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Feb 01, 2008: Hotline #538Congress is debating possible economic stimulus packages as fears of a recession rise; future bills could include spending on infrastructure projects, including rail. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) is pushing for immediate funding of projects that are in advanced stages planning. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) agreed that such action is necessary, but confirmed that it would be limited to a bill subsequent to the highly publicized one that would include tax rebates. “We want this to be targeted and quick, but eventually we’ll have to do an infrastructure stimulus,” said Boxer. The House T&I Railroads Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the “Role of Intercity Rail During National Emergencies.” The hearing will take place on Monday, February 11 at New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, the site of last month’s inaugural Sunset Marketing and Revitalization Team meeting (see Hotline #537). Presumably the hearing will highlight the role that Amtrak played in evacuations from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Rail advocates also hope that light will be shone on the lack of train travel options along the Gulf Coast east of New Orleans since the curtailment of the Amtrak Sunset Limited after Katrina. The first Carmichael Conference On The Future of American Transportation For North American Transportation Advocates and Leaders took place this past Monday and Tuesday in St. Louis. The event, sponsored by the National Corridors Initiative, was named in honor of former FRA Administrator Gilbert Carmichael, who continues to this day to advocate for a strong, balanced transportation system that includes intercity passenger rail. NARP Assistant Director David Johnson participated and gave a presentation on the NARP Grow Rail Campaign and his thoughts on effective ways to reach out to the Presidential Candidates. Read his full write-up on the NARP Blog. The US Department of Homeland Security outlined its Fiscal 2008 Preparedness Grants in a press release today. The Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP) totals $388.6 million, of which $25 million has been allocated to Amtrak “to harden underground and underwater track and tunnels against IEDs, train key employees in counter-terrorism, and expand visible deterrence activities.” On Monday, NARP Communications Associate Matthew Melzer spoke on a panel at the Railway Age Railway Security Forum and Expo. At the session entitled “Pro-Active Passengers: Can Customers Help?” Melzer advocated for common-sense, passenger-friendly security measures that acknowledge that rail systems are inherently open and that onerous airport-style measures are ill-suited for the rail operating environment. He called for strong intelligence coordination between rail and transit operators and the national security apparatus, sensible police patrols, involvement of passengers and employees in situational awareness, education of children about safety and security issues, and citizen security auxiliaries that harness the eyes and ears of railroad allies (such as BNSF’s Citizens for Rail Security program). Such efforts stand in stark contrast to extralegal “law enforcement” actions that have been taken against photographers of railroad subjects in public places within certain rail systems in recent years. Such actions do not enhance security, but divert finite security resources, expose agencies to bad publicity and possible litigation, and alienate their own allies among the public. Transportation journalist Don Phillips, in his luncheon address to the conference on Tuesday, echoed the same concerns about adverse actions against law-abiding photographers and the inapplicability of airport-style security to the nation’s passenger rail system. In his presentation, Melzer highlighted the following passage from Phillips’ column in the January 2008 issue of Trains Magazine: “One day after the [Madrid and London Underground] attacks, the trains ran full with commuters, defying the terrorists. Passengers were not hassled. They were not put through metal detectors or searched. The police were too busy chasing the terrorists (which they did successfully) to have time to hassle innocent commuters.” Melzer also noted that improved technologies allow for passive security measures that don’t hamper passenger movement, such as asset surveillance, track structure fault detection, ambient explosive “sniffing” machines, fire life-safety measures, and bomb-resistant or clear trash receptacles. Many sensible security measures can also reduce the incidence of petty and other types of crime that can occur within the transportation system and public spaces. A hypothetical Chicago-Quad Cities Amtrak route could be extended to Iowa City, if the Iowa Legislature underwrites the cost (see Hotline #535). The report released by the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission this week says the extension would cost $26.4 million (maintaining 60 mph top speeds) and draw an annual ridership of 60,700. 