Mar 02, 2007: Hotline #490

March 2, 2007

This week, three new co-sponsors were added to S.294, the bi-partisan Amtrak reauthorization bill.  They are Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Gordon Smith (R-OR).  Please urge your Senator to co-sponsor as well!  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details, including a list of co-sponsors and ways to contact your legislator.

This week saw two Senate hearings on Amtrak: one on S. 294, the other regarding Fiscal 2008 appropriations. 

The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on February 27 was chaired by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), who said, “Amtrak should be among the greatest passenger systems in the world.  Last year, flight delays were the worst since 2000.  One in four airplanes was late.  More than 5,000 new, light jets are projected in the next ten years.” 

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA), who called S.294 “the best piece of [Amtrak] legislation I’ve seen in 30 years.”  Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), noting that Cascades ridership is up and its continuation is important, welcomed Kelly Taylor of Oregon DOT. 

Rendell agreed with Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) that 80% federal funding for road projects and zero match for rail forces bad decisions.  The governor noted efforts to link the Lehigh Valley to New York City:  “They want to expand Highway 22 from four lanes to eight.  A rail line would be much more cost-effective but we can’t do it unless there is federal funding.”

Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Boardman said the Administration wants S.294 to spell out goals, including an end to federal operating subsidies, and transitioning Amtrak to a pure operating company.

Carper asked witnesses how they could improve S.294.  Wisconsin DOT Secretary Frank Busalacchi urged an increase in the funding the bill allocates for state partnerships, and urged the senators to continue “to work to find dedicated funding for passenger rail.”  Busalacchi is also on the Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission “charged with developing a new, 50-year vision for the nation’s transportation system.”  Lautenberg asked if the Commission is taking passenger rail seriously.  Busalacchi said “a few of us on the commission take passenger rail very seriously.  I can assure you this will be part of the report we give to Congress.  Commitment on the part of the federal government is important.  If we get a real commitment of dollars, we can make these trains run on-time.  It’s clear right now the federal commitment is not there.”

Amtrak President and CEO Kummant, discussing corridor development, said, “TGV would be nice but we could do an awful lot with existing equipment up to 80-100 mph.”  Asked about on-time performance, Kummant said he had met with executives of the four major U.S. railroads and would soon meet with the Canadian roads.  He called the on-time performance provisions of S.294 “thoughtful.”  Asked by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) about the Empire Builder, Kummant said ridership was healthy and “that will continue to be one of our iconic routes.”

The Senate Appropriations subcommittee chaired by Patty Murray (D-WA) considered Amtrak on February 28.  She and ranking member Christopher Bond (R-MO) agreed that the Bush request for Amtrak was not adequate.

Kummant said Amtrak is seeking $1.53 billion, including $485 million for operations, $760 million for capital and $285 million for debt service.  Beyond the $1.53 billion, Amtrak also supports $100 million for a federal matching program for corridor development and $50 million to make ADA improvements at Amtrak stations.  Kummant said he and his labor relations vice president “have probably done more outreach to labor in the past six months than my predecessors have in several years.  After the freight railroads reach an agreement on wages [see next item], that will probably set the pattern, and we will need to work some sort of bonus payment, and workplace flexibility.  It’s tough, it’s thorny, clearly runs into the crafts tradition…”

Testifying for the DOT Inspector General, David Tornquist said Amtrak achieved $61 million in savings from operational reforms in 2006 and “deserves credit for recent progress.”  He agreed that President Bush’s funding request was not sufficient to let Amtrak operate, though the IG’s funding recommendation was only $1.35 billion. 

Murray pressed Kummant on Amtrak’s route studies.  Kummant said “there may be one long-distance route that we convert into a series of state corridors, and a multi-year plan to do that.”  Murray then asked “are you going to end service to any communities?”  Kummant:  “It could be.  We may have to face some of that.  We already are not serving the route east of New Orleans.  It was not a good service to start with.  We’d like to look at some state corridors in that area.”

