rallied on June 1 and 2 in support of the Empire Builder and Amtrak’s National Network services. Town Hall meetings and rallies were held in Glasgow, Havre, and Whitefish and rallies/press events were also held in Shelby (at the crew base for Montana’s Empire Builder service).
A host of politicians and advocates attended, including United States Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer (D), Montana Lieutenant Governor John Bohlinger (R), Congressman Denny Rehberg (R-MT).and a representative of Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT). In addition, NARP President George Chilson and Assistant Director David Johnson attended. A full recap will be featured in next week’s hotline.
Joseph H. Boardman began his tenure at the Federal Railroad Administration this week. Boardman was the head of the New York State Department of Transportation. He had sharp differences with Amtrak in the Turboliner controversy, but, as we reported following his April 13 confirmation hearing, he defended Amtrak at that hearing and said that zero subsidies are not the way to solve the railroad’s problems. “If confirmed, I believe we have to work in collaboration, it will not be zero. If we can reform and make the changes necessary to support rail transportation, that will not occur” (as quoted in the Associated Press). AP also quoted Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) saying “he was supporting the nomination in part because Boardman ‘assured me he would fight hard for Amtrak.’”
The State of New York and SuperSteel reached agreement on the amount the state will pay to the company to end the contract for rebuilding turboliners. With this agreement, the state appears to have given up hope of operating the trains. Meanwhile, the state’s $477 million lawsuit against Amtrak has not been resolved.
The Oklahoma Legislature passed House Bill 1078 which will appropriate $2 million in both 2006 and 2007 for the operation of the Heartland Flyer. The funds come from $850,000 gasoline tax earmark plus monies from the passenger account of the Oklahoma Railroad Maintenance Revolving Fund. Thanks to all rail advocates in Oklahoma who worked so tirelessly on this issue!
With the ever-increasing cost of gas, many transit agencies are noting increased ridership. The Los Angeles Daily News discussed an increase at stations along the Antelope Valley line in an article this week. “Records that chart the number of passengers boarding and exiting trains at each station reveal an increase in ridership at the Santa Clarita, Newhall and Via Princessa stations from March to April, according to city officials…The increase in local Metrolink ridership coincides with a significant jump in the cost of gasoline in Southern California from March to April. The average price per gallon was $2.64 as of April 12, a jump of 30 cents from the previous month, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.”
Caltrain has taken the single scene to a new level: more specifically upper or lower level. Caltrain has teamed up with Table For Six and the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance to host “Romance on the Rails,” an event designed for single Caltrain commuters to meet each other, according to this release issued jointly by the three organizations. The event will feature a variety of activities, including a designated “Romance on the Rails” Caltrain car traveling between San Francisco and Menlo Park at 6 pm on Tuesday, June 14. More information is on the Caltrain website.
Amtrak’s first appropriations markup (“bill-writing session”) of the fiscal 2006 funding period is likely to occur next Wednesday (June 15) when the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, The Judiciary, District of Columbia will “markup” (write) the Department of Transportation funding bill. If your House member is on the committee, please call (do not fax, email or write) their Washington, D.C. office with a word of support for full Amtrak funding ($1.82 billion).
The latest in a series of Amtrak oversight hearings was held Thursday in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s subcommittee on railroads. Panelists included William Crosbie (Amtrak’s Senior Vice President, Operations), Fred Weiderhold (Amtrak Inspector General), JayEtta Hecker (Government Accountability Office), Danny Biggs (International Vice President, Transportation Communications Union), and NARP Executive Director Ross B. Capon.