76,100 annual riders would be drawn to service at 79 mph, which would cost $32.8 million. The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation released a report by Amtrak outlining the feasibility of state financing to underwrite new corridor train frequencies. “Advancing Passenger Rail in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Short Term Action Plan” (PDF) proposed the addition of a third Regional round-trip between Northeast Corridor cities, Washington, and Newport News, at an annual cost to the state of $1.7 million (this would also bolster Washington-Richmond service). A new round-trip between Northeast Corridor cities, Washington, and Lynchburg (now served daily by the Crescent) would cost $1.9 million annually. Amtrak would not add either service without state subsidies, and additional state capital investments could be required. The Government of Canada announced this week that it will continue to underwrite passenger train service to the remote areas between Sept-Iles and Schefferville, Quebec. $CAD 12 million will fund the service, operated by the First Nations company Tshiuetin Rail Transportation, through the end of 2009. A fourth track will finally be added at the Albany-Rensselaer, NY Amtrak station. On Wednesday, the board of the Capital District Transportation Authority approved a contract to use state passenger rail improvement funds in part to finance a $10 million project that will add the track that was excluded when the station opened in 2002 due to cost overruns. The fourth platform is already in place. The project will also include expanded parking and demolition of the old Amtrak facilities. The added capacity along the CSX right-of-way should help on-time performance of the Adirondack, Empire Corridor, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited, and Maple Leaf trains that serve the station. Fort Madison, IA’s Amtrak station may relocate to the historic Santa Fe depot by spring 2009. The project has been delayed several months by proposed rulemaking by the Federal Railroad Administration regarding Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. NARP, Amtrak, and the American Public Transportation Association all oppose the proposed rules, which would impose unreasonable requirements and hinder disabled persons from accessing trains by preventing new and improved station platforms to be built at all. Fort Madison city officials claim that Amtrak and the FRA have negotiated an exemption for their proposed station, for which half of the $3 million projected cost is already funded. Neither Amtrak nor the FRA would comment to the media on such speculation. BNSF Railway supports the move to the Santa Fe depot, which would allow it to expand its facilities at the present site, served daily by the Southwest Chief. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) this week announced plans to offer Wi-Fi Internet connectivity on its Framingham/Worcester Line commuter trains as a pilot project. Each train will include at least one Wi-Fi enabled coach. Metro-North Railroad conductors will be able to ticket passengers on-board using handheld electronic point-of-sale units that accept credit and debit cards. The technology also allows the Operations Control Center to send crews updated information about train operations. The units will be phased in beginning in April. Amtrak will partially restore Coast Starlight service between Los Angeles and Sacramento, beginning with northbound train 14 on February 6, and southbound train 11 on February 7. The service will be coach-only stub trains with café lounge service—no diner, sleepers, or Pacific Parlour Car. The full route will remain suspended until at least February 14 in the wake of the major January 19 landslide along Union Pacific tracks near Oakridge, OR between Chemult and Eugene. While NARP applauds the partial restoration, rail advocates continue to urge Amtrak to restore full-route service with a bus bridge between Klamath Falls and Eugene, especially given the uncertainties surrounding difficult conditions that UP continues to encounter in clearing and stabilizing the slide area. Note that reservations for the stub trains will be available in Amtrak’s booking system by tomorrow morning. The Amtrak Crescent annulment between Atlanta and New Orleans we announced last week applies only Mondays to Thursdays, for approximately four weeks beginning on February 10. Service along the entire route will continue Fridays to Sundays. Westbound Amtrak Sunset Limited train 1 derailed upright and in-line after striking a truck at a grade crossing east of Houston last Friday night. There were no reports of passenger injuries; Amtrak accommodated passengers on airlines, buses, and Monday’s train 1. Union Pacific did an excellent job responding to the incident; within two hours, UP forces had built a temporary wooden bridge for passengers to leave the train (the train came to rest at a spot with water-filled ditches on both sides of the train). Feb 08, 2008: Hotline #539President Bush released his proposed Fiscal 2009 federal budget on Monday, once again calling for an $800 million grant to Amtrak that would force the railroad to shut down. Also, once again, Bush proposes $100 million to match approved state investments in intercity passenger rail. USDOT’s own detailed request (PDF file, 5.34 MB, see p.p. 55-75) once again proposes crippling micromanaging language that would hamper Amtrak’s ability to make rational planning and operational decisions to benefit its passengers. The Administration’s $800 million is $525 million (40 percent) less than this year’s level of $1.325 billion. Amtrak called the proposed appropriation “inadequate” and is expected to release its own legislative funding request within the next two weeks. Fiscal 2008 appropriations also included $30 million for state matching grants, which have yet to be allocated. The prospects for tangible improvements from the $100 million proposed for Fiscal 2009 are unclear until USDOT awards money that has already been appropriated. Additionally, these capital funds may not match more than 50% of capital improvement costs and may only be used for trains whose