May 07, 2010: Hotline #653

Hotline #653
May 7, 2010
Updated May 8, 2010

Saturday, May 8, marks Amtrak’s third annual celebration of National Train Day. The occasion, a concept first generated by NARP in 2005 and appropriated by Amtrak beginning in 2008, has been advertised heavily in several major news outlets, including with full-page ads in USA Today. The date (originally May 10) was chosen to mark the anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike, which completed the first transcontinental railroad from Chicago to the San Francisco Bay.

Amtrak is hosting major events at its stations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Washington, and over 100 other communities across the country are organizing their own festivities. Activities will celebrate the past, present and (most importantly) future of railroads in America. Many events will feature a NARP presence, educating the public about our advocacy work and encouraging support for full Amtrak funding and a greater appropriation for high-speed rail in fiscal 2011, which begins October 1.

Photos and reports from several cities will be posted on the NARP website soon.


At a field hearing in Miami Monday to determine how high speed rail will connect with other modes of transportation, the chair of the House Railroads Subcommittee unequivocally called for restoration of passenger train service between Florida and New Orleans.

Congresswoman Corrine Brown (D-FL) led the May 3 hearing, which focused on the federal grant Florida received to establish high speed trains between Orlando and Tampa.

Brown took the opportunity to express her concern to an Amtrak witness about the delay in restoring the New Orleans-Florida link, which Amtrak discontinued during Hurricane Katrina and has never restored—even though CSX restored its damaged rail line to better-than-new condition, reopening it in March 2006.

While Amtrak has gone on record to admit that the line is “the missing link” in the national passenger rail network—and still includes the New Orleans to Jacksonville in its official timetable as a “temporarily suspended” route—there has been no real effort to restore service to the corridor, outside of a restoration study done by the railroad in July 2009 under Congressional mandate, which includes some cost-estimates that some industry insiders have questioned.

“I want the Sunset [Limited] restored to New Orleans - Jacksonville - Orlando.  This train is vital to transcontinental transportation and an important safety backup for evacuation in a disaster,” Brown said at the hearing.  “I am holding a subcommittee hearing in Jacksonville in a few weeks at which the Sunset will be a major item of discussion, and look forward to Amtrak appearing.  We must get the train back, one way or another.”

The issue highlights the strict budgetary restraints Amtrak is working under.  A full Sunset Limited route—Los Angeles to Orlando—connects the eight southernmost states, which together account for one in every three Americans, and half the nation’s population growth since 1970.  Although the economic importance of this corridor to the nation’s transportation and tourist sectors is widely recognized, Amtrak still faces undercapitalization on most of its network, and will require strong Congressional leadership to acquire the additional funds to restore service (the company’s study puts the capital and mobilization costs at around $33 million).

Brown’s public demand that the train be restored should offer transportation advocates hope that they have finally found a leader on Capitol Hill.

“With just $1 billion budgeted for Fiscal Year 2011, we need to find a dedicated revenue source so that states, operators, and manufacturers aren’t afraid to make investments in infrastructure and manpower,” said the Chairwoman.  “I feel so passionately about this that I spearheaded a letter that over 100 Members [of Congress] signed to President Obama, requesting that he include a dedicated source of revenue for high-speed rail in the transportation reauthorization policy objectives that the Administration is developing.”

The date of the hearing in Jacksonville has yet to be determined.


Chairwoman Brown was in Florida as part of a larger push to expand the state’s rail network, which included riding an Amtrak test train on the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway, along with Governor Charlie Crist (R) and Amtrak Chairman Thomas Carper.

A specially chartered Amtrak train ran from Miami to Jacksonville along the state’s Atlantic coast, along rails that are now used solely by freight trains.  However, state and transportation officials say resumption of passenger train service—the Florida East Coast Railway stopped running its own passenger trains in 1968—along this densely populated corridor makes sense.

“We see tremendous growth opportunities here,” Carper told the Miami Herald.

The initial plans—which have been around for years, but have gained new life with the Obama Administration’s aggressive rail initiatives—have the new FEC running as an extension of Tri-Rail’s commuter service.

“Today we’re seeing another step that will truly modernize Florida’s transportation future,’” said Crist, who has decided to run an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate after losing the Republican primary. “The Florida East Coast rail line and Amtrak have come together. This coming together is a bold step. It shows us what passenger rail service along Florida’s east coast could look like.’‘


The economic modeling underpinning the effort to bring high speed rail to California was authenticated by Britain’s Journal of Choice Modeling—a peer-reviewed scientific journal that is considered a leader in the field.  The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CAHSRA) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, who did the modeling, can use this victory in the battle to keep the project moving forward on schedule.

“We’ve said from the beginning that our ridership and revenue forecasts are based on the best that science has to offer, and it’s great to see that cutting-edge work recognized by one of the most prestigious publications in the field,” said Dan Leavitt, Deputy Director of CAHSRA.

The Journal looked both at the methodology and the presence of outside auditors in evaluating the projections.

“These integrated statewide models offer a comprehensive tool to forecast long and short distance travel in California,” the article stated. “The separation of travel into market segments based on distance (short and long), purpose (business, commute, recreation and other) and travel markets (inter- and intraregional) provide a robust and accurate assessment of multimodal travel at the statewide level.”

