Jul 06, 2007: Hotline #508

Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees are scheduled to mark up their respective versions of the Fiscal 2008 Transportation-HUD Appropriations bill next week.  The House subcommittee approved $1.4 billion, while the Senate has yet to act (its budget resolution called for $1.7 billion).  Urge your House and Senate members to support full funding for Amtrak and to resist any efforts to reduce Amtrak funding.  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details.

In addition to the Appropriations markups, the Railroads Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on Wednesday (July 11) at 10 a.m. on “Amtrak’s Capital Funding Needs.”  Hearings normally are webcast on the Committee’s website.

Security at the nation’s transportation hubs was tighter this week after the terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom this past week.  Officials from the Transportation Security Agency said travelers at airports, train stations, and bus terminals should expect increased security measures including additional surveillance, as well as increased staffing.  Officials told all travelers, especially airline passengers, to expect lengthier and more extensive security inspections.  Amtrak officials said they were increasing security, and the Transportation Security Administration deployed federal marshals and uniformed and undercover security inspectors to Amtrak stations along the Northeast Corridor.

Amtrak Guest Rewards and Chase Bank are accepting pre-registrations for the new Amtrak Guest Rewards credit card.  Go to the Amtrak Guest Rewards website to register (click on the link on the left side).  You will receive a notice once Chase bank is ready to begin taking applications.  Once your application is approved and you activate the card, you will receive 5,000 bonus Guest Rewards points.  Chase is planning to begin accepting and processing applications on September 10. 

Two small Amtrak fare increases took effect on Tuesday. Downeaster fares increase $1, while Illinois corridor fares (excluding Hiawatha) increase 5%.  In both cases, Business Class fares are unchanged.
CSX Corp. announced that it will relocate over 300 train dispatchers from its Jacksonville, Florida, operations center to “field offices close to where the operations occur.”  Jacksonville will wind up with 54 dispatchers, while—during the next two years—others are moved to Baltimore, Cincinnati, Huntington WV, Nashville, Florence SC and Atlanta. 

CSX currently has four dispatch centers located in the Midwest and East Coast; however, the majority of its dispatchers have been located at company headquarters in Jacksonville since 1988. 
Airline delays are at a 13-year high, and their severity typically is under-reported, according to a front-page story in yesterday’s New York Times.  Statistics typically track how late the planes are, not how late passengers are.  Delays caused by missed connections and canceled flights are not officially counted, prompting researchers and customer advocates to push more accurate reporting.  In 2003, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that, when flight cancellations and missed connections are accounted for, the average delay was two-thirds longer than the official report noted.  The Times also noted that flights are becoming more crowded as well, adding to delays because it is harder to find seats on a later flight.  In the first five months of 2007, more than one-fourth of all flights arrived at least 15 minutes late, a trend that will increase over the summer months due to volatile weather and an aging air traffic control system. 

VIA Rail service in Canada has returned to normal after a First Nations blockade of Canadian National’s Montreal-Toronto mainline.  Trains began operating last Sunday after a two day interruption.

The fate of the Matapedia-Gaspe rail line (used by VIA’s Montreal-Gaspe Chaleur) seems to be improving.  According to our colleagues at Transport 2000 (the Canadian rail advocacy group), “the Quebec Minister of Transport, Nathalie Normandeau and Canadian Federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannnon announced that Quebec and Canada had contributed $50 million to purchase and upgrade the 235 km rail line from Matapédia to Chandler in the Gaspé. The [freight railroad owner of the trackage] chemin de fer du Québec, had threatened to dismantle the line due to mine and factory closures and industry decline.”  The route is incredibly scenic, but in very poor shape (much of the route has 10 and even 5 mile per hour speed restrictions on it).  The government grant not only includes money to purchase the line, but funds for track and bridge rehabilitation.  One positive about the poor shape of the line: the bridges cannot handle the newer VIA Rail Renaissance cars, so the train still operates with classic Budd-built equipment.

