Dec 07, 2007: Hotline #530

At a news conference yesterday, the Passenger Rail Working Group of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission unveiled “Vision for the Future: U.S. Intercity Passenger Rail Network Through 2050” that calls for an investment of $357.2 billion to expand passenger train services. Check out the NARP news release on the announcement.

Commissioner Frank Busalacchi, who convened the Working Group, said “our plan involves a vision that expands intercity passenger rail service substantially through the year 2050…a big and bold plan—on the scale of the construction of the Interstate Highway System.”  He said the plan “came about because of testimony I heard before the Commission from state and local officials, businesses, advocacy groups and members of the traveling public asking for additional public investment in a national intercity passenger rail network.”

He ticked off all the arguments for trains familiar to NARP members, and noted projected huge growth in the U.S. population and in the number of Americans 75 years and older.  He concluded, by noting “we are further along on cost projections than you might expect.  In total, we project $357.2 billion by 2050 or $8.1 billion per year.  We envision a federal/state partnership with 80% of the funding coming from the federal government, and 20% from the states…In our vision for 2050, we see a greatly expanded passenger rail system, which allows people and freight to move more freely and safely on highways and in the air.”

Commissioner Tom Skancke of Las Vegas, Nevada, also spoke:  “At the Commission’s first meeting, I was sitting next to [Commissioner] Paul Weyrich.  One of my opening comments on transit and inter city passenger rail was that ‘transit and passenger trains don’t work in the west.  We don’t zone for it and people won’t use it because we’d rather have our own horse and buggy.’  Paul responded, ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about people will use transit.’  Over the past 18 months, Paul and Frank [Busalacchi] have done a marvelous job of educating me and the rest of the commissioners about passenger rail and transit.  I’m now an advocate and believe rail is the future of transportation in the U.S.  It has to be.”

Skancke added, “38 million people visit Las Vegas annually.  Nine million of them drive from southern California.  We need to provide our visitors with multiple modes to get to and from Las Vegas safely.  It is a real tragedy that we still have not given people an alternative to flying or driving here.”

Also speaking yesterday, Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant noted, “The price of not acting is significantly greater than the price tag we see today.”  He cited another month of dramatic ridership increases—November up 8.7% from a year ago, with state corridors up 7.4% and the Northeast Corridor up 11.2%

Executive Director Ross Capon, who is also a member of the Working Group, said, “The report maps out a strategy of how we can begin to rebalance our transportation system by strengthening our nation’s passenger train network.” 

US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters did not comment on the Working Group’s report; a spokesman said, “The secretary will review this and all other reports submitted to the commission for consideration.”  The Association of American Railroads issued a disappointingly negative statement.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works this week marked up S. 2191, America’s Climate Security Act (the Lieberman-Warner bill), without adopting amendments that would set aside funds for intercity passenger rail.  There is a one percent set-aside for transit and intercity passenger rail is one of 11 eligible uses of certain funds if states want to elect that.  Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) did indicate openness to such an intercity passenger rail amendment when the bill reaches the floor. 

Congress is expected to vote next week on a multi-bill omnibus appropriations package for Fiscal 2008 that includes Transportation-HUD language.  This “split-the-difference” bill, intended to garner enough Republican support to override a possible Presidential veto, could include across-the-board cuts that, if applied on a percentage basis, would fall hard on Amtrak.  Contact your Representative and Senators and urge them not to cut Amtrak funding in the final bill.

Please also urge your Representative to work for passage of a House counterpart to S. 294, the bipartisan Lautenberg-Lott bill to improve passenger rail that also serves as a six-year Amtrak reauthorization.  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details.

President Bush this week announced appointment of five members to the Presidential Emergency Board investigating Amtrak labor issues.  Peter W. Tredick is chairman; other members include Ira F. Jaffe, Joshua M. Javits, Annette M. Sandberg, and Helen M. Witt.

Amtrak has filed a Notice of Intent to Participate regarding the proposed acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet, & Eastern (in the Chicago area) by Canadian National Railway.  Amtrak expresses concern that CN would abandon the 20-mile St. Charles Air Line route (between Harvey and Chicago), without providing a viable alternative for the City of New Orleans, Illini, and Saluki trains that use the trackage. 

