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Feb 05, 2010: Hotline #640Hotline #640 Amtrak yesterday released its long-awaited fleet report [PDF], “Amtrak Fleet Strategy: Building a Sustainable Fleet for the Future of America’s Intercity and High-Speed Passenger Railroad.” The projected total funding requirements (including project management, related infrastructure funding and overhaul costs), in 2009 dollars, ranges between $600,000 and $1 billion a year through 2040, except for the ramp-up years ($223 million this year and $401 million in 2011) and three years when needs will exceed $1 billion—2014, 2019 and 2039. The peak is $1.35 billion in 2019. None of this funding is in the budget request that Amtrak also unveiled this week (see below). The report frankly acknowledged that finding reliable sources of funding remains a challenge. “The fleet impacts on all aspects of Amtrak’s services including the customer’s perception of and willingness to use the product, the operating reliability of that product and the cost of maintaining and delivering the service,” the document notes. The strategy envisions doubling the fleet over 30 years, based on a conservative secular ridership growth rate of 2% a year. However, this is considered a living document, to be updated regularly based on the market and on funding availability. That is, once the company establishes its ability to manage large-scale procurements, upward revisions of those procurements in response to market demand—sky-high gasoline prices or a collapse of short-distance air service, for example—becomes simply a matter of available cash. The conservative growth rate was chosen to help insure the strategy’s credibility and inoculate it from criticism on Capitol Hill and elsewhere that it represents impractical railfan dreams. Amtrak foresees acquiring about 100 cars a year beginning in 2012. Growth will come initially because new additions will exceed retirements. For example, in 2012, the company foresees introducing 65 single-level cars and retiring 49, introducing 35 bi-levels and retiring 25. (That year also would see 25 new road diesels, 10 new switchers and 15 new electric locomotives.) The percentage of bi-levels could rise if any corridors now operating with single-level equipment convert to bi-levels. The report (at page 41) says bi-levels “should provide a lower per seat cost” but there is “resistance amongst some of Amtrak’s state partners to the use of bi-level equipment because of concerns about customer perceptions and acceptance.” The document says that, over the next 14 years, Amtrak will need to purchase: · 780 single level cars · 420 bi-level cars · 70 electric locomotives · 264 diesel locomotives · 25 high speed train sets
The focus is not on the replacement of like for like, but rather modernized equipment with improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. Initial priorities include replacement of the approximately 90 Heritage cars with next-generation single level vehicles, replacement of the approximately 420 Amfleet Is with next-generation single level coaches, and the replacement of around 250 Superliner I vehicles with next-generation bilevels. Funding sources considered include federal appropriations, the states, and federal loan programs, to be paid back by Amtrak through joint financing with state partners. The plan does touch on commercial financing, but recognizes that this will be difficult given the current liquidity levels due to the recession. “We have been concurrently looking at funding options” during the drafting of the fleet plan, Steve Kulm, an Amtrak spokesman, told Bloomberg News. “And now we can focus all our efforts on funding options.” NARP provided our own blueprint for fleet modernization in October.