You can read the full report here. 


Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation released an assessment of the statewide rail system last week—a first step in expanding the network into the eastern part of the state.

The assessment done by the transportation agency found that the Philadelphia area has an excellent system of passenger trains.  However, the western half of the state has lagged far behind, especially the Pittsburgh area.  The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority’s network of commuter trains, light rail, and trolleys moves millions of people every week, compared to the 26,000 a week moved by Pittsburgh’s light rail line.

“There is a disparity, although much of that is because the Philadelphia region has never really been without passenger rail service,” said Shannon O’Connell of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, a regional planning group. “The important thing we see in the (PennDOT report) is that we have a system [in Eastern Pennsylvania] that could be used for bringing passenger rail back to our region.”

PennDOT plans on using the report to understand what exactly is needed to close this gap.  Due to the industrial history of the city, and the reliance of industry on freight rail, the Pittsburgh area features an extensive 1,600 mile network of rail lines; Pennsylvania has around 6,000 miles of rail, total.  The hope is that report will allow the cash strapped state to tap into future federal passenger rail grants.

“One of the reasons for this report is to make sure we were in a position to take advantage of whatever opportunities we might have to expand passenger rail service in the future,” PennDOT spokesperson Erin Waters told the Beaver County Times.  “And with the federal government’s interest in the subject, I think we’ll have some of those opportunities in the future.”

NARP notes that, despite the stellar recent on-time performance and reliability of Amtrak’s New York-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian, there is much room for improvement on the line between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, including by the addition of at least one new round-trip. Possibilities include restoring the Three Rivers to Chicago, and splitting the Lake Shore Limited at Toledo instead of Albany, with the New York section running via Youngstown, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.


Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) said on Thursday that Monona Terrace in downtown Madison is the “obvious, correct choice” for the location of the terminal station for the soon-to-come Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison high-speed rail service.

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz hailed the governor’s decision and pledged to expand a nearby parking structure by 400 spaces to accommodate the station, which he suggested naming after Doyle. Both officials emphasized that a lot of work remains to be done.


The merger of two major US airlines was announced this week, creating the single largest air passenger carrier in the country. United Airlines will complete the all-stock purchase of Continental Airlines in 2012, when the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to sign off on the new airline’s operating certificate. A website has already been created for the combined company, which will be called United (but keeping the Continental logo). It will have a leading presence in the top domestic markets and will be based in Chicago.

“Airlines are struggling to find a business model that makes sense,” Scott Sonenshein, an assistant professor at the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University, told the New York Times. “Consolidation gives them more leverage. As a consumer, you will have less choices, fewer routes, higher prices and more fees.”


The Brazilian president’s ambitious plan to construct three new high speed train lines—with almost 1,250 miles of new, dedicated trackage—has been met with a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism.

The plan to link Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo is part of a greater initiative by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s to improve the country’s infrastructure, which includes linking farming regions to ports via 1,700 miles of freight rail in an effort to get trucks off crumbling roads and highways. It was also part of Brazil’s successful applications for the 2014 World Cup, and the 2016 Olympics.

Delays, most recently in getting final approval for the cost projections from the federal auditing body, have pushed the start-date for the project back two years.  With a projected construction time of around five years, that means the trains will not be ready when the country hosts the World Cup.  There are also worries that environmental concerns will cause further delays, endangering the ability to get the trains running by the time Olympics begin in 2016.

Experts also foresee problems that may arise when constructing the line between Brazil’s two biggest cities, which will run across extremely rugged country.  The rail will have to vertically scale 2,165 feet from the seaside city of Rio de Janeiro to its final destination in Sao Paulo, and will feature at least 80 miles of tunnels and bridges.

China’s burgeoning high speed rail industry, however, feels that it is up to the task, and has been aggressively courting the Brazilian government to secure the bid.


The executive director of Chicago’s commuter rail system committed suicide by walking in front of a train on Friday morning. Philip Pagano left a suicide note shortly before driving to a gravel lot, parking and walking in front of the train in Crystal Lake, Ill.

Pagano had been on administrative leave from Metra while his finances were under investigation. His death occurred hours before Metra’s board of directors was to meet on his job status, a meeting that was abruptly canceled.

“I am terribly saddened to hear of the passing of Phil Pagano,” said Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) in a statement. “I greatly enjoyed working with Phil, who in my experience was always a responsive and hardworking public servant who looked out for the best interests of Metra riders. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and coworkers at Metra.”

Among the documents found on his body at the scene was a copy of Metra’s procedures on how to handle service disruption after a suicide.


A massive Union Pacific freight train derailment sent 14 boxcars careening off the rails and rushing towards the Amtrak depot in Marshall, Tex., missing a collision with the building by about 10 feet.

Nobody was hurt and a Union Pacific investigator says the cars were empty, but the Amtrak agent on duty got quite a scare when he heard irregular noises coming from the approaching train and stepped outside. Another witness was the owner of a nearby model train shop, who said the wreck was worse than many model train accidents he’s seen.

