National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org

Hotline #461

Both the House and Senate are now on August recess (the Senate having stayed this week).  Most Members will be having town hall meetings and other types of public events this month.  Be sure to attend, and make your views about passenger rail clear!  Go to our Action Alert Center for the specific details you need to make your voice heard.

The Senate has approved the nomination of Charles D. Nottingham to be a member of the Surface Transportation Board.  Nottingham will become the Chairman.

Two good pieces of news from the State of Florida; both concern a deal agreed to this week between CSX Transportation and the State.  First, commuter rail in Orlando will become a reality as early as 2009, with the first 32 mile segment between Volusia County and downtown Orlando.  This will be important, as parallel Interstate 4 is scheduled for a major reconstruction in 2010.  The full system will be nearly 60 miles in length and extend from Volusia south to Kissimmee, with tie-ins to the major theme parks in the area.  The second part of the deal is that Tri-Rail, the Miami-West Palm Beach commuter rail operator, will take over dispatching and maintenance responsibility for its entire route.  Freight train interference has long been a hindrance to Tri-Rail’s growth.

A massive heat wave covered much of the country this week.  Temperatures in Washington, D.C. topped out at 102 degrees on Wednesday.  The extreme heat delayed many passenger trains: most railroads instituted reduced speeds to prevent and check for “sun kinks” and other heat-induced track and catenary problems.  No power outages were reported on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, although commercial electrical grids nationwide nearly reached breaking points.

The New Jersey Transit Board of Directors has approved a contract for the preliminary engineering for the Access to the Regions Core program, specifically, the two new tunnels under the Hudson River.  The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has also committed $2 billion overall to the project.  The Board also awarded a preliminary engineering contract to study the Portal Drawbridge on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor between Newark and Secaucus Transfer.  The 96-year old bridge is in dire need of upgrade or replacement.  Its last failure on July 26 caused the cancellation of 20 rush-hour trains.

The Sunset Limited remains in limbo east of New Orleans, with service return uncertain.  The Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers is engaging in a grass-roots effort to mobilize local elected officials along the train’s route, primarily along the Florida Panhandle.  Anyone interested in assisting FCRP can visit their website for more information.  Last week, FCRP Vice President Jason Sanford taped a radio interview to be aired in Panama City, FL regarding the Sunset Limited service and efforts to bring it back.

The Train Riders Association of California held a news conference in Sacramento on Thursday, July 27 regarding the on-time performance of the Coast Starlight.  According to TRAC, “The Governor’s (Arnold Schwarzenegger-R) office had been passing off the lateness of the Coast Starlight as a federal issue outside of their concern.  TRAC brought the issue to the forefront by holding a major press conference at the Sacramento Amtrak Depot…”  The news conference was well attended by media (both print and broadcast) and rail supporters and received extensive media coverage.  NARP members in California are encouraged to contact Governor Schwarzenegger and tell him to pressure Union Pacific to improve the train’s performance.

Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad, the private consortium that took over operation of Boston’s MBTA commuter rail from Amtrak in 2003, has come under fire for poor service, late trains, and rude crews.  The renewed focus on MBCR’s problems comes even as need for the service increased due to road closures related to the Big Dig problems.  An emergency meeting was convened by MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas on July 27.  According to the Boston Globe, during the “heated meeting” Grabauskas “occasionally punctuated his complaints (to MBCR) with profanity.”  MBCR has pledged to improve service, the first step of which will be to get more locomotives back in operational condition.

Detroit Tigers fans will soon be able to take a train from Pontiac, Birmingham, and Royal Oak to Comerica Park.  The Ilitch family, who own the Tigers, is partnering with Amtrak and the Detroit DOT to bring fans to four Saturday night games in August and September.  The Foxtown Tigers Train will make use of existing Amtrak trains #355 and #354.  Passengers will transfer to a rubber-tired trolley at the Detroit Amtrak station to take them to Comerica Park.  The deal, which costs $29, includes a right field box seat, a food voucher for refreshments and air conditioned round-trip transportation.  About 100 tickets for each game are now available.  The games, all starting at 7:05 p.m., will be against the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Kansas City Royals. 

Amtrak and MARC commuter rail service at Harpers Ferry, WV, will be suspended from August 31 to September 14.  The long-overdue reconstruction of the station, funded by the National Park Service, is at a point that requires work on the platforms.  Due to the location of the station, a temporary boarding site is not practical.  No other stops on the line will be affected. 

Severe flooding in and around El Paso, TX, and the resulting freight train congestion, caused Amtrak to cancel two trips of the Sunset Limited.  At this writing, full service is expected to be restored with Sunday’s departures.

Most railroads employ police to ensure law and order on trains.  Not in India.  From the Associated Press: “India’s Delhi Metro has hired a monkey to frighten off other monkeys from boarding trains and upsetting passengers… authorities have called in one of the few animals known to scare the creatures — a fierce-looking primate called the langur, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported Wednesday.  The decision to hire a langurwallah—a man who trains and controls the langurs—came after a monkey got into a metro car June 9, the newspaper reported.  In that incident, a monkey boarded a train at the underground Chawri Bazaar station and reportedly scared passengers by scowling at them for three stops. It then disembarked at Civil Lines station.  Passengers had to be moved to another car while staff chased the dexterous creature, causing delays.”

The August issue of NARP News was uploaded to the members’ section of our website today. 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.