A group of European high-speed rail operators has formed an alliance to challenge the three major airline alliances on inter-European routes.  The “Railteam Alliance” is hoping to offer travelers a competitive alternative to the Star Alliance, Sky Team and One World airline partner alliances.  The railroad operators plan to offer a common reservation system, easier ticketing, and integrated traveler benefits.  While rail service on some international journeys is competitive, most long-distance journeys are still more expensive than their air counterparts because of European competition rules which prevent the rail operators from setting common fares.  However, railways are free to strike bilateral deals on fares, such as the one between Eurostar, NS (Netherlands), and Deutsche Bahn over fares from London to Cologne.  Railteam will let passengers buy a single ticket for journeys that previously required more than one.  Timetables will be better coordinated and passengers who miss train connections will be able to catch the next train without changing tickets.  Members of the alliance include France’s SNCF, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn (DB), Belgium’s SNCB, the Netherlands’ NS, Austria’s OBB, and Switzerland’s SBB.
On Tuesday millions of German commuters were left stranded after thousands of train engineers went on strike demanding wage increases of up to 30%.  Some trains returned to service after a few hours, but there were still many people who were stranded.  Freight trains were also affected.  The strike was carried out by the small GDL train drivers union, which followed the lead of Transnet and GDBA, two larger railroad unions causing major disruptions for the state owned DB.  The GDL called the strike because they feel that their workers are being severely underpaid, only making 1500 euros after taxes, a claim that DB disputes.  Transnet and GDBA are pushing for a seven percent wage increase for their 134,000 workers, while DB offered a two percent increase in January 2008, and another one in 2009.  The separate strike amongst the unions is an unusual display of disunity, as Transnet officials called the GDL’s request for a 30% increase “outright excessive”.  Railway strikes in Germany are rare.  Economists and officials at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt are likely to look at the wage demands of at least 7 per cent in the context of worries that Germany’s economic recovery could fuel wage inflation. 

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Jul 13, 2007: Hotline #509

House and Senate Appropriations Committees acted on the Fiscal 2008 Transportation- HUD spending bill this week.

The House Appropriations Committee passed their version of the bill on Wednesday.  It has $1.4 billion for Amtrak and $50 million to match state intercity passenger rail investments.  Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), ranking member of the transportation/housing subcommittee, commended subcommittee chairman John Olver (D-MA) “for working with us in formulating a balanced bill that I can support…I thank him for keeping the Amtrak pro-reform language in the bill.” 

Knollenberg said he expected colleagues to offer floor amendments cutting spending to last year’s level, by one per cent, and by one-half per cent.  He urged the potential authors of these amendments “to look at the rules.”  Cuts below the highway and transit levels guaranteed in SAFETEA-LU are not permitted.  Similarly, two aviation capital investment programs can’t be cut.  “That leaves FAA safety, air traffic control and Community Development Block Grants” bearing the brunt of any across-the-board cuts.  (He could also have mentioned Amtra.k.)

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved their $104.6 billion bill on Thursday.  According to Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), chairwoman of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee, the bill is about $1.2 billion more than the President’s budget request because it restores funding that was cut from various transportation and housing programs.  Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO), though supporting the bill and complimentary of Murray’s work, said, “I’m afraid we are on a collision course with the executive branch because the cuts were restored.” 

The bill has $1.375 billion for Amtrak, and $100 million to fund a state/federal matching program for to development of state corridors.  This means that the Senate bill has slightly more for intercity passenger rail and slightly less for Amtrak than the House bill.

This year’s level of funding is about $600 million more than what the White House requested.  The nation’s highways would receive $40.2 billion, also $600 million more than the President’s request.  The Federal Aviation Administration would receive $14.9 billion, which is $863 million more than President Bush required.  Commercial pilots scored a victory when lawmakers adopted by voice vote an amendment by Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, that would raise the current mandatory retirement age for airline pilots from 60 to 65, provided the copilot is younger than 60.  The panel also adopted by voice vote an amendment by Byron L. Dorgan, D-N.D., that would reduce Surface Transportation Board filing fees for certain challenges to freight rail shipping rates from $178,000.00 to $350.00.