The wreck did, however, knock out electricity to the station and the model train shop, which will be closed until further notice. Amtrak’s Texas Eagle will continue to serve Marshall without the benefit of a ticket agent or waiting area. Passengers are advised to call 1-800-USA-RAIL if they plan to board or disembark at Marshall in the near future.


Passengers on the North Carolina’s Piedmont will be eligible 40% discounted fares for travel throughout June on all trains between Raleigh, Charlotte and intermediate points.

The discount, North Carolina Amtrak’s promotion to bring attention to the introduction of midday service for the popular Piedmont, runs for the entire month of June, and grants 40% off of regular adult rail fares on daytime trains (trains 73, 74, 75, 76, 79 and 80) between any two of the following cities:  Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Burlington, Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury, Kannapolis and Charlotte.

Tickets have already gone on sale.  For full details and restrictions, see ByTrain.org.


Beginning on May 10, New Buffalo, Mich., will be added [PDF] as a stop on six daily Wolverine and Blue Water trains. The New Buffalo station at 225 N. Whitaker St., which opened in fall 2009, is within sight of the public beach on Lake Michigan to the west and restaurants and shops to the east in the resort community, a getaway for Chicagoans and Detroiters. Shuttle bus service from a local casino will meet each train.


In an effort to draw the record number of rail passengers, Kimpton Hotels is offering 15% off its hotel rates for Amtrak passengers.

Kimpton’s Ride the Rails and Save promotion allows passengers to save 15% on participating hotels’ best available rates by showing an Amtrak ticket receipt with a recent date of travel at check-in, and promotes the environmental—and less tangible—benefits of train travel:
“Hang up the keys, skip the airport crowds and travel by rail to some of the most beautiful cities in the country. Take the train and enjoy the scenery, reduce your carbon footprint and lower your stress levels”

Find out more at Kimpton’s Ride the Rails website.

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May 14, 2010: Hotline #654

Hotline #654
May 14, 2010

During a trip to Japan and China to visit high speed rail facilities, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood confirmed that Japanese bullet trains will not be coming to U.S. shores anytime soon.

But he held out hope for high speed activists by saying the technology and expertise to build those lines may soon be on its way.

[Read more on the NARP Blog]


Florida received final environmental approval from the federal government this week to start spending Recovery Act grant money to design, obtain land for, and begin building the high speed rail line between Orlando and Tampa.

Officials in Florida’s Department of Transportation notified the public that they received final approval from the Federal Railroad Administration on May 13.  Crews have already started to do critical survey work—laying down markers for aerial surveys, surveying bridges, and plotting sight-obstructed areas that can’t be surveyed by plane or helicopter.  But this final approval will allow FDOT to take the Orlando-Tampa segment to 30% design, update ridership projection, begin initial station design, purchase right-of-ways, and solicit bids for engineering and construction work.

“Florida has worked hard to achieve this milestone,” said Governor Charlie Crist.  “We now have the green light to move forward quickly to build America’s first true high speed rail system.  This effort is already creating new jobs for Floridians and it will create many more in the next two years.”

Florida received $1.25 billion in January from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act high speed train funds.  The total cost of the 84 mile line is estimated to be $2.5 billion.


This week’s unveiling of a proposed bill designed to promote green energy and lower greenhouse gasses has reignited the debate over how Congress should deal with the America’s energy crisis.

The bill is sponsored by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT); Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was set to be a cosponsor, providing much needed bipartisan credibility, but pulled out in protest of actions taken by Democratic leadership on an unrelated immigration bill. 

While there is a larger debate between Democrats and Republicans on the necessity of reducing greenhouse gasses, there is unanimous concern over increasing global energy demands and constricting global supplies of conventional energy sources.

The Kerry-Lieberman bill would tax the carbon in fuel, and direct a portion of the proceeds to programs that promote low-emission, high-efficiency forms of transportation—policy that will certainly favor trains. 

The bill has split the transportation community, however.  Some are praising the effort to rebalance the transportation system to favor more efficient forms of transportation—such as rail, transit, and hybrid cars.  But opponents are pointing to the $6 billion cap on the transportation focused programs; they argue that all revenue from a tax on fuels used for transportation—which some estimates put between $20 and $40 billion per year during the first few years the law would take effect—should go back into modernizing the transportation network.  There is also concern that any fee on transportation fuels in an energy bill would eliminate the possibility of increasing the gas tax—and thus, of increasing transportation spending—when Congress looks at reauthorizing the transportation bill set to expire in December.

It any event, it is far from certain that Congress will be able to act on the Kerry-Lieberman proposal before members of Congress become consumed by campaigning, in what is sure to be a difficult mid-term election for incumbents.


A westbound Amtrak Piedmont train derailed when it struck a truck that had stopped on the tracks, injuring 13 passengers and igniting a fire.

Initial reports indicate that a low-riding flatbed truck carrying a large excavator was stopped across the tracks when the crossing gates descended, impeding the path of the rapidly approaching train.  Officials estimate the speed of the Piedmont at impact was around 70 mph.

“I felt the train kind of lunge forward. He hit the brakes. You could definitely tell he hit the brakes,” passenger Rob Eller told WXII-TV. “All of the sudden, there was impact—a lot of noise, stuff breaking around you. It was one of those surreal moments. You’ve seen it before but you can’t believe it’s happening to you.”

