Jun 02, 2006: Hotline #452

The full House Appropriations Committee could take up the fiscal 2007 funding bill that includes Amtrak appropriations as early as next Tuesday afternoon.  It is important that Amtrak funding be raised from the $900 million approved in subcommittee.  Let your Representative know that you want them to support increased Amtrak funding; go to our Action Alert center for full details.

NARP on Tuesday filed a statement with the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees Amtrak, and issued a news release based on that statement.

The cause of last Thursday’s power outage on the Northeast Corridor has yet to be identified; Amtrak continues to investigate the specific cause.  Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) held a news conference at Penn Station earlier this week demanding answers and requesting that the Department of Transportation establish a “Blue Ribbon” panel to investigate what went wrong.  The outage generated some positive editorial press coverage, including a major piece in Saturday’s New York Times.

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way employees held a protest on Thursday at a New Jersey Jackals baseball game in Little Falls, NJ.  The team is owned by Floyd Hall, a member of the Amtrak Board of Directors.  The union members protested the fact that they have not had a new contract in seven years and accuse Amtrak of not negotiating in good faith.  About fifty members participated in a picket outside of the stadium, then ten members walked onto the field just after the completion of the National Anthem and delayed the start of the game.  One protestor was arrested.  Amtrak’s most recent negotiation session with the BMWE occurred on April 26, after a nearly two year hiatus. 

Charles Nottingham has been nominated by President Bush to the Surface Transportation Board.  Nottingham is currently the Federal Highway Administration’s associate administrator for policy and government affairs and has an extensive history working as a Congressional staffer.  If the Senate confirms Nottingham, he is expected to become the chair of the STB.

In a show of support for the development of an intercity passenger train service, the Ohio Senate passed a resolution last Wednesday (May 28), calling on Congress to allocate much needed federal funding to conduct an environmental impact study for the proposed Ohio Hub Regional Rail System.  Lawmakers voted unanimously to pass a resolution in support of the Ohio Hub, which was sponsored by Senator Kirk Schuring (R-29-Canton).  The Ohio House is considering a similar resolution introduced by Representative Larry Flowers (R-19-Canal Winchester).  “We are really excited about this project as it will create thousands of jobs throughout Ohio,” stated Carla Henthorn, Ohio Blue Green Alliance and United Steelworkers.  “In addition, it will help cut automobile pollution by reducing the number of vehicles on Ohio’s highways.”

Seventy Amtrak passengers were stranded on Amtrak’s Hoosier State on Union Pacific tracks near Dolton, Illinois, for about five hours Sunday night until buses rescued them at about 2:00 a.m.  The engineer allegedly committed a violation of railroad operating rules.  As a result, the engineer was removed from service for drug and alcohol testing, which is standard procedures in such an incident.  It appears that Amtrak dispatched no Customer Services personnel to the train, only a road foreman (preoccupied with the alleged rules violation) and later a policeman.  The Chicago-Indianapolis train does not have food service, but one news account (from NBC5 in Chicago) said, “Amtrak police provided snack packs to passengers during this time.”  Even though the train was just 21 miles from Chicago’s Union Station, no effort was made to get taxicabs at Union Station to go rescue the passengers. 

A CSX derailment in Tribes Hill, NY disrupted west-of-Albany Empire Corridor service earlier this week.  Twenty five cars derailed around 2pm on Tuesday, forcing Amtrak to establish a bus bridge around the incident.  Service was back to normal Thursday.

A major highway project on the Bay Bridge in San Francisco will affect Amtrak’s Emeryville-San Francisco bus service this weekend.  Check with Amtrak before traveling; some buses are not operating, while others are operating on the Bay Bridge with significant delay.  Capitol Corridor trains will hold ten minutes at Emeryville; San Joaquins 30 minutes.  Consider using BART from San Francisco points to the Richmond intermodal station.

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Jun 09, 2006: Hotline #453

The House Appropriations Committee, at about 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6, approved its Transportation/ Treasury/HUD/Judiciary/D.C. appropriations bill, rejecting on voice votes two amendments which would have lifted Amtrak funding above President Bush’s requested $900 million level, widely regarded as a shutdown level.