Plans for expanding Denver Union Station as part of the region’s FasTracks program have changed again.  The revised plan will keep passenger train tracks at-grade and expand station tracks from six to eight.  The $100 million saved from not reconstructing the tracks below grade will be put towards other enhancements.  However, Jon Esty, president of the Colorado Rail Passenger Association, was quoted in the Denver Post as being concerned that the adjacent light rail platform would be located too far from other transit modes.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the collision of Amtrak Pere Marquette train 371 and a Norfolk Southern freight train on the South Side of Chicago last Friday.  While 60 injuries were confirmed (twice the 30 originally reported), all passengers were released from hospital within two days, that is, over the weekend.  Additional details have emerged about the wreck, including the fact that the Amtrak engineer had been certified for three months and that he did not observe restricting speed from a red-over-yellow signal, traveling about 25 miles per hour faster than authorized at the time of the collision.

The Amtrak Regional service disruptions we announced last week for December 12-13 in Virginia have been called off.  CSX has delayed its tie replacement project, and all trains to Newport News will continue to operate normally.

Deadly rain storms wreaked havoc throughout the Pacific Northwest this week, shutting down Interstate 5 and forcing Amtrak to curtail Cascades, Coast Starlight, and Empire Builder trains in the region to varying degrees between Monday and Thursday.  Today, Cascades are once again operating (with delays) between Portland and Seattle for the first time all week; portions of I-5 remain closed, making Amtrak a vital lifeline for the region.

Every year during the holidays, the Federal Railroad Administration hosts an auction of railroadiana at their offices, with the proceeds donated to two local charities: So Others Might Eat and the HSC Pediatric Center.  SOME is a local food kitchen that serves about 1,000 meals per day and provides emergency medical and dental help to those in need.  The HSC Pediatric Center is a community health provider to special needs children and their families. The Hospital for Sick Children has aided our area’s kids with complex health care needs for 120 years.  NARP donates a membership in our organization.  However, if any NARP members or supporters have anything of value to contribute in our name or your own, please contact NARP for more information on how to donate.  FRA invites the public to attend the auction, which will be Friday, December 14, from 1 to 4 PM, at FRA’s new headquarters, 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE, near the Navy Yard Metro station.

» back to main hotline page

Dec 14, 2007: Hotline #531

The outline of a deal on Fiscal 2008 appropriations took shape as President Bush signed the third, short-term continuing resolution so far this fiscal year, this one good through December 21.  Democrats reportedly agreed to accept President Bush’s total budget numbers, but not his priorities.  House leaders apparently hope to finish the deal by Sunday and have a floor vote early next week with the goal of having the bill signed by the President (and thus the Fiscal 2008 appropriations process complete) before Christmas adjournment.  It remains unclear what this will mean for individual programs.  Reportedly, the White House is still balking at what it considers excessive numbers for Amtrak and highways.  It is hard to believe that there is still haggling over a few hundred million dollars for Amtrak after both chambers of Congress voiced strong support for Amtrak funding this year, and the focus continues to brighten on environmentally-conscious travel options.

Amtrak and the State of New York have resolved a long-running dispute over the moribund Empire Corridor Turbotrain restoration project.  Amtrak will pay New York State $20 million, while both parties will jointly fund $10 million Empire line improvements.  Work will soon begin on a $6-million project to stabilize a rock slope on Manhattan’s west side with funds from Amtrak.  That project will allow an increase in the speed limit above the current 15 mph.  Other uses for settlement funds have not been announced.  Amtrak and New York State will also split the proceeds from the sale or scrapping of the seven mothballed Turboliner trainsets.

The Surface Transportation board has rejected the proposed sale of trackage in Michigan by Norfolk Southern to WATCO Industries in Michigan.  STB has forbidden the transfer of rail assets to Michigan Central Railway, LLC (MCR), saying “NS’s influence over MCR far exceeds what would be expected of a minority investor” and would be able to veto “almost all of MCR’s significant financial and operational decisions.”  NARP had expressed concerns about Amtrak service quality on what would have been a short line railroad.  However, in a press release, NS now suggests the STB decision could lead to the degrading of passenger service quality, saying, “The STB action ends Watco’s planned investment in the lines and terminates the proposed Amtrak agreement that would have guaranteed $23 million in maintenance and infrastructure improvements on the main passenger routes.  Norfolk Southern said it will continue to look for options for the lines.  However, because the current traffic on certain rail segments does not justify additional investment by Norfolk Southern, some areas may see curtailment of service.”

