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National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org
Hotline #603Tomorrow, Saturday, May 9th, is the second annual National Train Day. Amtrak will be sponsoring events at train stations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Local organizations will also be holding events at over a hundred locations across the country. For more information, see Amtrak’s National Train Day website. Amtrak will also be using the event to release their new discount codes for the spring. Possible daily service along the route of the Sunset Limited was the topic of a presentation by Amtrak Chief of Product Management Brian Rosenwald at a May 2 RailPAC/NARP meeting in Los Angeles, where Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman also spoke. Boardman, emphasizing the preliminary nature of the daily service concept, said it was a “new way of thinking, not an announcement.” He also said “we recognize the need to reconnect Florida (to the West).” The concept involves providing the maximum service possible without expanding the fleet of cars currently used by the New Orleans-Los Angeles Sunset Limited and the Chicago-San Antonio(-Los Angeles) Texas Eagle whose cars are conveyed in the Sunset west of San Antonio. Currently, the Chicago-San Antonio service is daily, while New Orleans-Los Angeles is tri-weekly. Under the proposal, there would be two separate, daily trains: a Chicago-San Antonio-Los Angeles full-service train, and a coach-and-lounge New Orleans-San Antonio connecting train. Chicago-Texas-Los Angeles is envisioned to depart Chicago at 4 PM, arrive Los Angeles around 7 AM. A connecting train would depart New Orleans around 10:30 am and arrive San Antonio 11:30 pm. Eastbound the big train would depart Los Angeles around 10:30 pm, and run on roughly the existing schedule from San Antonio to Chicago, arriving there just before 2pm. The connecting train would depart San Antonio around 7:30 am and arrive New Orleans around 8:20 pm. The proposed schedule would mean improved times at Maricopa, Tucson, San Antonio and Houston. There would be a full-service crew the entire run between Chicago and Los Angeles, and thus restoration of full breakfast service departing San Antonio northbound. Obviously the forced transfer at San Antonio is the downside. Amtrak’s Brian Rosenwald, who is spearheading the effort, told NARP that the proposed daily operation and rescheduling could be compatible with a restored transcontinental train. If sleeping-car demand proves stronger than expected, a through New Orleans-Los Angeles car could be restored next year after more out-of-service cars are reconditioned. Then, it would be a matter of scheduling a New Orleans-Florida service to be compatible with the Western schedule, i.e., depart New Orleans east in the late evening, and arrive New Orleans west by about 7 AM. However, the timeline for possible revision of New Orleans-West service is in less than a year, sooner than any New Orleans-East service would resume. Amtrak indicated in April 27 letters to interested parties that its Congressionally mandated task of creating a plan for restoration of New Orleans-Florida service has narrowed the options down to three: restoration of the extended Sunset as it existed, before Amtrak’s use of Katrina as a pretext for discontinuing New Orleans-East; a daily, free-standing New Orleans-Orlando train; an extension of daily Chicago-New Orleans City of New Orleans to Orlando. The plan is due July 17 and the law requires Amtrak “in developing the plan… [to] consult with representatives from the States of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, railroad carriers whose tracks may be used for such service, rail passengers, rail labor, and other entities as appropriate” (section 226 of Division A of the Rail Safety/Amtrak law enacted in October, 2008). The White House its detailed federal budget for fiscal 2010 on May 7. Amtrak would get $1.502 billion for Amtrak, a miniscule increase from the $1.49 billion in regular fiscal 2009 funding. Amtrak has sought “$1.84 billion plus.” (“Plus” refers to $144 million “below the line” in extra ADA station work funds, money Amtrak said it needs but did not formally request, similar to how Amtrak handled labor back pay a year ago. Such “sotto voce” requests do not go down well on Capitol Hill.) Fortunately, there’s still time to pressCongress to fully fund Amtrak’s full request. On the plus side, the budget makes good on the President’s promise to deliver first annual $1 billion for high-speed rail. Perhaps the most significant feature of the transportation is the virtual abandonment of user fees to fund highways, a result of continuing increases in highway spending and the failure to increase revenues earmarked for transportation. Indeed, gasoline tax revenues have fallen, and a May 6 federal report showed U.S. gasoline demand down 0.9% compared with the same period a year ago. The federal highways obligation limit would rise from $40.7 billion in Fiscal 2009 to $41.1 billion in 2010. But the general fund contribution would rise from zero to $36.1 billion while the “user-fee based” Highway