operating losses are underwritten by states. Federally funded projects must be part of Statewide Transportation Improvement Plans. In a news release, NARP Executive Director Ross B. Capon said, in part, “While the Administration’s funding recommendations released today for Amtrak are disappointing, they are not surprising, given this Administration’s eight-year lack of vision for a balanced transportation network and most recent hostility to the recommendations of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission (NSTPRSC), a federal blue ribbon panel. “Ignoring the recommendations of the NSTPRSC, polls and referenda around the country showing that Americans want passenger trains as a travel choice, and support from Congress, President Bush again has proposed to dismantle the national train system. “With proper leadership from the Administration, we could develop a train system Americans would be proud of. Last June, NARP introduced a vision for a grid-and-gateway network of interconnected transportation options. This vision was broadly endorsed by the NSTPRSC, which recommended replacing the current annual appropriations charade with a stable, integrated fund that would enable rational planning. The expanded passenger train network that Americans need is eminently reachable in the next few decades if we begin to put the pieces into place now.” The States for Passenger Rail Coalition in a news release also expressed opposition to the proposal. Frank Busalacchi, chair of the Coalition, said, “The White House budget ignores what the traveling public wants. The ridership numbers speak for themselves. More and more people are traveling by train every year. The budget proposal also undermines the growing partnerships between states and Amtrak to expand service in heavily traveled corridors.” Newspaper editorials continue to support Amtrak, including a recent online editorial from the New York Times that derided the proposed budget and said, “At a time when the United States is desperate to reduce its dependence on foreign sources of oil, the nation should be investing in rail as an alternative to fossil-fuel-guzzling cars, trucks, and aircraft.” Other aspects of the proposed USDOT budget also drew widespread condemnation from within the transportation community. While transit funding increases to $10.1 billion ($600 million over Fiscal 2008), it remains $200 million short of the SAFETEA-LU authorized level. More crucially, $3.2 billion is proposed to be transferred from the Mass Transit Account to the Highway Trust Fund, a move that “outraged” the American Public Transportation Association. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials also ”opposes this “rob Peter to pay Paul” strategy.” National League of Cities President Cynthia McCollum said in a news release, “[A]t a time when we need to find ways to increase energy efficiency and reduce the congestion choking our metropolitan areas, the proposed cuts to Amtrak and transit funding makes no sense.” The overall budget proposal is considered a non-starter in Congress, both for its proposed cuts and its proposed spending. House Budget Committee chairman John M. Spratt Jr. (D-SC) said, “Most of these cuts affect critical needs and are unlikely to generate sufficient support to become law.” Senate Budget Committee ranking member Judd Gregg (R-NH) told Reuters, “This budget must have been viewed by [supportive Republicans] more as an academic exercise than a serious exercise because it’s not a serious budget. There are even more games than usual.” President Bush once again threatened to wield the veto pen, telling the Conservative Political Action Conference today, “If Congress sends me appropriations bills that exceed the reasonable limits I have set, I will veto the bills.” The House Transportation and Infrastructure Railroads Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the “Role of Intercity Rail During National Emergencies.” The hearing will take place at 10 AM CST on Monday, February 11 at New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, the site of last month’s inaugural Sunset Marketing and Revitalization Team meeting (see Hotline #537). The hearing will highlight the role that Amtrak played in evacuations from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, and will discuss the lack of train travel options along the Gulf Coast east of New Orleans since the curtailment of the Amtrak Sunset Limited after Katrina. Subcommittee chairwoman Corrine Brown (D-FL) and several other subcommittee members will be in attendance. The hearing is open to the public. Kirkwood, MO Mayor Mike Swoboda is in critical condition after being shot in the head during the shooting rampage in City Council chambers last night in which a disgruntled citizen killed five people, including three city officials and two police officers. Mayor Swoboda is a vocal proponent of passenger trains; he organized a rally to protest an anti-Amtrak speech then Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta delivered a few years ago at the St. Louis Amtrak station. NARP Vice President Dave Randall called Swoboda “truly a delightful man, loved by all in Kirkwood. Our hearts and prayers are out for he and his family with the hopes that he may be able to return to the post of Mayor and, with his influence with the state legislature in Jefferson City, help fight for more passenger service in Missouri.” Canada’s Border Services Agency announced last week that it would standardize and expand the information it collects in advance from non-aviation transportation carriers of passengers entering the country. It was not immediately known how this would