John Olver (MA), top Democrat on the relevant subcommittee offered an amendment that would have increased Amtrak funding by $400 million. It was part of a $1.7 billion amendment, the balance of which was for housing programs. Rules require any funding increase to be “paid for,” and Olver said his increases would be paid for by increasing taxes on each millionaire by $4,700.

Later, John Sweeney (R-NY) offered an Amtrak-specific amendment which would have increased Amtrak by $291 million. Sweeney said Congress asked Amtrak to reform “and they have,” citing improved accounting procedures, restructuring of dining car staffing, and improvement of business practices.

He said, “We need to push forward on this discussion,” noting that Amtrak reduces dependence on foreign oil. He cited Oak Ridge National Laboratory statistics indicating Amtrak is 18% more energy efficient per passenger-mile than airlines, 17% than automobiles. He also cited Amtrak’s importance in the wake of 9/11. He said the Northeast would “suffer incredible economic strife if Amtrak shuts down.” Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) was positive, noting that the bill falls $698 million short of what the Amtrak board says it needs. She also rebutted the impression that Amtrak is giving away tickets, saying Amtrak’s yield (revenue per passenger mile) has risen every year save one since 1994, with the 2005 yield 65% higher than that in 1994.

But Sweeney’s offsets—which he said were administrative expenses—also were unacceptable, both to Olver and Subcommittee Chairman Joe Knollenberg (R-MI).  Knollenberg said Sweeney’s offsets “would tear this bill apart,” including taking $50 million from the Judiciary, $11 million from Federal Transit Administration and $5 million from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The next step in the funding process will be on the House floor, where at least the bill arrives with more for Amtrak than was the case a year ago—$900 million vs. $550 million.

It is unclear whether a repeat of last year will be possible. Last year, the cuts that protected Amtrak on the House floor came from the General Services Administration.  GSA is “the federal government’s premier acquisition agency.  Our mission is to help other agencies better serve the public by meeting – at best value – their needs for products and services, and to simplify citizen access to government information and services.”  Thus cuts to this agency generally do not provoke the immediate citizen outcries that cuts to Amtrak and many other programs produce.

To protect GSA this year, however, the committee took the program completely out of the bill, confining it to report language so that it can be conferenced with the Senate.  So other offsets will have to be found, and it gets that much harder.

While the committee’s bill increases aviation spending about $1.6 billion above President Bush’s request, failure to have done that—and thus failure to provide the funding levels “guaranteed” in Vision 100 (the aviation authorization law)—would have subjected the bill to a point of order on the House floor. 

So the bill increases highway and aviation funding above current levels, and slashes Amtrak to a shutdown level.  Meanwhile, AAA Spokesman Gregg Sundstrom says:  “Consumers ought to proceed under the assumption that gasoline is going to become more expensive through the end of the decade” (Barrron’s, May 29, page M12).  Many Americans wonder why Congress cannot “connect the dots” on transportation policy, and agree with the letter in the June 8 New York Times which concluded, “Slash money for Amtrak? Where did this idea come from? And who are these people?”

As last year, the fight moves to the full House floor, possibly as early as next Wednesday (June 14). Tell your representatives that the transportation modal spending priorities are absurd—“answering” the world energy situation by cutting rail while further increasing aviation and highways.  Urge your Representative to vote for any amendments offered to raise Amtrak funding and vote against amendments to cut it or add micromanaging language more damaging that what is already in the bill.  Full details and contact information are in our Action Alert Center.

A House-Senate conference committee has approved the Iraq-Katrina emergency supplemental bill, its total cost to $94.5 billion from the Senate-passed $109 billion to after trimming the overall cost of the project.  This includes removing the $700 million earmark which represented the first installment on a plan to abandon the New Orleans-Mobile rail route and convert part of it to a highway.  A compromise provision provides $140 million to shipbuilding companies along the Gulf Coast that were damaged in Katrina.

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on Thursday to consider the nominations of R. Hunter Biden and Donna McLean to the Amtrak Board of Directors.  In introducing Biden, the son of Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) spoke of his credentials in business and e-commerce, and said, “Hunter has spent a lot of time on Amtrak trains…(he) has lived in Delaware while commuting to his job in Washington.  You learn a lot about what works and what could work better at Amtrak by riding those trains.”  In her opening statement, McLean acknowledged the link between increasing oil prices and need for a viable passenger rail system.  She also acknowledged significant improvements at Amtrak over recent years.

Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) emphasized to each candidate that they were being appointed as members of the Amtrak Reform Board and charged them to support significant change at Amtrak.  Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) pointedly asked McLean if the House-proposed funding level of $900 million was sufficient.  McLean stated that she had not yet studied Amtrak’s finances in that detail.  Lautenberg in response asked her if running a good national rail passenger system “takes money,” to which McLean replied, “Yes sir.”

Amtrak’s investigation into the May 25 power failure on the Northeast Corridor has been focused on two substations in the Philadelphia area: one owned by Amtrak, one by a private electric company.  Age of the Amtrak-owned infrastructure does not appear to be an issue, since the three substations that Amtrak owns between Washington and New York were built after 1992.  The three other substations are owned by private electric companies and date to 1932.  Since the May 25 disruption, two other, briefer, interruptions in power have occurred, both weather related.  In one case, on Saturday, June 3, a tree felled wires on SEPTA’s Bala Cynwyd line, which is part of the same electrical network, and Amtrak trains were delayed up to 86 minutes; one Acela Express was terminated.  Amtrak has also now stationed a locomotive near the Hudson River tunnels with a universal coupler to rescue trains from the Hudson or East River Tunnels in the event of a future power failure.  A New Jersey Transit train of multiple-unit electric cars was stuck in the Hudson River tunnel for nearly four hours during the May 25 disruption because NJT MU cars use an automatic coupler as opposed to a standard railroad coupler.

Thursday was “Dump The Pump Day”, sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association and their “Public Transportation: Wherever Life Takes You” program.  Transit systems across the country offered various incentives for people to leave their cars at home and try transit for the day.  Even without Dump The Pump Day, transit usage is up nationwide.  Metrolink, the Los Angeles-area commuter rail operator, reported one million boardings in the month of May, an all-time record.  Ridership on Metrolink has increased 8.2 percent over the last year.

BNSF Railway Company has begun a program that will encourage railfans to report suspicious behavior.  William Heileman, BNSF general director, Police and Protection Solutions said, “Every day across the country, rail fans photograph and watch trains as they pass through communities. It seems natural to harness their interest to help keep America’s rail system safe.” Anyone interested in the program can register on the “Citizens United for Rail Security” website.  They will receive an official ID card and additional access to the website.

Amtrak has announced the schedules for the new Cascades service between Seattle and Portland.  The additional frequency begins on July 1 and will include festivities at Seattle’s King Street Station.  Overall schedule patterns and equipment rotations have changed.  Trains will depart Seattle for Portland at 7:30 a.m., 9:45 a.m. (the Coast Starlight), 11:20 a.m. (new train), 2:20 p.m., and 5:25 p.m.  Trains will depart Portland for Seattle at 8:45 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 2:50 p.m. (new train), and 6:15 p.m.  Due to its unreliable operation, the northbound Coast Starlight is discharge only, Eugene-Seattle.  The new trains are loaded into Amtrak’s computer system and are available for purchase.

To provide Union Pacific with a trackwork window to perform badly-needed maintenance between Sacramento and Eugene, the Coast Starlight schedule will change on June 14.  Train 14, the northbound Starlight, will leave stations between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara 45 minutes earlier and stations between San Luis Obispo and Salem one hour earlier.  The connection from the Southwest Chief is still guaranteed, if not a bit tenuous; there is ample time for a connection via Bakersfield and Martinez to catch up to the Starlight on San Joaquin 717.  Although it is just shy of one hour, the connection from train 717 to 14 at Martinez will be permitted.

Amtrak is reminding passengers that discount codes bought and sold on E-Bay are not valid.  The problem appears to be most prevalent with the Campus Visit program (for high school juniors and seniors to visit colleges) and various Guest Rewards discount promotions.  Passengers must meet all conditions for a discount at time of ticket issuance and if they cannot, they will be charged the full applicable fare.

