Jul 03, 2008: Hotline #560

Members of Congress are in their home districts this week for July 4th recess.   Keep an eye and ear on local media outlets for any Town Hall meetings or other opportunities to talk to your Legislators.  Urge full funding of Amtrak in Fiscal 2009 (the full House Appropriations Committee may consider Fiscal 2009 Amtrak funding as early as next week) and a speedy conference of the intercity passenger train authorization bills S. 294 and H.R. 6003.  Go to our Action Alert center for full details.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) has retreated from the threat he made last week to eliminate all state operating support for Amtrak.  In calling for a special session of the General Assembly to convene on July 9 and 10 to work on the state budget, Blagojevich revised his proposal and called to keep Amtrak funding at current levels.

California’s high-speed rail bond measure will appear on the November 4 ballot as Proposition 1.  The $9.95 billion package ($9 billion for initial HSR construction, $950 million to bolster existing Amtrak and commuter services) is formally titled as the “Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century.”  Proposition 1 will appear before all other measures and initiatives on the ballot.

On June 21, the Rhode Island General Assembly swiftly introduced and passed bill 2008 – H. 8450.  The “Rhode Island Public Rail Corporation Act” created the Rhode Island Public Rail Corporation, considered a key step towards extending MBTA commuter rail service to the long-delayed Warwick Intermodal Rail Station (serving Providence T.F. Green International Airport).  A key purpose of the new entity is to “defend, indemnify and save harmless The National Public Rail Corporation [sic] (Amtrak) for third party claims including personal injury and property damage, due to the existence and operation of commuter rail service south of Providence…  [The bill] would afford the same protections to the corporations’ designated operator, except for the designated operator’s own negligence or misconduct.”

Tri-Rail (South Florida commuter rail service) will be spared from significant cuts this fall after the three counties that fund the service agreed to increase their operating contributions by five percent.  Tri-Rail had proposed the cuts after it became clear additional state funding wouldn’t materialize.  However, reduced service still could happen next year unless the state legislature helps out, such as by creating a dedicated funding source. 

Metrolink, the Los Angeles area commuter rail agency, plans to lease additional cars from New Jersey Transit and FrontRunner (Utah Transit Authority) to meet surging demand as it awaits delivery of new cars from Rotem USA.  Metrolink is also set to lose 1,752 seats as it returns currently leased cars to Seattle’s Sounder.  The new leased cars, of which the quantity is not yet known, would be single-level Comet cars (FrontRunner’s fleet includes former NJT Comet cars).

Amtrak is planning a 100th anniversary celebration for Washington Union Station.  In his column in the current issue of Arrive, Amtrak President Alex Kummant says that the Centennial Celebration will happen the weekend of September 27-28 [note: dates have since changed to October 4-5].  “Bring the family as we commemorate the historic station’s 100th birthday with an open house featuring train displays, live entertainment, memorabilia exhibits, station tours and more.”

Amtrak contractors successfully replaced the Thames River Bridge in Groton, CT last week.  Northeast Regional train 66 was the first train to cross the new bridge, at 5:57 AM on Saturday, June 28.  Work continues to make the new draw span fully operational by July 10.

Southwest Chief service was fully restored between Kansas City and Chicago on July 1.  The Empire Builder was also restored on its regular route (Canadian Pacific) after detouring over the Union Pacific between St. Paul and Chicago since June 27.  There remains no estimate for restoration of California Zephyr service east of Denver.  Buses are provided between Denver and Nebraska points only.  People who want to ride Amtrak from Denver to Chicago can take Greyhound on their own, departing Denver 11 am and arriving Trinidad 2:45 pm, from whence the eastbound Southwest Chief departs at 6:31 pm.  The westbound connection, whether at Trinidad or Lamar, involves a very long layover, and Denver arrival at 9:40 pm or 9:15 pm, respectively.

Amtrak has adjusted Illini and Saluki (Chicago-Carbondale corridor) schedules to accommodate Canadian National trackwork.  Through August 5, the northbound Saluki (normally 7:30 am from Carbondale) operates one hour earlier than usual and the southbound Illini (normally 4:05 pm from Chicago) runs one hour later.  For an indefinite period, the southbound Saluki (normally 9:15 am from Chicago) operates one hour earlier than usual and the northbound Illini (normally 4:05 pm from Carbondale) runs one hour and ten minutes later.  City of New Orleans schedules are unaffected.

