National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org

Hotline #463

It still appears likely that S. 1516, the bipartisan Amtrak Reauthorization bill, will come to the Senate floor after the August recess.  Let your Senators know that you want them to vote yes on S. 1516!  Go to our Action Alert page for more information.

This past week, Amtrak experienced a sharp increase in the number of passengers traveling by rail, due to the foiled air terror plot in Great Britain.  As ticket and security lines continued to grow due to flight cancellations and new screening procedures, many travelers began to seek alternatives to flying.  According to Amtrak, calls to their toll-free reservations line reservations line rose 14% and reservations overall were up 26% (on Thursday, August 10), as travelers explored other travel options.  While Amtrak does not extensively screen luggage or require passengers to arrive hours before their scheduled departure time, they have deployed more police officers and are conducting additional on-board verifications of identification.  NARP Assistant Director David Johnson told Reuters, “Americans certainly are looking for other options and a choice to do something else for their method of transportation…America needs passenger rail, and the American public is demanding it.”

Amtrak temporarily shut down the Northeast Corridor between Newark and New York on Wednesday after an unidentified substance was found leaking near tracks on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River Tunnel.  Service was halted around 3:30 and restored around 4:30.  An investigation revealed that the substance was hydraulic fuel that had fallen off a work train on nearby tracks.  A spokesman for New Jersey Transit said that service was back to normal around 6 p.m.

The New York State Senate’s Task Force on High Speed Rail is moving along with its plans to consolidate control of the rail corridor between Schenectady and Poughkeepsie.  The task force is in the process of seeking bids for a study on the most practical way for the state to acquire the facilities and right-of-way between the two cities from CSX.  In January when the task force released its’ recommendation on how to speed up passenger rail between Albany and New York City, unifying the operations along the Empire Corridor was chosen as the best option.  Currently, CSX owns the track that Amtrak operates its’ passenger trains on between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady.  The Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Metro North commuter rail service owns the track from Poughkeepsie south to the Bronx.  Finally, Amtrak owns the track from the Bronx south to Penn Station in Manhattan.  Officials believe that both passenger and freight rail will be better off under the control of one entity.  According to the task force, the cost of the study is expected to range between $350,000 and $650,000.  Even though the task force is moving ahead with the study, CSX has said it is not interested in selling its facilities or right-of-way.

Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor continues its impressive growth. On August 28, new frequencies will be inaugurated and several trains will be extended to San Jose.  The full schedule is available on the Capitol Corridor website.  In addition, a new Thruway bus service will be inaugurated between San Jose and Monterey, operated by Monterey-Salinas Transit.  Three buses will operate, timed to meet Capitol Corridor and CalTrains service.  The buses will also stop at Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Prunedale, Seaside, and Monterey.  A schedule is available on MST’s website.  Finally, the ACE commuter train service is adding another frequency between San Jose and Stockton; it will also serve the purpose of replacing a San Joaquin thruway bus.

St. Louis will open its Cross County light rail line on August 26 with several ribbon cutting ceremonies and free rides on the new line.  Full revenue service begins August 28.

The California Zephyr detour through Wyoming has been extended two additional weeks. The trains that originate in Chicago and Emeryville on August 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, and 24 will take the alternate route.  Additional bus service will be made available to Provo, Helper, Green River, Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Winter Park, and Granby; contact Amtrak for full details.

A temporary schedule is in place for the Pere Marquette to allow for CSX trackwork between Grand Rapids and Benton Harbor.  The westbound train will depart Grand Rapids an hour earlier and have 30 extra minutes of time in its schedule.  The eastbound train will still leave Chicago at 5:20pm, but also have 30 minutes added to its running time.  These changes are effective August 14 through September 7, but may be extended further.

There’s still time to sign up to participate in a team to promote each long distance train.  Many thanks to those who have already responded!  Read the full details of the project and how you can get involved.