affect passengers entering the country on Amtrak. The suspension of Amtrak’s Coast Starlight north of Sacramento has been extended yet again, this time until Tuesday, March 4. The stub trains between Los Angeles and Sacramento will continue to operate until March 3. It is possible that this major and burdensome disruption will continue beyond that date as Union Pacific continues to rebuild at the site of the January 19 landslide near Oakridge, OR. Amtrak has indefinitely suspended business class service it had began offering on the Adirondack (on the American segment) two weeks ago, possibly due to logistical challenges. At nearly 11 hours each way between New York and Montreal, the route returns to its status as the longest run in the Amtrak system with only coach seating. The supplemental Texas Eagle coach between Chicago and St. Louis will not operate through the end of March due to switching limitations of construction of the new St. Louis Intermodal Station. It appears that passengers taking advantage of the extra capacity of popular trains “321 and 322” will be accommodated in existing coaches, limiting availability for longer-distance travel. Because this consist reduction will be ongoing during the March “spring break” period (a traditionally heavy travel time), Texas Eagle local revenue managers will be closely monitoring load factors and will request that a third coach operate through (Chicago-San Antonio) on those trips where travel demands are heaviest. 12 MARC Maryland commuter passengers suffered minor injuries yesterday in a collision between a MARC locomotive and Penn Line (Northeast Corridor) train 419, which had just arrived into Washington Union Station. Seven passengers were hospitalized. The HHP-8 engine was supposed to couple to the AEM-7 locomotive of the trainset to ferry it to the Ivy City yards for midday maintenance, but approached at too fast a speed. From the NARP office, staff heard a loud boom at the time of impact and observed a dent in the nose of the HHP-8, but no other visible damage. One of the wheel trucks of the parked train derailed, causing delays to evening rush hour MARC service. Both trains were operated by Amtrak crews. Amtrak’s California Zephyr was severely delayed in both directions last Friday as severe snowstorms pummeled the Sierra Nevada range in California. Eastbound train 6 was held near Colfax as Union Pacific snow removal equipment was stuck on a bridge, delaying the train for nearly a day. Westbound train 5 returned to Reno after initially departing, and passengers were placed in hotels. Additionally, the train 5 that was supposed to arrive Emeryville on Monday arrived on Tuesday nearly 18 hours late (due to a broken rail on the UP at Granby, CO, engine problems, and additional UP problems over Donner Pass), leading to the annulment of train 6 on Tuesday between Emeryville and Denver. Amtrak Empire Builder trains were turned during last weekend at Havre and Whitefish (with passengers bus-bridged) due to avalanche fears along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe. However, BNSF never actually closed the line, continuing to operate freight trains. Westbound train 7 was also terminated at Wenatchee yesterday due to high winds causing debris to foul BNSF track. The trainset was returned to Spokane to originate eastbound train 8, with substitute motorcoaches connecting to and from Seattle (but missing intermediate stops). Feb 15, 2008: Hotline #540The House Transportation & Infrastructure Railroads Subcommittee held a hearing on Monday at New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal regarding “The Role of Intercity Rail During National Emergencies.” Several witnesses supported expanded use of passenger trains in emergency situations and as an everyday travel option (written testimony is available here). New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said in his testimony, “We also ask you to support full funding for Amtrak service from coastal cities such as New Orleans. This would provide important regular passenger rail transportation and would play a critical role in emergency transportation planning and execution across the country. We would like to see the Amtrak Sunset Limited service that was available before the storm reactivated to take rail travelers east to Jacksonville, Florida. Not only is rail an energy efficient and comfortable mode of transportation, but maintenance of the track and car infrastructure for passenger rail is supportive of its use for emergency purposes.” Karen Parsons, Executive Director of the Southern Rapid Rail Transit Commission, also submitted extensive testimony detailing the history of Sunset Limited service and the importance of a robust passenger train network to the Gulf Coast region. She noted that, after Hurricane Katrina, “the CSX Railroad completed first-rate track restoration in March 2006…Yet resumption of service has not occurred and could be a vital link for hurricane evacuation for the 12 communities that were formerly served in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida between New Orleans and Jacksonville. In 1992, these four states invested over $4 million in capital improvements in a joint agreement with CSX and Amtrak in order to provide for significant track upgrades and capacity sufficient for passenger rail speeds and to ensure public access to the CSX Gulf Coast corridor in order to initiate Sunset Limited service east of New Orleans…To date Amtrak has not officially Noticed the train for discontinuance but at the same time they have not made any effort to restore any service between New Orleans and Jacksonville. Noticing service east of