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Jan 08, 2010: Hotline #636Hotline #636 Amtrak is offering a special winter discount of 20% on one-way fares on long-distance routes purchased between now and January 25. The discount is valid on all 15 Amtrak long distance routes, for coach fares only, and requires three day advance purchase. While the deadline for purchase is January 25, it is eligible for long-distance travel between January 19 and March 31. Check Amtrak.com for more details. On December 26, the Harmony express ran from Guangzhou to the central city of Wuhan in under three hours—a journey that previously took over 11 hours. The train reached a top speed of 245 mph (compared to 186 mph reached by Japan’s Shinkansen and France’s TGV), and an average speed of 218 mph. Complicating the average speed numbers provided by Chinese officials is the fact that the stations at both ends of the lines are about an hours drive from the respective city centers. Travel through urbanized areas requires decreased speeds, and would certainly negatively affect the average speed of the train—though it would undoubtedly decrease the trip time for passengers. The new Chinese service is planned to run 56 times a day and fares will cost roughly US$115, which has led China’s airlines (also state-owned) to slash their ticket prices in response. The passenger rail company issued an internal advisory to all employees advising them to be vigilant of suspicious activity during the busy holiday travel season. “Although there is no specific threat to Amtrak identified at this time, we will be reviewing all intelligence gathered about the present situation to heighten awareness and to augment our security presence as required,” read the advisory. While Amtrak does not conduct searches of every passenger, they do perform random searches of passengers and bags, and in recent years has introduced bomb sniffing dogs into their police force. While this opening also marks the end of Ethan Allen Express service to Fair Haven—the last train will stop at Fair Haven on Saturday, January 10—Castleton’s (Amtrak city code: CNV) newly restored station includes an enclosed waiting area and a café, a marked improvement over Fair Haven’s unsigned and unlit bus shelter. The study, performed by the Earth Policy Institute (EPI), documented the purchase of 10 million new cars and the scrapping of 14 million, for a net decrease of 2%. This marks the first decline in the U.S. automobile fleet since World War II. Just as important as the factors already mentioned, EPI associates the decline with the U.S. reaching the market saturation point for cars, with 209 million licensed drivers and 246 million registered vehicles. EPI is drawing parallels between the U.S. and Japan in the early 1990s, where a combination of market saturation and urbanization saw the national car fleet peak, and then eventually decrease to current levels, 21% off the highest mark. The Builder did not originate January Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and today and will not originate this weekend (Jan. 9-10), although a “stub train” is running Chicago-St. Paul in both directions. Eastbound, departures from the Seattle and Portland are canceled today, tomorrow and Sunday. Motor coach alternate transportation provided Seattle/Portland-Whitefish. The California Zephyr due to arrive Chicago yesterday afternoon got there at 17 hours 56 minutes late, at 9:26 this morning. The Zephyr due to arrive Chicago today terminated in Denver yesterday. Yesterday’s departure from Chicago did not operate Chicago-Denver but the train departed Denver west this morning. Amtrak’s Texas Eagle had a bumpy week, with two trains derailing twice in separate incidents; there have been no reported injuries. The first derailment was Wednesday morning in Arkansas, 45 miles northeast of Little Rock. The Los Angeles bound train derailed at 3 a.m., stranding 212 passengers. The second incident, also involving a southbound train with Los Angeles cars, was Thursday around 9 p.m., two miles north of the St. Louis station. Amtrak characterized the delay as “minor,” and expected to the train—and all 176 passengers—to be moving again in a few hours. However, the train left St. Louis eight hours late and will not run past Fort Worth. The causes of both incidents are still under investigation. Specifically, the FRA is requiring stronger front-end frames to prevent the collapse or telescope of railcars in impacts. The notice the FRA posted online puts the price of the new rule at $4.1 million over 20 years, mostly for testing and engineering costs. “This new strategy is the result of extensive research into the best way to protect passengers and crew alike in collisions with other trains, vehicles at highway-rail grade crossings and other obstructions,” FRA spokesman Mark Paustenbach told Bloomberg News. All manufacturers will be required to meet the standards when filling orders for railcars placed by Amtrak and commuter railroads after the rule takes effect—transit systems are not covered by the regulation. Overseas train systems—where freight