Tornquist then added, “There are some routes with high losses by any measure; there’s only a limited amount Amtrak can do to improve them.  They’ve gone through a very deliberative process.  We’ve met with their consultants; we have no problem with their methodology.  We’re eager to see what they come up with.”

The AFL-CIO’s Ed Wytkind called Bush’s FY 2008 budget request a “shutdown budget,” and said it’s disturbing that the Administration “has recycled old ideas that may sound different from the past but are not.” 

Robert Serlin, President of RIM Services, LLC, testified that his consortium’s proposal to drive Amtrak’s annual funding requirement down to about $500 million a year may “sound to good to be true, but I’m here to tell you that it is true.”  The plan is based on getting a $17.5 billion federal RIF loan, and promises a minimum of $600 million in Northeast Corridor capital investment a year for the next 50 years.  Those improvements would constitute “in kind” payment of interest, and repayment of the principle would be guaranteed “by an investment grade financial instrument transferred to US Treasury at transaction closing.”

Arlen Specter (R-PA) appeared briefly to say that Amtrak “has my support for a very substantial increase above” the Administration’s request.  Bond, referring to the authorization bill heard yesterday, said it “requires significant funding.  I don’t’ see that money being available.”

Seven rail unions have reached tentative collective bargaining agreements with the nation’s freight railroads.  The agreements, if ratified, would be in effect through 2009.  Both sides are pleased with the deal and both also felt the need to act because President Bush was due to appoint an emergency mediation board soon.  The railroads still have not come to terms with six other unions, including the United Transportation Union, which represents most conductors.

The Vermont House acted favorably last night on the state’s plan to purchase five new rail cars from Colorado Rail Company.  Senate consideration is expected to begin Tuesday, March 13.

The Federal Railroad Administration has denied the request for a $2.3 billion loan from the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern railroad.  In announcing the decision, FRA Administrator Joseph Boardman found that while the project met criteria for the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan program, there were too many questions about DM&E’s financial status and ability to repay the loan.  In addition, Boardman questioned the ability of DM&E to haul enough coal to generate the revenues that were targeted.  The project would have built 280 new miles of railroad, and rehabilitated 600 miles of existing track. 

Amtrak’s on time performance was the focus of a widely-published Associated Press story sent out Tuesday.  The article focuses primarily on Amtrak’s problems with its freight railroad hosts, using the Capitol Limited as an example.  To emphasize the point that many of these issues are outside of Amtrak’s control, the article pointed out that Northeast Corridor on time performance has improved dramatically and is now nearly 90%.  Several local papers took the AP story and customized it to their area (including Toledo, Seattle, and Grand Junction, CO).  If the article appeared in your local paper, consider submitting a Letter to the Editor that emphasizes the need for proper Amtrak funding and a federal-state intercity rail capital investment funding match to address the overall lack of capacity in the rail industry.

Anti-rail activists in Charlotte, NC are looking to repeal the city’s half-cent sales tax that supports mass transit operations and construction.  The “Stop The Train” coalition points to cost overruns and alleged mismanagement at the Charlotte Area Transit System.  The half cent tax has permitted CATS to more than double bus service and begin construction on a regional rail system.  The first line of that rail system, the South Boulevard line, is under construction but has come under heavy criticism for cost overruns and other problems.  Stop The Train has to collect 48,000 signatures to get the repeal placed on the November ballot.

The Province of British Columbia, the State of Washington, Amtrak, and BNSF Railway have announced an agreement that will result in an additional train operating between Seattle and Vancouver, starting in the summer of 2008.  The Province agreed to fund infrastructure improvements to make the new train a reality.  Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said, “This project will boost tourism dollars, reduce traffic congestion, and ease vehicle emissions on our major transportation corridors and at our border crossings.”

Severe winter weather has hampered Amtrak operations this week.  Norfolk Southern experienced severe congestion and inability to get fresh crews to trains, forcing Amtrak to detour the Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited via the Michigan Line and Detroit.  Severe delays resulted, especially on the segment of the NS mainline the trains were still forced to use (between Chicago and Porter, IN).  The Capitol Limited’s February 25 departures were canceled.  The California Zephyr has been terminated several days at Reno due to heavy snows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and a series of Union Pacific snow spreader derailments.  Sacramento-Reno Thruway Buses have also been cancelled or severely delayed.