More Amtrak stations began offering digEplayer rentals this week.  The digEplayer system stores many current movies, television shows, and other programs on a pre-programmed unit with a 7-inch screen. The unit has 8-10 hours of battery life.  Units can now be rented at Chicago, Seattle, Portland (Oregon), Emeryville, and Los Angeles.

Amtrak’s website is now available on handheld communications devices, or PDA’s.  You can point your browser to Amtrak’s regular website, amtrak.com, and it will recognize the PDA and adjust the settings.

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Jun 16, 2006: Hotline #454

Amtrak funding for fiscal 2007 was boosted to $1.114 billion on the House floor late Tuesday evening. The increased funding was offered in an amendment co-sponsored by Representatives Steve LaTourette (R-OH) and Jim Oberstar (D-MN).  The final vote was 266-158, with 71 Republicans voting yes.  The “yeas and nays” are available on the Clerk of the House’s website (click on “109th Congress, 2nd Session (2006)” then on roll call vote number 263, left column).  NARP voting charts, available in our members-only section, will be updated next week.

During his floor speech, LaTourette said, “Unlike aviation, highways and transit, there is no dedicated funding for investing in our Nation’s passenger rail service…  As the chairman of the Railroads Subcommittee, we have had exhaustive hearings, oversight hearings, dealing with the Amtrak situation, and we have done a number of things.”  In opposing the amendment, Rep. John Mica (R-FL) reaffirmed his role as Congress’s leading Amtrak-hater, saying, “giving Amtrak more money would be like giving at this point an alcoholic another drink and asking him to sober up.”

While the funding increase was a positive, the bill also includes deadly language that could cripple Amtrak regardless of how much money it receives.  Perhaps the two worst examples are:

• Within 120 days of enactment, Amtrak is to give the appropriations committees a plan to make “food and beverage service” and “first class service (including sleeping car service)…revenue neutral or better on a fully allocated cost basis no later than October 1, 2008.”
• The bill also says that “not later than October 1, 2008, Amtrak shall reduce its system overhead expenses by 10 percent from the level identified as existing on October 1, 2006, and in each subsequent fiscal year, reduce system overhead expenses by 10 percent of the level existing on October 1 of the immediate preceding year.”

The above language suggests an attempt to kill Amtrak through the back door, the front door having failed.

The focus now shifts to the United States Senate. Tell your Senators that you want to see Amtrak fully funded and that micromanaging Amtrak in an appropriations bill is wrong: provide oversight but don’t write legislation that would kill the railroad.  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details, including contact information.

United States railroads originated 1.7 million carloads in May; an all-time high, which was 3.9 percent above the May 2005 volume, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).  Canadian railroads also saw strong growth.  The increase in carloads and resulting congestion explains a great deal of delays to Amtrak trains on tracks owned by the freight railroads, as well as growing tension between railroads and shippers. 

Despite the statistics release by AAR this week, there is still no plan for federal investment in railroad infrastructure.  On Tuesday, NARP President George Chilson sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta outlining NARP’s concerns about the DOT’s “National Strategy to Reduce Congestion” report, especially the report’s failure to mention rail.  Chilson began, “While you are right to target congestion as a serious and growing national problem, we are dumbfounded that you failed even to mention rail in National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America’s Transportation Network…Neglect of rail—both by federal policy and the state policies that it encourages—is the primary reason that our nation continues to spend enormous amounts on transportation infrastructure without satisfactory results.”  The letter is available here on our website.

The Texas Eagle now calls at a beautifully restored station in Mineola, Texas.

The photo above depicts Amtrak’s westbound Texas Eagle arrives at the newly restored station of Mineola, Texas, (80 miles east of Dallas) following station rededication ceremonies on June 10, 2006.  The station, now designated as the Mineola Transportation Plaza, contains a large waiting room, a railroad museum, a conference room and space for a future ticket agent’s office.  Grants from Texas DOT, Mineola Development, Inc., and the Meredith Foundation were used to reverse the Texas & Pacific’s 1951 modernization of the station, restoring the building to its as-built, 1906 appearance.  After Mineola became an Amtrak stop in 1996, civic leaders from this community gained national recognition for their outspoken support for the Texas Eagle.