The force of the impact derailed the locomotive and three passenger cars, tore up power lines and trees, and damaged the crossing equipment.  The collision ignited a blaze that local firefighters managed to control with flame retardant foam.  Hazmat crews were called in to deal with spilled diesel fuel—it is estimated that about half of Train 73’s 1,900 gallons of fuel escaped containment.

There were 38 passengers on board.  While only minor injuries were reported, 12 passengers and the engineer were transported to local hospitals.  The remaining passengers on the Raleigh-Greensboro-Charlotte train were provided motocoach transportation by Amtrak.

“They are taking passengers [on that day’s northbound Carolinian, train 80] via bus from Greensboro to Rocky Mount. They are then getting back on a train [number 90, the Palmetto] in Rocky Mount to continue to New York City,” Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero said.

Both the Carolinian and the Piedmont were affected on Thursday.  Crews worked overnight to repair the affected track, and trains were running normally by Friday morning.

Initial Reports Place Blame on Truck Driver

North Carolina transportation officials say the truck driver failed to heed signs prohibiting low-slung vehicles.  The flat-bed truck apparently became stuck on the raised track bed.

“He was trying to disconnect his trailer because the train was coming, the gates were coming down,” witness Danny Eldred told WTVD-TV.

The driver was uninjured in the accident.  It has not been announced whether charges will be brought against him.

“We have the signs out and this should not be looked at as a truck route,” said Paul Worley, North Carolina State Rail Division’s Director of Engineering & Safety (and recipient of a Burch Safety Award at NARP’s April 27 Capitol Hill reception, for the work he has done in sealing rail corridors to prevent these very types of accidents).


Looming cuts to New Jersey Transit service will affect more than 1,500 passengers, officials declared May 12.

The cuts, which take effect May 23, will see two trains cut on the Pascack Valley line, four trains on the Main-Bergen line, and seven trains on the Morris-Essex lines.  The cutbacks are part of an effort to close a $300 million budget gap.

The service reductions will mean more crowded trains, less convenience and reliability, and for some people—due to the fact that some of the eliminated trains ran during peak commuting hours—the elimination of transit as a viable transportation option entirely.

“It’s the kind of downward spiral they had in the 60s and 70s — it’s a disaster in the making,” NARP Council member David Peter Alan told reporters. “Every time they cut a train, people who are transit-dependent lose mobility.”

The eliminations and reductions come just three weeks after NJ Transit enacted a 25% increase on rail fares.

Train Losses Mean Job Losses

The service cuts could very well lead to layoffs.  NJ Transit’s largest rail union has refused to eliminate or postpone a scheduled 3% pay increase, which officials had hoped would allow them more financial wiggle room. 

Patrick Reilly, general chairman of the United Transportation Union—representing 1,200 workers—said less trains “means less workers, and following that will be the layoffs.


With a call to keep high speed rail moving, a national coalition of rail, transportation and consumer advocacy organizations called on Congress Tuesday to increase this year’s high speed rail appropriation to $4 billion and provide full funding for Amtrak’s $2.6 billion budget request to invest in the modernization of U.S. transportation, stimulate economic and job growth, and advance energy policy.

“Amtrak has seen ridership growth in six of the last seven years,” said NARP President Ross Capon in a press release issued to media. “By investing in a program to expand the national rail network, Congress can help meet this increasing

Nick Martinelli, the Legislative Director for Representative Corinne Brown (D-FL)—Chairwoman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Railroads Subcommittee—came to the event to convey his boss’ support for the Coalition’s goal.

“Clearly the Senate should be moving strongly” to support the expansion of high speed rail,” Martinelli told gathered reporters, referencing the proposed Los Angeles-to-San Francisco line in Senate environment panel chairwoman Barbara Boxer’s (D-CA) home state. “It’s fair to say that the House is generally disappointed with what the Senate has done on transportation.”


The OneRail Coalition—a collection of passenger and freight train organizations that includes NARP, Amtrak, and the Association of American Railroads, among others—called on Congress to ensure passenger and freight rail are given equal consideration with highway and aviation options when analyzing ways to create additional system capacity.

The coalition of environmental and transportation advocates, passengers, rail labor, suppliers, operators and railroads were commenting on the National Rail Plan which the FRA is developing, as required by the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008.

“It is time to rebalance transportation policy in the U.S. to promote rail equally with highways and other transportation investments,” said Anne Canby, president of the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership and a OneRail founder, in a prepared statement. “The development of a National Rail Plan lays out a comprehensive long-term view for rail transportation in America that gives us an historic opportunity to align the future of our transportation system with critical national priorities.”

OneRail urged that the National Rail Plan:

• Continue dedicated funding for commuter rail, establish new dedicated funding sources for high-speed and intercity passenger rail (HSIPR)
• Recognize the complexities of passenger and freight rail partnerships, and recognize that delivering successful new HSIPR corridor services will require significant capital investment, as well as a new level of analysis and communication among all stakeholders.
• Support development of a renewed U.S. passenger rail equipment manufacturing industry through a vision for sustained equipment purchases and equipment life-cycle policies that avoid “boom and bust” procurement cycles.
• Boost rail workforce development and planning leadership to support the growth of freight, regional, intercity passenger and high-speed rail corridors, and foster the rail workforce of tomorrow.
• Include five-, 10-, and 20-year milestones that measure metrics such as the percent of population with access to intercity passenger rail service, growth in market share for freight and passenger rail, and capture of identified public benefits.