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Mar 09, 2007: Hotline #491

Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD) introduced H.R. 1300, the “Program for Real Energy Security” or “PROGRESS” Act on March 1.  The same bill was introduced in the 109th Congress, but did not receive consideration.  This year’s bill includes the same RIDE-21 high speed rail bill that the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed last year—with $12 billion in tax credit bonding authority for states. This means real federal support for state-led incremental corridor improvements.  The bill also contains commuter rail access provisions strongly supported by American Public Transportation Association and opposed by the freight railroads.  As of March 7, H.R. 1300 had 102 sponsors (including Hoyer)—all Democrats.

Ask your House member to co-sponsor H.R. 1300 and to push for a House companion bill to S.294, the Amtrak reauthorization.  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details.

Enrique Sosa resigned from the Amtrak Board of Directors, citing an increasing number of personal obligations.  Sosa, who was recess appointed twice by President Bush and never confirmed by the Senate, has served on the board since 2004.  In his resignation letter to President Bush, Sosa stated, “It has been a privilege to have been on the Amtrak Board for the past two years. It has also been a very rewarding experience for I truly believe that real and very significant progress has been made towards seeing an Amtrak that is fulfilling its role.”

The Environmental Protection Agency released new regulations regarding diesel locomotive and ship engines.  Over the next 25 years, the regulations will require reduction of nitrogen oxide by 80% and fine particulate matter (soot) by 90%.  EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson said, “Over the last century, diesels have been America’s economic workhorse, and through this rule, an economic workhorse is also becoming an environmental workhorse.”
Amtrak released a study regarding restoration of passenger rail service between Chicago, Rockford, and Dubuque.  The study, requested by Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), pegs capital investment needs at $22 to $62 million (depending on the route chosen) and annual operating costs of $5 million.  The service is strongly supported by Northwest Illinois; over 200 people turned out for a town hall meeting hosted by Durbin last Fall in Rockford.  Eastern Iowa and Southern Wisconsin would also benefit from the service.

The Incremental Train Control System (ITCS) on Amtrak’s Michigan Line will be expanded south of Niles to New Buffalo, MI this year.  When the project is complete, 66 miles of the Michigan Line will be protected by the advanced signaling and train control system.  Currently, trains operate at 95mph in ITCS territory; an increase to 100mph and eventually 110mph may occur late this year or early next year.  Since canceling its Positive Train Control project, the State of Illinois is said to be seriously considering the ITCS technology for the Chicago-St. Louis line.

Jacksonville, Florida will host a display of a Colorado Railcar DMU tomorrow at the Prime Osborn Convention Center (formerly Jacksonville Union Station).  The event, sponsored by Jacksonville Transit Agency is intended to drum up support for commuter rail in Northern Florida.  The State is moving ahead with many projects, including purchasing Tri-Rail’s Fort Lauderdale-Miami right of way, purchasing right of way for commuter rail service in the Orlando area, and studying the feasibility of rail service along the Florida East Coast railroad route.

The Vermont Senate Transportation Committee is set to take up the funding resolution for the purchase of new Diesel Multiple Unit trains next week.  It is important that House language preventing the operation of a second frequency and unnecessarily restrictions on station stops in Connecticut be removed.

Amtrak’s Spring Timetable change will occur April 2.  One major change has already come to light.  The eastbound Lake Shore Limited (train 48) will depart Chicago at 10:00pm.  Select intermediate times include: Cleveland 7:00am, Buffalo 10:00am, Albany 4:10pm, New York 6:45pm and the connecting Albany-Boston train arrives in Boston at 9:45pm.  Sleeping car passengers will be permitted to board in Chicago at 8:00pm and a “Welcome Aboard” reception will be hosted in the dining car in lieu of a full dinner.  Coach passengers will be permitted to board at 9:00pm and the Lounge will open at that time (for all passengers) and remain open until midnight.  The change is being made to improve the reliability of connections from western trains.  The new schedule provides daylight service from Cleveland to the east.  Amtrak hopes to make a balancing change tot eh westbound train in the Fall. Several other minor changes have been entered into Amtrak’s reservation system.

