National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org

Hotline #444

Visit the NARP Action Alert Center and urge your Members of Congress to support Amtrak’s full appropriation request of $1.596 billion plus $275 million of Strategic Investment Options.

South Mississippi’s Sun Herald reported this week that “the Senate Appropriations Committee approved [on April 4] $700 million…for the state to buy the CSX Transportation railroad line through South Mississippi” (Apr. 5).  The paper quoted Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS):  “The main goal was efficiency and laying the groundwork for greater economic development opportunity.”  The money is part of a larger Iraq war supplemental that is considered a “must-pass” bill.

There has long been interest in diverting mainline freight traffic away from the shore, but it had been assumed that a new rail line would be built inland.  CSX Spokesman Gary Sease, however, is quoted saying “the better option” was to enter an agreement with another railroad company to share its line.  Translation: the reported 18 freights a day CSX runs along the coastal route will be diverted to mostly-single-track lines much further north that already are overloaded, as reflected in the Crescent’s horrible on-time performance while NS was handling traffic diverted off the CSX line while it was being rebuilt. 

CSX “spent more than $250 million in insurance money to repair the 100 miles of track between Pascagoula and New Orleans after Katrina.”  The Southern Rapid Rail Transit Commission favors retention of the existing rail line for passengers and local freight; it is a federally-designated high speed rail line. 

But the state wants to rip the track out.  “Anthony Topazi, chairman of the Governor’s Commission transportation committee [and president of Mississippi Power], said he envisioned moving U.S. 90 to the rail footprint in Harrison County and creating a true scenic beach boulevard…There won’t be a new track that crosses…Mississippi” [Apr. 5 and Apr. 4].  The Sun Herald reported that the bill “does not specifically tell the state what to do with the $700 million.  Cochran’s office said the intention was to go along with Gov. Haley Barbour’s recovery plan.”

Denver transit workers have been on strike since Monday, but a new contract has been presented and will be voted on by the workers today.  RTD and the Amalgamated Transit Workers Union have been in negotiations for several months and its members voted to go on strike Monday morning.  Some service that is operated by private non-union contractors or by union employees on a different agreement continued to operate.  A federal mediator has become involved and helped craft the most recent proposal.

The Canal Street streetcar line in New Orleans will be restored on Sunday and will include the North Carrollton Avenue spur.  The RTA decided to station an employee to control the traffic signals and switches where the spur leaves the Canal Street line, since a custom-made switching device was destroyed by Katrina.  All RTA services will remain free through at least June 30.

The service modifications to Missouri service detailed in our March 17 hotline have been modified.  A full listing, including complete schedules for the St. Louis-Kansas City service can be found in the news release on Amtrak’s website.  The Spring/Summer Amtrak timetable, due out April 24, will reflect these changes.  In initial discussions, Union Paciifc wanted Amtrak to cancel two of the trains, while it continued to run its own freight trains.  Amtrak took the railroad to an arbitration panel, which ruled in Amtrak’s favor.

Riders of Metrolink’s Riverside line have been subject to numerous delays due to Union Pacific freight train congestion.  But they were hardly prepared for the notice that was put on their seats when they boarded the train on March 30.  As an early April Fools joke, an anonymous commuter wrote an official-looking notice detailing, “elaborate route modifications, with odd- and even-numbered trains winding along different Rube Goldberg-like routes that included boarding buses and reboarding other trains,” according to the Los Angeles Times.  The bottom of the notice said “Happy April Fools Day” in very small type and conductors reinforced the message as the trains arrived in Los Angeles.

Its time once again for Amtrak’s annual “Picture Our Train” contest.  Your photo could be featured on Amtrak’s 2007 wall calendar!  Go to Amtrak’s website to read full contest details and entry requirements.

The April issue of NARP News has been uploaded to the members’ section of our website.  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.