The State of Missouri and Amtrak are in negotiations to start service between St. Louis and Springfield.  Reasons cited include gas prices, growth in the local economy, and Tuesday’s final flight of American Eagle (nee-TWA Express) service between the two cities.  No timetable for staring the service has been set.

The American Civil Liberties Union is threatening to sue Boston’s MBTA over their unwritten ban on photography of subway trains, commuter rail, and busses.  The MBTA claims that the policy is necessary in the post-9/11 environment and that no arrests have been made; the ACLU says that is a violation of First Amendment rights.  The MBTA policy (and other similar policies at other transit agencies) stands in direct contrast to BNSF Railways’ attempts to engage railfans as extra “eyes and ears” to improve security.  The BNSF project, “Citizens United for Rail Security,” was discussed in last week’s hotline.

A commuter train derailed in Israel on Monday, killing five people and injuring 67.  The train struck a pickup truck, which caused a locomotive and three rail cars to overturn.  According to the Associated Press, “all five of the dead had been trapped inside one of the overturned cars, according to rescue service spokesman Yeruham Mendola.”

Wednesday was not a good day for Amtrak service disruptions.  Regional train #93 suffered a minor derailment in South Norwalk, CT on Wednesday, disrupting Amtrak and Metro-North services.  Also, the Sunset Limited struck the rear of a tractor-trailer rig near Vallier, LA on Wednesday.  One passenger reported minor injuries and was transported to a hospital.  The lead unit was heavily damaged and it was set out for repairs.  Finally, a collision between two BNSF freight trains near Kismet, CA, disrupted San Joaquin service.  Passengers were bused between Fresno and Merced; trains were back operating (with some delays) Thursday evening.

Amtrak once again is making provisions for checked baggage for passengers whose trip includes a train without baggage car, but a final destination that does provide it.  Passengers can send baggage early so it will reach destination by the time the passenger does.  Examples: Seattle to Wilmington, Delaware (passenger’s Washington-Wilmington train is unlikely to be the one that carries checked baggage); New York to Pittsburgh (passenger rides direct on Pennsylvanian but baggage travels New York-Washington-Pittsburgh, arriving Pittsburgh on the Capitol Limited.

An extra Hiawatha train will operate during Milwaukee’s Summerfest (an annual outdoor concert and bazaar).  The extra train will depart Milwaukee at 11:59 p.m. southbound to Chicago, making all regular Hiawatha stops on a typical Hiawatha schedule.  The service will operate on June 30 and July 1, 7, and 8.

The funeral of Linda Park Verdi, 55, was held Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia.  She was a hard-working and much-loved 33-year Amtrak veteran whose accomplishments included the North American Rail Pass and inauguration of the Amtrak Travel Planner.  For more, see Ross Capon’s June 14 entry on NARP’s Blog.

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Jun 23, 2006: Hotline #455

The Senate appropriations committee is expected to take up their fiscal 2007 transportation funding bill in July—subcommittee on the 18th, and full committee on the 20th, though staff work is already under way.  Tell your two Senators that you want to see Amtrak fully funded, that this is no time to cut Amtrak funding by $180 million as in the House bill.  Also, emphasize that statutory management directives such as in the House bill could be just as dangerous to Amtrak as inadequate funding.  Also urge support for an Amtrak reauthorization (S.1516).  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details, including contact information.

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta will resign from President Bush’s cabinet effective July 7.  In addition, DOT Deputy Council Jeffrey Rosen, who has been Mineta’s representative to the Amtrak Board, will also resign, effective July 3, to take a position at Office of Management and Budget.  Mineta had been the only Democrat in President Bush’s cabinet and speculation had circulated about Mineta’s resignation in Washington since SAFETEA-LU (the big highway-transit bill) was signed last year.  White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said, “He was not being pushed out, As a matter of fact, the president and the vice president and others were happy with him.  He put in five and half years that’s enough time.”  Mineta’s resignation letter to President Bush does not mention Amtrak or last year’s efforts to bankrupt and shut down the system.  As to speculation about who might succeed Mineta, CQ Today, a Capitol Hill publication, reported that “a well-placed lobbyist” identified as possibilities Deputy DOT Secretary Maria Cino and Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Michael P. Jackson (a former DOT deputy secretary).

The Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing about freight railroad capacity on Wednesday.  The main thrust of the hearing was to review a Government Accountability Office report on freight railroads issues.  Among the facts presented at the hearing was that 91% of all the freight in the United States is handled by the five major freight railroads and that many shippers—especially smaller companies—feel powerless against what they perceive as a massive bureaucracy at the Surface Transportation Board.  The witness list included JayEtta Hecker (Director of the Physical Infrastructure Team, U.S. Government Accountability Office), W. Douglas Buttrey (Chairman, Surface Transportation Board), Dale Schuler (President,  National Association of Wheat Growers), The Honorable Glenn English (Corporate Executive Officer, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and a former member of Congress), John McIntosh (President, Chlor Alkali Products, Olin Corporation), John Ficker (President, The National Industrial Transportation League), and Edward Hamberger (President and CEO, Association of American Railroads).

Senator Lott had a particularly pointed line of questioning for the STB’s Buttrey regarding fuel surcharges.  Buttrey replied that carriers are using fuel surcharges as a profit maker and that some form of regulation is needed to fix this.  Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said small shippers don’t air grievances with STB because they don’t think they will get a fair shake.  He and the other Senators present agreed that they want to see something done, not another decade of studies and hearings. 

One item of note—and disappointment—from the hearing was the apparent resistance of the tank car industry to a federal match for rail infrastructure investment without extensive regulatory reforms.  Their frustration, like many other shippers, centers around what they perceive as predatory pricing and poor service from the freight railroads.  However, their position seems to be cutting off their nose to spite their face; investment in infrastructure will improve transit times and fluidity.  A full witness list and Senator and witness statements can be found on the Commerce Committee website.

Another “low voltage” situation stalled rail traffic on the northeast corridor on Wednesday.  The morning failure between Newark and New York lasted about 30 minutes and, due to safety protocol instituted after the May 25 shut down, no trains were stuck in the Hudson River Tunnel.  The cause of this has not yet been identified.  NEC power problems were the focus of a hearing in the New Jersey State Legislature on Thursday.  Amtrak Vice President-Operations William Crosbie emphasized that the system worked as designed on May 25, “the system did what it was supposed to do`` to protect itself from electrical damage and even longer delays. ``We didn`t have a piece of equipment fail,`` he added (WINS Radio).

The fall peak shipping season may begin as early as June. An article in Traffic World this week says that logistics managers are optimistic for a smooth shipping season.  “There is no congestion at the ports now, and the truck and rail systems are operating fluidly,” said Paul Bingham, an economist with Global Insight, which monitors shipping trends at the country’s major container ports.  However, the article notes recent AAR data that shows that railroads are already hauling peak loads prior to peak season.  Ezra Finkin, legislative director at the Waterfront Coalition, said, “We’re concerned that freight demand will butt up against limited rail capacity this fall.”  Rail hubs identified for potential problems include Chicago, Kansas City, Memphis, and Houston.

The New Jersey Transit Board of Directors has approved a three-year demonstration of direct New York City-Atlantic City rail service, expected to begin in late 2007.  From Friday afternoons through Sunday nights, 18 trips are expected to run (via Frankford Junction in North Philadelphia), with limited stops in New Jersey.  NJT has a contract with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) and a partnership of Atlantic City hotels (Atlantic City Express Service, LLC).  NJT Executive Director George Warrington said, in an NJT release, “I applaud the [CRDA], Borgata, Caesar’s and Harrah’s for their leadership and Amtrak for their cooperation in making this special service possible.”  The deal includes $15 million to add eight cars on to NJT’s current bi-level car order and $4.5 million to lease four dual-mode locomotives from Amtrak.  The direct service from Manhattan is possible thanks to Amtrak’s life safety improvements in the Hudson River tubes that reactivated the long-dormant third rail between Penn Station and the New Jersey side of the tunnel.

Los Angeles’ Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit line is already surpassing its 15 year ridership goals, prompting calls for the line’s conversion to light rail.  Ridership has increased nearly 31% since opening day.  MTA has added four busses to the route, but overcrowding problems persist.  “The system was underbuilt and underfunded,” said Nate Brogin, a former chairman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association’s transportation committee. “What we need is to go back and rebuild the system, the correct way - not the cheapest.”

