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House Subcommittee Considers Expanding Passenger Train Service at Pittsburgh Hearing
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
NARP Council Member Kenneth Joseph reports on the hearing at which he testified.
The Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee held a field hearing in Pittsburgh on June 22. I was one of the witnesses, testifying on behalf of NARP. Click here for information about the hearing and copies of all witnesses’ testimony, including mine.
Alongside me at the witness table was Henry Posner III, Chairman, Railroad Development Corporation. RDC owns Iowa Interstate but also runs some passenger trains abroad. This caused Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA), the subcommittee’s top Republican to remark, “I’m glad to know someone can run passenger trains at a profit,” a subject that seemed important to him. Posner submitted as testimony his recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed column arguing for public-private partnership to invest in expanding track capacity on the Norfolk Southern Harrisburg-Pittsburgh mainline to permit introduction of much faster, more frequent passenger train service.
I endorsed this in my statement, while also urging a more immediate action—reinstatement of the Three Rivers to give Pennsylvanians a second schedule choice across their state and direct, daily service between Philadelphia, other Pennsylvania points and Chicago.
Maglev got more attention in this hearing than it deserved. At least three times, Dr. Fred Gurney, PhD, President and CEO of Maglev, Inc. assured the Congressmen that the Maglev line in China is “what President Obama and Vice President Biden mean when they say ‘high speed rail.’ ” Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA), who chaired the hearing, was sympathetic and expressed hope that Maglev Inc. would soon receive $45,000,000 to prepare construction drawings for its Pittsburgh-Greensburg maglev line.
In response to questions, Lorenzo Simonelli, President and CEO of GE Transportation, suggested that GE’s new generation of clean, diesel-electric locomotives would be a better option than maglev. Simonelli’s excellent presentation elicited support, partly of course because the units would be built near Erie, PA.
The strangest testimony came from Patrick J. McMahon, president of Amalgamated Transportation Union Local 85, the local transit operator’s main labor union, who dismissed the whole idea of high speed rail and stated that we should build light rail instead. He suggested various specific extensions to the Pittsburgh light rail system that I—as a lifetime Pittsburgh resident—did not think were very well thought out. He also criticized the proposal to run commuter rail from New Kensington to Pittsburgh on the Allegheny Valley Railroad. Reasonable people can disagree about the merits of this concept, but it has many supporters, including Rep. Altmire.
Rep. Shuster provided a light moment when he asked Dr. Gurney, “I read somewhere that maglev could go straight up.” The maglev advocate replied, “You probably could, but you wouldn’t want to for passenger comfort reasons.”
Unfortunately, I was the only witness to address what could be done to improve service to Western Pennsylvania in the near future. Rep. Altmire was particularly interested in improving Pittsburgh to Cleveland, although it was not clear if he was looking for near term or long term improvments.
—Kenneth Joseph
Member, NARP Council of Representatives
Posted by NARP
Tags: congress, expansion, ge, high-speed rail, light rail, maglev, passenger rail, pennsylvania, three rivers,NARP Members Speak: We Want More Trains!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
For the past several months, NARP has been attaching a survey to some membership renewal forms. It asks members to tell us how often they travel by train, why they choose to do so, and how satisfied they are with their experiences. It also asks how rail service should be improved and what the government’s top priority should be when spending Recovery Act funds. We tabulated 317 responses from members across the country in all walks of life. The responses reveal that our members are solidly behind the goals for which NARP has striven since its founding: fast, on-time trains serving more cities and routes.
75 percent of respondents people surveyed use the train primarily for pleasure travel with an additional 20 percent riding the rails for both business and pleasure. The train appeals to both types of rider precisely because it offers an enjoyable ride, providing unmatched ability for passengers to either to conduct business or to relax, socialize, read, sleep, and listen to music while en route. 75 percent also travel on overnight trains, which are critical to a healthy national network. Faster and more frequent service, on both short and long-distance routes, would be a boon to both business and leisure riders.
46 percent report being very satisfied with their rail travel experiences, but 48% are only somewhat satisfied, which suggests significant room for improvement. When asked to rank some of our ideas for upgrading service, the top three vote-getters were “new routes and services to more cities” (79%), “better on-time performance” (73%), and “more frequent service” (71%). Majorities also favored more modern equipment, faster trains, and improved food service. These priorities will continue to be NARP’s goals: more frequent and on-time trains in the near term, with additional routes in the longer run.
