National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org

Hotline #544

Both houses of Congress passed their Fiscal 2009 budget resolutions this week.  While nonbinding, the resolutions provide a framework as the budget debate moves forward.  The Senate Budget Resolution approved on a 51-44 vote early this morning includes $1.8 billion for Amtrak plus $250 million to match state investments in intercity passenger train programs.  The House resolution, approved Thursday 212-207, normally does not specify funding levels for specific programs.

The Senate confirmed two of President Bush’s three nominations to the Amtrak Board yesterday.  Nancy A. Naples and Thomas C. Carper will each serve terms of five years.  The nomination of Denver Stutler, Jr. was not considered.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) held a forum on infrastructure on Wednesday.  She announced at a press conference that she is interested in legislation that would create a national infrastructure bank.  House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) has said that he will draft a proposal to meet the Speaker’s request when Congress reconvenes after recess, which runs from this weekend to the end of the month.

During Congressional recess, members of the House and Senate will be in their home districts.  Be sure to attend any town hall meetings they hold and let them know that increased investment in passenger trains is important to you!  Click here to visit our Action Alert center.

Rail industry stakeholders descended on Capitol Hill on Thursday for Railroad Day 2008 to promote strong roles for freight and passenger trains in our national transportation system.  NARP participated and called on Congress to support a legislative agenda that would promote balanced transportation by increasing investment in rail.

The National Research Council predicts that global climate change will have a “significant impact” on the infrastructure and operations of transportation systems in the US, according to a report released this week by a committee assembled through the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the Division on Earth and Life Studies (DELS).  According to the press release, “Preparing for projected climate changes will be costly…  The committee noted the need for “a more strategic, risk-based approach to investment decisions that trades off the costs of making the infrastructure more robust against the economic costs of failure.”  In the future, climate changes in some areas may necessitate permanent alterations.  For example, roads, rail lines, and airport runways in low-lying coastal areas may become casualties of sea-level rise, requiring relocations or expensive protective measures, such as sea walls and levees.”  However, impacts of weather events such as extreme heat or flooding could extend beyond coastal areas.

The American Public Transportation Association released a study this week quantifying the energy savings of transit usage, both directly and through more efficient land use.  “Broadening the Connection between Public Transportation and Energy Conservation” notes that, “Communities who choose to invest in public transportation reduce the nation’s carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons annually- equivalent to the electricity used by 4.9 million households.  To achieve a similar reduction in carbon emissions, every household in New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Denver and Los Angeles combined would have to completely stop using electricity.  This “leverage effect” of public transportation, supporting efficient land use patterns saves 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline – more than three times the amount of gasoline refined from the oil we import from Kuwait.”

The US Public Interest Research Group also released a report this week examining the broader benefits of public investment in rail and transit.  “A Better Way to Go” examines the specific impacts of development of alternate modes of transportation across the country.

Amtrak and ten of its unions ratified their tentative agreements reached in January, Amtrak announced on Monday, after employees voted to accept the respective agreements.

Amtrak has disbanded its Planning and Analysis department.  Amtrak President Alex Kummant announced to employees this week that the former department’s employees have been distributed between four other departments: Finance, Marketing and Product Management, Transportation, and Strategic Partnerships and Business Development.

Canadian National continues its attempts to convince stakeholders that its purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad in Chicago will not negatively impact Amtrak service on the St. Charles Air Line that CN would eventually plan to abandon.  In a letter to Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL), CN President and CEO E. Hunter Harrison said, “To remove any uncertainty for Amtrak about the maintenance costs for which they would be responsible after CN ceases freight operations on the line, I agreed during our meeting to cap the costs to Amtrak for maintaining this line at the current level, indexed for inflation in future years.”  In a statement, Sen. Durbin urged Harrison to take additional steps:  “First, CN must allow Amtrak’s continued use of the Air Line Route at no additional cost until the Grand Crossing Route is complete to avoid undue taxpayer burden for this service.  Second, CN must commit to funding the Grand Crossing Route construction to ensure the continued success of Amtrak service in and out of Chicago.”

OnTrack, the former commuter train service in Syracuse, NY, has discontinued its last remaining service.  While DMU commuter service, which had started in 1994, was discontinued last year, the Orange Express specials continued to operate to the Carrier Dome for Syracuse University and other events.  Parent company New York, Susquehanna, & Western will sell its OnTrack assets if no other entities come forward with operating assistance.

Sprinter diesel light rail service in Northern San Diego County finally began revenue service on Sunday between Oceanside and Escondido after months of delays and technical issues.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) announced $394 million in funding for transit projects, using funds raised by Proposition 1B bonds that voters passed in November, 2006.  Much of the funding goes to rail transit projects and to Amtrak station improvements; you may view the complete list of funding awards in the press release.

Northbound Amtrak Silver Star train 92 will depart Miami at 9:50 AM from March 17 to May 8, two hours earlier than normal, to accommodate CSX trackwork between Sanford and Jacksonville.  Scheduled times north of Jacksonville will remain the same to maintain a consistent operating pattern on the CSX, so the train may hold in Jacksonville for up to two hours.  On Mondays through Thursdays, April 8 to May 8, the train will skip Tampa and Lakeland (with motorcoach service provided), causing additional layovers in Jacksonville of up to four hours.