American Airlines announced yesterday that it plans to layoff 7,000 workers this year, by far the largest single job cut of the current domestic airline downtown.  In cutting about eight percent of its workforce, American is aligning it with the flying schedule that will be reduced by eight percent this year (including 11 to 12 percent domestically).  According to the New York Times, the 30,000 planned airline job eliminations makes 2008 second only to 2001 in airline job losses, when over 100,000 employees were laid off following 9/11.

Ohio Rail Development Commissioner and Former NARP Board Member Daniel J. Roberts, 45, died June 26 in an automobile accident.  Ken Prendergast, Director of Communications and Research for All Aboard Ohio, wrote, “In addition to being a husband and father, [Dan] was an active board member in the late 1990s and early 2000s for All Aboard Ohio when it was the Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers.  More recently, he served on the board of commissioners of the Ohio Rail Development Commission, worked as legal counsel at the Ohio Department of Commerce and was active in the Republican Party.  I knew Dan for 15 years and he was very helpful to me in understanding legal issues associated with developing rail passenger service.  We came from different political perspectives, but he was a respectful man, a devoted father and an active supporter of the cause of better railroads in Ohio.  We say it a lot in times like these, but here it is certainly true—he will be missed.”  According to the obituary, “In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Rebecca Roberts Educational Fund, at any Chase Bank location.”

This week, the USDOT Inspector General posted its June 26 report entitled “Analysis of the Benefits of High–Speed Rail on the Northeast Corridor.”  According to the summary, “the benefits from HSR achieving 3–hour service between Boston and New York and 2 1/2–hour service between New York and Washington would exceed the expenditures required to implement it.”  These were the targets set in the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976.  The IG says, “Currently the scheduled trip times of Acela exceed the legislative targets by almost 1/2-hour on both ends.”  In fact, most New York-Washington Acela schedules exceed the target by only 15-17 minutes. 

The IG presents two scenarios.

Scenario 1 envisions 2 1/2-hour travel time from New York to DC and 3 hour travel time for Boston to New York (labeling both as “a half hour reduction”), and assumes that Amtrak can make the necessary improvements for $14 billion by the year 2012.  They predict that these improvements would present a net value benefit of $16.3 billion over 33 years.  But, they calculated investment cost as occurring in a single year (the net present value of the investments would be reduced if they were spread out over time), and all the figures presented in the report are expressed in 2006 dollars.

The predictions for investment cost see only $1 billion of the total $14 billion going to improvements required solely for implementing HSR.  The lion’s share would go to bringing the track up to a state of good repair ($6.1 billion, or $1.3 billion higher than Amtrak’s own estimates) and expanding capacity improvements ($6.4 billion); the rest ($268 million) would go to life-safety investments.  Importantly, these estimates do not include the 18 miles of track owned by Metro-North, nor do they factor in procurement of new rolling stock to replace Acela trainsets, as Amtrak has stated will be needed in the coming years regardless of other capital improvements.

It’s also worth examining their breakdown of the $16.3 billion.  The IG projects an $11.9 billion revenue increase for Amtrak, and $300 million in the form of congestion reduction (the IG labels these “conservative” estimates, predicting there will be additional benefits value benefits from improvements in freight transport and the reduction in air traffic, while conceding that the models needed to predict these benefits were too complex to be reliably included, given their mandate).  $4.1 billion, however, comes in the form of “consumer surplus.”  That is, travelers would be willing to pay an additional $4.1 billion for the services provided, although the HSR service providers won’t actually be able to charge them that amount.  As NARP Transportation Assistant Sean Jeans-Gail quipped, “This means that people will feel $4.1 billion better about rail service.”

Scenario 2 envisions two-hour travel time from New York to DC and 2 1/2-hour travel time for Boston to New York (labeling both as “an hour reduction”).  The DOT IG predicts that this ½ hour reduction would more than double the value benefits projected in scenarios 1, from $16.3 billion to $36.0 billion.  However, at present, there “are no comprehensive estimates of the costs of the NEC infrastructure necessary to support travel times shorter than those considered in scenario 1.”  They do note that the HSR implementation costs get exponentially higher for every incremental increase in speed, since the most cost effective methods of increasing speed will be targeted first.

The report notes that “Amtrak objected to our characterizing achievement of a state of good repair and capacity improvements as preconditions to realizing scenario 1 travel times.  However, we consider these investments essential to the implementation of reliable HSR service and have not changed our report to reflect Amtrak’s comment.”