The President requested $1.6 billion for Amtrak, $598 million below Amtrak’s request for $2.2 billion. The White House asked Congress to appropriate $563 million for Amtrak operations—the same level as FY2010—$29 million below Amtrak’s request of $592 million. Amtrak’s requirements for operations have increased in large part due to the bigger capital program, which drives costs in a way that it did not a decade ago. The major shortfall, however, is the $539 million gap between Amtrak’s request for $1,025 million in capital funds plus $281 million for Americans with Disabilities Act work and the President’s recommendation of $767 million. If the President’s figure holds, and Amtrak fully funds the ADA work, that would leave only $486 million for general capital, and the operation would begin to deteriorate. The Obama Administration also requested a total of $40 million for railroad research & development, of which $12 million is technology research, planning and analysis for next-generation HSR. NARP will continue to work with our coalition partners to push the Amtrak and HSR numbers up. “It is time to give the commuters in Southeastern Connecticut what they have been asking for: more service to New London,” wrote the Governor in Wednesday’s statement. “This is a crucial first step toward passenger rail expansion, and I am committed to making this happen.” Beginning February 16, an extra train will run between New Haven and New London, making an additional four daily round-trips. Ms. Rell said the expansion is part of an effort to ease automobile congestion, which is plaguing the region. Amtrak, which owns the tracks and operates the Shore Line East service, has been working with the state to find room for the extra train in its busy Northeast Corridor. “We now have an agreement with Amtrak, and I have directed the state Department of Transportation to continue to work with the Connecticut Marine Trades Association to establish a monitoring and performance measures program that strikes a balance for all requirements,” the Governor told the New Haven Register. Given the number of drawbridges along the route, rail operators must negotiate their schedules with marine traffic. The new train will depart New London at 5:53 a.m., arrive in New Haven at 7:03, and continue to Stamford at 7:54. The returning train will depart Stamford at 4:46 p.m., stop over in New Haven at 5:42, and arrive at New London at 6:52. From wired.com: “In yet another analysis of the causes behind the current financial crisis, it turns out that vehicle ownership and a lack of access to public transportation may be just as predictive of mortgage foreclosure rates as low credit scores and high debt-to-income ratios.” Read the full article here. It provides a number of different ways to look at ridership trends, including, by station, by route, and by Congressional district. NARP hopes that this will provide a valuable advocacy tool for people looking to demonstrate the importance of trains to communities around the nation—to their local elected officials, as well as their members of Congress. · The President’s historic announcement of high speed passenger train grants during his State of the Union, and an overview of the projects that these grants will fund · New regulations for a more light-rail and streetcar friendly DOT · The President’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2011 · The new Positive Train Control regulations recently released by the FRA ...and more. NARP members can access a PDF version on NARP’s website (user account required). Visitation is from 6 to 7 p.m. today at Jones-Walker and Son Funeral Home, 1209 Live Oak Street, Commerce. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1508 Cooper St, Commerce at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, followed by a burial service at Rosemound Cemetery. NARP Member Mark Lowrance, a Methodist minister, will participate in the mass. Longtime NARP Board Member Bill Pollard of Arkansas said Murrell’s “opinionated support for passenger rail, and his encyclopedic knowledge of railroad history will be missed.” Murrell’s close friend John Mills of Kansas, who as an Amtrak official hired Murrell, said an announcement would be made at the church service inviting people to honor Murrell by making a gift to NARP in his memory. Click here for to read and sign his online guest book. Feb 12, 2010: Hotline #641Hotline #641 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is attempting to secure approval of a job-creation bill this week, slowed by a massive snowstorm and bipartisan uncertainty over the details of the $80 billion bill. “We have to let the American people know we’re really trying hard to get something done that will create jobs immediately,” said Mr. Reid (NV) during a February 10 address on the Senate floor, citing “some good” bipartisan support of the proposal. While the Senate proposal currently circulating contains some elements of infrastructure spending—the bill would transfer $14.7 billion in general funds to the Highway Trust Fund for roads plus $4.8 billion for transit—it falls fall short of the bill already passed by the House. The bill instead emphasizes tax-breaks for businesses, including a payroll-tax holiday for companies that