Subcommittee Chairman Steve LaTourette (R-OH) acknowledged the necessity of food service and said that, “It is difficult at best to compare Amtrak and restaurant services.” He did expressed concern that the current Amtrak-Gate Gourmet contract is not the best contract for Amtrak. Crosbie assured the subcommittee that Amtrak will not simply sign an extension of the current contract (when it expires next year); rather they want many substantive changes. Rep. Corinne Brown (D-FL) applauded Amtrak’s food service and stated that the availability of a full, hot meal was critical to her mother who is diabetic and recently traveled from Jacksonville to Lakeland. She also noted that, “the last time we did this (a statutory requirement for Amtrak to slash food service in the early 1980’s), the food service suffered greatly. Rep. John Mica (R-FL) had a series of aggressive, negative questions for Crosbie and Weiderhold and symbolically threw dollar bills into a trash can to illustrate his points.
Crosbie had significant disagreement with the GAO Report that gave life to the hearing and said that despite a four hour teleconference between Amtrak and the GAO, they did not correct several factual errors—many of which became headline grabbers. Chairman LaTourette expressed displeasure with the fact that the GAO did not address Amtrak’s concerns, “In this era of 24 hour news, I’m concerned about the sound bite nature of (the accusations that Amtrak paid) $3.83 for a beer or $7.00 for a steak.”
Despite record ridership toping 100,000 passengers, Amtrak service in Michigan is again threatened by the actions of Michigan House and Senate leadership. Cuts of between $1 and $2 million dollars are proposed for Michigan’s subsidy to Amtrak for the Blue Water and Pere Marquette. “This makes no sense to cut funding for these trains,” said John DeLora, MARP executive director. “Both trains are performing very well and Michigan travelers want the service.” House Democratic Leader Dianne Byrum (D-Onondaga) said, “Any proposal that threatens the viability of passenger rail service in Michigan is short-sighted, unwise and just doesn’t make sense at a time when more and more people are riding the rails.”
Bombardier has said that they plan to have limited Acela Express service restored by the end of June and the full fleet restored by September. An instrumented test train has been observed operating on the Northeast Corridor and Amtrak Vice President of Operations William Crosbie confirmed this timeline in a brief update on the Acela situation at the Food and Beverage hearing (above).
The Acela situation and complete lack of federal government funding has dampened Bombardier’s interest in pursuing future North American projects. “For the time being, there is no project which is close to being promoted,” he said. Asked about the potential for its once highly touted JetTrain technology in North America, he replied: “As there is no high-speed corridor for the time being, there is no JetTrain.”
A passenger on an Amtrak Capitol Corridor train caused the suspension of all service through Richmond, California on Wednesday and prompted the evacuation of both the Richmond Amtrak and BART stations. The 27-year old Pakistani man boarded the train and, according to the Associated Press, “began praying, chanting and claiming the train ‘would disappear’ after he passed his stop in Martinez. He boarded in Sacramento and reportedly appeared nervous, speaking erratically and sweating profusely.” There were severe delays to Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin trains and the westbound California Zephyr was delayed as well.
Despite a challenging day on Wednesday, the Capitol Corridor results for May are an all-time single month record for the service. Ridership was 115,802 (+9.5% growth above May 2004) and revenue was $1,288,611 (+19.9% growth above May 2004).
The State of Montana rallied around the Empire Builder on June 1 and 2 in events held across the “Hi-Line.” Town Hall meetings and rallies were held in Glasgow, Havre, and Whitefish and rallies/press events were also held in Shelby (at the crew base for Montana’s Empire Builder service).
Among the politicians participating in the event were United States Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer (D), Montana Lieutenant Governor John Bohlinger (R), and Congressman Denny Rehberg (R-MT). Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) was not able to attend the event, however, he hosted Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) and Amtrak President David L. Gunn on a ride from Whitefish to Cut Bank a couple of weeks prior. NARP President George Chilson and Assistant Director David Johnson attended the events and spoke on behalf of America’s railroad passengers.
Governor Schweitzer urged the citizens of Montana to take action. “It doesn’t start and it doesn’t stop here. We can’t talk amongst ourselves. Write letters to your congressional delegation, send emails, and make phone calls. If they get 25 letters, calls and emails on a specific issue, that’s an avalanche. If they can then take that onto the House or Senate floor and say, ‘This is important to Montana,’ that’s critical.”
