Hotline #631

The Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) brand-new Rail Division has its first director. William “Bill” Galvin, P.E., was named Director of the Rail Division by TxDOT Executive Director Amadeo Saenz on Monday.  Galvin has more than 30 years of experience in the rail industry, primarily with Burlington Northern Railroad, working most recently as a consultant with RVBA and Associates.  He has lived in Texas since 1991.

Galvin takes office Tuesday, Dec. 1. In a statement, Executive Director Saenz said, “Creation of the Rail Division will consolidate the department’s major rail responsibilities … under a single division.”


Montana college students are organizing in support of restoring train service to the North Coast Hiawatha route through the southern part of the state. The Transportation Board Committee of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM), the student government of the Missoula campus, created a subcommittee tasked with promoting the return of the service. The last regularly-scheduled passenger train over the route through Bismarck, Billings, Bozeman, Helena and Missoula ran in October 1979.

The students’ action was prompted by Amtrak’s release of a study [PDF] of restoring the North Coast Hiawatha, which was mandated by a provision that Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) inserted in the 2008 rail improvement law. The train would serve Montana State University, the University of Montana and Carroll College, and students would likely become regular riders.  The report states that it would take 48 from 60 months from the time a service restoration plan was approved to start of service. 

Jordan Hess, a member of the ASUM transportation board, thinks the train would be “wildly popular.” “I thought that it would be a good fit for southern Montana,” he added. “My intention is to show policymakers how important this is.”


Amtrak’s Sacramento-San Jose Capitol Corridor, it’s second-busiest route next to the Northeast Corridor, will soon boast one of the railroad’s cleanest-burning diesel engines. The rebuilt Electro-Motive Division F59PHI locomotive boasts an EPA Tier 2 emissions rating – existing diesels on this line have the agency’s lowest rating, Tier 0 – cutting smog-forming pollution in half and use 20% less fuel. The locomotive’s engine – originally built in 2001 – was replaced with a 710ECO Repower microprocessor-controlled engine. Money has already been allocated to purchase more of them, paid for partially by the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.


A new station stop has been added to the Cascades Corridor. The city of Stanwood, Washington, is host to Amtrak’s newest permanent station, which is located at 27111 Florence Way, between Everett & Mt. Vernon Streets (station code STW). (Note: to locate the station on Google Maps, use the following coordinates: 48.242638,-122.349935). Trains 510, 513, 516 and 517 now serve Stanwood, providing the city with one daily round-trip between Seattle and Vancouver and one between Portland and Vancouver.


Accidents. On Monday, November 23, according to an Amtrak spokesman, an individual “walked in front of [Pacific Surfliner train 774] and fell” in Glendale CA at San Fernando Road.  The day before, a man walking on the tracks died when hit by the westbound Empire Builder near Dundee Rd. in Deerfield, a Chicago suburb.  The same day, between Browning and Cut Bank, Montana, a van driven by a 22-year-old man was parked too close to the tracks and hit by a different Empire Builder.  The man was hospitalized.  Authorities said his blood alcohol content was well above the legal limit.


An annual track-work exercise by Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) will cause Amtrak’s Crescent to terminate at Atlanta on several days in late January and early February. Stations between Atlanta and New Orleans will not be served or have alternate transportation on January 18-21 and 25-28 and February 1-4 and 8-9.  This means trains originating in New Orleans on those days, and in New York on the days before.  Service between Atlanta and points north will not be affected.  NS generally aims to complete this work well in advance of Mardi Gras, which falls on February 16, 2010. 


The State of Ohio’s campaign to build public support for train service along the Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland corridor, dubbed “3C is Me,” now has a telephone hotline. The toll-free number is (877) 732-4763.


If you are boarding one of Amtrak’s two daily U.S.-bound departures from Vancouver, British Columbia, arrive at the station at least one hour early to allow time to be processed by US Customs and Immigration prior to departure. For train 513, arrive by 5:40 AM, and for train 517, arrive by 4:45 PM. The customs procedures take place at the Vancouver station. Late-arriving passengers may not be processed, and would thus have to wait for the next train and potentially pay a higher fare.


Amtrak is extending a fare discount worth up to 25 percent off the lowest standard fare for the nearly 2-month-old Northeast Regional service to Lynchburg, Virginia. This would bring the price of a one-way Lynchburg-New York ticket as low as $66, and Lynchburg-Boston as low as $71. The promotion is now set to expire on March 31, 2010, and applies to all reservations made before that date, regardless of the date of travel. The special fares are not available on all trains and do not apply to Business Class upgrades. See Amtrak Virginia for details.


Fares are 25% off on Amtrak Cascades trains to and from Vancouver, British Columbia, for travelers attending the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Reservations must be made by December 31 for travel between now and January 31, 2010. Discounted one-way fare from Portland to Vancouver is as little as $34.50.


Long-term parking is now available at St. Louis’ Gateway Station. Amtrak passengers may park for $6.00 per day at the lot (only credit and debit cards are accepted), across S. 16th St. from the existing short-term parking lot. The lot is fenced-in and gated, but not attended.


The Thruway bus stop at Fremont, California, now has an address. It is 42745 Mission Blvd (on the west side of the street), Fremont, CA 94539.


Amtrak’s Fort Worth-Oklahoma City Heartland Flyer again will be extended north to Guthrie, Oklahoma, from the northbound departure on December 10 through the southbound on December 13. This will allow visitors to attend Guthrie’s annual Territorial Christmas Celebration, which transforms the town into a Victorian-era frontier settlement, without having to drive and find parking. The festivity goes from now through December 23rd. The additional fare between Oklahoma City, the train’s usual northern terminus, and Guthrie is $7 each way. The Guthrie station (code GUT) is located at the former Santa Fe depot at 409 W. Oklahoma Ave., but has no shelter or official waiting area.


Happy thanksgiving and safe travels from all of us at NARP!