Both the House and Senate committees had extensive discussions about the serious financial condition of the Highway Trust Fund.  That fund is expected to be in negative balance by 2009 because revenues can not keep up with expenditures (revenue for the Highway Trust from comes primarily from gasoline taxes).  House Appropriations Chairman David Obey said, “I know there are some people who think that when the time comes, this committee will simply make up that shortfall with general revenue.  I got news for you: it ain’t gonna happen.  This is the authorizing committee’s issue; they passed the bill and guaranteed the funding.  I don’t want authorizing problems dropped on the doorstep of this committee; people will squawk that we didn’t clean up someone else’s mess.”  Senate Subcommittee Chair Patty Murray echoed Obey, “The Highway Trust Fund will be bankrupt by $2 billion by 2009, and some estimates say it could be as high as $4 billion…This is the finance committee’s problem and they need to work on it now rather than later… Without some action by the Finance Committee, our subcommittee may be forced next year to dramatically scale back our investments”

It is clear that House and Senate members will face intense pressure to cut spending in these bills and Amtrak funding may be a target.  Tell your Members of Congress not to gut Amtrak funding!  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details.

Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant testified July 11 before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials on Amtrak’s capitals needs.  Facing legislators who seemed most interested in how to further increase Northeast Corridor speeds, Kummant said, even with a $7 billion dollar investment in the Northeast Corridor, travel time between Washington, D.C. and New York would only be reduced by about 25 minutes.  Two of the most important steps to improving service along the NEC would be to replace the aging infrastructure including old catenary, the tunnels in Baltimore and New York, and several bridges along the corridor.  Kummant noted the difficulty of undertaking this massive project because the company does not have a dedicated, multiyear funding source.  Rep. John Mica (R-FL) argued that Amtrak’s current Acela service isn’t truly high-speed because it only averages 82 mph.  He also said that “we need $100 million per mile to bring the Northeast Corridor up to 120-150 mph, which is true high speed rail.”  Rep. Mica also discussed his own $32.5 billion plan to create a separate, elevated, high-speed New York-Washington line, for rail or maglev. 

At the end of the hearing, Brown asked Kummant for an update on Amtrak’s labor situation.  He responded that Amtrak is meeting with four unions this week. He said Amtrak was making “good progress” in discussions with two unions, “and we are still working with the other two. I would be glad to offer more details in a closed meeting.”
The Michigan Central Railway will begin freight service using 384 miles of rail in Michigan and Indiana in 2008.  The new Michigan Central Railroad will operate over these segments: Jackson-Lansing; Grand Rapids-Elkhart, IN; and the Ypsilanti-Kalamazoo part of the Chicago-Detroit line Amtrak uses.  The Michigan Central also will acquire Norfolk Southern’s trackage rights on the Amtrak-owned line between Kalamazoo and the Michigan/Indiana state line.  The acquisition must be approved by the Surface Transportation Board, expected later this month.  A major part of the transaction will be the investment of more than $6 million in infrastructure in the first year, and more than $20 million in the first three years of Michigan Central operation.  David C. Eyermann, the Michigan Central’s interim president said, “The new Michigan Central will preserve and enhance freight rail service in southern Michigan…Overall, our top goal is safety.  We are following a great heritage of safe operations in the Michigan area that has been led by Norfolk Southern.”  Michigan Central has committed to continue operating—and through the investments mentioned above plans to improve—Amtrak’s Chicago-Detroit service.
Firefighters in northern Nevada continue to deal with record-breaking temperatures, acrid smoke, and rugged terrain as they fight lightning-sparked wild fires that have ravaged over 240 square miles of northern Nevada.  The fire which forced the evacuation of over 1,500 residents also destroyed an electrical substation and killed livestock.  The fire also caused I-80 to be shutdown and delayed Union Pacific freight trains, and Amtrak’s California Zephyr (the latter by over nine hours).  Fire officials shut down the line out of concern for passengers’ safety.  An Amtrak spokesman said that while passengers were not allowed off the train, announcements were made of what was going on.
This week it was announced that Arriva will assume control of half of Virgin’s cross-border long distance trains in England.  Arriva said it will add more seats and luggage space to its trains by reducing the number of toilets on each train and scrapping all on-board “shops” (Café cars) in favor of a trolley food service.  Arriva is also leasing five older high-speed trains that will be refurbished to run on routes such as Edinburgh-Plymouth.  Arriva’s bid is believed to have won because it required the smallest government subsidy.  But Arriva has threatened to increase some fares by 3.4% above inflation every year - more than Virgin since it won the franchise 10 years ago.  Passenger Focus, the official watchdog, said the seating and luggage improvements “should make a big difference to passengers, but Arriva will have to work hard to boost the service standards set by Virgin”.  It also feared some ticket prices could rise by 50% by 2016.
BNSF Railway said it has not made a final decision on the future of its line through Raton, New Mexico, after magazine reports surfaced saying that BNSF planned to eliminate its Albuquerque to La Junta, Colo., route next year.  BNSF Public Affairs Director Joe Faust was quoted in a May 25 Trains.com article as confirming that BNSF would be discontinuing the Albuquerque-La Junta line at the end of the year.  However, he has since said that he was misunderstood.  This week, Faust said that the company is reviewing all of its options and “no decision has been made yet on the future of that part of our operations.”  Meanwhile, Amtrak officials confirmed that they will continue to operate the Southwest Chief over the Raton Pass.  The state of New Mexico is hoping to purchase the tracks from BNSF in 2008.  An Amtrak spokesman told Trains Magazine that the passenger service does not see an “imminent threat to our operation on the line.”