Lieutenant Governor Bohlinger touched on the national importance of the current fight. “We are developing a message that will be carried from Glasgow to Whitefish and will travel across America and be delivered to President Bush’s desk. The message is simple. Amtrak and the Empire Builder provide essential transportation services to the people of America. The notion that this service serves a low population base and that it doesn’t pay its way and thus it must be eliminated is riddled with false conclusions.
State officials were involved in the rally and press conferences as well. State Senator Jerry Black (R-Shelby) emphasized the role Amtrak long distance trains play in national transportation. On his trip over earlier in the day from Shelby to Havre, “We had (lunch) with a woman from Illinois and one from New Jersey that traveled Amtrak the whole way. They were absolutely delighted with the service. She had read that story about (Mineta) wanting to make the states pay 50-50 and she said, ‘What can I do to change this?’ (The train) exposed them to Montana; they were absolutely thrilled with traveling through Glacier National Park. As a result of that, I got the impression that they would be back to Montana.”
The rallies and events in Montana were a huge success. Encourage your state government officials to consider similar events! It is more important than ever to show the importance and utility of the long distance train network.
Michigan rail passengers will rally to save their Amtrak service next weekend. Join with members of the SEMG Sierra Club, Transportation Riders United (TRU) and Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers on Saturday, June 25, 2005 for a day long excursion from Pontiac to Kalamazoo to show support for full Federal funding of Amtrak. Organizers will meet at the Pontiac Amtrak station (free parking available) at 10:00 a.m. for a press conference/rally after which they will board Wolverine Service train #353 (departs at 11:05 a.m.) bound for Kalamazoo. Return will be on train #352, arriving at 8:44 p.m. in Pontiac. You will need to make a reservation to ride the train and either board with a ticket or present a reservation number to the conductor for ticket issuance (Pontiac, Birmingham, Royal Oak, and Albion are unstaffed). For further information, contact Mike Whims, Chairman of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers.
The House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee with jurisdiction on Amtrak “marked up” (wrote) the fiscal 2006 transportation funding bill on Wednesday. While increases in highway (5.4%) and aviation (6.4%) spending were approved, Amtrak was subjected to a 55% cut: $550 million.
The subcommittee claims that the mark was made so that “80% of Amtrak passengers would still receive service,” because it states that the $550 million would permit continued operation of most Amtrak corridor operations (including the Northeast Corridor, Midwest, California, and Pacific Northwest). The reality is that even if Amtrak could somehow waive a magic wand and eliminate all the “unprofitable longer distance trains” overnight, at no cost (which it cannot), Amtrak’s debt service and mandatory railroad retirement payments would require most of the $550 million before even one train was operated.
In a news release and special addendum focused on “Smarter Funding for Amtrak,” the committee explained their rationale for the Amtrak cuts, saying, in part, “The proliferation of low cost airfares makes national railroad service less necessary. For example, a rider taking a train from Orlando to Los Angeles receives a $466 taxpayer subsidy on top of a $165 ticket for a trip that takes more than 71 hours. For $211 – less than half of the federal subsidy alone – a traveler could fly from Orlando to Los Angeles in just six hours.” Language was also included in the mark that prohibits federal funding of any train that loses more than $30 per passenger which—despite the fact that loss per passenger is not the transportation industry standard for measuring performance—would mean an end to all of Amtrak’s long distance trains.
In NARP’s ”Amtrak Fact Check” (updated on Wednesday to reflect inaccuracies in the subcommittee’s release and other recent events), Executive Director Ross B. Capon wrote, “The committee completely ignores the fact that many passengers on Amtrak’s national network trains are riding between intermediate points. Many of these communities lack attractive air service: more than 100 Amtrak-served communities have no commercial air service and many more have no access to the discount air services that the committee’s release trumpets. In addition, Americans are presented with transportation options and make conscious decisions to choose rail. Some citizens do not want to fly or are medically unable to fly.”