operations are less intense or non-existent, depending on the line—tend to focus on crash avoidance rather than the ability of railcars to withstand crashes, allowing their trains to be lighter and more energy efficient. It remains to be seen how quickly foreign manufacturers will respond to these new regulations; Bloomberg News reported that “Timothy Brown, a spokesman for Alstom, and Maryanne Roberts, a Bombardier spokeswoman, had no immediate comment.” Jan 15, 2010: Hotline #637Hotline #637 In what looks to be a massive victory for rail transit, the Obama Administration has announced they will dramatically change existing policies for selecting transit projects for federal funding, focusing on issues such as economic development opportunities and environmental benefits—as opposed to the existing criteria that are narrowly focused on cost and time saved. The move will rescind criteria put into place by President George W. Bush in 2005, in an effort to reduce the federal role in transit funding. The change was subject of the lead story in The Washington Post’ s Jan. 14 Metro section, under the headline “Brighter outlook for transit projects; Obama Changes Funding Policy.” The article quoted Stewart Schwartz, Coalition for Smarter Growth executive director, saying “It’s a dramatic and welcome change [which] will ensure that priority is given to designing mixed-use walkable communities.” Conversely, Bob Chase of the highway-oriented Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance criticized the Obama Administration as seeming “to be weakening the criteria to expand it to include something called livability…If the objective is economic development, then they should use economic development dollars, not transportation dollars.” “Our new policy for selecting major transit projects will work to promote livability rather than hinder it,” said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We want to base our decisions on how much transit helps the environment, how much it improves development opportunities and how it makes our communities better places to live.” Trolleys, streetcars, light-rail, and bicycle and pedestrian projects are all expected to benefit as transit projects that improve urban mobility without necessarily improving on automobile commute times. One of the lost opportunities highlighted by Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff was a light-rail system in Charlotte, NC. Local transit officials sought federal aid to purchase equipment and build platforms that would accommodate three-car train sets, but they didn’t meet Bush Administration criteria, and they were forced to reduce the scope to two-car sets. Charlotte commuters have flocked to the system, and officials are scrambling to expand the platforms and purchase extra equipment, at a higher cost than they if the original plan for three-car sets had been approved. “It’s not that we’re going to ignore cost — we always want to be sure people aren’t building Taj Mahal projects — but everything was cost before,” said Rogoff. Rogoff cited a light-rail project that will connect Minneapolis and St. Paul as a likely beneficiary of the Obama Administration rule change. The FTA told reporters he was concerned “from a civil rights perspective” that Minnesota might not be able to afford to build train stations in black and Asian neighborhoods in St. Paul because the Bush-era rules would deem them to be not cost-effective. Regarding the tunnel, the Trenton Times quoted Christie saying “we support the project. Now the question is, can we make the project better and how does the project fit during these really challenging economic times?” He did not specifically note the concerns of passenger advocates, who have criticized failure of the tunnels to connect with Penn Station. Christie explicitly vowed not to raise the gasoline tax, though state officials estimate the New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund will run out of funds by 2011 at the current rate. He said “the people of New Jersey are taking too much money out of their own pocket already for the operations of state government.” “We need to look beyond the gas tax, we need to look at public-private partnerships,” said Jim Simpson, the nominee for the state’s Department of Transportation commissioner. Simpson has served as administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, as well as commissioner of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Christie will appoint James Weinstein as NJ Transit’s executive director. The agency has faced hard times, having had to deal with last year’s $26 million reduction in state funding—out of a $1.79 billion annual budget—primarily through service cuts. WMATA has been the recipient of harsh criticism for safety lapses that led to the death of nine people and injury of scores of other passengers in June train crash. Metro board chair Jim Graham accepted Catoe’s resignation, thanked him for the work he has done during his three years with the transit agency, and expressed “full confidence in [his] ability to continue until April.” WMATA faces a $40 