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

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Jul 11, 2008: Hotline #561

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved $1.65 billion in passenger rail funding for Fiscal 2009 on Thursday, including a record $1 billion in capital and debt service funds for Amtrak, $550 million for Amtrak operations and retroactive wages (for a total of $1.55 billion for Amtrak), and $100 million for state matching capital grants. 

The committee said that $550 million in operating assistance “will keep all Amtrak routes operational and ensure the availability of funds for the retroactive wage payments called for under Amtrak’s newly-ratified labor contracts.”  This back pay was also called for by Presidential Emergency Board 242.  However, if the back pay comes to the $114 million frequently cited, and assumed by the House subcommittee, the Senate’s $550 million represents a $39 million de facto operating grant reduction from the current year, and raises the specter of Amtrak continuing to cut corners on service in order to survive.  The subcommittee doubtless recognized that, while operating grants are “scored” at a 100% first-year spend-out rate, capital funds are not and thus are easier to secure.

The numbers were initially approved at the Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development markup on Wednesday.  Subcommittee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) highlighted the work the subcommittee has been doing to improve mass transit.  She noted that the $1 billion in Amtrak capital would be the highest level ever appropriated.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) applauded Murray’s work as Chair, especially on mass transit.  She made the case for rail’s necessity for her constituents in Maryland, saying “we can’t make it without MARC [commuter rail].”  She also said that, with Maryland as a Northeast Corridor state, “the robust funding is appreciated, and an acknowledgment of the employees.”  She also supported the goal of true high-speed rail.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) also called for more investment in rail, citing the shift in travel patterns taking place among the American public, brought about by a high fuel prices and congestion on our highways.  Labeling New Jersey the crossroads of America,  Lautenberg argued that “there is a desperate need to increase capacity on the Northeast Corridor and its trains… including tunnels under the Hudson River.”  He also cast the NEC as an important part of the ARC (Access to the Region’s Core, Trans-Hudson tunnel) program.  He again touted S. 294, the reauthorization bill that is waiting for reconciliation with House version H.R. 6003,
Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) said Amtrak won’t be viable in “the wide-open West” which lacks the “critical mass.”  But, he conceded, “we obviously have to recognize the value of Amtrak in the Northeast Corridor… as a solution to congestion.”  Lautenberg responded that creating a viable rail system by definition means creating a fully-developed national system.  He noted that S. 294 is a bill “that’s interested in corridors around the country.”  He also mentioned the great success of rail transit in Utah, alluding to TRAX light rail and FrontRunner commuter rail.

In a July 7 letter to Senate Appropriations Committee leaders, Sen. Lautenberg had urged the committee to fund passenger rail programs at the $2.218 billion level that would be authorized under S. 294, including $1.07 billion for Amtrak capital, $600 million for Amtrak operations, $302 million for Amtrak debt service, and $246 million for state capital grants.

For more information on Wednesday’s Subcommittee markup, see the news release (PDF).  For more information on Thursday’s Committee markup, see the news release (pdf).  Click here to listen to audio from both markups.

Please urge your Senators and Representatives to approve at least the $1.65 billion for passenger trains that the Senate Appropriations Committee passed.  Go to our Action Alert center for full details.

Further action on appropriations is unclear.  The process stalled in the House before the transportation bill reached the full appropriations committee, because of Republican plans to attach domestic oil drilling provisions to any and all appropriations bills.  Yesterday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said the Senate will consider at most two FY 2009 appropriations bills—presumably defense and military construction—before passing a continuing resolution, although Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd (D-WV) said he would “continue to urge that we complete our work,” that is, pass individual appropriations bills.  Continuing resolutions, as the name implies, normally mean that spending continues at current levels—bad news for programs that might other get an increase.

Byrd also said he plans to mark up a second supplemental spending bill on July 22 and that infrastructure projects will be included.  House leaders likewise are talking about a second supplemental or stimulus bill

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) announced his endorsement for Proposition 1, the state’s high-speed rail bond measure, this week.  He told a reporter for NBC affiliate KNTV on Wednesday, “If you think right now, our trains in America are running the same speed as 100 years ago.  That’s not progress.  I think we can do much better than that.”  He also noted that high-speed rail fits in his vision to fight global warming.

Air France announced last week that it may partner with Veolia Transport to shift many of its short-distance passengers to high-speed rail.  An Air France spokeswoman told the AP that the two companies “are examining the possibility of concluding a strategic partnership aimed at introducing a new player in the European high-speed rail sector.”  The move is an overture towards cutting fuel costs on inefficient short-distance flights and acknowledging the dramatic increase in market share that TGV and Thalys high-speed trains have already seen for short-distance travel in France and Western Europe.