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has extended its operating contract for commuter rail with the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co. through 2011.  Riders criticized the 15-minute hearing and subsequent unanimous MBTA Board vote on Monday, which was conducted during afternoon hours, at a time when few regular commuters could attend.  The new contract is worth $700 million.  MBCR, which took over the contract from Amtrak in 2002, has taken heat over the years for on-time performance, mechanical, and other issues.  A November 21 Boston Globe article was headlined “Commuter rail delays are worst in a year.” 

Long Island Rail Road will allocate $20.7 million next year to remediate excessive platform gaps.  In a highly-publicized case last year, an inebriated teenager fell through a wide gap while attempting to board a train in Woodside and was run over by a train on an adjacent track.  LIRR will use train-mounted bridge plates and make targeted platform improvements to reduce the average gap from eight inches to six inches; gaps are upward of a foot in the worst spots.

A new study from the RAND Corporation was released this week, providing guidance on passenger rail and rail transit security.

The Osceola, IA depot will be restored thanks to the City of Osceola allocating funds to match a federal grant.  Federal monies provided through Iowa DOT will fund $310,626 of the estimated $564,000 project, which will benefit Amtrak California Zephyr passengers.

New Buffalo, MI will get a new station platform with private investment from developer James Gierczyk.  Construction could begin early next year.  When completed, the New Buffalo Amtrak stop will shift from the Pere Marquette to the Wolverine Service and Blue Water.

Hartford, CT Union Station may be boosted by restoration and extensive mixed-use development.  Greater Hartford Transit District, which owns the station, will undertake a study to guide development over the next ten years.

Amtrak now markets carbon offsets to its passengers; see our December 10 blog entry for more details.

Deadly ice storms in the Midwest crippled transportation networks this week.  However, the only major service disruption Amtrak passengers suffered was the partial annulment of California Zephyr trains unable to proceed on Monday and Tuesday.  This morning, on NBC-TV’s Today show, Amtrak twice was given credit for getting Weatherman Al Roker and a production crew safely to Boston so that he could do the show from that blizzard impacted region.  Both times, Amtrak was credited as being the only form of public transportation safely moving in New England.  In addition, CBS Evening News is working on a story on intercity passenger trains which might appear as early as this evening.

More powerful rain storms bore down the Pacific Northwest this week, disrupting Amtrak services again on Tuesday.

Amtrak introduced improved long-distance dining car menus this week.  Effective Wednesday, December 12, passengers on routes under the Simplified Dining Service model (introduced system wide last year) will find a greater variety of dinner entrées, including new specials and separate vegetarian specials.  Most notably, cooked-to-order flat iron steak is once again available.  Half Cornish Game Hen has supplanted the Roast Chicken dinner.  Lunch burgers (including a new turkey burger) remain available as dinner items.  Breakfast has been expanded to include scrambled eggs (in addition to pre-prepared omelette selections).  New specials of waffles, crepes or breakfast pizza are available, and grits have returned alongside breakfast potatoes.  New lunch and dinner appetizers of hot wings, chips with salsa and guacamole, and shrimp cocktail are available (though are not included in sleeping car fares).  Häagen-Dazs ice cream and Sweet Street desserts have been added as lunch and dinner dessert items. 

The following items, source of passenger complaints, are gone: Bob Evans Scramble, the chicken fried steak special, and the fruit bowl.  Lunch and dinner pizzas also have been replaced with other items.  There will still be three national menu cycles in rotation, but Amtrak will change the menus every three months.  The new menus are based on the upgraded menus of the Auto Train and Empire Builder, which retain more selections with full traditional dining service.  These changes do not apply to the City of New Orleans (which now offers a wide variety of “Cross-Country Cafe” selections in Superliner Diner-Lounge cars), or the Cardinal or Lake Shore Limited (which use converted Amfleet II food service cars, the latter supposedly temporarily).

A freight train operated between South Korea and North Korea this week, marking the first through rail service between the countries since the Korean War started in 1950.  Both Koreas hope to restore passenger train service in the coming years.

» back to main hotline page

Dec 21, 2007: Hotline #532

Congress completed Fiscal 2008 appropriations work this week, passing an omnibus bill which funds every federal department except Defense, but does include $70 billion in unrestricted funds for Iraq and Afghanistan.  Congress also passed one more continuing resolution to fund the federal government through the end of December to give President Bush time to sign the appropriations bill.