Brighton Park crossing in south Chicago has been automated. The change took place during a planned closure of the line last weekend (Amtrak service detoured between Joliet and Chicago on Metra’s Rock Island line).  The 1800’s-era non-interlocked crossing required all trains to approach slowly, stop, ascertain that no conflicting train movements were taking place, then proceed at restricted speed until clearing the plant.  Photos of the project—which included installing a new diamond—are on the Midwest High Speed Railroads Association’s webpage.

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Jul 20, 2007: Hotline #510

The Transportation-HUD appropriations bill is scheduled to be considered by the full House of Representatives the week of July 23.  It is clear that Representatives will face intense pressure to cut spending in this bill in light of President Bush’s threatened veto of the entire bill because it exceeds his budget request.  Congressional Quarterly reports that Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) “or another member of the Republican Study Committee” will offer an amendment to reduce Amtrak funding from $1.4 billion to the Administration-requested level of $800 million, which would force Amtrak into bankruptcy.  Tell your Members of Congress to oppose any amendment to cut Amtrak funding!  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details.

Amtrak and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen today jointly announced a tentative agreement on a new labor contract covering Amtrak’s 1,300 locomotive engineers.  “Details of the pact will be sent to the affected BLET members for their review and ratification vote during the next several weeks.  Details of the tentative contract will be withheld from public release until the ratification process has begun.”

VIA Rail Canada has announced that they are in negotiations with the Canadian Auto Workers to avoid a work stoppage.  The Canadian Auto Workers represents the off-train, on-train, maintenance and office personnel of VIA Rail Canada.  The union has alerted VIA Rail Canada that they may exercise their right to strike as early as July 22, 2007 at 12:01 a.m.  VIA Canada is operating normally and hopes an agreement can be reached. 

Train service between Providence and Boston was suspended for three hours last Saturday after a northbound Amtrak Regional train slammed into an SUV that police believe was deliberately left on the tracks by vandals.  Amtrak officials said that Regional train #82 was traveling close to 125 mph when it struck the SUV, causing it to burst into flames and fly onto an adjacent track.  Police determined that the SUV was empty after using specially trained cadaver dogs to search through the wreckage.  The tracks and the locomotive that struck the SUV suffered significant damage.  Fortunately, there were no injuries reported.  Amtrak transported the passengers to Boston on an MBTA commuter train.