Visit OneRail’s website for a full list of members.


Amtrak California continues to expand the role it plays in the state’s transportation network, with two of the state’s three lines reporting increases in ridership over last year.

On the San Joaquins route, April ridership totaled 84,044 (up 6.2% over the same period in 2009).  Revenue was up 18.2% over April 2009.

Ridership on the Pacific Surfliner line was 234,158 (up 6.8% over last year).  Revenue increased by 9.7%.

The Capitol Corridor route was the only train to see a decrease in passengers, with a 0.5 percent drop to 137,871 in April compared to the same period last year.  In a statement accompanying the figures, Capitol Corridor officials point to the mandated three Friday furlough days a month requirement for state government employees as the single biggest impediment to increasing ridership on the line.


Flooding in southeast Iowa forced the diversion of Amtrak’s California Zephyr no May 13.

The train normally runs between Burlington and Ottumwa along tracks owned the Burlington Northern Santa Fe.  Chartered buses took passengers between the affected stations and the nearest serviceable ones as the Zephyr detoured over Union Pacific tracks farther north.  Passengers were delayed by as much as three hours by the flooding.

“We do expect to operate normally tonight westbound with the California Zephyr,” Magliari told Radio Iowa on Thursday. “So, those stops that were missed this morning and picked up by motorcoaches—we’ll make those stops tonight on the California Zephyr.”


The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that would allow Amtrak police to carry concealed firearms.

The provision was part of a larger bill that funded the National Transportation Safety Board.  It also allowed executive branch police officers and Federal Reserve law enforcement officers to carry concealed guns, and lowered the requirements for certifying retired police officers to keep concealed weapons.

The provision was passed during the annual Police Week in Washington, D.C., when law enforcement officers from across the nation gather to honor police killed in the line of duty.

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May 21, 2010: Hotline #655

Hotline #655
May 21, 2010

A coalition of 11 New England and Mid-Atlantic states submitted a proposal May 20 to dramatically upgrade the passenger train service throughout the Northeast Corridor in and effort to relieve road and air congestion which is hindering economic growth.

The partnership, which also includes Amtrak and the Coalition of Northeastern Governors (CONEG), asked the Federal Railroad Administration to take the lead in planning, and further defining the economic, environmental, and quality of life benefits that would come with expanding the role that high- and higher-speed passenger trains play in the region’s transportation network.

“The proposed study represents the collective efforts of the states that clearly recognize the need for a coordinated and systematic approach to the overall rail network in the east. Regional collaboration is what will keep our high-speed rail initiative moving forward. It’s what we have agreed to do together, and the best way to achieve long-term success,” said Joseph Marie, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, representing CONEG’s Transportation Chairman.

CONEG has set a goal of doubling passenger train ridership in the next 20 years.  To achieve this goal, the FRA will work with the states to document capacity constraints—across the entire transportation system in the Northeast, from Maine to Maryland through 2050, including highways and airports.  This will allow transportation officials to identify projects that are ready to move forward in the short to medium term, perform a multi-modal systems analysis, and develop a preferred rail configuration plan.  It will also lead to a revised Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the NEC Main Line from Washington to Boston (last updated in the 1970s)—a major hurdle in expanding and upgrading high speed rail service in the region.

Associated Press quoted Sean Jeans-Gail, NARP Communications Director, as follows: “We applaud the commitment shown by these states in seeking the FRA’s guidance and expertise, and I hope Congress takes notice of that commitment to create a world class train network as they work on next year’s budget for Amtrak and high speed rail”.



There are growing concerns about sharp increases in state payments for intercity passenger trains that may be required by Section 209 of the big 2008 reauthorization law, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act.

The critical paragraph, which takes effect within five years after enactment (that is, by October 18, 2013), requires equal treatment “in the provision of like services of all States and groups of States” and “allocates to each route the costs incurred only for the benefit of that route and a proportionate share, based upon factors that reasonably reflect relative use, of costs incurred for the common benefit of more than 1 route.”

It has been obvious for some time that this law poses major problems for “legacy corridors”—primarily New York’s Empire Corridor and Chicago-Detroit-Pontiac—whose operations are funded 100% by Amtrak.  Based on discussions at the May 19 Federal Railroad Administration workshop in Kansas City, what appears to be new information is the seriousness of the problems PRIIA Section 209 may visit upon lines for states already help fund.


The new train service between Lynchburg, Virginia and Washington, D.C. continues to exceed ridership projections, proving the public demand for more transportation choices continues to rise.

According to Amtrak, from October to March, ridership totaled 55,025 passengers, shattering the line’s projected goal of 51,000 passengers for the entire first year.  The ticket revenue from the same period topped $2.8 million, beating the projected goal of $2.6 billion for the year.

“It’s still more proof that the public wants more trains,” said NARP President Ross Capon.  “It’s also puts the lie to opponents who criticize over optimistic projections.  In fact, ridership here and on many other Amtrak and transit services have beaten projections.” 