Trust Fund contribution would drop precipitously from $40.7 billion to $5 billion. Similarly, the transit formula and bus grants, which have been mostly “trust funded” would rise from $8.261 billion to $8.343 billion in 2010, with $3.3 billion of the latter coming from general funds. At Washington Union Station, Amtrak—effective Monday, May 11—will end ticket sales five minutes before train time and close the gates two minutes before train time. Quik-Trak machines will not be affected, so in theory one could purchase a ticket from the machine three minutes before departure and still get on. The other two stations with such policies, Chicago and Denver, cease ticket sales 10 minutes before departure and close the gates at five minutes. New York’s state leadership reached a last-minute agreement on Tuesday night to save New York City’s passengers from drastic cuts in service and significant fare hikes. The Metropolitan Transit Authority’s proposed cost-saving changes would have included a 30% increase in fares for the subway, commuter rail, and the monthly MetroCard; the elimination of almost 30 bus routes; fewer trains and buses on remaining lines; and the overnight shut-down of certain stations. The new deal will also fund two years of MTA’s five-year capital program, providing for much-needed infrastructure maintenance and upgrades. “We have rescued this system from the brink of the abyss” Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/05/05/2009-05-05_mta_doomsday_scenario_averted_as_gov_paterson_legislature_reach_deal.html” title=“told the New York Daily News”>told the New York Daily News. The deal, which passed the legislature late Wednesday, includes, among other things, a 10% fare hike, an employer-paid payroll tax, a 50-cent surcharge on taxi rides. A coalition of Democrats successfully opposed the inclusion of bridge-tolls as a prerequisite for their support; the democratically controlled state Senate required all 32 members of their caucus to pass the legislation in the face of unified Republican opposition. “This has been very difficult for the commuters of the MTA region,” Governor David Paterson said. “We can assure them this evening there will be no surprises. There will be no further cuts or fears about fare hikes or toll increases.” Hopes for a successful outcome to the effort to set Florida’s SunRail project in motion this year were dealt a mortal blow on the floor of the State Senate last Thursday. The first setback to the proposed 61 mile line from suburban DeBary south to downtown Orlando was a 23-17 vote the Senate floor, defeating a $200 million insurance policy for SunRail on. A second, supporting amendment was subsequently withdrawn. Opponents have focused their criticism not on the train itself, but the deal the state arrived at with CSX Corp, which owns the track and right of way. They argued that the agreement had the potential to cost the state too much money should an accident occur. “I like the project,” Senator Mike Bennett (R-Bradenton) told the Orlando Sentinel, “I just don’t like the deal.” The state of Florida stands to lose out on the $307 million secured for the SunRail project by U.S. Representatives Corrine Brown (D-Jacksonville) and John Mica (R-Winter Park)—$27 million of which has already been spent to purchase station land and equipment. “That would be the most phenomenal loss of transportation money,” Mica said in a previous interview with the Orlando Sentinel. The project was harmed by negative media coverage including quotes from a Government Accountability Office review of the liability deal. Also, as NARP Council Member (and South Division leader) Jackson McQuigg put it, “The Lakeland opposition successfully sold their local residents that this deal meant commuter trains for Orlando and nothing but more freight trains for Lakeland. TBARTA in Tampa [the transit agency] and SunRail, separated by 30 miles or so, weren’t talking to one another about rail plans because neither agency represents eastern Polk County—the county in which Lakeland resides. ..There are also plenty of Florida conservatives in the Legislature who are anti-passenger rail. Period. They came out in force.” A corollary of the failed SunRail deal is the loss of a proposed rental-car surcharge to fund Tri-Rail—included in the deal to gain support from South Floridian Democrats—which stood to net Tri-Rail an estimated $180 million over the next five years. If funding isn’t found, the commuter rail line may have to cut the number of weekday trains to 30 from the current 50 at the start of FY2010, eliminate all weekend and holiday service, and lay off 150 of its 300 workers. Even that would only ensure another 18 months of service, after which Tri-Rail would shut down completely. Both Tri-Rail’s leadership and state legislators have signaled that they intend to work together to find a dedicated source of funding for the regional rail line, which has broken numerous ridership records in the last few years. “Lawmakers made it clear that they weren’t out to sink Tri-Rail,” Joseph Giulietti, Tri-Rail’s executive director told the South Florida Sun Central. “They just didn’t like the Central Florida rail