Plans to overhaul and redevelop New York City’s Pennsylvania Station district are heating up this week after the project’s developers, Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust, retained three major architecture firms.  The firms Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM), Foster and Partners, and Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) will prepare the master plan for a site that includes the existing Penn Station, Madison Square Garden (MSG), and two office towers, One and Two Penn Plaza. Initial plans call for razing MSG and capping the subterranean train station with a large glass dome.  The redevelopment plans include SOM’s previously announced transformation of the Farley Post Office at the southwest corner of 33rd Street and 8th Avenue into a new Moynihan Station that would augment Penn’s existing infrastructure.  The Empire State Development Corporation purchased the Farley Building in March

The United States Conference of Mayors, at its 75th annual meeting last month in Los Angeles, adopted a resolution supporting U.S. passenger rail service.  The resolution, “A National Intercity Rail Policy for the 21st Century: Recommendations of the U.S. Conference of Mayors,” shows local officials’ high level of support for passenger rail service, as well as the dramatic need for expansion.  The resolution states in part, “The United States Conference of Mayors urges the Administration and Congress to stabilize Amtrak operations, infrastructure, and financials by appropriating Amtrak’s FY08 grant request of $1.55 billion while federal policy makers debate the immediate and long-term authorization for Amtrak”.  The Mayors also expressed support for Amtrak’s long distance trains: “Be it further resolved, that the long distance, including transcontinental passenger trains, form the basis for, and connections to, emerging federal-state supported corridors and provide an important transportation link for many rural communities and regions across the country; therefore, it is the recommendation of The United States Conference of Mayors to the Administration and Congress that the federal government maintain full responsibility for operating and capital [support].”  The full resolution is available on the Conference’s website (scroll down to page #186).

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania State House approved the biggest transportation funding bill of Gov. Ed Rendell’s stint as governor.  The transportation bill was a large part of the state’s $27.2 billion general fund budget, which passed the House on a 124-79 vote.  Even though the bill received a high level of support, there are still some who are not satisfied with some of its provisions.  According to John Ward, president of the Modern Transit Partnership, “They have really stopped any new services from getting operating assistance under this [transportation] budget.”  For example, the budget does not include the Harrisburg-Lancaster commuter rail project.  The bill relies on higher Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls, starting with a 25 percent increase in 2009, and proposed tolls on Interstate 80, to pay for bond issues that will yield nearly $1 billion per year in new spending for highway and bridge repairs.  The bill also provides support to cash-strapped mass transit systems.  Highway projects will receive an additional $450 million this year, rising to $500 million in 2008-09.  Mass transit systems will share $300 million in new dollars this year, rising to $400 million per year by 2009-10. 

Citing the dramatic increase in ethanol production President Bush has called for, Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI.) recently added an amendment to the energy bill that calls for the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct a study to determine if the nation’s railroads can meet ethanol producers’ transportation demands.  The study would analyze rail capacity, including available track space, train sets, capital costs, competition; and whether federal agencies have adequate legal authority to ensure reasonable rates and adequate service in areas without rail competition.  The Association American of Railroads says there is already enough capacity to handle increased traffic caused by the growth of ethanol production.  Dan Sabin, President of the Iowa Northern Railway, says shippers should not be worried about track capacity but should focus on lack of capacity at the terminal destinations.  Backers of the Baldwin amendment—who generally also support bills the railroad industry opposes (Railroad Competition and Service Improvement Act of 2007; the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2007)—include Consumers United for Rail Equity, the Edison Electric Institute, American Coalition for Ethanol, American Chemistry Council, American Public Power Association, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, United Transportation Union, American Farm Bureau Federation and other shipper organizations. 

The fifth frequency of Amtrak’s Downeaster service will begin on August 17.  The additional frequency was shown in Amtrak timetables since last October but has been operated by motorcoaches pending the completion of infrastructure upgrades.  Amtrak’s reservation computer has been updated, but new printed timetables have not yet been issued.