Amtrak announced on Thursday that it will expand its counterterrorism program of random security screening of passengers from just the Northeast Corridor to across the Amtrak system.  The main focus outside the NEC is expected to be on Midwest routes around Chicago and California’s corridor routes, areas where Amtrak Police already have some visible presence.  CBS Radio News interviewed NARP’s Ross Capon on this today.

Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada will discontinue the North American Rail Pass that allows travel on both systems, VIA announced this week.  The 30-day passes will be sold through September 30, 2008, and travel must commence by September 30, 2009.  Amtrak has not yet formally announced the discontinuation of the program.

The City of Memphis, TN and Canadian National Railway announced a $1 million agreement on Tuesday to split the costs of repairing the sinkhole that has plagued Memphis Central Station and forced Amtrak to detour and provide substitute motorcoach service since April.  Amtrak says that, if repairs progress significantly this month, City of New Orleans service could be restored in Memphis by next month.  Speaking of the parties’ unacceptably long delay in finding a solution to the sinkhole, NARP Board Member Bill Strong was quoted in the Memphis Commercial Appeal on Wednesday, saying, “They wouldn’t have done this to one of the airlines at the airport.  But I guess they felt like they could get away with making Amtrak suffer and the passengers.”

Work will begin this month at the Vancouver, WA Amtrak station on over $561,000 in improvements.  According to The Columbian newspaper, upgrades will include, “moving the ticket counter and consolidating it with the baggage-check area to provide more seating; upgrading restrooms, along with other parts of the station, to make them disabled accessible; [and] improving heating, ventilation and air conditioning.”  Amtrak will be temporarily housed in a double-wide trailer until work is completed, sometime in January.  Nearly $200,000 in federal and local funds will be left over for future improvements at the station that Amtrak serves with Cascades, Coast Starlight, and Empire Builder trains.

Amtrak is shaving time off California Zephyr schedules for departures starting August 11 as part of the ongoing “Zephyr Get Well Plan” that was launched in 2006 with the cooperation of Union Pacific.  Westbound train 5 will operate 30 minutes faster between Winnemucca and Emeryville (with schedules unchanged between Chicago and Elko), with Emeryville arrival of 5:40 pm (presently 6:10 pm).  Eastbound train 6 will depart Emeryville 45 minutes later at 8:55 am (presently 8:10 am), with the schedule unchanged between Salt Lake City and Chicago.

Amtrak restored California Zephyr service along its full route starting on July 5 after tracks were reopened.  The route across Iowa had been closed since June 13 due to flooding.

Seven people were injured after a truck slammed into the side of the café car of eastbound Capitol Corridor train 736 on the afternoon of July 6 at a grade crossing 10 miles east of Suisun, CA.  Five passengers and two Amtrak crewmembers were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, while the truck driver (who claims his brakes failed) suffered cuts and bruises.  The remaining passengers (there were 220 total) were accommodated on train 738.

Amtrak’s City of New Orleans was disrupted on Monday after a Canadian National freight train derailed 43 of its 90 cars near Flora, MS Sunday night.  Amtrak bussed passengers in both directions between New Orleans and Memphis on Monday as CN cleaned up the derailment site.

The San Bernardino Historical and Railroad Museum opens tomorrow in the baggage portion of the Amtrak/Metrolink (former Santa Fe) San Bernardino, CA station.  Volunteers from the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society will staff the museum and act as station hosts in the main waiting room when the Southwest Chief pulls through.  Amtrak left the station unstaffed since it was closed for a $15.6 million restoration and reopened in 2004.  SBRHS eventually hopes to permanently house operating steam locomotive Santa Fe 3751 near the station.

CEOs of 12 of the top domestic airlines issued an “Open Letter to All Airline Customers” on Wednesday decrying oil speculation and announcing the ”Stop Oil Speculation Now” campaign.  In an Opinion Leader entitled “Don’t blame the speculators,” The Economist of July 3 noted that “the surge in investment in oil futures is not that large relative to the global trade in oil” and that “all big exporters bar Saudi Arabia are pumping as fast as they can.”