million budget gap during the current fiscal year alone, with a looming budget gap of $175 million in the following year. No replacement has been named. Boardman described the plan variously as “exciting” and “aggressive.” He told reporters that the company will supplement their fleet of about 1,800 trains and locomotives with over 100 locomotives, and “several hundred” passenger cars, saying “it’s time to replace our aging fleet.” Boardman also provided details on infrastructure upgrades: There are more details in Amtrak reports available on-line, including the five-year financial plan released September 23, 2009. The Acela high speed service received much of the attention. The Boston-New York City-Washington D.C. train generated $486 million in fares in FY2008 (27% of Amtrak’s revenue), despite seeing a downtick in ridership in the face of the continuing economic troubles. In an attempt to further increase market share in the Northeastern megaregion, Amtrak’s five year financial plan detailed impending upgrades that included:
Analysts consider this move necessary to not lose ground on low cost, intercity bus services like BoltBus which already offer free internet access to passengers. The Acela, —which has been dubbed by some sources as “the boardroom on rails”—will now further appeal to business travelers, who will be able to work online during their travel (Amtrak already offers AC power sockets that allow passengers to charge their electrical devices on most trains). The company’s financial plan estimates that the introduction of WiFi will increase revenue on the service by $4.3 million over the next five years. Amtrak will spend an additional $26 million to introduce internet access to other routes, probably focusing on the Northeast Corridor initially. The schedule for WiFi expansion hasn’t been set yet, and will depend on the kind of money Amtrak has available. “You’ve got to have money to buy equipment,” Boardman told reporters. “We’re looking at all options. It’s not just the federal government, it is every source of funding which we might have available for the future.”
The Acela will also get an upgrade to the business class seats, which will receive a new leather upholstery by the end of the year. In addition to greater comfort, the seats will also be cheaper to maintain and have a longer usable life. The leather will be part of a series of improvements, which include new carpeting and curtains, and sturdier seat-back trays.
The diner’s insulation and pipes were exposed and an emergency window caved in. Three other cars suffered minor damage. The incident happened while the Star was stopped on a double-track segment near Boulogne, Fla. It took more than 24 hours before Amtrak was able to get the car on a side track north of Folkston, Ga. The line would run 43 kilometers from Noi Bai International Airport to three stations in the country’s capitol, according to the Transport Ministry-run Giao Thong Van Tai newspaper. Project dates and locations have yet to be announced. Jan 22, 2010: Hotline #638Hotline #638 Federal investigators released a summary of findings on an investigation into 2008’s deadly Chatsworth train crash, and have recommended requiring railway companies to install video and audio recorders into train cabs in an effort to discourage unsafe behavior by engineers. The investigation performed by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that Robert Sanchez—the engineer of the Metrolink train—was sending and receiving text messages as little as 22 seconds before he ran a red light signal that led to the head-on collision with a Union Pacific freight train outside of Los Angeles, killing 25 people and injuring 100. The hearing highlighted the fact that Sanchez had twice been warned against the use of a cellphone while on duty, and indicated that the electronic monitoring of engineers could discourage this behavior in the future. “This is not just one individual doing this. In the other locomotive, another company’s employee was doing the same thing. It’s becoming more widespread and we have to nip this in the bud now,” said NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman after the January 22 hearing on the crash. “I don’t think railroading is unique. We’re seeing theses explode across the board in all modes of transportation, and we have to address it.” Also this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation has rolled out a campaign to stop highway drivers from using cellphones to call and text while in their cars, holding a Distracted Driving Summit, launching a website labeled Distraction.gov, and even enlisting the help of Oprah Winfrey, who’s launched her own “no phone-zone” campaign. Members of the NTSB also noted the absence of Positive Train Control (PTC), which would have provided technological redundancy and stopped the train after it passed the red signal but before it collided with the freight train. Legislation passed by Congress in the wake of the crash requires the implementation of PTC across the entire passenger train network (as well as any of the freight rail networks that carry certain