Schedules have been altered temporarily on both the east and westbound Capitol Limited and the eastbound Pennsylvanian due to Norfolk Southern bridge projects.  Now through August 26, the westbound Capitol will have time added west of Pittsburgh and the eastbound train will arrive in Pittsburgh later heading to Washington.  Contact Amtrak for specific times (as they vary during different phases of the project).  To preserve the connection from the Capitol Limited, train #42 will operate 30 minutes later between July 16 and August 24 at all stops between Pittsburgh and New York City (no change to Sunday-only train #44).

NARP Board member Robert Conheim passed away last Sunday.  Bob was active not only on the NARP Board, but in the Capitol Corridor Riders, a group of regular passengers on California’s Capitol Corridor.  His fellow riders dubbed him “Lord Mayor” for his efforts to organize social functions amongst passengers.  Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Managing Director (and NARP Board member) Gene Skoropowski said of Bob, “His quick wit, love of life and family, plus his passion for good passenger train service, were his hallmarks…He recognized the value of passenger train service and the positive impact it had on his life, his community and on the life of virtually everyone who uses the train…He was willing to become politically active to work for more service and more public investment in trains, and this effort consumed what time and energy he had right up to the end.”

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Jul 27, 2007: Hotline #511

The House passed a $104.4 billion fiscal 2008 transportation and housing bill late Tuesday night. The bill, H.R. 3074, passed by a vote of 268-153 after lawmakers voted 201-220 against a procedural motion that would have sent the bill back to the Appropriations Committee.  The legislation managed to survive waves of attacks from members of the Republican Study Committee, led by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) fighting to eliminate funding for many programs and earmarks. 

Among many other programs, Flake was busy trying to cut funds from Amtrak.  He offered amendments to cut Amtrak funding in one case by reducing operating funding by $475 million, in the other by cutting the capital and debt service grant by $425 million.  Also, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) offered an amendment to forbid Amtrak from spending any operating funds to operate the route with the highest loss per passenger mile, a clearly stated attack on the Sunset Limited.  And Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) amendment to the Fiscal 2008 Transportation-HUD appropriations bill sought to cut Amtrak’s funding by $106 million and transfer this to homeless housing programs (similar to an amendment two years ago by then-Rep. Mark Kennedy, whose seat Bachmann now holds).  All four Amendments were soundly defeated.  How members voted is shown at the members-only section of our web site (click on members only resources at left).

Interestingly, many previously hostile Republicans voted against at least some of the killer amendments, so there are many that passenger advocates can thank for specific votes.  Eight California Republicans deserve thanks—seven cast from one to three pro-Amtrak votes—Radanovich, Nunes, Gallegly, Royce and Rohrabacher, Calvert and Hunter—while Jerry Lewis, ranking member of the full appropriations committee, voted against all four anti-Amtrak amendments.  Moreover, three otherwise negative Texas Republicans voted against Sessions (and thus in defense of the Sunset Limited): Poe, Hall and Brady.

House Appropriations chairman David Obey (D-WI) said Flake’s attempt to cut funding to the Wisconsin regional planning project comes with “considerable ill grace” considering that Arizona has received tens of millions of federal dollars for the Central Arizona Project, a massive aqueduct with an estimated cost of more than $5 billion. 

The legislation would provide $4.1 billion more than President Bush requested and $5.9 billion more than enacted in fiscal 2007, totals that earned a veto threat July 23 from the White House.  The Democratic-controlled House showed no intention of heeding either the Bush veto threat or complaints from Republicans about priorities in the bill.  John W. Olver, D-Mass., chairman of the Transportation-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee, defended the bill’s spending totals and earmarks, saying Democrats had made significant progress on getting control over funding for members’ pet projects.

The debate, which lasted throughout Monday and Tuesday, was unusually caustic.  In addition to Flake’s numerous amendments to kill specific projects, which were often met with bipartisan ridicule, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) had a heated exchange with Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) to the point of threatening a physical confrontation after Westmoreland sought to eliminate housing funds for native Hawaiians.