hire unemployed workers and investment tax credits for small businesses, leading some Republicans to criticize the way Democratic leaders are advertising the bill—Senator Jon Kyle (R-AZ) argued the legislation shouldn’t be labeled a jobs bill because it’s just “extending a bunch of tax policy and related items that we need to do.” This stands in opposition to the House-passed version, a more traditional jobs bill with good measures for public transportation—including $8.4 billion for transit, $800 million for Amtrak “fleet modernization, including rehabilitation of existing and acquisition of new passenger equipment, including fuel efficient locomotives,” and—taking a page out of last year’s Recovery Act—$27.5 billion in “Highway Infrastructure Investment” funds with flexibility that lets states use the funds for railroad projects. Reid expressed a desire to pass the bill by this week, but received push-back—even from members of his own party—who wanted to establish a broader coalition before moving forward. “There’s no agreement on what it all is yet,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) told Politico. “We’re working as well as we can but again a lot of senators are gone and they’re just not going to make it this week.” One of the controversies involves how to pay for the spending portion: Democrats want to use TARP funds but Republicans oppose that. Even President Obama, who has been pushing hard for the passage of a jobs bill since before the New Year, seemed to accept that it would take more time to work out differences. “My hope is that both in the House and the Senate we’ll see some packages moving over the next several weeks that can provide a jump-start to hiring and start lowering the unemployment rate,” said President Obama during a February 10 press conference. This means there’s still time for passenger train and transit advocates to take action, by contacting their Senators and demand that a job creation bill include support for transportation options. While the U.S. PIRG document is complementary of President Barack Obama’s unprecedented push for high speed trains in America, they note that the $8 billion provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is just a down payment on a truly national, modern train system. “Many of [the state’s stimulus grant] proposals have been geared not toward building the truly ‘high-speed’ passenger rail systems in the decades to come, but simply toward restoring passenger rail service to a basic level of adequacy,” states the report. The Right Track sets 11 recommendations for future investment in high speed trains, including: supporting private investment with strong public protections; facilitating smart growth on real-estate surrounding stations; assuring transparency; promoting domestic manufacturing; and the federal encouragement of cooperation among states. U.S. PIRG proposes several funding mechanisms, which include the establishment of a national infrastructure bank, revenue from “cap-and-trade” CO2 reduction bill, airport fees, and the highway gas tax. Air and highway traffic came to a stop as early as Friday night for much of the Mid-Atlantic, with snowfall continuing well into Saturday evening. Amtrak canceled (and continues to cancel) many trains on and off the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak kept a skeletal service running on the Corridor. Also, one NARP member praised Amtrak for continuing to run Silver Star Raleigh-south and Silver Meteor Savannah-south, saying that in the past Amtrak would have just canceled the entire routes. The Cardinal has made several trips running only between Chicago and Huntington, WV. The Washington-Richmond segment was hard hit. On Monday morning, two days after the first blizzard ended, the line was plagued by frozen switches, only one track open, and an 8,000-foot freight train that went into emergency at Fredericksburg with the crew walking the train in two feet of snow to look for the defect. On the Feb. 6 Capitol Limited heading west to Chicago, an employee disembarked to procure groceries for breakfast, and later ordered meals for all 115 passengers from a nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken, but many people were still frustrated. “Nobody can do anything about the weather, but be truthful, keep us informed.” Sheribel Rothenberg told the New York Times. “Here we are on a train full of people, trying to get to funerals, weddings, or whatever, and they can’t get there.” Conditions only got worse when a second storm front hit on Tuesday, dumping almost 20” of snow in some areas. On most of its routes, of course, Amtrak depends on private railroads’ ability to keep their lines open and free of dangerous debris. “As they clear them, more trees come down,” Robert Sullivan, a spokesman for CSX, told one reporter. “So it’s a constant project.” Amtrak reported stoppages and reduced service on a number of services, including the Capitol Limited, Northeast Regional, Acela Express, Auto Train, Cardinal, Silver Star, Carolinian, Palmetto, Empire, and Keystone. According to a release by the passenger train carrier, some services were scheduled to begin full service by today, with all services affected by the weather back in full operation by Saturday. Local