types of hazardous material) by 2015. In a short, January 19 press release, the White House detailed Moreland’s curriculum vitae; Moreland began working in the railroad industry in 1978 when he joined Sante Fe Railway as senior vice president law and general counsel. He was steadily promoted thereafter. At retirement in 2007, he was executive vice president for Public Affairs at Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway Company, based in Fort Worth. His duties covered managing relations between the company and federal and state government, corporate communications, and economic regulatory policy. Moreland now faces confirmation hearings before the Senate. President Obama’s previous two nominations (Anthony Coscia and Albert DiClemente) to Amtrak’s board had their confirmation hearings on November 18. Although they have yet to be confirmed, prospects for Senate action have improved now that Obama has also nominated a Republican (Moreland). The bipartisan group includes senators from seven states, and is signed—in addition to Wyden—by Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), James Risch (R-ID), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Tom Udall (D-NM), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Udall (D-CO), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Michael Bennet (D-CO). The letter states that “like [Obama], we believe that passenger rail service is an important part of our nation’s transportation future… [we] urge you to keep Amtrak’s national scope in mind when selecting your remaining nominee to the Amtrak Board of Directors by nominating a qualified individual from the West.” Currently, the board is made up of two members from New York, two from Illinois, one in Washington D.C. The three men already nominated by Obama are based in New Jersey, Delaware, and Texas. The letter goes on to say that passenger trains are “as important to western communities as eastern communities… we urge you to recognize its role to our states by nominating one of the many qualified people available from the West to the remaining Amtrak board position.” While choosing a person from a certain geographic area doesn’t necessarily mean they will be an effective advocate for Amtrak service in that area—the three candidates for Amtrak’s board that NARP endorsed in a February 2009 letter sent to the White House are all from the Northeast region, yet all were vetted by NARP to ensure that they would be advocates for stronger national train network—it sends a strong message to the Obama Administration that these Senators are willing to fight for strong service in the states they represent. VRE saw its highest single-day ever on January 5, with a total of 18,315 passengers using the company’s trains. The record didn’t last long, however; the rail agency bested itself on January 6, with 18,629 passengers. In a larger sense, VRE has been trending upwards for the entire fiscal year, with a highest-ever ridership figure of around 3.9 million in fiscal year 2009, beating its previous best of 3.8 million in FY2008. “It’s really ramping up ... success is killing us here,” Dale Zehner, chief executive officer of VRE, told the Washington Examiner. Zehner cited improved on-time performance, as well as increased congestion on Interstate 95 and Interstate 66, which run roughly parallel to VRE service. (Congestion on Interstate 95 has been a problem for such a long time that an inter-state coalition was formed in the early 1990s to formulate solutions; unsurprisingly, the coalition has highlighted intermodal as a key decongestion strategy, a direction which will only be underlined by VRE’s success.) The soaring ridership comes at a point of transition for VRE, which has recently made the decision to opt out of their existing operating contract with Amtrak, choosing instead to enter a five year agreement with Keolis, a French-owned company that will be making its entrance into the American market. Zehner expressed confidence that Keolis is up to handle the high number of commuters, saying “I think [they] can do the job—no question,” although others have questioned whether enough existing Amtrak employees working on VRE will choose to give up their Amtrak seniority to go with Keolis to permit the planned July 1 transition. The direct consequence is the termination of 36 of the 46 bus drivers employed by the operating company that contracted with Lorain County. However, the move will have further economic reverberation, as thousands of people who commute from the suburban community into Cleveland, OH everyday for work will now be stranded. The two bus routes are actually an improvement compared with the complete shutdown of Lorain County Transit announced last month in the face of budgetary shortfalls following voters’ defeat of a 0.5% sales tax increase. The agency is only on the hook for $500,000 to operate the transit system, but that money is needed to qualify for $4.8 million in federal, state, and local transit grants. The transit agency and a skeletal service was saved by intervention of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority board (RTA), whose president, George Dixon, initiated a dialogue with Lorain County Commissioners to save two routes. Residents of Lorain may see some reprieve in 2011 if Lorain County Transit is able to flesh out a cooperative agreement. The Burke Center station had previously served only as a connecting point for VRE passengers. Amtrak has been promoting the line, which was launched in September of 2009, by offering a 25% discount on the line, good through March 17. Jan 29, 2010: Hotline #639Hotline #639 President Barack Obama officially kicked off a new era in American passenger trains in his January 27 State of the Union address and in events around the country with long-awaited announcements of where most of the $8 billion in Recovery Act “high speed rail” dollars will go. In the State of the Union, the President said: “From the first railroads to the Interstate Highway System, our nation has always been built to compete. There’s no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains, or the new factories that manufacture clean energy products. Tomorrow, I’ll visit Tampa, Florida, where workers will soon break ground on a new high-speed railroad funded by the Recovery Act. (Applause.) There are projects like that all across this country that will create jobs and help move our nation’s goods, services, and information. (Applause.)” If you can tell us the last time a State of the Union address has mentioned transportation of any kind, please do! (See historical note at the end of today’s hotline.) NARP hailed the Administration’s actions in back-to-back releases—a general one on January 27 after media reports indicated that 13 corridors affecting 31 states would benefit, and a January 28 listing of each project with our positive comments. NARP believes that the Obama Administration made good on their commitment to disburse the money on the basis of projects’ merit. [You can find the video and full transcript of the State of the Union at WhiteHouse.gov.] Funding Goals Begin to Solidify The White House released a detailed plan following the President’s address. Generally, the Northeast will see $485 million between 22 applications; the Southeast will see $1,876 million between 11 applications; the Midwest will see $2,617 million between 24 applications; and the West will see $2,943 million between 24 applications. [You see a .PDF of the full list of the projects on White House.gov] California, Florida and Illinois were the biggest winners. California won $2.25 billion for its super-HSR project plus $94 million for conventional services. Florida gets $1.25 billion for Phase One (Tampa-Orlando) of its super-HSR plan. Significantly, however, and in line with NARP’s predictions and wishes, the Administration resisted pressure to put all in the money in one or two states, and indeed put a majority of the funds towards improving existing (or starting new) conventional services. In that category, Illinois took $1.2 billion for Chicago-St. Louis improvements aimed at 110 mph operation, including environmental studies on double-tracking. But there are also a number of significant apportionments to other areas—like upgrades to the Seattle to Portland line and Ohio’s Cincinnati-Cleveland-Columbus (3-C) corridor—demonstrating that the Administration’s is serious about incrementally upgrading the entire national train network to high and higher speed rail. NARP said these projects “promise to bring Americans freedom to choose an attractive alternative to crowded highways and airports while making it easier for travelers to connect among trains, cars, planes and local transit. The investments will stimulate economic development in on-line communities, with emphasis on pedestrian- and transit-friendly development that supports travelers’ ‘freedom to choose’ how they get around.” Many people in population heavy regions like Texas (which only got $4 million) and the Northeast ($485 million) have expressed frustration at receiving such a small percentage of the available funds. However, President Obama, by providing significant funds for planning, is incentivizing state agencies that are behind the curve to do the necessary preparation for the next round of grants. “New lines will not be built overnight, and a sustained investment over time will be needed to achieve results.” Federal Railroad Authority administrator Joseph Szabo told the New York Times. Responses Overwhelmingly Positive, But Not Unanimously So Amtrak, the nation’s biggest train operator, came out strongly in favor of the selected projects. Of the $8 billion awarded, $4.5 billion are for state projects that support improvements to current or future Amtrak routes. “Amtrak is a major part of the future of intercity passenger rail in America,” said President and CEO Joseph Boardman. “We are eager to work with our state partners to move these projects forward as quickly as possible.” However, a key Republican high speed rail supporter criticized the President’s strategy of nationwide, incremental improvements, arguing that the FRA ignored the requirements set by Congress in the last passenger rail