The omnibus gives Amtrak $1.325 billion, a $31-million (or 2.4%) increase over the 2007 level, but $255 million less than Amtrak requested.  Operating funds are reduced to $475 million (down $15 million from 2006 and 2007), while capital grants total $850 million (of which no more than $285 million may be used for debt service).  If debt service takes close to $285 million as expected, the amount left for capital would be $565 million, or $70 million above the levels of the two previous years.

The omnibus also includes $30 million to reimburse states for capital costs of improving existing intercity passenger rail service and providing new service, with the federal share limited to a maximum of 50% of a project’s cost.  As well, the provision from the 2002 emergency USDOT loan that prevented Amtrak from using federal funds to initiate new intercity passenger train routes has been lifted. 

The Amtrak and state program figures together equal $1.355 billion, which is $61 million or 4.7% above the 2006/2007 levels.

The omnibus also has some earmarks for rail and transit projects, including $22 million to redevelop Springfield, MA Union Station and $9.8 million for MARC (Maryland commuter rail) capital improvements.  The bill also repeals the long-standing ban on subway tunneling down Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles that Congress passed in 1986 after a fatal methane gas explosion.  The “Subway to the Sea” Purple Line extension to Santa Monica now can proceed, albeit still in need of an estimated $5 billion in funding.

Three nominees for the Amtrak Board were approved by the Senate Commerce Committee on December 18: Republicans Nancy Naples of New York and Denver Stutler of Florida, and Democrat Thomas Carper of Illinois.  Unfortunately, Carper was unable to attend the confirmation hearing on Tuesday because his wife had a stroke while they were walking to the hearing.

Naples said she had loved trains ever since riding from Buffalo to the 1965 World’s Fair in New York City.  She said she planned to ride the Empire Builder early next year to try out Amtrak’s current long-distance services.  Stutler said train travel “represents simplicity…many times I have traveled between Washington and New York and it is just simple and friendly.  However, I don’t think we have made it clear to people how easy it is to catch a train.”  Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) urged the nominees to focus on the benefits Amtrak provides and not just the costs.  Both Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) who introduced Stutler and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), a committee member, strongly endorsed Stutler.

The Senate this week approved the renomination of Francis Mulvey (D) as a member of the Surface Transportation Board.  Sen. Gordon Smith (D-OR) questioned him closely about the appropriate role of private equity firms in the railroad business.  Mulvey appeared at the same hearing where the Amtrak board nominees testified.

The FAA will cap the number of hourly flights at New York’s JFK Airport beginning next year.  Regrettably, in announcing the new regulations, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters failed to mention the obvious role that obvious role that passenger trains could play in reducing congestion at busy airports, especially for travel within the Northeast Corridor.  As Wall Street Journal reporter Dan Machalaba noted in an article about Amtrak’s Acela Express in August, the 20% increase in Acela ridership in Fiscal 2007 year-to-date at that point represented enough passengers to fill 2,000 Boeing 757 jets.  Yet, most short-distance flights utilize much smaller planes, often low-capacity regional jets that burden airports with the same slot capacity requirements as large aircraft.

Barclays Capital is forecasting that the price of a barrel of oil (West Texas Intermediate) will average $87.40 in 2008, which would be a 21% increase over the expected average for 2007.  The rising cost of oil contributed to a record jump in US imports in general, which increased 11.4% over the previous year, the largest annual increase the government has ever recorded since it began tracking such data in 1982.

The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce updated its commuter rail studies this week.  According to Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers President Steve Vogel, “This report compared Atlanta with four ‘peer’ regions that have developed successful commuter rail operations in recent years: Los Angeles, South Florida, Northern Virginia and Dallas-Ft. Worth.  The report concluded that passenger loads on Atlanta-area commuter trains would be comparable to the initial passenger loads on those successful systems.”

The California High Speed Rail Authority has selected Pacheco Pass as its preferred route between the Central Valley and the Bay Area.  The authority adopted staff recommendations which call for Altamont Pass (the competing route) to be developed with more mature commuter rail services.