Kansas City Southern is partnering with the Louisiana Department of Transportation in an effort to reduce grade crossing incidents in Northwest Louisiana.  The $16 million project will include improvements to about 300 grade crossings (both upgrading equipment and closing redundant crossings).  In a news release, Louisiana DOT said, “By combining available state and federal resources with railroad resources, we are making important strides toward enhancing safety throughout the state.”

A CSX Freight train derailment on Monday severely delayed the southbound Auto Train.  Delays have cascaded all week because the trainsets turn same-day at their terminals.  To get the trains back on schedule, today’s Auto Trains are cancelled; passengers are being offered refunds or accommodations on subsequent trains.

Two service disruptions will affect Portland-Eugene service next week. Saturday through Wednesday, train 509 (5:25 p.m. from Seattle) will not run beyond Portland, and Sunday through Thursday, train 504 (9:00 a.m. from Eugene) will not operate.  Substitute buses will be provided.  On Monday, a switch replacement project at Tacoma affects several Cascade trains; check with Amtrak for complete details.  Sunday night’s Coast Starlight terminates in Portland, Monday’s train originates there.

Despite these minor disruptions, the fourth Seattle-Portland Cascades Service train begins next Saturday, July 1.  There will be a commemorative event at King Street Station; more information can be found on the King Street Station Centennial website.

Amtrak supporters and local officials gathered this morning at the Topeka, Kansas, Amtrak station for an event to recognize recent renovations to the station.  NARP Director John Mills Sr. led the efforts to refurbish the facility.  Hundreds of Topeka residents attended, a local radio station did a live broadcast most of the morning, and long distance Amtrak service got an excellent publicity boost.  Many thanks to Mills and other Topeka rail advocates for their work!

The 50th anniversary of the Interstate Highway system is being observed with a convoy now crossing America, tracing the 1919 First Transcontinental Motor Train. Go to the event website to see where the convoy is.  One of the participants is Merrill Eisenhower Atwater, a great-grandson of President Eisenhower. You can read Mr. Atwater’s blog online.  In 1956, people walked and biked and used transit and intercity passenger rail more frequently than they do today.  The Interstate System was planned to augment these options, not supplant them, but events proved otherwise.  President Eisenhower himself is said to have been dismayed when he realized the amount of destruction the Interstates were creating within cities.  We need a clear vision for the future, which includes more travel choices and restoration of a bigger market share for non-highway modes.  A misty, glorified “warts-removed” focus on the Interstates hopefully will not distract Americans from the vision we need.

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Jun 30, 2006: Hotline #456

Senate Appropriations Committee action on the fiscal 2007 transportation funding bill could come as early as July 18 (subcommittee) and July 20 (full committee).  Many Senators will be home for the Fourth of July week; Congress reconvenes on Monday, July 10.  Be sure to check local media outlets for any town-hall meetings or public forums.  Whether in person or by phone or e-mail, tell both of your Senators that you want to see Amtrak’s funding increased over the house-passed level of $1.14 billion.  Also, express your opposition to the dangerous language included in the House appropriations bill and to putting anything similar in the Senate bill.  Finally, urge support for an Amtrak reauthorization (S.1516).  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details, including contact information.

NARP submitted a statement to the Senate Commerce Committee today (and issued a news release), reiterating its provisional support for the 25% investment tax credits sought by the freight railroads.  The statement also recognized the important role that public-private partnerships can play in enhancing capacity and efficiency of the nation’s railroad network, but cautioned that tax credits and partnerships combined will not come near filling the huge gap billion between investment needed to enable freight railroads just to maintain existing market share in a growing economy, and investment that the railroads are likely to make or finance on their own.  The full statement is available here on our website.