reauthorization act. “The projects chosen by the administration were not transparently selected and lack adequate private sector financial commitment,” said Rep. John Mica (R-FL) in a prepared statement. “Just spending huge amounts of federal taxpayer funds will not insure success of these megaprojects.” While Mr. Mica represents a district in Florida, one of the big winners in the allocation of the Recovery Act funds, he has been a long-time, vocal proponent of establishing 150 mph and faster service along the Northeast Corridor first and foremost, before focusing any Federal investment for high speed rail in other corridors. The ranking Member on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure argues that the population density and geographic arrangement of the NEC provides a unique opportunity to begin European-style train service, which he hopes will lure private investment in the system. The U.S. Department of Transportation actively defended the soundness of the awards, in a statement which echoed NARP’s views. “[These] particular investments we’re making today—they make sense,” said U.S. DOT Secretary LaHood in a post on the official DOT blog. “We’re connecting cities that are too close for efficient air travel but—with the highways connecting these cities nearly choked beyond capacity—too far for productive road travel. A report issued by a Clean Air Task Force commissioned last year by the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago (RHAMC) found that passengers waiting for at Union Station for Metra and Amtrak trains are being exposed to concentrations of airborne particulate matter of 844 micrograms per cubic meter on the station’s platform, and 192 micrograms per cubic meter inside the station. The EPA deems daily average exposure of over 35 micrograms per cubic meter to be unsafe. “You can literally see the air [at Union Station at rush hour]… It’s blue with diesel exhaust,” Brian Urbaszewski, director of environmental health programs for RHAMC, told the Chicago Reporter. “Literally tens of thousands of people are getting a nice hefty dose of diesel exhaust.” “When the doors close and the train pulls out, it’s essentially a smoky box on wheels,” Urbaszewski went on to say. “The smoke stays inside the train car, and people are breathing it for a prolonged period of time.” Senators Byron Dorgan (D) and Kent Conrad (D), along with at-large Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D) inquired about the truth of the rumors that the Empire Builder would be redirected from the Grand Forks, Devils Lake, and Rugby stations which it currently serves to a more direct route; the current route traces a 277 mile arc, compared to the 195 miles that BNSF freight trains use on the alternate line. Amtrak announced they have no intention to discontinue service along the longer—but more populated—route, according to the Grand Forks Herald. This reroute also was threatened in 1989 and was dropped then in response to political resistance. The North Dakota delegation has affirmed that they will work with Amtrak and BNSF—which owns both sets of tracks in consideration—to shore up problems areas on the 277 mile arc, which is under threat by high water near the Devil’s Lakes Subdivision and where track is not up to the same standard as BNSF’s mainline. When traveling on days between Thursday and Monday, riders will be able to buy an $85 round-trip fare on the train that runs between New York City and Montreal through the winter. Accompanying children (up to two) are also eligible for a special fare of $42.50. “We thank our partners in the State of New York for their continued support of Amtrak and passenger rail,” said Emmett Fremaux, Amtrak’s Vice President of Marketing. “We hope that the discount fare promotion announced today will assist in encouraging travelers to experience New York State’s diverse destinations and enable them to enjoy the state’s wonderful scenery.” Customers must enter the offer code “X 403” when purchasing tickets, and must make reservations three days in advance. The offer is good until April 19, 2010. Check Amtrak.com for all applicable restrictions. Eurostar, which operates a high speed connection between London and Paris and Brussels, reported that it took in £675.5 million this year (a 1.7% increase over FY2008), and carried 9.2 million passengers (an increase of 1.2% over FY2008). The increases came despite the major disruptions which occurred the December 18-20 during a severe winter storm that buried the Eastern United States and Western Europe. In one instance, passengers were trapped in the tunnel which runs under the English Channel for as many as 12 hours without heat or power. The breakdown, blamed on a buildup of ice on electrical equipment, came during one the busiest travel weekends of the year, and led to an outcry of such magnitude that French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a public statement chastising the railroad. Eurostar issued an apology, and promised it was taking steps to prevent further breakdowns in the future.
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