The State of Vermont has ended its pursuit of diesel multiple unit trainsets from Colorado Railcar for its state-subsidized Amtrak services even though both Colorado Railcar and Amtrak offered contractual guarantees to rebuy the cars if Vermont was not satisfied after a trial period.  The state attorney general and treasurer insisted on bonded financial guarantees which, by one account, would have added $3 million to the cost, all to be paid by the builder.  Ironically, the same feature that made the agreement attractive to the legislature was its downfall.  As a result, Vermont loses both the prospect of new equipment and a $2 million grant from Amtrak to help with the project.  Since the stated purpose of the diesel cars was to reduce service costs to what Vermont regarded as a sustainable level, the long-term future of passenger trains in Vermont seems unclear service

GO Transit Toronto re-extended its Bradford line back to Barrie on Monday after a 14-year hiatus.  The $25-million extension project included 12 miles of new track, other track structure improvements, and a new train layover facility.

Amtrak is considering delaying the closure and cut-over of its Thames River Bridge in New London, CT from May to June, 2008.  Amtrak is replacing the movable Northeast Corridor span and had planned to shut down all service between Boston and New Haven during a four-day period.  NARP has strenuously objected, and has suggested ways Amtrak could provide limited service.

Travelers Aid held a grand opening in 30th Street Station, Philadelphia this morning to mark its return to the station after a 15-year absence.  The non-profit social service agency has also launched a new web site featuring station information.  NARP Executive Director Ross Capon serves on the Board of Directors of Travelers Aid International.

Metro-North Railroad has announced a partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car to allow commuters to rent cars on an hourly or daily basis at 23 of its stations.  Customers will receive a 5% discount.  This arrangement continues a proliferating trend of transit-based car sharing, such as with Zipcar and Hertz’s by-the-hour vehicles.

The County of Lancaster, PA has approved $5 million to help renovate the Lancaster Amtrak station, served by the Keystone corridor and the Pennsylvanian.  It’s unclear whether these funds will leverage state and/or federal matching dollars.

Union Pacific has added 98 ultra-low-emission diesel locomotives to its fleet through a cooperative program with the State of Texas.  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality provided UP a $75 million grant, which covered about 75% of the purchase price of the new engines.

Amtrak’s Sunset Limited will sustain a minor detour east of Pomona, CA between January 2 and February 22, 2008 due to Union Pacific trackwork, missing the Ontario stop for all dates during that time.

Eastbound Amtrak California Zephyr train 6 derailed its lead engine in Gretna, NE last Sunday.  The train eventually continued east after a delay of nearly 12 hours.

» back to main hotline page

Dec 28, 2007: Hotline #533

President Bush signed H.R. 2764, Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 on Wednesday, officially ending the long standoff on domestic spending between the White House and Congress.  The omnibus gives Amtrak $1.325 billion; see last week’s Hotline for more details.  According to the American Public Transportation Association, at least $25 million in transit security funds will be dedicated to Amtrak.

The 110th Congress will convene for its second session next month; the House convenes on January 15, while the Senate returns January 22.  S. 294, the bipartisan Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, which passed the Senate by a wide margin in October, has been sent to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.  S. 294 reauthorizes Amtrak for six years and creates new passenger rail matching grants for states.  Please urge your Representative to push for the swift introduction of a House version of S. 294 in the new year.  Go to our Action Alert Center for full details.

Amtrak’s Empire Builder will begin stopping at Leavenworth, WA as soon as next year.  City leaders announced this week that Fiscal 2008 appropriations included $300,000 to match $700,000 already secured to construct a new station platform and shelter.  Located about 23 miles west of Wenatchee, Leavenworth draws tourists to its mock Bavarian attractions and events, and is already served each winter by Alki Tours’ chartered Snow Trains from Seattle.

El Paso Union Depot may become an intermodal hub for numerous intercity bus companies, according to preliminary plans that station owner Sun Metro Transit has had approved by the City of El Paso.  Sun Metro is headquartered adjacent to the station, and would move its maintenance base off-site to make space for Greyhound and 14 other operators (especially popular private lines from Mexico).  Amtrak serves El Paso thrice-weekly with the combined Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle.

The City of Tampa has announced plans to add new tenants to its historic Union Station, bolstering commercial and other mixed use at the site.  Amtrak has seen a surge of passengers at the station (served by the Silver Star and connecting Silver Meteor buses), with Fiscal 2007 ridership increasing nearly 23% over 2006.

The City of Virginia Beach is seeking to acquire a Norfolk Southern branch line that NS is in the process of abandoning.  Virginia Beach has applied for a $15 million grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation to help purchase the line, which would be preserved for a future light rail extension from Norfolk.  Virginia Beach nixed its involvement with the development of Hampton Roads Transit’s light rail program in 1999.  Now that the Tide line (currently under construction) is already spurring economic development, Virginia Beach would like to be part of a future extension.