Northwest Airlines announced on Wednesday that it would cut 2,500 jobs across its crafts to cut costs, and is joining other top carriers in charging $15 for the first checked bag for tickets purchased starting yesterday.  Northwest also raised ticket change fees, and added “temporary” service fees ranging from $25 to $100 for redeeming frequent flyer mileage awards.  Delta added similar fees of up to $50 last month.

Low-cost carrier AirTran Airways also announced on Monday that it would cut 480 jobs after announcing last week that it would slash salaries and wages by about 10 percent.

British Airways agreed last week to buy French carrier L’Avion for £54 million and absorb it into its boutique OpenSkies brand.  L’Avion was the last independent all-business class airline.  Three others – Maxjet, Eos, and Silverjet – all collapsed since late last year amidst record fuel prices.

The Association of American Railroads issued a release July 9 in response to the House Transit & Highways Subcommittee’s endorsement of heavier truck weights.  The release noted that, “independently, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Teamsters) issued a press release also opposing efforts to allow heavier and longer trucks on the road.”  Traffic World reported that the subcommittee chair, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) said, “I don’t think anybody could say the current system makes sense.  We have a total failure and we have to look toward the near future.”

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Jul 18, 2008: Hotline #562

Please urge your Senators and Representative to approve at least the $1.65 billion for passenger trains in Fiscal 2009 that the Senate Appropriations Committee passed.  Go to our Action Alert center for full details.

Further action on appropriations, especially in the House, is unclear.  The process stalled in the House before the transportation bill reached the full committee, because of a fight over Republican efforts to expand domestic oil drilling in other appropriations bills.  The real trouble began during the June 26 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, and Agriculture full committee markup when Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-CA) tried to offer an amendment regarding offshore oil drilling.  According to Congressional Quarterly, Chairman David Obey (D-WI), “stood, glowering at Lewis, and said, ‘It’s stunts like this that make people hate Washington.’”  An even more bizarre sequence then took place, when Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) offered an amendment to Lewis’s amendment to adjourn the committee meeting, Obey ruled that the amendment to the amendment passed on voice vote, immediately gaveled the markup to a close, and angrily left the hearing room.  Later, Obey said, “If they want to get serious and behave like serious legislators, they know what my phone number is.”

As we reported, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on July 10 said the Senate will consider at most two FY 2009 appropriations bills—presumably defense and military construction—before passing a continuing resolution, but Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd (D-WV) said he would “continue to urge that we complete our work,” that is, pass individual appropriations bills. 
Byrd also said he plans to mark up a second supplemental spending bill on July 22 and that infrastructure projects will be included.  House leaders likewise are talking about a second supplemental or stimulus bill before Congress recesses in late September.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Reps. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) called on House leadership to include funding for alternative transportation, including intercity passenger trains, in any climate change legislation that comes before the House.  Noting that surface transportation is the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, the letter encouraged Congress to employ “[Vehicle-miles traveled]-reducing strategies, especially public transportation.  Significant funds should be dedicated to increase public transit, intercity passenger rail, freight rail capacity, intelligent transportation systems, and bicycle and pedestrian alternatives.  In addition the legislation should encourage smart growth and transit-oriented development.”  39 other House Democrats also signed the letter, which was dated July 14, 2008.

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) plans to introduce legislation to compel Amtrak to restore the Pioneer route between Seattle and Salt Lake City, according to a report in the Pocatello State Journal.  The language would be stronger than the provision in S. 294, the Senate version of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, that calls for Amtrak to study restoring the Pioneer.  “I’d like to do more than just the study.  I’m optimistic we can move this along and one day hopefully not far from now we can get the Pioneer route back,” Simpson said.  Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), who was behind the S. 294 provision, said that he too would prefer Simpson’s bill to provide swift restoration of service.  “Whatever the timeline would have been with the study, all of that will be saved,” said Crapo.

Amtrak President Alex Kummant made a public commitment to Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) this week to restore five Amfleet I cars stored in Bear, DE to operable condition to increase capacity on Midwest corridor trains.  In a news release, Sen. Durbin cited a “severe” shortage of rolling stock and said, “I look forward to working with Mr. Kummant, the Board of Directors and the State of Illinois to deal with the shortage of rail cars and to explore other resources that are necessary for Amtrak to keep up with a growing number of riders.”

NARP’s Executive Committee last week passed a resolution endorsing California’s High Speed Rail project and Proposition 1, which will be on the November ballot in California.  Besides touting the economic and environmental benefits of high-speed rail, the resolution notes that “California’s initiative in high-speed rail will likely be replicated elsewhere in our country, placing California, once again, in a transportation leadership role.”