On the question of how the Recovery Act’s limited resources should be allocated, the largest share of respondents (85%) chose “improve all rail equipment and infrastructure,” followed closely by “connect all Americans via rail.” Given that stimulus funds are limited only to “ready-to-go” projects, infrastructure enhancement will necessarily comprise the bulk of what is accomplished. We will continue to make sure that these investments result in significant advancements in existing service that will reduce travel times and boost reliability.
Gaining a clearer picture of our members’ preferences and desires has elucidated our mandate to make trains an even more desirable travel choice for all Americans. But without the support and involvement a growing membership, we lack the strength necessary to get it done. If you are not a member, please consider joining for as little as $35 for one year. If you are a member, please spread the word so that our grassroots movement may continue to grow. Now is the time for the United States to join the rest of the developed world in providing safe, dependable, enjoyable and Earth-friendly transportation that frees us from our yoke to the automobile. All it takes is time, persistence, and strength in numbers.
A sampling of member responses to open-ended questions after the jump…
—Malcolm Kenton
Special thanks to NARP volunteers Peter Roberts and Joe Lyons for their hard work in tabulating and analyzing these results.
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: expansion, fast, frequent, improvements, membership, overnight, results, survey, trains, travel, upgrades,Flag Stops: October 2009 Roundup
Friday, October 30, 2009
—Malcolm Kenton
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: amtrak, automobile, california, cascades, economy, expansion, general motors, germany, gmac, gulf states, high-speed rail, jobs, lynchburg, north coast hiawatha, northeast regional, subsidies,A Healthy Dialogue
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
In a welcome show of responsiveness to Amtrak’s most loyal riders and supporters, President & CEO Joseph Boardman requested, and TRAINS Magazine hosted, a public forum on the present and future of the passenger railroad at the Merchandise Mart adjacent to Chicago’s Union Station, the main hub of the long-distance train network. Over 300 people signed up on a first-come, first-served basis and about 250 showed up to hear from, and ask questions of, Boardman, Amtrak Police Chief John O’Connor, Vice President for Marketing and Product Development Emmett Fremaux, Chris Jagodzinski (a senior official who reports directly to V.P. for Transportation Richard Phelps), and other top officials.
Amtrak officials did discuss the possibility of splitting the Lake Shore Limited at Toledo instead of Albany, with the New York section running via Pittsburgh/Altoona/Harrisburg, partially recreating the Broadway Limited. As columnist Don Phillips put it, “They mentioned this at the same time they said they would operate no new long-distance routes. Train reroutes can have the effect of creating a new service.” As for adding new long-distance routes, the assembled officials would only commit to improving existing services. Fremaux pointed to the fact that the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) of 2008 emphasizes the expansion of short-distance corridor services and relies on state leadership. “This country builds stuff, including Amtrak, then walks away from it and doesn’t give it the support it needs,” said Boardman. “I want to do real stuff.”
Fremaux did make a commitment that efforts would be made to improve existing long-distance trains, including daily operation of the Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited (as a through Chicago-Los Angeles train with a connection at San Antonio for Houston, New Orleans and points in between) and the introduction of on-board wireless Internet service across the entire Amtrak system.
On the condition of Amtrak’s fleet, Jagodzinski emphasized “We don’t want 60-year-old equipment. The passengers don’t want it, and we don’t want to maintain it.” He reiterated that the Heritage diners and baggage cars, which are around 60 years old, will be the first to be replaced, within the next five years. After the forum, attendees were led on a tour of three newly-rehabilitated passenger cars—two Superliner sleepers and one Superliner diner—and a rebuilt P42 locomotive that were parked in Union Station’s trainshed.
Another topic of concern to attendees was Amtrak’s months-old policy prohibiting photography from station platforms, except by ticketed passengers and those with permission from a station agent or other Amtrak official. In response to criticism from train advocates, including NARP, O’Connor announced a program whereby photographers could register themselves and be amongst a group of citizens who act as a second set of eyes to warn of safety and security issues, similar to the one initiated by BNSF Railway.
Boardman has promised that this will be the first of many such discussions. NARP welcomes, and stands ready to help facilitate, the further involvement of passengers and train advocates as Amtrak continues to plan and prepare for growth. —Ross Capon and Malcolm Kenton
Posted by Malcolm Kenton
Tags: amtrak, amtrak policies, broadway limited, dialogue, expansion, forum, growth, improvement, joseph boardman, lake shore limited, long-distance trains, passenger trains, photography, sunset limited, texas eagle,©2010 National Association of Railroad Passengers | » NARP website
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