New Orleans would be a devastating obstacle to overcome in the effort to restore the service in the future requiring renegotiation of CSX requirements before any service could begin.” NARP has urged Amtrak to guarantee resumption of Amtrak Coast Starlight service between Los Angeles and Seattle, effective March 4, using bus bridges between Klamath Falls and Eugene if necessary. March 4 is the current date through which Amtrak has officially suspended service north of Sacramento due to last month’s landslide in Frazier, OR. Union Pacific is unlikely to be able to reopen the line anywhere near March 4. Amtrak already has blocked new reservations through March 23, as its policy of “serve-nothing-north-of-Sacramento-until-tracks-reopen” begins to erode revenues normally associated with college spring break. NARP did thank Amtrak for resuming Los Angeles-Sacramento service, but noted that this means almost 90% of the train’s normal revenues remain lost, and also damages financial performance of connecting routes. Please see NARP’s news release and open letter to Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant. The Department of Energy authorization (Public Law 110-140) provides block grants for cities 35,000 and larger, and for counties 200,000 and larger, to use for increasing energy efficiency. This is a $2 billion a year authorization for five years. The first year’s grant can be used to development a plan. This is a program which could benefit passenger trains if city leaders see the opportunity to improve facilities, such as by installing new windows in a station building—a project that could simultaneously make the building more attractive and more energy efficient. NARP members may be in a good position to identify potential projects like this, and to alert the relevant city/county planners and local Amtrak officials. The latter may not have to seek approval from headquarters. Moreover, where there are large Amtrak facilities (like Wilmington and Washington) a reduction in operating costs through more efficient energy use would have the added benefit of enhancing job security if you can reduce costs other than personnel. Where the city itself owns the station, the likelihood of new work being needed may be less, but don’t overlook the possibility. Separately, NARP members should urge their legislators to work for inclusion of a “set-aside” percentage of funding for intercity passenger rail in any legislation limiting greenhouse gas emissions. The Lieberman-Warner bill in the Senate has a set aside for mass transit but not intercity rail. The Specter-Bingaman bill has neither this bill’s basic carbon emissions cap and trade “architecture” is considered more likely to get enacted in the end. As yet, no House counterpart bill has been introduced. Final passage is unlikely this year, but what happens this year is likely to influence what does get enacted in the next year or two. Amtrak has negotiated a tentative contract agreement with the United Transportation Union for UTU-represented conductors and assistant conductors. The contract, which would run through December 31, 2009, is effective retroactive to January 1, 2000, and includes back pay and future wage increases. It also includes no changes in work rules and thus the continuation of the assistant conductor position on all trains. The agreement needs to be ratified by the approximately 2,300 affected employees. A water main break flooded Amtrak’s Empire Tunnel in Manhattan last Saturday, severing the track connection between Penn Station and Spuyten Duyvil, where trains bound for Albany continue on Metro-North and CSX tracks. While some Empire Service trains did not operate, others, as well as the Adirondack, Lake Shore Limited, and Maple Leaf detoured via New Rochelle with cooperation from Metro-North. Normal service was restored on Sunday. Washington Union Station was evacuated for over an hour last Saturday afternoon after another grease fire at the same fast food outlet in the station basement that suffered a similar incident on New Year’s Day. It was announced this week that transportation executive Arthur D. Lewis passed away last month. He was 89. According to a Washington Post obituary, Lewis “was a New York investment banker when President Richard M. Nixon appointed him to incorporate Amtrak in 1970. Four years later, Nixon made him the first chairman and chief executive of the U.S. Railway Association, a nonprofit, government-owned corporation whose aim was to reorganize seven bankrupt railroads into Conrail. In December 1974, he was elected chairman of the Conrail board of incorporators, where he served until 1977.” Feb 22, 2008: Hotline #541Amtrak submitted its 2009 federal grant and legislative request to Congress. The railroad is asking for a total of $1.671 billion, which includes $525 million for operations, $801 million for capital, and $345 million for debt service. The request shows a table which also has a “below-the-line” $114 million for the 60% of back pay the Presidential Emergency Board recommended be paid in Fiscal 2009. But the text of the request said the $114 million “is not included in this FY 2009 request, nor do we believe it will be covered by increased net revenues. While Amtrak does not have the means to pay the additional 60%, the PEB made clear its belief that the decision to fund this amount lies with Congress.” The full request can be read on Amtrak’s website. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development will hold a hearing on Amtrak Fiscal 2009 funding this Tuesday, February 26. The Department of Transportation announced that, beginning March 18, states can apply for federal funding to support intercity passenger rail service under a new grant program. In a February 19 release, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters explained that the $30 million capital grant program is designed to buttress state efforts to improve intercity passenger rail service. The program requires a 50-50 funding match. Projects that demonstrate an on-time performance standard of 80 percent or greater, reduce travel time, increase service frequency, or enhance service quality for intercity rail passengers will receive favorable consideration for funding. The grant program will be administered by the Federal Railroad Administration. The expectation is that grants will be awarded by the end of the year. FRA is particularly interested in “bite sized” projects that can be completed soon, thus quickly demonstrating the utility of the new program. Amtrak will be implementing new security procedures, including new specialized Amtrak Mobile Security Team to patrol stations and trains and randomly inspect passenger baggage. The new teams will be used to supplement existing Amtrak police patrols in order to enhance the safety and security of Amtrak passengers. The Mobile Security Team will also be performing random baggage screening intended to deter terrorists from carrying attacks on the nation’s intercity passenger rail provider. “Keeping our customers and employees safe remains our priority,” said Alex Kummant, Amtrak president and chief executive officer. “These new procedures will strengthen Amtrak’s overall security, and they are vital in our efforts to deter, detect, and prevent a terrorist incident on the rail system.” Kummant said these new procedures are not in response to any particular threat. The Mobile Security Team’s squads may consist of armed specialized Amtrak police, explosives-detecting K-9 units and armed counter-terrorism special agents in tactical uniforms. They will screen passengers, randomly inspect baggage and patrol stations. These squads also may sweep through trains using K-9 units. Passengers will have the right to refuse inspection. However, if they do so, they will not be permitted to board the train and will be offered a ticket refund. Amtrak has established a bus bridge between Sacramento and Portland for the Coast Starlight. (The track may remain closed until mid-April, and freight-only operation is expected for the first week.) The bus will operate daily, connecting at Portland with Cascades service and the Empire Builder. The only intermediate stops served by the bus will be Medford, Eugene, and Salem. This means that the following normal Coast Starlight communities will not be served: Chico, Redding, Dunsmuir, Klamath Falls, Chemult and Albany. NARP continues to press Amtrak to run a full service train between Los Angeles and Klamath Falls, a bus bridge north to Eugene, and a train north to Seattle. Supporters of Georgia’s “Brain Train” came out this past Valentines Day to show their support for the commuter rail project. The Georgia Brain Train is so-called because it would serve the Northeast Metro Atlanta area, connecting Athens through Oconee, Barrow, Gwinnett and Dekalb Counties to midtown and downtown Atlanta; along that path through Georgia are dozens of universities including University of Georgia, Mercer University and Georgia State University, as well as a handful of influential research centers including the Center for Disease Control. The Georgia Brain train would also connect through the Clifton Corridor at Emory University. According to supporters, the Brain Train differs from projects initiated by MARTA because it would run on existing track and right-of-way. With more than 5.1 million people living in the metro Atlanta area and the ninth largest population in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Atlanta has one of the worst commutes in the country. If created, the train would provide service for over 10,000 commuters and remove over 5,000 cars from the roads. The project is estimated to cost approximately $837 million to build the necessary infrastructure, including additional tracks and stations, with $471 million to build to Athens and $366 million to build to Macon. The funding so far is $120 million, enough for Phase I, going to Macon. Not all news was positive on Atlanta commuter rail this week. The County Committee of the Barrow County Republican Party voted Monday to endorse a resolution against the Brain Train. “If it was economically feasible, CSX would be running passenger trains right now,” said Committee Chairman Ken Young in a statement released Tuesday. Plans to convert the St. Paul Union Depot into a bus-and-rail hub for the Twin Cities have come to a halt, all over a traffic signal. In order to open the proposed transit hub the U.S. Postal Service’s sorting center would need to move from the St. Paul riverfront—where it neighbors the Union Depot—to suburban Eagan. Unfortunately, officials from the city of Eagan, Dakota County and the Postal Service all have different ideas on how to configure the streets and traffic signals. These differences have brought the long-awaited project to a screeching halt and there does not seem to be a compromise in the near future. A few months ago, the three parties argued over who would pay for the completion of a half-mile segment of road near the proposed site of the sorting facility. That argument was quelled when the postal service agreed to fund the $1.2 million project. The latest impasse centers on a proposed traffic light at Gemini Road and Lexington Avenue. On Tuesday, county commissioners heard a progress report on a draft environmental assessment of the