(In addition to updating Fact Check, NARP also issued a news release on Wednesday. Both Capon and Assistant Director David Johnson conducted several media interviews in the wake of the markup.)
Bi-partisan outrage to the mark was quick to come forward. “There will be 31 states who lose all passenger rail service completely,” Rep. John Olver (D-MA) told the Associated Press. Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-MT) told the Great Falls Tribune, “I’m going to fight these Amtrak cuts in the full committee. If I have to, I’ll take our fight for the Empire Builder to the floor of the House.”
Finally, the committee did acknowledge that the increases in highway and aviation funding were due primarily to, “unique preferential treatment…not afforded to any other discretionary program including Veterans Medical Care, Homeland Security funding or National Defense programs.” These so-called “firewalls” guarantee yearly increases in these funds and are yet another example of legislative bias against rail.
The next step is approval of the bill by the full Appropriations committee. This will occur next Tuesday or Wednesday (June 21 or 22). The goal is to go to the floor of the House before the Fourth of July recess (last day: June 30).
It is important to note that the subcommittee’s markup is the first step in a very long appropriations process. However, the number is very concerning and, if eventually passed, would lead to Amtrak’s bankruptcy. Rail advocates must contact their House of Representatives member this afternoon or Monday morning and express outrage at the subcommittee’s Amtrak figure. More detailed information is in our Action Alert, updated this afternoon.
Congressional leaders and rail advocates traveled from Washington to Baltimore on Amtrak’s Regional service on Monday to draw attention to Amtrak’s plight. “If we don’t properly fund Amtrak, then Amtrak goes down the tubes,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat and member of the Transportation Committee. “Amtrak is safe, it is clean, (and) it is efficient. And yet, the president has basically written Amtrak off.” In introducing NARP Executive Director Ross B. Capon, Congresswoman Corrine Brown (D-FL) said, “Our next speaker is for you in the media. He testified before our subcommittee last week. He has lots of facts. You need to have them.”
The Blue Water and Pere Marquette will end on October 1 if funding legislation approved by both the Michigan House and Senate is signed by Governor Jennifer Granholm. The Michigan Senate approved its fiscal 2006 funding bill which includes a $1 million cut to Amtrak funds. State Senator Jud Gilbert (R-Algonac) summed up the current debate in Michigan which is also very applicable to the national battle and the danger of state-by-state subsidy of trains, “Part of the problem we have is this is a regional issue,” he said. “There are only three or four senators for whom it makes a difference, and there’s a limited amount of money in this (budget). I had hoped full funding would be put in place. I don’t think this is the final word.” Governor Granholm has indicated that she does not support the funding cut. However, her only ability to change it is to veto the entire bill and send it back to the Michigan legislature. Michigan residents need to contact her and encourage her to do that.
Amtrak’s Hiawatha service is also in jeopardy due to state funding fights. The current funding split is 75% Wisconsin / 25% Illinois. However, Illinois has frozen its funding for 2005, which will either cause Wisconsin to pay a higher percentage, or institute service cuts. This comes at a time of—like the Blue Water and Pere Marquette—all-time high ridership. This increase is spurred primarily by the opening of the Milwaukee Airport rail station and also the higher cost of gas and recently-raised tolls on Interstate 94.
Unlike the United States, China is properly funding and developing its rail network. The Chinese government’s Xinhua News Agency reports (italic emphasis added by NARP), “China started building a 200 kilometer-per-hour passenger railway Saturday on the border of northern Hebei and Shanxi provinces. The line is the first passenger line of nine to start construction in the country this year. With an investment of 12.64 billion yuan ($1.5 B US funds), the line will be completed in 2008. China will build 120,000 kilometers of passenger lines by 2020.”