Daylight Savings Time begins Sunday; don’t forget to set your clock ahead one hour Saturday night before you go to bed.  Amtrak trains en route at 2:00am will become one hour late.

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Mar 16, 2007: Hotline #492

March 16, 2007

The Senate Budget Resolution calls for $1.78 billion in Amtrak funding in Fiscal 2008.  This number is consistent with the funding guarantees in S.294 (the bi-partisan Lautenberg-Lott bill).  While the Budget Resolution is only a blueprint for budget spending and does not guarantee funding levels, it is a very positive development to begin at this level.  Details about the House Budget Resolution have yet to be released, although typically House Budget Resolutions are not as specific as their Senate counterparts (listing total funding for each committee and not specifying each program).

In the latest clear sign that the Administration wants to eliminate all intercity passenger rail service, President Bush proposes paying for his supplemental funding request for military base closures in part by slashing Amtrak funding $383 million for the current fiscal year.  The proposal would be devastating if enacted as proposed because Amtrak has already programmed much of the rescinded funds for debt service and capital projects.  Representative Jim Oberstar (D-MN) wrote in a letter to House Appropriators, “While the Administration states that these funding cuts would further an Administration reform proposal to force the railroad to operate more like a business, I believe such a view is unrealistic and that these funding cuts would force a shutdown of the railroad in Fiscal 2007.”  The proposal, which is characterized as “dead on arrival” in Congress, would gut several domestic spending programs to pay for the $6.3 billion package; Amtrak was one of only two Department of Transportation programs targeted for cuts.

While it is unlikely that the President’s plan will gain traction, tell your lawmakers not to gut Amtrak funding to pay for other funding needs.  They should support the funding level in the Senate Budget Resolution and work for passage of S.294.  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Minority Member John Mica (R-FL) will hold a forum on high speed rail next week.  For those in the D.C. area, the meeting will occur at 9:00am Tuesday morning in room 2253 of the Rayburn House Office Building.  Among those invited to speak are Governors of Northeast Corridor States, Tony Collins (CEO, Virgin Trains), and Bill Rennicke and John Larew of Mercer Management Consulting, Inc.

France has opened another high speed TGV line.  TGV-Est will connect Paris with Strasbourg in 2 hours, 20 minutes compared to 4 hours under conventional train service.  The 4€ billion project ($5.3 billion U.S.) will include TGV run-through service to other European points, much like existing TGV service to Zurich and Geneva.  Air France has promised to counter the new service with lower fares to protect its routes now in competition on the route.

Voters in Winter Park, Florida approved a tax for commuter rail service as part of the central Florida commuter rail project.  The line will link DeBarry (north of Orlando) through downtown Orlando to Winter Park.  “People in Winter Park bought into being part of a regional transportation system,” said Orange County Commissioner Bill Segal.  The Federal Transit Commission also signaled their intention to fund about $500 million of the $800 million project.

A freight train carrying propane gas derailed and exploded on Monday in Oneida, NY. The CSX main line was closed as was the parallel New York Thruway for a time.  Amtrak service has been disrupted, with limited substitute bus service provided between Syracuse and Albany.  In light of the accident, and another recent incident in Buffalo, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) is calling for a full investigation of railroad safety and has pledged to propose new legislation to tighten rail safety oversight. 

Along those lines, although not a result of the Oneida incident, the Railroads Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a field hearing in San Antonio, TX tomorrow.  The purpose of the hearing is to focus on the role of human factors in rail accidents.  Several accidents have occurred in or near San Antonio over the past ten years, which is why this location was chosen.  The Association of American Railroads, however, counters with data that says that human factor accidents are down over 20% in 2006 versus 2005.

