National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org

Hotline #546

The NARP Grow Trains Campaign and Vision Plan is now the centerpiece of our 2008 Action Alert flyer that you can copy and distribute!  We’re continuing to work to shift the conversation from cutting train service to growing it.  Click here to download and print the flyer.

NARP is pleased to announce events for National Train Day on Saturday, May 10 at Amtrak stations across the country.  More details will be added as they become available.

Missouri’s House of Representatives passed a state budget yesterday that reduces Amtrak operating assistance.  Current annual funding of $7.4 million would be cut to $4.5 million, rather than increased to $8 million as MoDOT has requested. 

MoDOT had joined Amtrak and Union Pacific officials and rail advocates on Monday in seeking $10.6 million in capital improvements (in addition to the operating funds).  If the Missouri Senate upholds the reduced funding, Amtrak would likely cut one of its two round-trips between St. Louis and Kansas City, and prospects for improving service reliability would diminish.

The owners of Madison Square Garden have announced that they will renovate the arena atop New York’s Penn Station (former site of the original Penn Station building).  They had originally expressed interest in relocating across the street as part of the Moynihan Station redevelopment project.  News sources are now categorizing the entire project as being in jeopardy.  Amtrak has asked the Garden owners to resume negotiation with the myriad public and private interests involved in the project.

Lancaster, PA County Commissioners approved $400,000 this week to match federal and state funds for a $12 million renovation of the Lancaster Amtrak station.  Work will begin this fall and should wrap up by 2010.

Vermont’s Agency of Transportation will attempt to revive negotiations with Colorado Railcar to purchase diesel multiple unit trainsets for state-subsidized Amtrak routes.  Talks had fallen through last fall over contract terms.

According to a recent poll by Minnesota 2020, Minnesotans strongly support passenger trains.  The group notes, “Nearly three-quarters of respondents agreed that ‘the state should be exploring more ways to expand and promote regional rail services as a means of affordable and efficient transportation.’ In the [Twin Cities] area, 74% gave that a thumbs-up. But support was nearly as widespread outstate, with 69% in agreement.  These strong findings should lend impetus to efforts to launch not only new rail and bus rapid transit lines in the Twin Cities, but also passenger rail lines from the Twin Cities to Duluth, Rochester, Willmar and Chicago.”

It appears that Amtrak is expecting to restore full-service Coast Starlight service by April 21.  There is a good chance that the Union Pacific’s line over Willamette Pass will be open by then.  In case it is not, Amtrak is studying operation of full-service trains between Los Angeles and Klamath Falls, Oregon, which would eliminate the long, overnight portion of the bus bridge.  Since last month, Amtrak has operated a bus bridge between Portland and Sacramento, connecting with a coach-only Sacramento-Los Angeles train.

Amtrak began $10 million in repairs to the Hell Gate Bridge in Astoria, Queens, NY on Tuesday.  The project had been delayed since 2006 due to contract procurement issues.

Amtrak’s Southwest Chief Thruway connection to/from Denver will once again resume operations out of Raton instead of Albuquerque, effective April 1.  This reduces travel time from over eight hours to about four hours.  The previous passenger-unfriendly routing has been in effect since November.

Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor will operate on a modified schedule this weekend due to Union Pacific trackwork.  Please check the Capitol Corridor web site for more details.

A loaded centerbeam freight car rolled three miles from a lumber yard at Canton Junction, MA striking MBTA Stoughton Line train 917 on Wednesday afternoon on the Northeast Corridor mainline.  Half of the 300-plus passengers and crew were injured, with mostly minor injuries.  Amtrak and MBTA suffered delays of two hours or more.  The Boston Globe reported that the crash “occurred five minutes after an employee at a Stoughton lumber yard called police, warning that the freight car had gained access to the commuter rail tracks and that any approaching train should be stopped.”

Two Long Island Rail Road trains side-swiped at a low speed at Jamaica Station at about 10 AM on Wednesday morning.  FDNY officials said there may have been minor injuries.  Cancellations and minor residual delays carried into the early afternoon.

Numerous Amtrak trains were annulled or delayed south of Washington, DC on Thursday after a CSX freight train derailed just north of Amtrak’s Richmond Staples Mill station.  Regional trains 84, 86, and 94 were cancelled south of Washington, Carolinian trains 79 and 80 were cancelled between Washington and Raleigh, and Palmetto trains 89 and 90 were cancelled entirely; Amtrak did not provide alternative transportation in any of the above cases.  Northbound Silver Meteor train 98 passengers were bussed from Richmond.  The Auto Train incurred severe delays.

Thousands of Amtrak and New Jersey Transit passengers were delayed on Wednesday after Amtrak suffered low-voltage conditions on Northeast Corridor catenary systems south of New York.  Trains were delayed up to two hours.

Boston-New York Amtrak service will cease from Sat., June 14 to Tues., June 17, except for a single schedule via Springfield which includes use of the Lake Shore Ltd. and changing trains at Springfield.  NARP has expressed concern to Amtrak over its near-total abandonment of this key market for four days, with no plans for through cars via Springfield or any kind of bus bridge, such as Boston-Hartford or New Haven-Providence.

NARP regional meetings continue tomorrow with Region 7 in Milwaukee.  The final meeting of the season, Region 12, will take place in Sacramento on April 19.

The April issue of NARP News has been uploaded to the members’ section of our web site.  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.