Colorado has “a vision” for commuter rail and should take advantage of it, said United States Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) who addressed the Front Range Commuter Rail Conference last Saturday in Jefferson City. The proposed service—which would link Fort Collins, Denver, Pueblo and eventually as far north as Cheyenne, WY and as far south as Albuquerque, NM—is riding on the coattails of FasTracks, the $4.7 billion transit referendum passed last November. Other rail and business leaders addressed the Conference, including Amtrak Vice President of Strategic Planning Gil Mallory, California Joint Powers Board General Manager Eugene Skoropowski, and Federal Transit Administration Regional Director Lee Waddleton.
This coming week, we expect a bipartisan amendment to be offered on the House Floor to increase Amtrak funding above the disastrous $550 million approved June 21 by the House Appropriations Committee. The amendment would come when the transportation/treasury funding bill goes to the House floor, possibly as early as Wednesday, June 29. (The leadership wants to finish work on this bill before the recess that starts July 1, and the bill may be on the floor for more than one day.)
The message to your U.S. representative should be: please work for—and vote to approve—an amendment with a major increase in Amtrak funding. Also, if the Amtrak problem is not fixed, vote against final passage. You can remind them of the connection between the logic of saving Amtrak and the price of oil, which briefly passed $60 a barrel yesterday and remained near that mark earlier today. Go to our Action Alert for full details and contact information.
On June 21, the committee, in approving the transportation/treasury bill, rejected two amendments that sought to restore funding to the $1.2 billion level.
The committee bill (like the subcommittee bill approved June 15) also contained a list of routes (identified by numbers comprehensible only after cross-checking with an Amtrak route-by-route table) on which funding could not be spent: all long-distance routes, Chicago-Detroit-Pontiac, Chicago-Indianapolis and New York-Charlotte. Report language indicates that the list consisted of all routes that lose at least $30 per passenger.
However, the list is misleading because it distracts attention from the fact that at $550 million nothing will run. Undaunted, Subcommittee Chairman Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) told the committee, “The subcommittee’s Amtrak proposal is an honest one and deserves the committee’s support.”
Subcommittee ranking member John Olver (D-MA) said, “The chairman’s mark uses… a sledgehammer, terminating the concept of a national rail passenger system… If this committee reports out this bill, ...[Amtrak] will be out of business quickly, it should be no surprise if there is no passenger rail service next year.” However, reflecting the difficulties posed by the overall Republican budget resolution, both Olver and David Obey (D-WI), the full committee’s top Democrat, praised Knollenberg for doing the best job anyone could with the inadequate funding allocation the subcommittee got. Obey said Knollenberg “has done an absolutely fair job of allocating funds, but I think that [the budget resolution was] the wrong decision to make…I intend to vote against the bill.”
Olver offered an amendment boosting funding for Amtrak (to $1.2 billion) and four other items. He repeated the crucial fact that Amtrak could not operate any trains with $550 million. However, his offset—rolling back the Bush tax cut for those reporting over one million dollars in income—led to a party-line defeat, 27-34.
New committee member Denny Rehberg (R-MT), saying “Amtrak is not just essential, it is critical” for Montana, proposed an amendment declaring that the Chicago-Seattle/Portland Empire Builder would continue to run, but not adding any funding. This was defeated on a voice vote. During the discussion, Rep. Martin Olav Sabo (D-MN) said as a college student he commuted by train between home in Williston, ND, and the Twin Cities, and he still reads in the local ND paper about folks using the Empire Builder to visit that area.
Olver said Rehberg’s plea “illustrates the problem of the blunt instrument we’re using. These [long-distance] lines have a very important role to play. I hope we end up with a national system, not just the intercity trains [his term for corridors].”
Obey asked: “How many of you would be willing to [eliminate all subsidies] for highways?” said Obey. “I’ve got highways in my district that you can drive 30 miles and not see another car. If we applied the same logic to highways, we would have no rural roads…It is mindless that we apply a profitability standard that we do not apply to airlines and certainly not to highways.”