A fire broke out yesterday on a Union Pacific bridge near Sacramento.  The fire was reported by the crew of the westbound California Zephyr as it approached the bridge.  The Zephyr was able to stop short of the bridge, and was reversed to Roseville for passengers to board buses into Emeryville.  The bridge outage will disrupt the Zephyr, Coast Starlight, and the single Sacramento-Auburn Capitol Corridor trains.  The Capitol Corridor service will be represented by buses and the Zephyr and Starlight will at least in the short term detour via Marysville.  Long term plans are uncertain.

In addition to the change to the Lake Shore Limited, a couple of other Amtrak schedule changes have been announced:

• Most Northeast Corridor trains will have ten minutes added to their schedule between Wilmington and Washington to allow for a major trackwork project on the Susquehanna River Bridge in Perryville, MD.
• Two new frequencies begin on the Keystone Corridor service, with an additional evening eastbound departure on Saturdays and a mid-day westbound on Sundays.  Schedules will be modified in both May and July for the final phase of trackwork (between Paoli and Philadelphia).
• The Chicago-St. Louis portion of the Ann Rutledge is renamed Lincoln Service (to match the other frequencies in the corridor).  In addition, due to trackwork on Union Pacific this summer, the eastbound morning departure from Kansas City is moved back 5 ½ hours later.  To ensure a reliable operation in Illinois, there will be no connection in St. Louis for points north.  Amtrak, Illinois DOT, and Missouri DOT plan to restore the connection in the Fall.
• Train 350 departs Chicago for Pontiac 40 minutes later to permit a long-sought connection from Milwaukee.  The later departure of 350 requires train 355 to leave Pontiac 40 minutes later.  There are other minor timing changes for Michigan service.

Several NARP Regions hold their annual membership meetings this weekend (all on Saturday).  Region 4 (VA, WV, MD, DC) meets in Baltimore, Region 8 (WA, OR, MT) meets in Tacoma, and Region 12 (CA, NV, HI) meets in Los Angeles.  Next weekend is the combined Region 6 and 7 (MI, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, ND) meeting in Chicago.  Full details about these meetings can be found in the Events Calendar (link above left).

Thank you for your patience with the later than usual posting of today’s hotline.

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Mar 23, 2007: Hotline #493

Members of Congress still need to hear support for full funding of Amtrak’s fiscal 2008 request, and resist any attempt to gut current year funding to pay for other governmental needs.  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details.

NARP Executive Director Ross B. Capon testified before the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Commission on Monday.  He was on a panel with “Transportation Providers” and used most of his time before the microphone to refute statements by earlier witnesses that road expansion and car usage were critical to the continued expansion of the United States economy.  Full coverage of the event is here on our website.

A Capitol Hill forum on the future of high speed rail in the United States was held on Tuesday, hosted by Representative John Mica (R-FL).  Mica reaffirmed his support for high speed rail and complained that S.294 does not do enough to bring true high speed rail service to the United States.  The witnesses present at the event provided a diverse set of ideas; some feasible, some not.  There will be more coverage of this forum on the NARP Blog next week.

Countries around the world continue to move forward with extensive high speed rail projects.  This week, South Korea announced a plan to provide seed money (about $100 million) to develop the next generation of high speed trains.  The HEMU-400X would have a top speed of 400 kph (250 mph) and would be about 30 mph faster than South Korea’s current high speed rail trains due to enter service in 2009.  Also, an article in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal chronicled continuing efforts to grow and expand China’s rail network.  The overreaching goal of the project is to provide transportation accessibility to all regions of China, including inland areas that have not shared in the coastal economic boom.  Chinese leaders fear that allowing inner-land China to continue to suffer economically may lead to social unrest.  The Journal said that “94% of China’s industrial trade value is generated within 150 miles of the coast,” thus the massive rail expansion projects proposed to better link inland China to the coast.  The new 10,500 miles of new railroad would be for both the movement of people and freight.