The Senate should take up their version of the bill after Labor Day. Tell your Senators not to cut Amtrak funding—despite pressure to lower the cost of the bill and a veto threat from the White House.  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details.

Earlier this week VIA Rail Canada announced that it has reached a tentative deal with the Canadian Auto Workers Union, avoiding a possible labor stoppage which was to begin on July 22, 2007.  The Canadian Auto Workers Union, which represents off-train, on-train, office and maintenance employees had earlier threatened to use their power to strike if a deal could not be reached by July.  VIA Rail Canada President and CEO Paul Cote said, “We believe that the settlement is good for our employees, and that it will assure the stability of our operations for the next three years.” 
 
This week CSX accepted delivery of the latest locomotive technology from General Electric.  The 300th General Electric Evolution Series® locomotive is the latest addition to the growing field of environmentally friendly transportation technology.  This locomotive features a 12-cylinder engine that produces 4400 HP, while significantly reducing noise emissions (by 40%) and fuel use.  The unit also features GE’s Auto Engine Start Stop technology.  This technology can save customers a lot of fuel that is usually wasted when a locomotive is in idle. With AESS, a locomotive can continue to perform its monitoring functions while keeping the locomotive in an operating state.  According to John M. Dineen, President and CEO of GE Transportation, the railroad industry has been waiting for this type of technology for years.  “Customers like CSX are building their fleet with our locomotive technology that can help them run their operations more efficiently but also provides a platform for future reduction in emissions and fuel usage,” commented Dineen.  The locomotives are among the first of 17 products in GE’s Ecomagination line.  Ecomagination is a GE project to market new technologies that will help customers meet their most pressing environmental challenges.  GE Transportation’s GEVO 12 engine will consume over 170,000 fewer gallons of fuel in its lifetime compared to models GE built in 2004.

The California State Assembly’s version of the state budget savaged transit.  Transportation advocates were worried that the Assembly would give in to some of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed cuts to transportation funding, but the Assembly went much further and accepted more than half of the cuts.  State Assembly Leader Fabian Nunez said, “Public transit takes a hit, but we didn’t take food out of the mouth’s of hungry children, and we protected education.”  Public transportation agencies across the state that were talking about program extensions and expansions a few weeks ago are announcing numerous cuts.  More than $1.7 billion has been shifted out of transit funding since 2001.

Funding for high-speed rail planning, which is dependent on excess funds, has been drastically cut as well.  The High-Speed Rail Authority originally asked for $103 million, but admitted it could move forward with about $50 million.  Budget conferees originally allocated $40 million and later cut that to $15 million.  Rail advocates feel that this is far too little to complete the necessary studies to prepare for 2008 and will effectively kill the project.  There is one piece of good news, “1B” allocations for intercity passenger rail operations and equipment appear to have survived.

The city of Denver, the Regional Transportation District, and developers working on the redevelopment project at Denver Union Station have decided that, due to growing project costs, an open air trench with covered sections should be constructed instead of an tunnel for Amtrak and commuter rail tracks.  The original plan was to build an tunnel that would be used as the FasTracks commuter train hub, as well as for Amtrak and the Rio Grande Ski trains.  However, the amount of money needed to redevelop the 19-acre Union Station site has increased from $4.7 billion to $6.2 billion.  RTD officials said that opening up sections of commuter-rail access to the station will save a large amount of money because there will be no need for complicated ventilation systems that are needed to operate diesel trains underground.  Earlier plans also contemplated structures over the tunnel which would further complicate the ventilation systems and increase costs.  Homeland Security officials were also concerned that a tunnel under Union Station would raise safety concerns. 

Also in Denver, top RTD officials reiterated their preference for electric commuter rail for two FasTracks lines - from Union Station to Denver International Airport and the Gold Line to Arvada/Wheat Ridge.  Planners expect that two other commuter lines, trains to Boulder/Longmont and North Adams County, will be diesel-powered.  Some RTD board members favored making the DIA and Gold Line trains diesel as well, since it would save about $83 million in construction costs by eliminating the need to electrify the lines.  RTD planners and financial advisers counter that electric commuter rail saves money over time because its operating costs are lower than diesel for the two lines.