project.” Ohio’s rail planners have announced their favored route for the planned 3C line, and have made clear their intentions to favor speed and simplicity over size and reach. The proposed route detailed in reports released Monday would bypass possible connections to Akron and would terminate at a new station in Cincinnati instead of the city’s venerable Union Station—which Executive Director of Ohio’s Rail Development Commission, Matthew R. Dietrich, recently told the Columbus Dispatch was “the most impressive rail complex still standing in Ohio.” Choosing this route—one of 33 that Amtrak is currently studying—would avoid congestion, reduce the costs of purchasing land and rebuilding derelict lines, and minimize “hand-offs” among rail line. This will hopefully allow the train to traverse the entire Cleveland to Cincinnati route in under six hours. The Amtrak study won’t be completed until the end of summer. A new government study has identified more than one-third of the trains, equipment, and facilities at the nation’s seven largest rail transit agencies as nearing or beyond the end of their useful life. The study, performed by the Federal Transit Administration, puts the price tag to restoring the rail transit infrastructure of those seven systems to a state of good repair at $50 billion; an additional $5.9 billion a year will be needed maintain them after that refurbishment is completed. The rail transit agencies studied are in Chicago, Boston, New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., serve more than 3 billion passengers a year (or 80% of American rail transit passengers), and are among the nation’s oldest. “In a period of rising congestion and fuel prices, these services and the infrastructure and rolling stock that support them, are critical to the transportation needs and quality of life of the communities they serve,” the report said. “At the same time, this infrastructure is aging and the level of reinvestment appears insufficient to address a growing backlog of deferred investment needs.” One of the problems has been that as interest in rail transit has increased, and the number of rail transit systems nationwide has multiplied, these seven largest systems have received a smaller percentage of the total federal transit funds—70% today, as compared to 90% in 1993. The report comes during the drafting of the new surface transportation bill; Rep. Jim Oberstar, Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, hopes to have the markup completed by early this summer. William Millar, President of the American Public Transportation Association, says that now is the time to address what is clearly an insufficient level of public investment. “We don’t need another report” Millar told the Associated Press, “we need greater funding.”
The Oregon city, a long-time leader in demonstrating the potential for light rail as a catalyst for community enhancement, recently received NARP’s Tracks to the Future Leadership Award. “This streetcar project will not only offer Portland residents additional options for getting around, but will also spur economic development along the line and create opportunities for employment,” U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood said in a prepared statement. The Maryland Transit Administration introduced the first of its new fleet of diesel locomotives at a news conference held by Governor Martin O’Malley at Camden Station on Wednesday. The 26 engine, $100 million fleet will be filtering into operations at the rate of one or two a month, and is scheduled to be fully in service by the summer of 2010. This should be a boon for the agency, which has struggled with equipment malfunctions. One of the engines, named after Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), will be displayed at Washington Union Station for National Train Day tomorrow. MTA spokeswoman Jawauna Greene http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/bal-marc-trains0505,0,1038289.story” title=“Baltimore Sun”>told the Baltimore Sun that the new diesel engines will have more horsepower, allowing them to pull a longer train, and will burn low sulfur diesel, cutting down on the pollutants which they emit. Astrid Glynn, Commissioner for the New York State Department of Transportation, submitted her resignation to Governor Patterson on Monday; it will take effect May 8th. The move comes at a crucial time in the distribution of federal stimulus funds. A permanent replacement has not been announced by Governor Patterson. First Deputy Commissioner Stanley Gee is slated to fill the role of acting commissioner in the meantime.
“For over 75 years, Rail Europe has provided North American travelers access to the most romantic and truly European method of travel,” Frederic Langlois, president of Rail Europe, told USA Today. “We all know train travel as convenient, cost-efficient and eco-friendly… Once on board, you can leave behind the stress of everyday life, sit back, relax and enjoy the view from your train window.” The offer, available while supplies last, is only available online, and is good six months from the date of purchase.
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