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Congress is in recess through next month (Senate reconvenes September 8, House, September 9).
Late last week, amidst gridlock over energy policy, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) announced that a group of 10 centrist senators, five from each party, had agreed on a “New Energy Reform Act” that would, along with allowing new domestic oil drilling, push for alternative fuels. Unfortunately, the plan does not provide funding for energy-efficient passenger trains, which should be central to any long-term energy solution.
Please urge your Senators and Representative:
- to approve $1.9 billion for passenger trains in Fiscal 2009—the Amtrak request plus $100 million to put more cars back into service;
- to give final approve to the S.294 passenger train authorization bill; and
- To reach a compromise on energy—preferably including passenger trains—if that’s what it takes to break the legislative logjam.
Go to our Action Alert center for full details.
Last Friday, the Senate passed by unanimous consent S. 1889, the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2007. This safety measure is largely aimed at ensuring that train crews get sufficient rest time. On-duty hours (including deadhead transit) would be limited to 267 per month, and railroads would be prohibited from “communicating” with crews during rest time except in an emergency. FRA inspections would increase. There are also requirements for DOT to establish a long-term safety strategy as well as a pilot program to eliminate rail safety risks, and for states to report on safety measures being taken at all grade crossings. A similar bill, H.R. 2095, passed the House last year by an overwhelming margin of 377-38. For a comparison of the two bills, see this United Transportation Union analysis (.pdf).
North Carolina DOT announced this week further planned upgrades to its Amtrak stations in Cary and Durham. Cary’s city-owned station will receive an $800,000 expansion and renovation after DMV employees vacate offices there. Durham’s station will move from a temporary trailer to part of a former tobacco warehouse, which the state will lease for $100,000 a year for 47 years. $1 million in federal grants will go towards a new platform and canopy, and a second Amtrak agent will be added.
NARP encourages its members to watch and share a student film about Amtrak and public transportation. “Re-Training America” by Heydn Ericson and Malcolm Kenton (scroll to bottom for movie file in Quicktime format), both NARP members and recent graduates of Guilford College, examines the history and future of passenger trains and alternative transportation in America. It also features interviews with NARP staff, other transportation experts, and the traveling public. Thank you, Heydn and Malcolm, for your efforts to raise awareness of passenger trains!
The Fullerton Transportation Center in Fullerton, CA will be the venue of the Spare the Air Music Festival on August 30 from 11 AM to 8 PM. The concert is part of the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Spare the Air program, and is sponsored in part by Amtrak and Metrolink. Tickets will cost $10.67, reflecting sponsorship by popular rock radio station KROQ 106.7. In a news release, event promoter and organizer Sean Francis said, “With the wide range of environmental issues confronting our planet, from global warming to depleting energy sources, our focus is to promote awareness of public transportation options, global warming and alternative fuels and energies.”
Amtrak has eliminated free parking at its downtown St. Louis station to allow for track work in connection with the new Gateway Station, which is expected to open to train passengers in September. Short-term parking is available at a new, city-owned lot under Interstate 64 (U.S. 40) where the charge is $1 an hour (24-hour maximum). The city’s historic Union Station, nicely redeveloped but without trains, charges $16 a day for parking. Amtrak notes that people also can park for free at many MetroLink light rail stations and then ride MetroLink to the Civic Center station (adjacent to the Gateway Station but a few blocks from the existing station).
Due to ongoing Amtrak track maintenance on the Springfield Shuttle line, trains 470, 490, 493, and 495 are operating between New Haven and Hartford only until August 22. Amtrak is providing motorcoach service between Hartford, Windsor Locks, and Springfield, with no service at Windsor. There is no impact on other Shuttles or on Vermonter service.
BNSF has postponed track work that was slated to affect Carl Sandburg trains this month. Effective today, Amtrak resumed normal Chicago-Quincy schedules, which will continue until further notice.
Seven passengers are dead and 70 injured after a EuroCity train collided into a collapsed bridge near Studenka, Czech Republic at 10:30 AM local time today. The train carrying about 400 passengers struck a collapsed road bridge that had been undergoing repairs. The train was traveling at 87 mph when it crashed near the Czech-Polish border on its journey from Prague to Krakow, Poland. The Prime Ministers of both countries visited the crash site.
Two historic San Francisco Muni streetcars were involved in a collision the evening of August 4 on the F-Market line. A Milan streetcar rear-ended a PCC streetcar while traveling northbound on the Embarcadero on a dedicated right-of-way. 14 people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, with six (including both trains’ operators) taken to the hospital. Muni is investigating the incident, which is the third major incident on its rail system since June.
A BNSF train carrying corn derailed ten cars between Libby and Whitefish, MT on August 4, blocking the Hi-Line for the rest of the day and forcing Amtrak to bus Empire Builder passengers between Libby and Shelby. Normal operations resumed the next day.
An Official Airline Guide analysis, reported in today’s Financial Times, shows that airlines around the world will cut capacity by 59.7 million seats or 7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 as compared to a year before. The domestic US market accounts for about a third of the contraction. Steve Casley, Chief Operating Officer of OAG, said, “It took a good three years for the industry to recover from the downturn of 2001, when it had a 5 percent drop in capacity… [W]e may be facing a far more severe global downturn than we have experienced before. The industry’s resilience will be pushed to its limits in the coming months.” In the past two weeks, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines both announced tighter restrictions and additional fees for frequent-flyer mileage awards. Delta also increased the fee for checking a second piece of baggage to $50.
The September issue of NARP News has been uploaded to the members’ section of our web site. Click on “Login” above, just below “E-mail Signup” to access the newsletter, or click “Register” if you have not yet signed up for members’ access. Be sure to include your membership number when registering.
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