National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org

Hotline #400

Today begins the week-long Memorial Day district work period. Most House and Senate members will be back in their districts this week.  Check the websites of your Representative and Senators to see if they have any town hall meetings or public appearances scheduled.  Attend and encourage others to.  Encourage your elected officials to support full Amtrak funding ($1.82 billion).  Encourage your representative to sign on as a co-sponsor to H.R. 1630 and H.R. 1631.

If you are traveling, be sure to download the flier from our website and makes copies to give to fellow passengers.  It is important for as many people as possible to understand the importance of sending even a short pro-Amtrak note to their legislators.

The deadline for Democratic representatives to sign on to the pro-Amtrak letter to House appropriations leaders has been re-extended until next week.  As of yesterday afternoon, 49 Democrats had still not signed.  Click here for a list of those who have not signed.  The House website has the contact information you need.  Ask your representative to sign if he or she has not; they should contact Steve Feldgus in Rep. Menendez’s office.

Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta sent to Amtrak President & CEO David L. Gunn late May 25 a strange letter demanding immediate cost-saving measures.  Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) responded yesterday and NARP issued a statement today.

Mineta threatened to withhold $60 million in federal money already appropriated to Amtrak for FY ’06.  Mineta said he may withhold the money from Amtrak to use for commuter services if Amtrak should run out of money this year.  Because Amtrak’s board-approved budget counts on receiving its entire federal appropriation – including the $60 million – any decision by Mineta to withhold the full $60 million could trigger a crisis at Amtrak.  (Amtrak’s Board consists entirely of Bush appointees.)

The law requires Mineta to give Amtrak that $60 million “during the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005” except to the extent that, “as of the date of transfer,” funds are “needed by the Surface Transportation Board to pay for any directed service order issued through Sept. 30, 2005.”  A directed service order [to maintain commuter rail service on Amtrak facilities] would only be necessary if Amtrak shuts down.

In other words, Mineta appears to be twisting language intended to minimize a crisis into justification for his creating a crisis.

Senator Murray said that Bush Administration budget policies “have been one of the largest contributors” to Amtrak’s cash problems.  From her release:  “In response to a question by Murray, Gunn testified that the Bush Administration’s stated goal to put Amtrak into bankruptcy and the failure of a Senate amendment to restore Amtrak’s funding has had a significant negative impact on Amtrak’s cash position.  Gunn testified that, as a result of those events, Amtrak’s bond rating was downgraded, the railroad’s insurance costs and accounting costs increased, and the financial requirements by Amtrak’s suppliers were tightened.”  This was at a May 12 hearing of a Senate appropriations subcommittee.

Costs of an actual Amtrak bankruptcy would be horrendous.  Gunn, speaking Wednesday to the Transportation Research Forum in Washington, DC, said Amtrak is the “Alamo” of high speed rail on this continent.  He called the knowledge of Amtrak employees about “our most precious asset…if we lose that, you can’t look people up in the Yellow Pages to run the railroad.”  Unfortunately, Mineta’s letter reinforces the view that there are people in the Administration who want an Amtrak bankruptcy but who do not understand that it would force a shutdown of the railroad, raise serious questions about the ability to get it started, and impose huge costs on both the public and private sector.

NARP’s release included these statements from Executive Director Ross B. Capon:  “If Mineta really agrees with most Americans that ‘intercity passenger rail is too important to just stand by and watch it die,’ as he has written, he should not make public statements that drive up Amtrak’s costs. He should not make demands which assume that cutting still more operating expenses can significantly improve Amtrak’s bottom line over the next four months.

“Instead, he should work constructively to help Amtrak manage around the cash problems created by the temporary withdrawal of Acela Express trains.  He should get better acquainted with the facts.  [The release noted that many of the items on our “Amtrak Fact Check” are responses to Mineta’s misstatements.]

“Sadly, Mineta’s letter reinforces the view that there are people in the Bush Administration who want an Amtrak bankruptcy but who do not understand that it would force a shutdown of the railroad, raise serious questions about the ability to get it re-started, and impose huge costs on both the public and private sectors.”

With the current extension of TEA 21 (highway/transit authorization) expiring May 31, the House and Senate this week extended it for the seventh time, through June 30.  The President is expected to sign the extension bill, which simply extends funding another month.

Greyhound’s long-anticipated service cuts in the southeast were acknowledged in a company press release this week.  “Effective June 21, 2005, the company is making changes that will streamline and simplify its route network in the Southeast region, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These changes, aimed at making travel more enjoyable for the majority of our customers, will eliminate time-consuming and costly stops in areas where customer demand is low to nonexistent.”  Specific stations have not yet been listed by the company, but an employee website is tracking announcements—generally as state DOT’s receive word of them.

The new Capitol Corridor station at Oakland Coliseum was dedicated earlier this week.  Full service begins on June 6.  The station is adjacent to BART’s Coliseum /Oakland Airport station and will provide service to Oakland Athletics (baseball), Oakland Raiders (football), and Golden State Warriors (basketball) games.  Passengers can also take advantage of the existing “AirBART” shuttle service to the airport.  “This intermodal stop along the Capitol Corridor route is another connection to BART and other local transit agencies,” said Gene Skoropowski, Managing Director, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority.

Cascades and Coast Starlight service between Portland and Eugene, OR will be disrupted for approximately one month while the Union Pacific railroad replaces ties in single-track territory.  During four seven-day periods (June 1-8, June 16-23, July 1-7, and July 16-23) and one final two day period (August 1 and 2), the Coast Starlight will be delayed approximately two hours waiting for the track gang to clear.  Cascades trains 504 and 509 will not operate between Eugene and Portland (but have substitute bus service).  Trains 500 and 507 will operate, but experience delays.