Los Angeles City Council member Tom LaBonge has introduced a resolution urging California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R.) to fully fund high speed rail development and construction in California.  The resolution resolves to “include in its 2007-2008 state legislative program support for fully funding the California High Speed Rail Authority…and to oppose legislative efforts to take the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century off the November 2008 ballot.”  Despite Schwarzenegger’s strong pro-environmental credentials, including proposing the nation’s toughest emissions reduction laws, he has consistently tried to kill the California High Speed Rail Authority.  If you are a resident of Los Angeles, urge your city council member to vote for this resolution; if you live elsewhere in California, urge your local government to adopt a similar resolution and ask your State Representatives to support full funding for the CHSRA.

North Carolina has received a $1.5 million grant from the Commonwealth of Virginia to move forward with the Tier II Environmental Impact Statement for the Richmond-Raleigh portion of the Southeast High Speed Rail network.  The project involves re-activation of the former Seaboard Airline mainline (via. Norlina and Henderson, NC) which, upon abandonment by CSX in the early 1980’s, was preserved for future use.  Completing the Tier II EPA statement will permit the project to keep moving forward and make it eligible for federal funding; public hearings could occur as early as December 2009.

Rail service has been restored between Syracuse and Albany following last week’s explosive derailment of a propane tank car train in upstate New York.  Full Amtrak service resumed this week, with some delays still possible.  As a result of the accident and other recent incidents, the Federal Railroad Administration has begun an inspection of nearly 1,300 miles of CSX mainline trackage.  FRA Administrator Joseph Boardman announced the program on Monday.  “A safe railroad begins with safe track, but it doesn’t end there,” Boardman said. “Railroads need to embrace a ‘culture of safety’ and find new ways to prevent the kind of accidents that have disrupted lives and commerce and shaken our confidence in the safety of tracks.”  The FRA inspection vehicles, called the T-16 and T-18, are designed to asses both the stability of the railbed and ensure that the railroad is in proper gauge.

A fire destroyed the wooden approach to the American River trestle on Union Pacific’s Sacramento-Reno mainline last Thursday.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.  The last train to pass over the span was Amtrak Capitol Corridor train #536 whose crew reported seeing no smoke.  About thirty minutes later, the late-running westbound California Zephyr was the first train to see the fire.  The train stopped short of the bridge and reported the blaze to Union Pacific.  Until repairs are complete, the Coast Starlight and California Zephyr will detour via Marysville; this will result in at least two hours of delay to the Zephyr, but minimal delay to the Starlight.  The sole Sacramento-Auburn Capitol Corridor train will have substitute buses until the trestle is rebuilt.  Union Pacific has already begun rebuilding the bridge and the work is being done in concrete.  UP hopes to have one track open by the end of March and full resumption of service is estimated for late April.

ExaDigm Incorporated has been selected to equip all Amtrak food service cars nationwide with mobile wireless payment terminals for onboard acceptance and real-time processing of credit card transactions.  A full roll-out should happen by the end of April.  This will allow Amtrak to greatly reduce the cost of accepting credit cards (eliminating manual forms) and minimize fraudulent transactions.

The final phase of trackwork necessary to cut-in the second track at CSX’s Quantico Creek Bridge will occur for the next ten days.  Between tomorrow (March 24) and next Monday (April 2), the following trains will not operate south of Washington: 66, 67, 84/88, 195/93, 94, 85/87.  In addition, train 86 will begin in Newport News (to replace train 94) Monday-Friday.  The extended schedule for train 86 is: Virginia Beach, 5:00am (bus); Norfolk, 5:30am (bus); Newport News, 6:15am; Williamsburg, 6:41am; Richmond Main Street Station 7:32; then it will assume train 86’s printed schedule Richmond Staples Mill Road to Boston (train 194 will operate as printed Newport News-Boston next Saturday and Sunday).  While train 93 will not operate Monday-Thursday, the Friday-only train 83 (extension of train 93 to Newport News) will operate.  In addition, trains 79 and 80 will not operate between Rocky Mount and New York City; passengers may take trains 89 and 90, but the connection at Rocky Mount is not guaranteed.  Next Monday (April 2), morning services will continue to be modified, but that afternoon, trains 93, 85, and 67 (Tuesday arrival in Virginia) will operate to restore full service.