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service will be cut back on weekends between April 12 and May 4 to accommodate bridge maintenance north of Oceanside and replacements of grade crossings.  A reduced schedule will be operated north of Irvine, with bus service south of Irvine.  On Fridays, trains 595 and 796 will be protected by buses between Los Angeles and San Diego.

A Union Pacific freight train derailed in Crockett, CA on Sunday, disrupting Amtrak service in the Bay Area.  Coast Starlight train 14 terminated in Oakland and train 11 originated there on Monday, with passengers bussed to and from Sacramento.  Capitol Corridor trains operated with a bus bridge between Richmond and Martinez through most of the day.  San Joaquin trains detoured over Richmond Pacific shortline and BNSF trackage between Richmond and Port Chicago, missing the Richmond and Martinez stops.  California Zephyr train 6 detoured between Emeryville and Sacramento via Altamont Pass, with Martinez and Davis passengers bussed to Sacramento.  Passengers reported that Amtrak and its host railroad partners handled the disruption professionally and that the bus substitutions and detours were executed efficiently given the circumstances.  NARP thanked the railroads for their good work.

Thousands of Amtrak and New Jersey Transit passengers were delayed Monday morning after an Amtrak signal malfunction near Newark.  NJT made additional stops at Secaucus Junction to serve passengers waiting for delayed trains with trains unaffected by the outage.

Amtrak Acela Express train 2154 struck and killed contract track inspector Gary Graves in Providence, RI yesterday.  Two other workers (another contractor and an Amtrak employee) were seriously injured.  Amtrak and MBTA service was suspended for two and a half hours.  The National Transportation Safety Board has begun an investigation.

Amtrak Police officer James Bullard was shot in the foot on Sunday after struggling with a disorderly customer at the McDonald’s in Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station.  Bullard suffered broken bones and was listed in stable condition.  The woman who shot him with his own gun has been charged with attempted murder and other charges.

Ed Leight, a NARP Board Member from 1992 to 2002, died on February 13, 2008; he was 88.

His interest in passenger rail started in the early 1940s when working for the Illinois Central at Chicago Union Station, and he was responsible for bringing the last minute mail bags to the outgoing passenger trains.  This experience although short led to a life long love of trains and resulted in his becoming an involved rail advocate.

Ed brought his conscientiousness, skills, and ever-present humor to his work as a Board Member of ProRail, Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers, and NARP Region 7.  He served ProRail as Treasurer and as President for a time.  He wrote a regular column for Badger Rails, and called in live reports from NARP Washington meetings to the Saturday morning ProRail membership meeting in Madison.

Ed and Elaine’s children, Jennifer Schmidt and Steve Leight, wrote a two-page story about their father and handed this out to those at Ed’s Memorial Service on February 19 in Madison, WI.

Here is an excerpt:

“Our lives were filled with Dad’s passion for trains.  He would spend many hours creating his model railroad in the basement of the house (always having time to share and teach about what he was doing) and planning our summer vacations.  All year we would wait in anticipation of going on our two week vacation that Dad had been planning.  In 1976 our first trip out of state led us to Florida and Disney World by train.

“Vacations to follow were to different places throughout the United State by Amtrak and also to Canada on VIA rail; from touring cities, staying in lodges, and traveling to the top of Pike’s Peak in Colorado to dipping our toes in both oceans.  Dad always had his camera in hand and two rolls of film in Mom’s purse so that he could take photo after photo.  His favorite pose for the family was at the dinner table in the dining car on the train.  His knees would shake on purpose as he’d try to get us all into the shot and we can still hear Mom’s harping at him to finally take the picture.”

A memorial plaque for late NARP Board Member Robert “Lord Mayor” Conheim will be dedicated tonight at the Auburn, CA Amtrak station.  Conheim passed away on July 15, 2007.  Funds for the plaque were raised by members of the Capitol Corridor CC Riders group, which Conheim originally organized.  The dedication will happen at 6:30 PM PDT, or upon the arrival of train 536.

An extra benefit of NARP membership: the Special Edition of The International Railway Traveler’s “The IRT Society’s Best-Loved Railway Journeys 2008,” available to all active NARP members free of charge through July 31, 2008.  The 52-page, all-color booklet includes detailed descriptions of the World’s Top 25 Trains, as deemed by the editors, writers and members of the Society (itself 25 years old this year).  NARP members should write or email name, address and NARP membership number to: NARP Offer, The Society of International Railway Travelers, 2010 Edgeland Ave., Suite 100, Louisville, KY 40204; phone (502) 454-0277; email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); web site: www.irtsociety.com.

NARP regional meetings continue tomorrow;  Region 4 meets in Baltimore, Region 6 meets in Toledo, and Region 10 meets in Omaha.  On Saturday, March 29, Region 7 meets in Milwaukee.