A coalition of transportation groups have attacked the draft Senate climate change bill unveiled May 13 by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT).  These groups say they will work to defeat the plan unless it directs more funds to road and transit infrastructure spending.

The draft bill would levy a fee on the carbon in gasoline, and direct a portion of those fees towards developing clean transportation solutions, like hybrid cars, public transportation and rail as well as local bicycle and pedestrian networks. 

While there has been wide acclimation for the goals of these funds, groups like the American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials and the American Public Transportation Association are criticizing the fact that only a fraction of the total funds coming from transportation fees will go back into transportation development.  The bill provides just over $6 billion in transportation funding, but would raise an estimated $19.5 billion in the first year alone.

“Frankly they need our support to get this done,” said Pete Ruane, president and CEO of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, in a reference to sponsors of the legislation. “And in fact we’re committed to ensuring that this doesn’t happen the way they’ve proposed it.”

Transportation groups are in the middle of a battle to renew the surface transportation bill, set to expire this December, and it is widely believed that any tax that raises the gasoline pump price through climate change legislation would eliminate the possibility of raising additional funds for transportation infrastructure through an increase in the gas tax. 

Proponents of Kerry-Lieberman note that most of the remainder of the money raised from the fees would go back to consumers in the form of a tax credit, which keeps the funding options on the table when working on the new transportation bill.  But in an election year that has many voters worried about rising national debt and government spending, it is not clear how many members of Congress are willing to take a stand on addressing the U.S.’s infrastructure problems.

Railroads and rail labor are concerned about the impact on the coal industry.

You can read a detailed discussion of the draft provided by Natural Resources Defense Council staff here.

A column attacking the draft is in today’s Politico and was authored by the heads of Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and Public Citizen.


Amtrak has claimed this week that Virginia Railway Express is asking them to keep running trains for several weeks past the date their contract expires on June 28 because the company replacing them will not be ready in time.

VRE Chairman Paul Milde fired back, saying VRE requested that Amtrak give them “breathing room,” and accused the company of interfering in the transition process.  The VRE has asked Congress to intercede on their behalf, saying Amtrak—as a government subsidized entity—shouldn’t be allowed to impede the activity of another government subsidized agency.

Keolis, the company that is contracted to replace Amtrak, has been attempting to hire Amtrak employees who work on VRE trains, but hasn’t had much success.  The company wouldn’t comment on the dispute, with Keolis general manager Greg Baxter saying only “we are prepared to take over service on the 28th.”


Federal safety officials announced that they would issue a final report on the cause of the 2009 Metro accident on July 27, 13 months after the train crash that claimed 9 lives and injured dozens more.

The National Transportation Safety Board had pledged to issue the report within a year of the June 22, 2009 accident, but had to extend the target date by a little over a month.  The repercussions for Metro—which is the subject of three other ongoing safety investigations, a record for transit agencies since the creation of the NTSB—could be far-reaching.  The findings will be released after the June 30 deadline for finalization of the agency’s fiscal year 2011 budget and a six-year capital spending plan, both of which will form the funding framework that safety improvements will take place in.

While the NTSB has no regulatory power, they have the ear of Congress.  Key transportation figures within Congress have raised the possibility of federal intervention in the Metro’s operations.  The Administration has proposed legislation that provides a stronger role for the Federal Transit Administration in safety oversight for transit agencies in general.


Connecticut’s Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) announced May 21 that they are on track to deliver around two-dozen new commuter train cars by December of this year.

“We are very much in a position to enter these cars into service beginning this year,” Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie said during a Connecticut Rail Commuter Council meeting.  “My expectation on the testing has been met and so far so good.”

Marie assuaged the crowd that, despite reports of software problems, the equipment is still expected on schedule.  The train cars are being built at factories in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Japan.

“There are a lot of people who would like to use [the Danbury] line who are now going to Westport, New Canaan, and elsewhere,” said state Senator Toni Boucher (R-Wilton), a long time advocate of passenger rail as a solution to highway congestion along Connecticut’s Route 7 Corridor. “This is going to be huge for our commuters and huge in their minds.”


The U.S. Department of Transportation proposed new rules on May 17 that would seek to curtail the use of electronic devices by certain railroad employees in an effort to improve safety on the rails.

The new rule explicitly restricts and in some cases prohibits the use of cell phones and other hand held devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) by safety critical employees, including locomotive engineers, conductors, switchmen, and other train employees.

“Operating a passenger or freight train demands the full and undivided attention of crewmembers at all times.  Lives depend on it,” said transportation secretary Ray LaHood.  “We want to make sure that railroad employees know not to use hand held devices on the job because doing so jeopardizes safety.”

While the DOT has been involved in a larger campaign against distracted driving, this rule is likely a direct response to 2008’s Chatsworth train accident–which killed 25 passengers and injured dozens more.  A report by the National Transportation Safety Board proved that the MetroLink train’s engineer was sending texts to friends in the moments leading up to the deadly crash, and that the Union Pacific engineer had also engaged in texting on the day of the accident.


The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) approved a statewide rail plan last week, taking a major step to secure future federal funding for the expansion and upgrade of the state’s train network.  The plan will now go to the Federal Railroad Authority for final approval.