plan, which aims to resurrect the Union Depot — including the rear concourse, which the county recently purchased from the Postal Service for $49.6 million — as a hub for Amtrak trains, Greyhound buses, taxis, light rail and commuter trains. It appears that Iceland may be in the market for passenger rail service. This past week twelve members of Iceland’s parliament co-sponsored a resolution urging Iceland’s minister of transportation to explore two rail projects. One project would connect Keflavík International Airport and Reykjavik, while a light rail line would run throughout the capital region. The parliamentary resolution was submitted following a competition for the best idea on urban development in the Vatnsmyrin neighborhood in Reykjavik. Only two of the 136 entries submitted failed to recommend an airport-rail link. This ambitious proposal would be the first in the history of the country. According to Stafan Hand, the chairman of the Iceland Train Association, “Iceland is a virgin in train transport.” NARP Region 8 meets on Saturday in Portland, OR. Next Saturday, NARP Region 5 meets in Tampa. Feb 29, 2008: Hotline #542The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies held its annual Amtrak hearing on February 26. The witnesses were Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Boardman and Amtrak President Alex Kummant. Chairman John Olver (D-MA) cited record Amtrak ridership, the pay raises recommended by the Bush-appointed Presidential Emergency Board, and recommendations for major increases in passenger train investment from the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission. He said that these should have influenced development of the Bush 2009 budget, “but instead we get a carbon copy of last year’s. It will be extremely difficult to more than double the Bush Administration request to get what Amtrak believes it needs from the federal government. Unfortunately, President Bush has left us other holes to fill regarding airports, infrastructure, highways and transit and housing.” Ranking Member Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) said he still does not see a clear pathway forward. Amtrak and FRA “seem to exist in two different worlds. He fears that the Administration is using its “mandate for change” (and Amtrak’s failure to change) as a way of meeting its budget targets, while Amtrak is “not taking seriously the need to restructure itself, streamline its workforce and align its services with public need. In the end, we are forced to short other worthy programs [in order to give Amtrak more funds that the Administration seeks].” Olver pressed Boardman on what would happen if Congress actually approved just what Bush requested, noting that Boardman is both head of FRA and a member of the Amtrak board. Boardman talked about the different hats he wears—representing the secretary on the board, rail safety chief, passenger rail believer. He said states need a more important role. Olver: “The states have got to put a lot more money into passenger rail.” Boardman noted that his review of commuter rail operators in the Northeast Corridor showed that they are paying their share. But he also said “we have a very uneven level of support among states, especially in my former state of New York” (referring to the fact that the ‘legacy’ Empire Corridor is 100% Amtrak funded). Commenting on Olver’s earlier statement that the DOT Inspector General last year estimated Amtrak has a $5 billion capital backlog, Boardman said “there is no consensus on what the NEC backlog is—and work must proceed at a rate that lets the railroad continue to run.” Asked by Knollenberg if “cost-benefit analysis” alone was enough to show where passenger rail should exist, Boardman said, “I don’t believe cost-benefit analysis is adequate to tell us what we need to do to maintain mobility and connectivity. We must look at strategic purpose and the need to connect. One of Amtrak’s strongest leverage points is their national network and connections with all commuter trains and buses. We should have a single method of payment” for all the forms of public transportation. Knollenberg said that Amtrak’s ridership dropped in 15% in 1991 during a relatively small economic downturn. “What if that happens again?” Kummant said Amtrak, in drawing up its budget request, elected to take “a conservative revenue number and to manage costs very hard.” He said the only other alternatives would have been either to ask for a much bigger operating grant to accommodate a severe decline in passenger revenues or, alternatively, to propose dramatic cuts, and neither of those alternatives seemed appropriate. Then Knollenberg quipped, “Sometimes I think if you had less ridership your losses would be lower.” Kummant: “Not on the Northeast Corridor.” Knollenberg: “Yes, I know there are some niches like that.” Pressed by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Boardman said the administration would not request the additional money needed to provide workers the back pay recommended by the Presidential Emergency Board. Olver (now in his ninth two-year House term) commented on major passenger train progress abroad during those years, and contrasted it with the relative lack of progress in the US. What do we do? Boardman suggested a grade-separated, electrified railroad from Maine to Florida. “We need a way to partner with private companies. Maybe a 100-year lease. That’s our job (at FRA) not Amtrak’s. Amtrak’s job is to run trains. We need more trains. People are flying from Atlanta to Charlotte by way of Philadelphia. That makes absolutely no sense; that’s part of the air congestion problem. Those people should be on trains…I think we have an obligation to do electrification where it makes the most sense.” Similarly, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) commented on the horrendous on-time performance of passenger trains in Toledo: “The current system absolutely is not working.” She asked, “How can we treat passenger rail more robustly?