Knollenberg said the Amtrak system is “badly broken” and Amtrak could save routes by reducing service from daily to tri-weekly, and by eliminating sleeping cars (“save $100 million”) and dining cars (“save $83 million”). But the huge proportion of Amtrak passengers who connect between routes would dramatically reduce the usefulness of a network with many tri-weekly trains. Also, an earlier House hearing established that the purpose of food service is to increase ticket revenue, not to be a profit center, and that—while Amtrak’s contract with food provider GateGourmet needs improvement—prospective savings are nowhere near $83 million.
Finally, Virgil Goode (R-VA) offered a $1.2-million-for-Amtrak amendment, using as an offset the elimination of the earned income tax credit for those working in the U.S. on visas. This was defeated on a voice vote.
Conferees on the highway-transit bill, HR3, reportedly have reached agreement on a funding level ($286.5 billion), but not on the minimum rate of return. Other issues still in play include an effort by Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Christopher Shays (R-CT) to secure adoption of a Senate-passed provision to increase the monthly limit on tax-free, employer-provided transit benefits from the present $105 to $200 (the present limit on parking benefits).
Also, there apparently is an effort to move a controversial provision—liability protection for MTBE (a gasoline additive, more details) producers—from the energy bill to the highway bill. MTBE supporters evidently hope the provision will have a better chance of surviving in the highway bill, and that the move would make it easier to pass an energy bill.
The saga of securing funding for Amtrak’s Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha service continued this week as Wisconsin legislators demanded action from their Illinois counterparts. Wisconsin state Representative Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) introduced an amendment to the fiscal 2006 state transportation budget that would “force Illinois to pay a greater share of the contract, even though the Illinois budget has already been adopted,” according to the Associated Press. It is not clear why Rep. Stone introduced the amendment as Wisconsin has no authority to force another state to take action. Unless the subsidy is increased, the Hiawathas face schedule curtailments or fare increases, while ridership is at all-time record highs (up 15% versus a year ago).
The Commonwealth of Virginia will have a dedicated source of funding for rail infrastructure improvements, thanks to legislation signed last week by Governor Mark Warner. The Rail Enhancement Fund will have $23 million earmarked each year for passenger and freight rail improvement projects. “People have been talking for years about the critical need for us to reinvest in rail. Today, we are putting money behind the promise with a predictable, stable funding source for improvements to our rail infrastructure,” said Warner. The funds require a 30% match from non-state sources, which can include local governments, regional authorities, or railroad companies. This fund would certainly benefit from the long-overdue 80%-20% federal funding match program.
A mid-day frequency will be added to Amtrak’s Cascade service next year. The announcement, made by the Washington State Department of Transportation on Monday, would close a gap in the corridor’s service and potentially attract as many as 100,000 new riders to the service. The expansion, and about $8 billion in highway, bridge, ferry, and railroad projects, is being funded by a voter-approved 9.5 cent increase in the gas tax.
Five people were killed and over a hundred injured when a passenger train traveling from Tel Aviv to Beersheba struck a truck in southern Israel. News reports from the scene indicate that the truck broke down at a grade crossing and that the driver failed to inform the railroad. Despite the high casualty rate, train crashes in Israel are rare.
The Swiss Federal Railways, known around the world for their punctual and efficient operations, suffered a catastrophic electrical grid failure on Wednesday. Nearly the entire SBB system was shut down from 5:45 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time. Investigators are still looking into the cause of the failure.
Peru has taken a unique step forward in developing locomotive technology by putting a locomotive into service that runs on compressed natural gas (CNG). Reuters reports that, “The cargo and passenger train, which runs along the world’s highest railway at 16,076 feet above sea level in Peru’s central Andes, will switch from diesel to run on two engines designed by General Electric. ‘With this technological development, Peru is taking a big step forward in terms of its energy independence,’ said Juan de Dios Olaechea, president of the Ferrocarril Central Andino” (the railroad operating the locomotive).
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