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Yesterday, May 22, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee approved H.R. 6003, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, at its markup of the bill. A T&I Railroads Subcommittee markup on May 20 sent the measure to the full committee without amendments.
In the full committee, a manager’s amendment (.pdf) was approved that adds language requiring several studies. The Surface Transportation Board would be required to examine the “effectiveness” of ensuring the preference of Amtrak over freight trains on freight railroads and to submit “recommendations with respect to any regulatory or legislative actions that would improve such effectiveness.” Amtrak’s Inspector General is to report within nine months of enactment “on utilization of its facilities, including the Beech Grove [equipment maintenance] facility in Indiana” and “including any attempts to provide maintenance and repair to other rail carriers.” Finally, USDOT is to complete an alternatives analysis of the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor, and a feasibility analysis regarding the expansion of the South Central High-Speed Rail Corridor to the Port of Houston, TX.
In lauding the progress on H.R. 6003, committee Republicans emphasized the provision for soliciting proposals to bring high-speed service to the Northeast Corridor.
H.R. 6003 now goes to the House Rules Committee for consideration for floor time in the full chamber. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) indicated that passage of the bill will be a priority this summer before the House breaks for August recess.
Currently, there are 41 cosponsors on the bill. Ideally, the bill needs 218 or more co-sponsors (more than half of the chamber). Contact your House of Representatives member and ask him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 6003! For more information, see our Action Alert center.
NARP thanks members of the blogosphere for shedding light on this important measure and our efforts. An action alert diary on Daily Kos was, as of this morning, the fourth most recommended entry on the site. Streetsblog followed up with a post with links to NARP and the Daily Kos entry.
American Financial Group, Inc. has brought a federal lawsuit against Amtrak to seek compensation for its 5.2 million shares of Amtrak common stock, which the insurance holding company originally acquired by taking over Penn Central. AFG wants monetary damages and a declaration that Amtrak has violated AFG’s Fifth Amendment rights that require the government to pay just compensation for taking private property. In the alternative, $52 million plus interest or, based on calculations of Jon Newberry, reporter whose story is in today’s Business Courier of Cincinnati, $300 to $900 million based on interest rates of from five to eight percent. Depending on what interest rate Amtrak contends that the stock is “essentially worthless.”
NARP Executive Director Ross Capon is quoted in the Cincinnati journal calling AFG’s claim wacky: “Oh give me a break! These guys are priceless. Everyone who knew anything knew that Amtrak was not going to be profitable. That was just a fig leaf to allow (President) Richard Nixon to sign off on it. The idea that these guys are whining about this in 2008…takes the cake for chutzpah.”
Cost pressures on airlines intensified this week as crude oil briefly passed $135 a barrel. American Airlines on Wednesday announced that it would be the first airline to charge for the first piece of domestic checked baggage. Non-elite coach passengers not paying full fare will be charged $15 for the first bag. American also plans bigger service reductions, with domestic capacity in the last quarter expected to be 12% smaller than a year earlier (systemwide capacity will drop as much as four percent). More planes will be parked and thousands of jobs eliminated.
On Wednesday, the New York Times highlighted contraction in Essential Air Service, noting that “[federal] subsidies have not risen fast enough to cover the jump in jet fuel costs, and passengers have resisted paying higher prices for plane tickets, prompting carriers to pull out of a number of cities, including Hagerstown,” a western Maryland town which lost all commercial air service two months before it opened a new, 7,000-foot runway at a cost of $61.4 million. Jean-Cyril Spinetta, Chairman and CEO of Air France-KLM, told the Financial Times yesterday that the industry will change “profoundly.” He said, “There will be major restructuring. Things are changing violently and quickly.”
Top critics of the stalled Central Florida commuter rail plan have sent a letter to Amtrak requesting cost and operational estimates for statewide intercity corridor service. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Senate Majority Whip Paula Dockery (R-Lakeland) and Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Lakeland) wrote Amtrak President Alex Kummant to solicit a proposal that would allow “Florida to quickly and cost-effectively implement a reliable intercity passenger rail service” between Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Miami “so that we can work in the upcoming regular and/or special legislative sessions to bring about a beneficial transportation alternative for our state.” Amtrak officials will reportedly meet with lawmakers in Tallahassee June 16-18.
