National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org

Hotline #446

Congress reconvenes next week and the Fiscal 2007 appropriations process will likely be getting underway in May.  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.

The plan to remove CSX’s New Orleans-Mobile route got a lot more publicity.  Today’s Mobile Press-Register reported that “local business officials warned Thursday of economic consequences for Mobile industry and the Alabama state docks if” the CSX traffic is rerouted away from the coast.  State Docks Director Jimmy Lyons said, “There are a whole lot of impacts there potentially.  I have some very significant concerns.” 

The Mobile newspaper reported, “Rail service is integral to the docks, which handles more than 100,000 freight cars per year.  In the aftermath of Katrina, freight traffic [rerouted from the CSX coastal line] was diverted through Memphis and Birmingham.  That caused bottlenecks, ultimately reducing the frequency of coal shipments to the Port of Mobile…Anthony Hatch, an independent railroad consultant and analyst in New York, said…it might make sense to re-route the railway because of its vulnerability to hurricanes, but only if new lines can handle the traffic.  ‘Rail is becoming much more central to national transportation plans, but capacity is tight.  So adding route miles [i.e., forcing shipments to move less directly] and overcrowding lines ultimately is in no one’s interest.’”

A major rerouting of traffic off the CSX line presumably would require extensive study of the impacts on the lines to which traffic would be diverted, and especially issues related to grade crossings and noise.  If any new right-of-way was involved, detailed environmental analyses could be required. 

Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), long an advocate of relocating the CSX line, authored a column in the Biloxi Sun-Herald April 17 defending the use of $700 million in federal funds to “move these tracks from the middle of busy, growing communities like Biloxi, Gulfport and Pascagoula… Always mindful that my father was killed on a narrow, two-lane road south of Laurel, I’ve supported surface transportation safety initiatives impacting our highways and rails by funding more four-lane highways for our state and supporting rail relocation plans…In the aftermath of arguably the worst natural disaster in American history, any good post-Katrina reconstruction plan should consider moving these tracks.  Given the tracks’ proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and to motor traffic and flood waters, Gulf Coast residents and leaders would be irresponsible if we didn’t consider a safer place for the railroad…Predictably a few folks in Washington don’t like this idea.  They’re not considering the many deaths along these tracks…This project’s critics wouldn’t exchange the railroad tunnels, overpasses, elevated tracks, crossing signals and other safety enhancements in their hometowns for the outdated and almost bare railroad crossings that are still too frequently found along the Gulf Coast.  I invite them to see this situation for themselves before passing judgment on the expendability of Mississippi lives.”

The project also made the front page of The Washington Post on April 18.  Reporter Jonathan Weisman wrote:  “The real impetus appears to be economic.  For more than a dozen years, Mississippi officials, development planners and tourism authorities have dreamed of the complex restructuring of Mississippi’s coastal transportation system that Lott and [Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad] Cochran [R-MS] want to set in motion.”  Although Weisman explained that “CSX would move its freight traffic to existing tracks to the north owned by rival Norfolk Southern,” the article inexplicably was accompanied by a map showing the old plan—a relocated CSX line apparently running along the Interstate just north of the downtowns the line runs through.”  The Post said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), a fiscal hawk, “is planning to challenge the funding” on the Senate floor.

The $700 million is part of an emergency spending bill that will be on the floor next week, with the Senate committee’s bill “already more than $14 billion larger than the version the House passed in March.”  The bill totals $106.5 billion, of which $72.4 billion is for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Michigan’s two state-supported trains, the Pere Marquette and the Blue Water, will continue operation through September 30, the end of the fiscal year, under a deal announced yesterday by Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) and Republican Legislative leaders.  The supplemental bill provides funds for several state highway projects (matching funds for federal dollars) and $1 million to cover the trains’ operation.  The original budget passed late last year conditioned the last million dollars on Amtrak moving a maintenance facility into Michigan.  The legislature backed off this stance because the issue achieved high visibility and a continuing surge in ridership.  The supplemental bill also permits localities to put referendums in front of voters to approve new taxes to match federal transit dollars—particularly important for the proposed Detroit-Ann Arbor project.

Albany, Oregon dedicated its newly refurbished depot on Tuesday. The project restored the station from a dilapidated state to a “real showplace for Albany,” according to Guy Mayes, the city engineer of Albany.  Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) was instrumental in obtaining the $9.4 million in federal funds for the project.  Albany Mayor Chuck McLaran presented DeFazio with a key to the city as a token of appreciation.

Ridership on the Downeaster (Boston-Portland, ME) is hitting all-time highs, thanks to all-time high gas prices.  Ridership for the second quarter of fiscal 2006—traditionally a slow period for the train—is up 35% over the same time period last year.  The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority told the Associated Press that it attributes the increased ridership, “to the high price of gas, shortened trips to Boston and the Downeaster becoming recognized as a dependable way to travel. It rates near the top of Amtrak trains for on-time service.”

Speaking of surging gasoline prices—and train ridership—the price of light, sweet crude oil (for June) hit a new record today, peaking at $75.35 a barrel before settling at $75.17.  AP noted, however, that, “accounting for inflation, prices are still about 20% below the records reached about 25 years ago.”

NARP Assistant Director David Johnson took part in a panel discussion at the 30th annual TransAction Conference in New Jersey on April 11 of the Northeast Corridor’s future along with Martin Robbins of the Voorhees Transportation Center and former DOT Under Secretary of Transportation Emil Frankel.  While Johnson and Robbins focused as requested on the panel topic, Frankel—who now works for PB Consultants—sounded like he still worked for DOT.  He took a swipe at Amtrak’s long distance train network.  He played the “geography card,” asking his New Jersey audience to consider the “wonders” that could be done for “the infrastructure in the Northeast Corridor” if funds now used to support long-distance trains could be diverted to the Northeast.  He waved around a Washington Post editorial published after Gunn’s firing which was critical of the long distance trains.

He ridiculed on-time performance problems of Amtrak’s Florida trains, but supporting eliminating them rather than fixing the rail capacity problem.  When NARP Director Al Papp, in the audience, brought up the need for more investment in rail capacity, Frankel acknowledged that the capacity problem is a real issue. 

Record heavy rains in the Pacific Northwest continue and another mudslide occurred this week between Seattle and Everett, resulting in cancellation of Cascades service and requiring the Empire Builder to originate in Everett.

Amtrak’s Spring/Summer timetable takes effect on Monday. As discussed last week, there are no major changes in the new timetable.  Three new Thruway buses are being inaugurated in the west: an overnight Santa Barbara-San Francisco bus (previously discussed) and an extension of Sacramento-Redding service to Medford, Oregon; and a new connection to the Southwest Chief at Riverside from Hemet, Sun City, Perris, and Moreno Valley.

An interactive Amtrak route map is now online at Amtrak’s website.  You can zoom and pan across the country and choose a routing to be “drawn” on the screen.  Directions for using the site are located at the link provided above.

The NARP Board of Directors meets next Thursday-Saturday (April 27-29) here in Washington, D.C.  NARP will also hold its Annual Congressional Reception on Thursday evening.  The Golden Spike Award will be presented to Senators Trent Lott (R-MS), Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), Congressman Steve LaTourette (R-OH), and Congresswoman Corrine Brown (D-FL).  In addition, the Dr. Gary Burch Memorial Safety Award will be presented to Lanny Wilson, M.D. of Hillsdale, Illinois.