transit agencies were also hit hard by the storm, with bus and commuter train cancellations shutting down the federal government and businesses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority was only able to maintain service on the underground portion of the rail network. Even with reduced service to stations, passengers reported seeing Metro trains stalled on the tracks as late as Thursday, and Metro had a minor derailment at Farragut North this morning (three people reported minor injuries, though only one accepted medical treatment). While Amtrak and transit service is expected to look something close to normal by Saturday, forecasters are predicting another 1” (70% chance) to 6” (15%) of snow on Monday, for Washington DC. “More than 880 Americans died or were injured in railroad trespassing related incidents in 2008; the number over the past decade has topped 9,000,” Operation Lifesaver spokesperson Pete Odland said. The campaign—which will go by the name “Common Sense”—urges people to maintain their alertness and use good judgment around railroad tracks. Amtrak and Operation Lifesaver have launched a campaign website, which includes games, interactive puzzles, and videos. Feb 19, 2010: Hotline #642Hotline #642 The U.S. Department of Transportation announced $1.5 billion in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants this week, and both passenger and freight rail were the big winners. Grants benefitting passenger rail (including rail transit) total $574.1 million (about 38% of the total), while those aiding freight rail add up to $408.8 billion (about 27%). Transit improvement ventures (subway, light rail, streetcar and bus) got $699 million (about 47%), with highways getting almost 30%, and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure about 10%. A complete list of the projects awarded is at DOT.gov. The TIGER program, a discretionary grant program in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is one of the key transportation initiatives of the Obama Administration. The program is intended for to help fund large scale projects that are difficult to fund through normal channels. Additionally, TIGER is intended to foster a more balanced transportation system, rather than focusing exclusively on roads and highways. The projects that received the largest amount of money are:
Belgian officials reported that the crash took place between a 12 car train heading cross-country and a smaller 6 car shuttle service at the juncture between Belgium’s commuter grid and Europe’s high speed network. Authorities said they would spend two to three days investigating the crash site before allowing traffic to resume at normal levels. Around 300 people were involved in the crash, and only 150 emerged unhurt. “It was a nightmare,” Christian Wampach told the Associated Press after he received medical attention to an injury. “We were thrown about for about 15 seconds. There were a number of people injured in my car, but I think all the dead were in the first car,” Authorities are saying one of the trains ran a stop signal, but would not confirm which train. The tracks at the place of the collision had been equipped with a system designed to automatically bring a train to halt when it passes a stop signal (Congress recently mandated that all lines carrying passengers and hazardous materials be equipped with PTC). Not all of the train engines have been equipped with the corresponding devices necessary to force a halt, however—including the train involved in the crash. Noting that this was the same problem Amtrak experienced at Chase, Maryland, in 1987—a Conrail freight locomotive that couldn’t talk to sophisticated signals—one observer said European and U.S. railway officials don’t do a very good job of learning from each other’s experiences. In response to the collision, the international train operator Eurostar scrambled to set up chartered buses to provide passengers with alternate means of travel, but was forced to cancel its London-to-Brussels service. “We are advising passengers to find other ways to Brussels or cancel their trips, Eurostar spokeswoman Aude Criqui told the Wall Street Journal, adding that Eurostar is offering refunds or credits for tickets already booked. Train service is considered a national treasure in the small nation, which in 1835 became the third country in the world to have passenger train service—behind only the U.S. and the U.K. However, a combination of the low accident occurrence in train travel and the high cost of rail infrastructure have lessened the incentive to replace aging elements of their rail network; the tracks involved in the outside in Brussels were last replaced in the 1970s and 1980s. The joint venture is partnership between American Railcar Industries Inc.