The Passenger Rail Improvement and Investment Act of 2008 requires each state to come up with a plan that: broadens the understanding of rail issues for all stakeholders; defines the role of railroads in a multimodal environment; identifies infrastructure and other improvements required to improve rail service; provides a framework to implement rail improvement initiatives; and develops methodologies to measure public and private benefits of rail improvements

Ohio, which has already secured $400 million in federal Recovery Act funds for intercity passenger train investments, has launched an ambitious plan to connect the state’s three biggest cities—Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus—via the “3-C” passenger train corridor.

The full copy of the report can be found here.


Amtrak’s recently released timetable for Spring/Summer 2010 includes important changes to Amtrak California’s Thruway Bus Operations.

You can find a full list of changes at the website of the Rail Passengers Association of California and Nevada (RailPAC), which heard from an Amtrak spokesperson during their April 29 meeting in Fresno.


Track work being done by Amtrak crews means that many Maryland commuters will be seeing changes to train schedules, starting May 24.

A full list of changes to MARC service can be found here.

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May 28, 2010: Hotline #656

Hotline #656
May 28, 2010

This week the Federal Railroad Administration announced the first actual release of funds—$80 million—from the $8 billion in Recovery Act money set aside for passenger train capital grants for states.

“Delivering these funds is an important step forward in our efforts to upgrade and transform America’s transportation system, while spurring economic activity and creating jobs here at home,” said Vice President Joe Biden. “Our unprecedented investment in high-speed and intercity passenger rail is not only going to provide real environmental benefits and greater convenience for travelers, but also long-term economic development for communities across the country.”

The first round of distribution included money for:

• $66,600,000 for program management and preliminary engineering on the 168mph high speed train service between Tampa and Orlando, Florida;
• $6,200,000 for track relocation work in California on the Capitol Corridor which will help bring about fewer delays and faster travel times along a route that connects San Francisco and Sacramento;
• $5,700,000 for environmental assessments of planned new stations on the route between Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin that will operate at speeds up to 110mph;
• $1,000,000 for planning to improve service on the Empire Corridor in New York state;
• $100,000 for the creation of the first-ever rail plan for the state of New Mexico.

The National Association of Railroad Passengers has responded to a call by President Barack Obama to develop a “long-term energy strategy” by urging for the dramatic expansion of the nation’s passenger rail fleet as a key element in plans to increase energy efficiency and reduce American dependence on oil.

The president’s remarks—delivered May 26 during an event in the Bay Area—highlighted the dwindling reserves of conventional sources of fuel, and called for the development of a national plan to reduce energy consumption and increase alternative methods of energy development.

“Even if you hadn’t seen the catastrophe down in the Gulf, the reason that folks are now having to go down a mile deep into the ocean, and then another mile drilling into the ground below, that is because the easy oil fields and oil wells are gone, or they’re starting to diminish,” the President said.  “That tells us that we’ve got to have a long-term energy strategy in this country.”

NARP responded: “Transportation—which accounts for two thirds of U.S. oil consumption and one third of carbon emissions—is a crucial sector to address in meeting energy constraints.  Federal figures show that Amtrak is 28% and 19% more energy efficient per passenger-mile than automobiles and airplanes, respectively.  These numbers actually understate rail’s advantage, both because Amtrak has been undercapitalized and because rail supports transit and pedestrian-friendly real estate development, reducing the distances most people must travel to live, work and play.”

“If we doubled the size of Amtrak’s fleet, and had the FRA and Amtrak work closely with the freight railroads to identify bottlenecks that can be removed to allow the doubling of train frequencies, we could—in a relatively short period of time—save literally millions of car-trips every year while improving quality of life for the American people,” said NARP President Ross Capon.


In a blink-of-an-eye turnaround, the streetcar line that is currently being constructed in the District of Columbia was killed off and then saved by a massive public outcry of support for the project.

On the morning of May 26, the District Council removed from the FY 2011 budget $47 million that had been set aside for the completion of the streetcar line—the first since trolley service ended in 1963. 

Word got out quickly, however, through the actions of local bloggers and the Sierra Club, who relied on social networking technology like Facebook and Twitter to sound the alarm. 

In the face of the resultant wave of calls and emails from angry constituents denouncing the move, the Council quickly reversed course and reallocated the funds, taking $10 million from this year’s budget, and placing $37 million from the 2011 budget in reserve (further council action will be required before that money can be spent).

To read more about the public outcry—and the actions of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty—which saved the streetcar project, head over to the NARP blog to read about this dramatic example of the power of grassroots action.


In an auspicious move towards lighter, more efficient European-style trains becoming more commonplace in the U.S., the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) granted San Francisco Bay area commuter rail operator Caltrain a waiver allowing it to run new, fast electric multiple-unit (EMU) trains on its San Jose-San Francisco line.

The type of train to be used was previously illegal in the U.S. because regulators long considered them unsafe in crashes with cars, trucks and heaver rail equipment. FRA only granted the waiver after conducting three years of testing and research. Caltrain will essentially become a pilot operation for this type of EMU operation in the United States, and will electrify its railroad for the first time.