…I always hear Detroit-Chicago, what about Pittsburgh-Cleveland-Toledo-Chicago.” She talked about involving the governors. Earlier, Kummant said 100 mph service could win many more riders. He said that an investment of perhaps under $100 million would permit 110 mph speeds on the Chicago-St. Louis line. “If we got a European train as a demonstration it would sell out.” He also mentioned Chicago-Detroit for “less than $1 billion,” including reopening of the separate line in northwest Indiana, and Los Angeles-Las Vegas. Six newspapers in upstate New York released coordinated (yet independent) editorials yesterday regarding high-speed rail service in New York. The editorials were mostly supportive of various degrees of passenger train improvements, while noting the underlying political challenges such efforts face. Amtrak is replacing defective concrete ties along the Northeast Corridor and will ramp up the effort in the coming months, at an estimated cost to the company of at least $23.5 million. The ties were manufactured by Rocla Concrete Tie, Inc. at a facility by Amtrak’s Bear, DE shops. Under a warranty agreement, Rocla will provide replacement materials but will not reimburse Amtrak for maintenance-of-way labor to replace the ties. Any predictable impact slow orders and/or replacement efforts might have on train schedules is unknown at this point. Amtrak and Indian Trails bus lines now offer an overnight Thruway round-trip between Milwaukee, WI and Houghton, MI (in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula) via Green Bay and Marquette. The service adds transportation options in areas with very little intercity transportation service and no Interstate Highways north of Green Bay. Amtrak’s eastbound California Zephyr train 6 arrived into Salt Lake City this morning with a deceased passenger. The 27 year-old man had stopped breathing during the night. The train was delayed two hours as the body was removed and police began investigating. Police do not suspect any foul play. From Indian Railways comes a remarkable story of survival. Yesterday, a mother reported gave birth prematurely onboard a train in the Indian state of Rajasthan. She had passed out in the restroom and given birth while unconscious, causing the newborn girl to slip through the toilet directly onto the tracks. Railway workers found the baby about two hours later with a weak pulse and low body temperature. Mother and baby are now reunited at Rajasthan Hospital in Ahmadabad. Longtime rail and transit administrator John F. Tucker III passed away on Sunday at the age of 57. NARP Director and Executive Committee member Eugene Skoropowski provided the following thoughts on Tucker’s life and legacy: “John Foster Tucker, III was a born and bred Philadelphian who worked at SEPTA while still a co-op student at Drexel University. He became a full time SEPTA employee upon graduation from Drexel, and held such positions as Chief Operations Planning Officer, responsible for scheduling of all SEPTA’s service, route planning and employee deployment for operating ‘runs’. He later became Assistant General Manager for SEPTA’s sprawling Regional Rail system (commuter rail), and was intimately involved in the takeover of Regional Rail operations from Conrail, when federal legislation required Conrail to divest itself of commuter rail operations on January 1, 1983. “John left Philadelphia for a short while to become General Manager of the Miami Valley Regional Transit Authority (Dayton, Ohio), where he worked to restore and renew the publicly popular electric trolley bus system serving the Dayton area, including purchase of a new fleet of electric trolley buses, and expanding the wire to the expanded Dayton markets for transit service. He returned to the East Coast to work at New York City Transit Authority (TA) heading their Operations Planning unit during the David Gunn era of rebuilding and renewing the TA to a state of good repair, and towards the end of his career, he managed Amtrak’s Operations Planning Department in Washington, D.C. “He was an active member of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), and also was at almost all the conferences of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). “John F. Tucker was an incredible repository of train and transit information, a well respected expert in the public transport business, a manager who was exceptionally sensitive to the needs of the traveling public, and someone we in the industry will all dearly miss. His quick wit, easy laugh, and professorial lectures of almost any aspect of transit or rail minutiae made him a person in demand at transportation conferences and forums on planning public transport for the future. A discussion with John Tucker on any aspect of public transport was always a delight. “Millions of daily riders in many cities are unknowingly the beneficiary of John’s caring and expertise, but we in the industry know he has ‘left his mark’, and it is clearly a mark that has made public transport better for all that use it. “John was also a good friend. “I am saddened by the fact that I cannot be there for his ‘last farewell’.” NARP Region 5 meets on Saturday in Tampa, FL. Next Saturday, Region 1 meets in Boston and Region 2 meets in Schenectady. |
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