Pennsylvania’s House Transportation Committee is considering legislation that would create a regional airports authority for the Philadelphia area, combining oversight of Philadelphia International Airport and Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown.  Chronic delays at Philadelphia have caused lawmakers and other officials to seek diversion of air traffic to other facilities such as Leigh Valley.  As importantly, the legislation would mandate the new authority to work with Amtrak and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to incentivize short-distance travelers to use alternative modes such as rail.

The Carroll Electric Cooperative, a small northwest Arkansas electric company has asked its customers to join in the fight to force Congress to address railroad antitrust legislation.  The co-op added a one-page flyer to its monthly bills seeking customer help in support of congressional action to control what utilities see as out-of-control costs and unreliable rail delivery of coal.  Charles Burdine, board chairman of the Carroll Electric Cooperative said, “Pressure from the voters is the best way to get congressmen and senators’ attention.  We’re not trying to be mean to them, but we’ve tried every other avenue of approach and nothing’s worked.”  The Arkansas Public Service Commission claims the “virtual monopoly” has cost in-state utility customers at least $200 million.  The freight railroads claim that shipping rates are 61% lower now than in 1980 and that freight rail companies are spending $10 billion this year to expand infrastructure on an increasingly clogged rail network.  In addition, they maintain the federal Surface Transportation Board is effective in handling rate cases.

Town officials in Burlington, IA, are mulling potential redevelopment of its 1944 Burlington Railroad depot, served daily by Amtrak’s California Zephyr.  Burlington City Council could decide to spend municipal funds to restore it, or enter into a public-private partnership with developers. This week’s discussion coincided with a meeting in Denver between Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant and officials from cities along the California Zephyr route to discuss station revitalization as part of Amtrak’s Great American Stations campaign.

Amtrak has confirmed that, as Superliner coaches are cycled through the shops in Beech Grove, IN, for four-year overhauls, the coaches will be outfitted with electrical outlets at every seat.  As portable electronic gadgets have proliferated among the traveling public, there has been greater demand for outlets, especially on long trips.

VIA Rail Canada’s Hudson Bay service to Churchill, Manitoba has been suspended due to track conditions on the Hudson Bay Railway.  Line owner OmniTRAX closed the line last Friday.  Service is operating as far as Gillam.  No estimate for restoration has been provided, but VIA Rail has set up a special toll-free number exclusively for residents of Northern Manitoba to use.  The Hudson Bay is the only means of transportation for much of the region.

The combined Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle were trapped near Knippa, Texas (about 75 miles west of San Antonio) in an area where up to 17 inches of rain fell within 12 hours.  This was the train that departed New Orleans and Chicago on Friday, July 20.  Over 275 passengers were on board the train.  (Some media reports referred to 176 passengers, but this count excluded the cars from Chicago.)  A bus bridge was eventually set up between Knippa and El Paso and passengers continued on their journey nearly 24 hours late.

St. Louis-Kansas City schedules return to close-to-previous patterns, effective August 8.  The Ann Rutledge again runs through Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City.  Contact Amtrak for schedules.

The Southbound Texas Eagle will depart Chicago and serve all stops, Chicago-Alton 15 Minutes earlier effective August 8.  The Chicago departure is now 1:45 p.m.  No change St. Louis-south.

August 13 begins Phase II of trackwork between Paoli and Philadelphia with many modified Keystone train times.  Trains 605, 609, 645, and 649 depart Philadelphia earlier, many other trains have schedules lengthened and leave later.

Pacific Surfliner service will be disrupted September 15-16 (and the last two trains on Sept. 14).  Most 500 series trains are cancelled (some exceptions) and 700 series trains operate through to Anaheim with bus service on to San Diego.  Contact Amtrak for full information.

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