A Norfolk Southern derailment in Portage, IN last Saturday disrupted Amtrak service in and out of Chicago, leading Amtrak to suspend Michigan service trains amidst the holiday rush.  Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited trains were turned at Elkhart, with bus bridges provided in between.  NARP Transportation Assistant Darryl Yates was aboard westbound Capitol Limited train 29, and reports that Amtrak crew members kept passengers informed and handled the situation in a professional manner.  The train had already passed Elkhart, but made a reverse move to return to the station.  Ten motorcoaches were dispatched to handle the load from train 29 alone.

A Union Pacific derailment west of Denver last Sunday caused Amtrak California Zephyr trains to detour via Wyoming.  Volunteer Denver Union Station hosts assisted Amtrak employees in addressing the concerns of countless affected passengers, including over 100 passengers destined for Fraser, Glenwood Springs, or Grand Junction who had to travel by substitute motorcoach.  Another derailment reportedly caused train 5 to detour via Wyoming again yesterday.

Former Amtrak President and CEO George Warrington passed away on December 24,, a victim of the “silent killer,” pancreatic cancer, which he had battled for eight months.  He learned he had the disease shortly after he stepped down as head of New Jersey Transit to form his own consulting firm.  His widow, Hope, is well known at Amtrak; she hired on with Amtrak right out of high school and rose to become executive assistant to President Graham Claytor, then continued that service under Thomas Downs and Warrington.  The memorial service is Saturday, December 29, at 12:00pm, at St. Luke Parish (265 West Mill Rd., Long Valley, NJ 07853).  Internment will follow at Hilltop Cemetery in Mendham.

Warrington took office at a difficult time in Amtrak’s history.  His predecessor, Thomas Downs, failed to walk the perfect line between Capitol Hill, where conservative Republicans were riding high in both House and Senate.  He failed to please the Clinton White House, which sacked him.  Warrington became acting president in December, 1997; “acting” was dropped from his title in December 1998, and he departed in March 2002.

Warrington instituted the successful Amtrak Guest Rewards program, which NARP and others long had urged Amtrak to do.  He also instituted the discount that NARP members enjoy on Amtrak.  He restored daily Texas Eagle service, allowed the local revenue management that has proven quite successful on that route, and encouraged development of the Amtrak Customer Advisory Committee which began operating a few months before he became acting president.

However, the Amtrak reform law enacted late in 1997 required Amtrak to achieve “operational self-sufficiency” by 2003.  Warrington took the job convinced that the task was doable, based on profits from Acela Express in the Northeast Corridor and the “express initiative” for the national network (whereby Amtrak would carry time-sensitive freight on its passenger trains).  The self-sufficiency gambit ultimately failed.  Acela came with attractive financing by the Canadian Export-Import Bank, but was a victim of going into production without benefit of any experience with a prototype.  At the insistence of the FRA Office of Safety, design changes made Acela the world’s heaviest (and probably most over-powered) high speed train, with two power cars and six passenger cars (rather than one and seven).  Amtrak is considering improving the Acela’s efficiency by adding more passenger cars.

The express initiative wound up hurting passenger (and mail) service running times and on-time performance.  Amtrak also took on considerable debt, deferred maintenance, and cut management and front-line staff in the effort to appear self-sufficient.  This set the stage for the emergency USDOT loan that David Gunn had to secure in June 2002, and arguably led to the overactive oversight that Congress has been exercising ever since.

In 2001, Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee.  He held up an imaginary gun to Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey (a fellow witness) to make his point that Congress forced the operating self-sufficiency mandate on Amtrak.  Biden said, “[Congress told Amtrak] ’Either you become self-sufficient, or we blow you away.’  Of course Amtrak said ‘yes.’  Maybe they never should have accepted the challenge.”  In NARP Director Bill Pollard’s words, “Congress was clamoring for some sort of profitable operation, whether real or imaginary.”

You may also read Warrington’s obituary in the Newark Star-Ledger.

2007 was a busy year for NARP.  Read our end of the year report to our members to take a look back at an productive, exciting year in passenger rail advocacy.  NARP and its staff wish you a happy and safe 2008!  (The NARP office will be closed New Year’s Day.)

» back to main hotline page