The waiver allows diesel and electric trains to share the same tracks. Freight operations will continue in the wee hours while passenger trains are parked. Despite the excitement generated by the announcement, funding remains an obstacle to getting the trains running. If Caltrain can find a source of revenue to fill the remaining 40% of its budget, the electrification project will start in 2012 and finish by 2020.

“People thought they could only get this level of service by having BART [Bay Area Rapid Transit]. This out-BART’s BART.” Bob Doty, head of the joint Caltrain-high-speed rail program, told the San Mateo County Times.


Amtrak passengers boarding at Union Station in Chicago will be facing tighter security screening for carry on bags, with officials announcing that the changes took effect on May 28.

The precautions—already implemented on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and in Washington State for the Vancouver, B.C. Olympics—are a response to generally heightened concerns about terrorism rather than any specific threat.

The screenings, designed to detect the presence of explosives, will be administered to randomly selected passengers.  Compliance in the inspection process will be required to ride the train.

“If a passenger declines, they will be accompanied to the ticket office for a refund,’’ said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

Amtrak already randomly screens checked baggage across the national network.


Vermont’s governor signed into law a $595 million transportation bill on May 26, and includes record levels of investment for passenger rail.

The bill contains $51.7 million for railroad infrastructure—including $5 million for continued Amtrak service on the Vermonter and Ethan Allen lines, and $26 million to start track and bridge projects that will increase speeds for the Vermonter.  The majority of the funds in the bill come from the federal government, with $360.7 million being provided to Vermont in total—including $80 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, passed during President Obama’s second month in office.

“These investments continue the strong commitment we’ve made to our physical infrastructure in recent years,” said Governor Jim Douglas (R).  “This transportation budget will generously fund many priorities, such as paving, bridges and rail, and create jobs across the state.”

Not everyone agreed with the Governor’s assessment of “a continued strong commitment,” and pointed to the fact that a significant portion of the bill—$112.5 million—will go to addressing the backlogged bridge maintenance and repair needs.

“This is sorely needed after years of deferred maintenance [and] 20 years of neglect,” said Rep. Patrick Brennan (R-Colchester), chair of the Vermont State House Transportation Committee.

Full details on the bill can be found at Vermont.gov.


The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) board of directors approved significant fare hikes—rail riders could pay as much as $5.45 per trip, and bus riders $1.70 per trip—but managed to stave off service cuts.

Some of the fare hikes approved were a 20-cent “peak of the peak” surcharge for rush hour; scaled back MetroAccess service for passengers with physical disabilities to the federally mandated minimum of 3/4 of a mile from existing rail and bus routes; a $10 per month increase for reserved parking at park-and-ride sites; a peak-hour surcharge for travel between midnight and 3 a.m. (available only on the weekends); and a surcharge for passengers who use paper fare cards on the rail system and cash on buses instead of the SmarTrip magnetic touch card.

The fare increases will be painful for passengers, especially during an economic downturn.  But the Metro board should be applauded for its commitment in staving off service reductions; mobility choices for the public are a critical element for economic recovery.


People traveling through the historic Union Passenger Terminal in downtown Los Angeles will soon have more dining options—a victory for local passenger advocates who have fought to make the station an attractive terminal for train riders.

According to unofficial reports, NARP has learned that Subway, Famina Fresh Foods, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, and Wetzel’s Pretzels will be opening storefronts in Union Station in late August.  These establishments join Relay News Stand, Union Bagels and Coffee, Traxx Restaurant & Bar, and an independently owned snack bar.

As part of the upgrade to the experience for passengers, Amtrak has repositioned Quik-Trak ticket kiosks to the center of the station lobby for easier access.


New York City’s iconic subway transit map is getting an overhaul—its first in 12 years.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority will distribute the map next month.  The new design seeks to place greater graphical emphasis on subway lines and pare down the information presented to make a more readable map.  The map will also (further) distort the geography of New York City’s landscape to reflect demographic trends; Manhattan—which has the densest network of subways lines—will be taller and 30% wider than previously depicted, and Staten Island will shrink by 50%.

While the improved clarity will be appreciated by most riders, some are saying that it doesn’t go far enough towards the abstract angularity favored by most transit agencies.

“The M.T.A. map is an artifact of its time, and its time was 1979,” Eddie Jabbour, designer of the Kick Map (an app for the iPhone that has been downloaded 250,000 times), told the New York Times.

A May 28 derailment of a passenger train in eastern India quickly turned tragic when a freight train plowed into coaches full of passengers, killing at least 75 people and injuring at least 146 others.

The accident occurred 96 miles southwest of Calcutta, as the train was making its way to Mumbai.  Officials are blaming the derailment—the worst train disaster in eight years—on sabotage, and have identified Maoist rebels as the likely culprit.

“It is a case of sabotage,” Vivek Sahai of the National Railway Board told reporters in New Delhi.  He attributed most of the deaths to the impact of the freight train after the passenger train had derailed.

India’s 39,000 mile railway network is extremely accident-prone compared to its American counterpart, and carries 15 million people per day on 11,000 trains.  But the accident has coincided with a Maoist rebel “week of protest” that is trying to call attention an ongoing offensive in the area being carried out by the Indian military.

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