Chicago Transit Authority announced this week that it plans to remove all seats from certain railcars to meet surging demand.  The move is expected to increase the per-car capacity from 90 to 140 passengers, enabling passengers to stand rather than having to wait for the next train.

Eastbound VIA Rail Canada train 60 derailed on the afternoon of July 15 between Kingston and Brockville, ON (along the Montreal-Toronto corridor) after striking a loaded flatbed truck.  According to VIA, the locomotive and baggage car derailed, and of the 209 passengers and seven crewmembers, there were a few minor injuries.  Corridor service was disrupted through the next morning.

A San Francisco Municipal Railway cable car derailed late Sunday night on the Powell-Mason line, injuring four passengers.  A Muni spokesman told the San Francisco Chronicle that the derailment likely resulted from a rules violation in which the cable car’s “two operators got off and pushed it.  Once back on board, they were unable to reach the brakes in time to stop the cable car from rolling out of control downhill.”

The Children’s Investment Fund (TCI), a private equity firm, has successfully gained four seats on the board of CSX Transportation.  Ironically, the election outcome from the June 25 shareholders meeting was announced as TCI announced its largest-ever monthly loss for June – $1 billion – and CSX stock prices surged.  Election results could still be overturned if CSX successfully appeals a court ruling before the meeting regarding TCI’s stake in the company.

The August issue of NARP News has been uploaded to the members’ section of our web site.  Click on “Login” above, just below “E-mail Signup” to access the newsletter, or click “Register” if you have not yet signed up for members’ access.  Be sure to include your membership number when registering.

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Jul 25, 2008: Hotline #563

Please urge your Senators and Representative to approve at least the $1.65 billion for passenger trains in Fiscal 2009 that the Senate Appropriations Committee passed.  (Appropriations in the House remain stalled due to partisan tensions over energy policy.)  Go to our Action Alert center for full details.

On July 22, the House of Representatives passed by voice vote a procedural motion to send the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act to conference committee.  From here on out, the bill will be referred to as S. 294; H.R. 6003 technically no longer exists.

The House has appointed their conferees.  They are: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) and Representatives Corrine Brown (D-FL), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Tim Bishop (D-NY), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Bruce Braley (D-IA), Michael Arcuri (D-NY), John Mica (R-FL), Tom Petri (R-WI), Steve LaTourette (R-OH), Henry Brown (R-SC), Bill Shuster (R-PA), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA).  The Senate should appoint its conferees soon.

If one of the above legislators is your Representative in Congress, please reach out to him or her and urge for a speedy conference that preserves the best features of each bill and protects the veto-proof majority of support that the bill now enjoys.

Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) told Reuters on July 22 that an infrastructure stimulus package of nearly $15 billion could be considered in the House soon.  The bill would include an immediate infusion of $250 million for Amtrak and $4.07 billion for transit.  The Senate Appropriations Committee postponed markup of its version of a second stimulus measure that was supposed to take place this week.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management held a comprehensive oversight hearing on Washington Union Station on July 22.  U.S. DOT owns Union Station, which is privately managed but remains a public asset.  Subcommittee Chair Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) criticized Union Station’s private management on several issues, including harassment of amateur photographers by security guards, delays in continuing the station’s redevelopment process as an intermodal station, and summarily denying intercity bus operator Megabus from subleasing Gray Line spaces at the station even with the station’s continued legal charter to maximize intermodal opportunities.

The first panel consisted entirely of testimony from private photographer Erin McCann, who documented a pattern of harassment by security guards contracted by station management firm Jones Lang LaSalle, as well as by Amtrak employees.  She claimed to have been harassed three times since May alone, and received conflicting answers on policy when she inquired to Jones Lang LaSalle management.  McCann said that an Amtrak spokeswoman admitted to her that it appeared that employees were “taking policy for [commercial and] news photography and applying it to all photography… Everybody there just sort of makes up the policy on the spot.”  Norton remarked, “As a member of the Committee on Homeland Security, the notion that security guards in a facility like Union Station are keeping an eye on photographers… is very distressing.”

The second panel addressed station management issues and included David Ball, President, Union Station Redevelopment Corporation; Bryant Chambers, Assistant General Manager of Union Station, Jones Lang LaSalle; and Daniel Levy, counsel retained by Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation (dba Union Station Investco LLC, which purchased the station lease in 2007).