—an-Arkansas based freight rail manufacturer headed by billionaire investor Carl Icahn—and US Railcar, LLC—an Ohio-based company which recently formed around the assets previously owned by now-defunct Colorado Railcar Manufacturer, which specialized in the production of Diesel Multiple Units (DMU). “These are extraordinary times and growth opportunities for passenger rail in the U.S.,” said Michael Pracht, president and CEO of the joint venture—named US Railcar Company, LLC—told reporters. The company will look to challenge the dominance enjoyed here by foreign manufacturers, such as Bombardier (Canada), Siemens (Germany), Alstom (France), and Talgo (Spain). Initially, railcar production will be take place in two factories which American Railcar Industries owns in Arkansas, that are currently involved in freight railcar production. The joint venture is reportedly looking to build a factory in the Columbus area; sources within the investment group behind US Railcar say they are working with the Ohio Department of Development to establish a Public Private Partnership towards that end. The move was announced by Metrolink’s board of directors last month, in response to a looming FY2009-2010 budget gap. The cuts are projected to save the agency around $1 million over the next two fiscal years. Orange County will now be served by only four trains during weekend, down from eight. Metrolink also cut two weekday, off-peak hour trains serving Orange County to Inland Empire. “By creating MyBlackJourney.com, Amtrak is reaching out to past, present and future customers who are looking for a convenient and relaxing transportation alternative to connect with each other and to visit cultural destinations throughout our vast route system,” Darlene Abubakar, Amtrak’s director of national advertising, announced in a statement. The advertising campaign highlights Amtrak’s service to cities with vibrant black communities, such as Atlanta, Birmingham, Philadelphia, Memphis, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., New York City, and Chicago—providing information on cultural attractions, museums, historical landmarks, and heritage festivals. Visitors can also learn about Amtrak’s Travel Scholars program—a scholarship targeted at students attending historically black colleges and universities, provided in partnership with the United Negro College Fund. The study will look at how additional passenger (and freight) train traffic will affect endangered species, wetlands, flood plains, air quality, and historic sites along the proposed route. Some Haymarket officials have come out against VRE’s plan—which calls for at least three new train stations—fearing the increased people, business activity, and car traffic that easier commuting will bring. But Prince William County—which Haymarket resides in—has been experiencing a population explosion in recent years, and high VRE ridership figures and the success of Amtrak’s recent addition of a Lynchburg-Washington, D.C. service will make it hard for Virginia’s transportation planners to ignore the line’s potential. Mr. Lautenberg, the second oldest serving Senator, has been the recipient of NARP’s George Falcon Golden Spike award twice, in 1988 and again in 2000. We wish him a speedy recovery. Feb 26, 2010: Hotline #643Hotline #643 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (or “stimulus bill”) passed last year to create jobs and ease the economic woes of the recession created as many as 2.1 million jobs in the last quarter of 2009 alone, according to a report released earlier this week by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The report attributes a 3.5% increase in economic activity and a 2.1% reduction in the unemployment rate to ARRA. The report predicts that 2010 will see the stimulus bill’s greatest impact, with an increase in GDP of between 1.4 and 4%, and a decrease in the unemployment rate of between 0.7 and 1.8 %. This analysis by the CBO, an independent, non-partisan governmental research entity, will give ammunition to advocates of the stimulus bill as a job creation tool. Opponents of ARRA have pointed to the persistence of the recession, and the accompanying high unemployment rates, as proof that the $787 billion bill was flawed and ineffectual. The CBO report explicitly contradicts this. “In CBO’s judgment, that outcome reflects greater-than-projected weakness in the underlying economy rather than lower-than-expected effects” of the stimulus, the research office said. Additionally, the CBO points to the infrastructure elements as the most effective, saying that direct government expenditures created the most jobs. The CBO identified tax cuts for the wealthy and a first-time home buyer’s tax credit as the least effective provisions. The CBO’s report will help advocates of the House’s version of the next job creation bill, which—unlike the Senate version that focuses primarily on tax credits—contains infrastructure spending (see the following story). The House version has $800 million for Amtrak fleet modernization. This new data should help train and transit advocates to convince undecided members of Congress that rail investment creates jobs. The Senate version is a $15 billion package containing mostly tax credits for businesses designed to promote hiring. It was drafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) as an alternative to Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) $85 billion proposal, though Baucus’ version was believed to have enough Republican support to pass. Reid has received criticism from both Republicans and Democrats for narrowing the bill: from the opposition party for cutting out the extension of certain tax cuts covered in the Baucus-Grassley proposal, and from members