|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Aug 22, 2008: Hotline #567Congress is in recess through next month (Senate reconvenes September 8, House, September 9). Please urge your Senators and Representative:
Go to our Action Alert center for full details. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant held media events in Chicago and Bloomngton-Normal on Wednesday to push support for Durbin’s Train CARS Act (S.3360; full coverage in our August 1 hotline and September NARP News). Durbin highlighted the effort to quickly return damaged cars to service and get the ball rolling on a large scale equipment procurement program. Durbin also said that there needs to be more attention paid to Amtrak’s on time performance; the Chicago-St. Louis corridor has one of the worst timeliness records in the nation. “(The current performance) is unacceptable,” Durbin said, “It’s hard to make plans for business or pleasure if it (a train) doesn’t run on time.” Amtrak announced this week that a full renovation of the Auto Train facility in Sanford, FL will commence soon. The $3.5 million project will bring the Florida facility up to par with the northern terminus facility in Lorton, VA. The facility will also interface with the proposed Orlando-Sanford commuter rail service. Facing severe overcrowding, Maryland’s MARC Commuter Rail has agreed to purchase 13 cars from Virginia Railway Express. The cars are identical to MARC’s “MARC III” Kawasaki bi-levels already in service; the cars being purchased were in fact an add-on to the MARC order. VRE has deemed the cars surplus as they have acquired a fleet of new gallery-style cars for their service; the sale permits VRE to standardize their fleet. MARC should have the cars in service by November as they are pretty much ready to go. PennDOT has launched a new web site for the Keystone Service. The new site features station information, schedules, reasons to ride, and other information. Periodic detours are in effect for Amtrak’s California Zephyr in both directions between Sacramento and Winnemucca due to UP track work near Donner Summit. Trains 5 and 6 detoured via the scenic Feather River Canyon on August 12, and are scheduled to do the same on August 24, 27, and 30, as well as September 9. Passengers to/from missed stops are carried by motorcoach. Winnemucca passengers are provided taxi service between the station and a yard location where the detour starts. Passengers should expect delays of about two hours. Amtrak’s northbound Coast Starlight train 14 will hold in Klamath Falls, OR until 10:25 AM, two hours past its scheduled departure, due to UP track work near the side of the January landslide. This should affect passengers on August 24-30, September 8-15, September 23-30, and October 8 and 9, though trains will depart Klamath Falls on-time if conditions allow. Amtrak track work on the Springfield Shuttle line has been extended through September 26 (see Hotline #565); service adjustments were slated to end today. Northbound Vermonter train 56 may be delayed up to 30 minutes. Amtrak’s Vermonter was disrupted after another New England Central train derailed in White River Junction, VT on August 15, five days after an NECR derailment in Braintree. Amtrak once again provided motorcoach service, this time north of Brattleboro, through August 16. Tropical Storm Fay made landfall over Florida on August 19. Amtrak cancelled all Auto Train and Silver Service in both directions for trains originating August 19, 20, and 21, with no alternate transportation provided. Service is scheduled to resume today. Denver RTD transit service will be significantly affected during the Democratic National Convention next week. From August 24-27, there will be no light rail service to Union Station. Click here for complete details. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Printable Version