On the photography incidents, Ball admitted, “I’m embarrassed we don’t have a standard policy… It seems like a simple matter.” Chambers claimed to have already “redrafted the standard.”  Norton asked entire panel (Ball, Chambers, and Levy) to draft new policy within 30 days and “give it to outside counsel… someone who’s argued before the Supreme Court” and recognizes the legal precedents for public access.  She pointed out that four of the five board members of USRC are public officials, and that courts have even protected First Amendment activities within privately-owned “public” spaces (such as picketing actions in shopping malls).

Norton also asked Chambers to immediately remove signs posted throughout the station that list “prohibited uses” as the signs erroneously call Union Station “private property” (which Norton found “insulting”), and assert that security guards have full latitude to prohibit personal photography at their discretion.  Chambers agreed to remove the signs until new rules are in place, yet as of today, the signs remain visibly posted.

Rep. John Mica (R-FL) highlighted possible security deficiencies, relating that, when he ate lunch at the station food court, he was “panhandled at least four times… I haven’t been back since because it was such an unpleasant experience.”  Norton quipped, “Because [security guards] were too busy going after photographers!”  Ball said that handling the homeless is “a delicate issue… They’re citizens… and we can’t just kick them out.” Norton said, “But you kick photographers out!”  Ball said that the security guards do not have arrest power.  Norton noted that they have threatened photographers with arrest.  She again urged the panel to retain outside legal expertise, this time on how to humanely handle homeless persons.  Norton called the security guards “poorly trained” and requested a plan to for complete retraining within 30 days.

Norton challenged Ball on Megabus being denied sublease from Gray Line by USRC, thus harming the Congressionally-mandated goal of intermodalism.  Ball said that Megabus should have come directly to USRC.  When Norton asked why USRC didn’t engage Megabus, Ball said, “It was a mistake.”  Norton requested a report on station sublease policy within 30 days.  Speculating that Amtrak had a say due to possible competition, Norton said that “competition is precisely the point” of an intermodal station.  In her opening statement, Norton had said, “We have not seen evidence that Union Station Redevelopment Corporation understands the increasingly important role of intermodal transportation in the country today.”

In Levy’s written testimony, he outlined future redevelopment plans for Union Station:  “Access from the street level will be expanded to improve pedestrian circulation on all floors to open up and create greater connection to the lower and mezzanine levels [including, in part, eliminating the existing movie theater].  To ease navigation challenges and eliminate dead ends a corridor near the termination of the train and shopping concourses will be added to improve all access.  USI is working with Amtrak to make improvements which would include dividing and reorienting the ticket counters.  This would direct traffic through the Main Hall and train platform gates and remove the ticket queues from blocking traffic.  Also, passengers would now be able to view their gates without obstruction.  There will be a direct sight line and better pedestrian access from the Main Hall entrance to the train terminal by improving access to the gates and waiting areas.”

The third panel dealt with intermodal and development plans, and included David Leach, President and CEO, Greyhound Lines; Emeka Moneme, Director, District of Columbia Department of Transportation; and Thomas Wilbur, Senior Vice President, Ackridge Corporation (which is developing the Burnham Place project using the air rights over Union Station tracks).

Moneme reported that the Union Station Intermodal Study began February 2008 and will conclude this fall.  Norton chided Moneme for allowing Chinatown-type buses to clog Downtown streets “for this long” without giving their passengers accommodations.  She requested he provide, within 30 days, a list of all such operators, and ideas for an interim solution until the Union Station intermodal expansion comes online.  Moneme agreed that the process could be smoother.  (It should be noted Moneme resigned from DDOT on July 23 to accept a position with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.)

Leach said that Greyhound fully supports moving to Union Station from its present station a half-mile north and affording customers “seamless Metro access” as part of Union Station redevelopment.  He also said that “Amtrak needs to get engaged.”  Leach said that he met with Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant that morning, and that they agreed to work together on passenger and security matters.  In his opening statement, Mica had said, “The time that we dump people who use Greyhound or other surface transportation at the edge of town or some other inconvenient location is over… We should not fund one dollar of public money for any intermodal transportation center without accommodating these passengers.”

Wilbur said that Burnham Place will dovetail into intermodal improvements.  The project’s scope has expanded.  It originally would have been south of H Street (a bridge that bifurcates the station yards), and now should include hotel and additional residences north of H Street.  It will fully integrate with existing transit and the planned DDOT H Street Streetcar.  It will bring people to the neighborhood “24/7”.  Shorter-term redevelopment of Union Station will complement future Burnham Place elements.