NARP Regions 6 and 7 (MI, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN, ND) hold a combined annual membership meeting in Chicago tomorrow.  Next weekend, three regions hold their annual meeting: Region 1 (CT, RI, MA, VT, NH, ME) in Boston, Region 5 (NC, TN, KY, SC, GA, AL, MS, LA, FL) in Nashville, and Region 10 (CO, IA, NE, SD, UT, WY) in Council Bluffs, IA [Omaha, NE].  Full details about these meetings can be found in the Events Calendar (link above left).

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Mar 30, 2007: Hotline #494

The House Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over Amtrak held a hearing on Wednesday on Amtrak’s Fiscal 2008 budget request.  Testifying were Amtrak CEO Alex Kummant and FRA Administrator Joseph Boardman.  Committee Chairman John Olver (D-MA) opened the hearing with the following quote, “Faced as we are with clogged highway traffic and congestion in our air transportation system we simply cannot afford to abandon what has been established as a highly serviceable and, where properly planned, convenient form of transportation.  The record of this legislation does not attack the technological achievements of the motor vehicle and aviation industries however, transportation should not rest on one or two modes.  To solve the problems arising from the side effects of several modes such as pollution and congestion, we must preserve and improve railroad service.”  Olver then asked attendees who that quote was from and to most people’s surprise, it was Representative Harley Staggers’ (D-WV, 1949-1980) opening statement at a hearing on the creation of Amtrak in 1970.  Olver used this quotation to illustrate how little things have changed over the years.

Kummant re-emphasized the need for a full appropriation of $1.53 billion, noting progress in infrastructure work and improved financial accounting in the company.  Boardman again said that the Administration supports passenger rail, but not Amtrak, arguing that a budget of $800 million would require “tough decisions to be made.”  When asked by Rep. Joseph Knollenberg (R-MI) about progress on reductions in sleeping and dining car costs, Kummant said that there has been progress on improving food and beverage losses, noting especially the Diner-Lounge concept.  However, he noted that he has “slowed down” proposed rationalization of the sleeping car capacity.  “I am concerned that we didn’t look closely enough at the revenue impacts,” Kummant told the committee, “There is much less to be had on sleeper cost reductions and probably more risk on revenue reductions, so I’ve slowed that and we’re focusing on (improved economics) of dining car service.”  Kummant also said that there is at least a conceptual idea of permitting private operators to operate sleeping car service on some long distance trains, in much the same manner that the American Orient Express got started operating on the back of the Capitol Limited in the early 1990’s.

While Wednesday’s hearing was forward-thinking and generally positive, Tuesday brought about a reality check; another effort to kill the national system.  Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX) offered an amendment to H.R. 1401, the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007, that would have forbid Amtrak to spend any security funds on the ten routes with the highest “cost per seat mile” as presented in Amtrak’s monthly performance reports.  The amendment failed on a vote of 130-299.

Both your House and Senators need to hear strong support for a full Amtrak appropriation and passage of S.294, and of course to be ever-mindful of backdoor attempts—such as the Sessions amendment—to kill the system.  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details.

The House of Representatives has approved a “technical corrections” bill to SAFETEA-LU the multi-year highway/transit reauthorization bill.  While most of the changes to the bill are very minor, one significant change was that the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission has been given six more months and an additional $2 million to complete their work and report back to Congress.  The new deadline is January, 2008.  Congress hopes that the Commission’s findings will play a major role in how to better structure the highway trust fund (which may be bankrupt as early as 2009) and transportation funding in general.  NARP’s Ross Capon testified before the commission last week.

The Federal Railroad Administration has released preliminary findings of its inspection of CSX tracks.  The inspections resulted from a rash of derailments on CSX lines in New York, the most severe of which was a wreck near Oneida, New York two weeks ago that resulted in a massive explosion (some of the inspections began prior to the accident and efforts were intensified after that).  Overall, nearly 3,500 minor defects and 376 major defects—which may result in fines or other punitive action—were found.  FRA Administrator Joseph Boardman addressed the safety issues at length during this week’s Amtrak hearing (above), calling the results, “Disappointing and shocking.”  CSX has pledged to continue to work with FRA to mitigate the problems and improve safety.