The House Railroads Subcommittee held a hearing this week on grade crossing safety.  The witness list included FRA Administrator Joseph Boardman, Association of American Railroads President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger, and Mr. James A Stem of the United Transportation Union.  A general theme was that grade crossing safety is a major weakness in the overall rail safety program administered by the FRA.  Chairman Steve LaTourette (R-OH) noted that the many current and in-development advances in railroad safety—including positive train control and improved track inspection protocols—are making a difference.  However, an overwhelming majority of railroad injuries and fatalities are due to grade crossing and trespasser accidents.  Administrator Boardman outlined a series of FRA actions intended to reduce the number of incidents and promised continued action on this and other rail safety initiatives.  He discussed the partnership between Louisiana DOT and the Kansas City Southern railroad which was featured in last week’s hotline.

The California legislature has rejected a bill that would have banned push-pull commuter trains.  The legislation was in reaction to the horrific January 2005 three-way collision between two Metrolink trains and a Union Pacific freight train.  A compromise measure calls for an extensive study of push-pull operations by the University of California-Berkley. 

The emotion of one incident ought not to prohibit operation of a proven, reliable and efficient means of passenger rail service.  With more than 50 years of documented, safe, world-wide operation, including all across California, passenger rail operators are eager for the facts reveal themselves in this study.  Primarily, those facts are that the issue of grade-crossings in urban areas will emerge as a major safety culprit that the highway industry has ignored or from which it has separated itself of responsibility (saying it is a “railroad problem” and not the responsibility of the highway programs).  Clearly, vehicular traffic, motorists and truckers, are the prime beneficiaries of grade-crossing elimination/separation, yet this fact has been ignored for decades.

In addition to the push-pull bill, the California legislature approved and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill to postpone this year’s planned referendum on a $9.95 billion high speed rail package to 2008.  Lawmakers initially placed the bond measure on the November 2004 ballot, then decided the state faced more pressing needs and bumped the bonds back to this year’s ballot.

Rail advocates in the Rockford, IL area will meet with Amtrak officials on Monday to discuss the possibility of restoring passenger rail service to their city.  Rockford was last served by Amtrak’s Black Hawk in 1982.  Rockford advocates have been buoyed by the recent increase in state support to Amtrak service in Illinois.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush vetoed a bill that would have added a $2 surcharge to rental cars for the purpose of paying for transportation enhancements.  While Bush acknowledged the need for the funds, he called the proposal “taxation without representation.”  The funds would have been used for both highway and mass transit projects.

Another Los Angeles transit strike has been avoided with an agreement on a new labor contract.  Both sides credit a team of negotiators brought in to smooth over deep-held differences between labor and management.  Details of the contract have not yet been released.

A start date has been announced for the Rail Runner commuter rail service in Albuquerque.  The first trains will run Friday, July 14 and will be free for the first three months of operation.  Full service, including weekends, will begin later this year.  Full details are on the Rail Runner website.

The City of New Orleans almost derailed on Monday when it hit a misaligned piece of track near Tangipahoa, MS.  Five people were treated on the scene by emergency medical personnel, and four others were taken to a hospital for treatment of moderate injuries.  The train continued north after a two-and-a-half hour delay.

Record rainfall in the Mid-Atlantic and northeast has hampered Amtrak operations all week.  Many trains were delayed or cancelled Sunday and Monday as high water affected operations both on and off the Northeast Corridor.  All trains are back to normal now, with the exception of service west of Albany, NY.  A massive washout has occurred between Amsterdam and Utica.  As of this point, there is no estimate for line restoration.  There is currently no substitute bus service because of severe damage to roads in the area.

NARP is extremely fortunate to have a new intern, Darryl J. Yates, who started with us May 8.  Darryl graduated from Morgan State University (Baltimore) with a B.A. in Political Science on May 21.  Last summer, he was an intern on Capitol Hill in the office of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD). From June 1999 to December 2000 he volunteered at The Baltimore Zoo, helping with the summer education program, with caring for tropical animals, and with various administrative tasks, and also serving as tour guide and docent. In the summer of 1998, he volunteered at the Baltimore County Public Library, leading various children’s reading activities and registering hundreds of children for the summer reading program.  Darryl is about to begin a Masters of Public Administration program at the University of the District of Columbia.  Welcome, Darryl!

NARP wishes everyone a safe and happy Forth of July weekend! Please do make it a safe one; click here for some tips from the Red Cross.

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