Other requests from Norton to the witnesses include “a meeting between Union Station management and tenants so tenants can understand planned renovations and the future of their leases; a record of the number of minority and women owned businesses at Union Station; a meeting between Union Station management and small bus companies, which have been forced to use curb-side pick-ups in D.C. because of failure of Union Station to provide access to existing parking spaces at Union Station, as well as a plan for accommodating intercity bus service; [and] results of a meeting with Amtrak to clarify indemnification issues that have prevented completion of the tunnel to First and H Streets started by WMATA.”

Full video, background information, and written testimony from Tuesday’s hearing is available on the T&I web site.  For Norton’s news release and opening statement, click here.  For more coverage of Tuesday’s hearing, see the Greater Greater Washington and LightBoxDC blogs, FOX 5, The Washington Post, The Examiner, and DC Photo Rights (Erin McCann’s group).

Trenton, NJ’s train station was rechristened as Trenton Transit Center on July 18 at a ceremony following the completion of a $79 million improvement project.  The century-old station has more than doubled in size overall and features waiting room and retail spaces that are triple their previous sizes.  Amtrak, NJ Transit, and SEPTA ticket windows were relocated, and other aesthetic improvements were made.

The Surface Transportation Board issued a report today regarding the proposed acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern by the Canadian National Railroad.  The draft environmental report finds that the transaction would not affect Amtrak or Metra services, but that it could introduce “potential operating complexities.”  The STB also set aside concerns by those opposed to the deal that CN’s projections for freight traffic increases are low.  This is not the final report but will be one of several factors weighed in the STB’s final decision.

Work is set to begin on August 9 to repair the sinkhole at Memphis Central Station that has forced Amtrak to detour around Downtown Memphis since April.  According to the City of Memphis, repairs will take two months to complete.

Amtrak and New York DOT may agree to start an express Empire Service round-trip between Albany and New York this Fall.  The nonstop service was first proposed two years ago but has been postponed pending negotiations.

Advocacy group Transport 2000 Canada reports this week that the second Amtrak Cascades round-trip between Seattle and Vancouver, BC will not start until the State of Washington, which has underwritten capacity improvements (along with British Columbia) and will fund the operation, reaches an agreement with the Canadian Border Security Agency.  CBSA is reportedly demanding payment for screening of passengers at any new “facilities.”  While new international flights into Canada are not subject to such fees, CBSA views the extra train as a new “facility” and is demanding $1,500 per day to screen northbound passengers, in what Transport 2000 calls “a case of modal discrimination.”  The new service (an extension of the existing Seattle-Bellingham round-trip) was scheduled to start next month, but is now delayed until arrangements with CBSA are made.

Amtrak will operate a supplemental Pacific Surfliner round-trip on Saturdays and Sundays through August 24 between Santa Ana and Solana Beach only, to accommodate Del Mar Race Track fans.  Utilizing Coaster commuter equipment, southbound train 1768 will operate on 768’s schedule between the two stations, with 768 running 10 minutes behind.  Northbound train 1591 will operate 15 minutes ahead of train 591, whose schedule is unaffected.

Amtrak detoured eastbound Empire Builder train 8 between St. Paul and Chicago on July 22 to accommodate Canadian Pacific trackwork.  The detour will repeat on July 29, with substitute motorcoach service to intermediate stations (except Glenview).

Amtrak will bus Carl Sandburg passengers between Galesburg and Quincy both directions on weekdays August 4-29 to accommodate BNSF trackwork.  Buses from southbound train 381 will arrive Quincy at 12:58 PM, one hour later than normal.  Buses for northbound train 382 will depart Quincy at 4:30 PM, one hour earlier than normal, and train 382 will operate 20 minutes later between Galesburg and Chicago.

Severe thunderstorms caused a power failure on the Northeast Corridor on July 23, disabling scores of trains and delaying thousands of Amtrak and commuter passengers.  Power was restored at 5:45 PM after an hour-long shutdown; residual delays lasted 60 to 90 minutes.  Unrelated CSX computer problems related to train bulletins on July 22 also delayed thousands of Amtrak and commuter passengers along the Eastern Seaboard.

A bomb scare shut down Amtrak Capitol Corridor and BART service at Richmond, CA for four hours on July 21 after a passenger aboard westbound train 533 left a backpack with wires protruding from it on the train and escaped from an emergency window exit.  The bag was determined to be harmless and police did not catch the suspect.

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