Union Pacific has returned one track to service on the American River Bridge in Sacramento.  The wooden bridge approaches burned two weeks ago, forcing delays and changes to Amtrak services.  Effective with Wednesday’s arrival in and yesterday’s departure from Emeryville, the California Zephyr has returned to its regular route, the single Capitol Corridor round trip to Auburn returns on Sunday, and timekeeping by the Coast Starlight should improve with less trains using the Sacramento-Marysville line.  Restoration of the second track should occur by the middle of April.  Thanks to NARP Director Bob Glover for offering a correction to last week’s hotline about the disruption and detours: the Coast Starlight has not been detouring via. Marysville; that is its usual route.  However, it has faced significant delays due to congestion.  After attempting to detour the California Zephyr for two days with disastrous on time performance results, Amtrak terminated the train in Roseville and bussed passengers between Roseville, Sacramento, and Emeryville.

The Transportation Security Administration will begin a program of baggage screening and random inspections at several stations across upstate New York.  The program will mirror a similar project at Buffalo’s two Amtrak stations (hotline link).  Screeners will first be placed at the Syracuse station; later on, unannounced screening will occur at Rome, Utica, Schenectady, and Albany-Rensselear.  TSA Federal Security Director Gary Milano told the Associated Press, “There is not a specific threat directed at either the rail system, or at central New York. It’s just high time we started doing this…in general it will be a very limited intrusion because we want to respect people’s civil liberties but also their ability to get on the train in a timely fashion.” 

The Missouri House of Delegates has stripped virtually all of the funding for St. Louis-Kansas City service from the 2007 appropriations legislation.  The cuts, nearly $6 million, were made to fund other, non-transportation programs.  Rail advocates expressed optimism that the State Senate will restore the funds, as has been the case in the past, Missourians need to contact their legislators and Governor xx to urge full funding for passenger rail service.

The Executive Director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority has raised concerns that the upcoming deal between the State of Florida and CSX Transportation to take over dispatching and maintenance of the state-owned railroad between West Palm Beach and Miami may result in the death of Tri-Rail Commuter Rail service.  Joe Giulietti expressed his concerns at a recent board of directors meeting in which he pointed out that the deal calls for the state to stop providing operational support to Tri-Rail and also for CSX to pay less to operate its freight trains over the line.  A meeting has been scheduled with Florida Governor Charlie Crist (R.) to attempt to find a solution to the problem, but one commissioner has already threatened to sue to stop the deal.  In response to an inquiry from NARP, the Florida DOT has said state support is not ending.

A bill to create a high speed rail authority has been introduced in the Texas legislature by Rep. Tommy Merritt (R-Kilgore).  The bill is intended to move forward progress on the US DOT-designated Texas high speed rail corridor, stretching from Little Rock, Arkansas through the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to San Antonio.  Griff Hubbard, chairman of the Gregg County Rail District (and former NARP Board member), spoke highly of the legislation, “I would think that the (proposed authority) would possibly be a place where the rail district, the Northeast Texas Regional Mobility Authority, the East Texas Corridor Council and (the states of) Arkansas and Louisiana could come together…We’ve been talking about that kind of melting pot for quite some time, but everyone’s on their own recipe. Maybe this could be the yeast that makes the bread rise.”

Amtrak’s new timetable takes effect on Monday.  All schedules have been loaded into Amtrak’s website and new timetables are available at stations.

Tomorrow, three regions hold their annual meetings: Region 1 (CT, RI, MA, VT, NH, ME) in Boston with NARP Assistant Director Dave Johnson, Region 5 (NC, TN, KY, SC, GA, AL, MS, LA, FL) in Nashville with NARP Executive Director Ross Capon, and Region 10 (CO, IA, NE, SD, UT, WY) in Council Bluffs, IA [Omaha, NE] with NARP President George Chilson.  Full details about these meetings can be found in the Events Calendar (link above left).

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