of his own party for ignoring infrastructure spending. Reid has already begun work on a second package which will contain many of the tax credit extensions that were in Baucus-Grassley, and 30 day extensions of key federal programs, including the highway program. However, the Senate failed to pass the bill before recessing for the weekend, due to a procedural hold placed by Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY), who—citing the rising national debt—is demanding that the funding come from already-appropriated but unobligated stimulus dollars rather than new money. This means that 24 hours after expiration of the highway program—February 28—the government will no longer have the authority to distribute funds to states for roadwork. Additionally, many employees of the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and all employees of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will be placed on furlough until Congress passes an extension. House leaders—already unhappy with Reid’s bill—are exasperated at the hold-up in the Senate. “As long as the Senate is a dysfunctional institution and they allow someone to stand up and filibuster, yeah we’ll have a very bad result,” Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR), chairman of the highway subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told Congressional Quarterly. The procedural rules of the Senate guarantee Mr. Bunning’s right to obstruct, and the only way to bypass his filibuster threat is by filing cloture, a process that (if 60 votes exist) would take at least until the end of next week to conclude. The Times Union is reporting the following disruptions along the New York-Albany/Rensselaer Empire Corridor for Friday:
Amtrak crews are busy working to clear tracks and make the necessary repairs. This is the third severe snowstorm to rock the East Coast this winter, however, and resources are strained. Amtrak representatives are reporting that they have a high degree of success rescheduling passengers whose trains have been canceled. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission study—carried out by SH&E, an independent, Virginia-based aviation firm—predicted that as the region’s airports would see as much as a 6.1% decline in traffic in the coming decades as passengers migrate to high-speed trains. “There will be a giant sucking sound as you hear, especially business travelers, vacate airplanes in favor of high-speed rail, Henry Harteveldt, an industry analyst with Forrester Research in San Francisco, told the San Jose Mercury News. “It will be less susceptible to delays, more efficient, (will travel from) city center to city center, and there are just some additional pleasantries.” The report predicts that, without a high speed rail line, airports would carry about 100 million passengers. With the option of high speed trains, however, each airport will lose an average of 2 million customers. San Jose would see the greatest reduction, with a 12% drop in projected passengers by 2035, followed a 9 percent loss at Oakland and a 4 percent diversion at San Francisco. Airports, however, are sanguine about the effect trains would have their future business, and have been publicly supportive of the high speed rail line. High speed rail stations are planned at the state’s major air terminals, and airports see the line as a way to reduce the inefficiencies in the system and focus on air travel’s strength: moving passengers quickly to destinations further than 500 miles away. “We recognize that if high-speed rail does affect our short-haul passenger traffic at the airport in the future, that makes it even more important to protect the airport’s ability to serve long haul routes in the future,” David Vossbrink, spokesman for Mineta San Jose International Airport, told the Mercury News. The report estimates a city center-to-city center travel time of 2 ½ hours from San Francisco to L.A., and assumes a ticket price of $105 (compared to a $125 comparable airfare). The petition was created by the Associated Students of the University of Montana Transportation group, in partnership with Montana Public Interest Research Group (MontPIRG). The students want to emphasize that it’s not just a provincial interest. “We want people to know it’s not just Montanans who want this service,” said Nancy Wilson, director of ASUM Transportation. “There are really a lot of people.” As of writing, 1,200 people had signed up. And the effort already has some big-name supporters, including Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and Missoula Councilman Dave Strohmaier, who is currently working to secure the support of the Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce. Acela Express no. 2151, on its way from Boston to Washington, hit the two girls three miles south of Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, at 10:28 a.m. Trains were halted for an hour while first responders and investigators worked at the scene, and service wasn’t returned to normal until around 1:30 p.m. Officials have not identified the cause of the tragic deaths, thought they are investigating reports that the girls may have placed themselves in the train’s path intentionally.
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