National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org

Hotline #464

This is the last full week for legislators to be in their home districts for August recess.  Speak out in support of Amtrak, and S.1516 in particular.  Go to our Action Alert page for more information.

On August 21, 2006, Robert L. Sumwalt was sworn in as Vice Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, where he will serve until December 31, 2011.  Prior to his service with the NTSB, Mr. Sumwalt was the Manager of Aviation for the SCANA Corporation, a Fortune 500 company. He has also worked in a variety of positions for U.S. Airways, including airline check airman, instructor pilot and air safety representative.  A trained accident investigator, Mr. Sumwalt has spent a significant portion of his career focusing on aviation safety and security.  Besides serving as a member of the Air Line Pilot’s Association’s Accident Investigation Board, he has conducted aviation safety research as a consultant to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System.

The push for passenger rail service in Tulsa, OK is heating up. As highways become more congested and airline security lines grow even longer due to security threats, Tulsa councilman Rick Westcott believes that Tulsa should invest in passenger rail service.  Westcott, a Republican, made a presentation to the Tulsa City Council this week in support of a resolution requesting the Oklahoma Legislature try to join Missouri in a federal Amtrak expansion study.  The resolution was approved.  Wescott said, ‘We need to see what the cost is, what the benefits would be and what the public wants to do. I think the timing is right to really go after this.”  The Missouri Department of Transportation recently requested Amtrak look at extending service from St. Louis to Springfield, Wescott also wants the study to explore extending the service to Tulsa.  Tulsa is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the country without passenger rail service. 

The Triangle Transit Authority is ready to stop the planning process on its proposed Raleigh-Durham regional rail line; $140 million has already been spent on the planned 28-mile route.  In response to a recommendation from General Manager John Claflin, the Triangle Transit Authority is asking the Federal Transit Administration to remove the project from FTA’s New Starts process, due to recent changes in the federal “cost-effectiveness” formula.  The project which is estimated to cost upwards of $630 million has faced numerous obstacles including the rising cost of steel and concrete.  In order to finish this project, the Triangle Transit Authority will explore other funding options, including public-private partnerships.  The authority also has the option of rejoining the FTA’s new starts process.  Over 90% of the land needed to complete the project has been acquired, and all of the design and engineering plans have been completed.  Under an agreement with FTA, the land will be held by the Triangle Transportation Authority for future transit use.

As the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in New Orleans approaches, federal officials and Amtrak are working together to ensure that citizens are not stranded in the city during this year’s hurricane season.  Amtrak’s offer to help evacuate citizens fell on deaf ears last year as the last passenger train departed the city nearly empty.  Cox News Service reported this week that under a $700,000 contract, Amtrak has refurbished 24 out-of-service railcars and brought them to the New Orleans train station, where they are on standby for this year’s hurricane season.  This agreement was put into action and financed by FEMA’s new evacuation plan; a single train can take as many as 1,600 people out of the hurricane’s path of destruction.  The Transportation Department also has a contract with Dallas-based Coach America for $33 million to keep 200 buses in the Gulf Coast region prepared for immediate rescue needs. 

The Richmond Times Dispatch is reporting that Amtrak may be considering elimination of one of the two round trips between Washington and Newport News, VA with the October timetable change.  Virginians For High Speed (and NARP) strongly oppose any curtailment of services, especially in light of the upcoming 400th anniversary of Jamestown, which will bring millions of visitors to the Williamsburg-Yorktown-Jamestown triangle over the next year and a half.  An Amtrak spokesman said that elimination of one of the two round trips is a “possibility that we’re looking at. But it’s not a done deal.”

The owner of New London Union Station is threatening to evict Amtrak and Greyhound if the City does not step in and provide financial assistance.  Todd O’Donnell bought Union Station in June 2002 and refurbished the building.  However, the anticipated office tenants have not materialized. “We did not ask for any grants or tax breaks,” O’Donnell said.  It appears that the State and other local officials are willing to work with O’Donnell on a solution.

Paul Lundberg has stepped down as General Manager of Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad. He was responsible for the management and operation of commuter rail in eastern Massachusetts.  Complaints about MBCR’s management of MBTA commuter rail, which they took over from Amtrak in 2002, have increased dramatically since an influx of passengers hit the system after parts of the Big Dig tunnel under downtown Boston were closed.  MBCR is facing other challenges besides the Big Dig: an ever-aging fleet and the pending opening of the Greenbush Line, which will increase daily locomotive and passenger car in-service requirements.

Citing security concerns, the Union Pacific railroad has banned photography from Chicago-area Metra commuter rail stations along its routes.  The Railroad Club of Chicago blasted the ban, saying, “UP is targeting those who are most likely to observe, and report something out of the ordinary… This ban conflicts with the policy of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad, which at the same time is recruiting, registering and encouraging rail fans ‘to report suspicious activities, trespassers or individuals’ to BNSF’s Resources Operations Command Center.”  The club also points out that bans enacted in Baltimore and New York have been withdrawn after legal protest.

Service between New York and Boston was disrupted on Wednesday when an automotive shop in the Bronx caught fire.  Some trains were returned to Penn Station to wait for open track, while southbound passengers were offered transportation on Metro-North Railroad to Grand Central Terminal.

VIA Rail Canada will begin selling a monthly commutation pass with a twist: users will get an income tax credit.  The program is in response to recent changes in the Canadian tax code which makes those who use public transportation on a daily basis eligible for a tax break.  Users will be eligible for a credit of 15.25% of the value of their pass.