Washington’s State Legislature has approved a $15 million grant to extend a BNSF siding through Stanwood along the Amtrak Cascades route between Seattle and Vancouver, BC. This will allow Amtrak to utilize a new platform in Stanwood when work on both the siding and the platform finish by summer of 2009.
Williston, ND has approved a plan to improve its Amtrak station, served daily by the Empire Builder. The first phase will cost $108,000, while the second phase will cost $109,000.
Sound Transit will herald the opening of its Mukilteo, WA Sounder commuter rail station on Saturday, May 31 with free rides on its Home Run Service to the Mariners baseball game in Seattle. Operation Lifesaver will be present at the celebrations. Regular commuter service to Mukilteo starts Monday, June 2.
Mystic, CT will celebrate the 30th anniversary of restoring its 1905 station on Saturday, May 31. Municipal leaders will host an open house and greet the crew of Amtrak Regional train 161, which will make a special stop at 10:51 AM.
Amtrak has removed the purchasing restrictions on its USA Rail Passes. US citizens may now purchase the passes, which were formerly available only to international visitors.
A new page on the Amtrak site allows visitors to analyze on-time performance data of every train on every route, including a breakdown of delay type by host railroad. Amtrak offers the data “as an opportunity for you to follow along as we work with those railroads on the path to improvement and to assist you in planning your trip.”
Discount bus carrier Megabus will abandon its Los Angeles-based West Coast market within the next month. While the service has enjoyed strong growth in the Midwest and is expanding in the Northeast, ridership on the West Coast was weak. Megabus has already abandoned its routes to Phoenix and San Diego, and will end service to San Francisco and Las Vegas by June 22. Megabus will begin service between Washington, DC and New York City on May 30, utilizing Gray Line’s bus bays in the Washington Union Station parking garage and stopping directly in front of New York Penn Station.
Major Union Pacific trackwork near Springfield will affect Amtrak service between Chicago and St. Louis from today, May 23, to May 31. Lincoln Service trains 301 and 306 are cancelled, with no alternative transportation. Other schedule modifications and bus bridges will be in place. The Texas Eagle will detour, bypassing Springfield, with substitute motorcoach and taxi service provided. See the service advisory (.pdf) for more details.
Due to Norfolk Southern trackwork, Amtrak’s Piedmont will be bus-bridged between Charlotte and Salisbury June 8-11, June 15-18, and June 22-25. The Carolinian and Crescent will not be affected. See the service advisory (.pdf) for more details.
Amtrak Southwest Chief train 3 will detour over Union Pacific tracks between Riverside and Los Angeles on Sunday as BNSF does signal work to bring a third main track online at Bandini, CA. Passengers bound for Fullerton will take the next southbound Pacific Surfliner train from Los Angeles. Surfliner trains 564 and 571 will also be cancelled while the work is completed.
Amtrak’s Sunset Limited will miss its Ontario, CA stop due to Union Pacific trackwork June 1-8, and again June 16-23.
A BNSF train carrying hydrochloric acid derailed in Lafayette, LA last Saturday, forcing 3,000 residents to evacuate. Amtrak’s Sunset Limited detoured over Union Pacific tracks between Lake Charles and New Orleans, with motorcoaches covering the missed stops.
The NARP Board will meet in Portland on Friday and Saturday, October 17 and 18, at the Doubletree Hotel at Lloyd Center, 1000 NE Multnomah. A pre-meeting tour is planned for Thursday, October 16, including MAX light rail and Portland Streetcar, the Westside Express Service, sky tram, the first new American streetcar plant, and Talgo equipment. There also will be a reception at the Portland Amtrak station. Most Board meeting sessions are open. Please let us know if you would like to receive registration information about the tour and/or the meeting.
Monday, May 26 is Memorial Day. Amtrak will mark the National Moment of Remembrance as its engineers sound the horns of trains enroute at 3 PM local time. The NARP office will be closed on Monday.
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