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Flag Stops: Dreams and Schemes

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

NARP hits YouTube, hopes for the Sunset, omissions of a high-speed rail critic, transit cuts cripple Berlin, why more should be spent on transportation in a recession, and more.

  • NARP continues to expand its online presence. We have just released our first YouTube video. It is designed for those who are less familiar with NARP’s work, so please share it widely with friends, family, co-workers and other acquaintances. You can also use our convenient web form to share with us why you are invested in our cause and why others should be concerned about high-quality transportation choices.
  • Our friends at Trains for America echo the feeling among much of the rail advocacy community that Amtrak’s report on restoring service between New Orleans and Orlando leaves much to be desired. Of course, the final decision rests with Congress because Amtrak doesn’t have enough money to run the train. That’s why it’s important that Amtrak receives its full requested appropriation for Fiscal Year 2010, and then some.
  • Not only does the transportation and housing spending bill that passed the US House of Representatives on Thursday contain a boost for high-speed rail programs—more than the President sought—it also funds six rail transit projects, from Miami to Chicago to Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Honolulu. (Source: Congressional Quarterly)
  • A New York Times blog entry casts doubt on the greenhouse gas-reduction benefits of California’s high-speed rail project. The writer says that the heavy carbon-intensity of the line’s construction should be taken into account, but he doesn’t factor the construction of existing highways or airports into their carbon footprints and fails to consider the low-carbon lifestyles that rail would foster. Luckily, several astute readers have addressed these omissions in the comments.
  • A Michigan business blogger says her state’s share of Amtrak’s operating budget should be cut because of the sour economy. In reality, the recession argues for doing the exact opposite. The recession is a convenient excuse for curtailing all sorts of public investments. Transportation investments, particularly those that provide better, greener mobility options, create jobs and keep the economy moving. For the sake of consistency, the author should also call for diminished highway spending.
  • The airline industry continues to slide deeper into a financial hole, as revenues per passenger mile are declining by greater percentages each month. While the recession has contributed to a drop in demand for all longer-distance travel, rising fuel and labor prices are already forcing cost cuts and will continue to create trouble for airlines. Once the economy recovers, travelers will face greater headaches when flying, and the demand for better alternatives will intensify.
  • A spate of technical problems has forced dramatic service cuts on Berlin’s S-Bahn system of rapid surface-level trains. The consequences have been disastrous, but perhaps not as catastrophic as a similar mishap for a major US rail transit system, thanks to the redundancies inherent in the other rail transit offerings available to Berliners. If a city like New York were to cut 70% of subway service, the choking of roadways with cars, taxis and buses would be unimaginable.

  • LCL: Another free marketeer decries a rail expansion plan simply because, like virtually all transportation systems in the world, it will require government investment for both construction and operation; Secretary LaHood reiterates his foward-looking commitments, touts the recent high-speed rail pre-apps, and hones in on reducing vehicle miles driven as key to trimming transportation’s carbon footprint; A good rant on the many advantages of rail transit over rapid buses; A look inside Chairman Oberstar’s surface transportation plans; and How many reminders do we need that overdependence on cars is bad for us?

    —Malcolm Kenton

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: airlines, amtrak, berlin, california, carbon, florida, gulf coast, high-speed rail, passenger trains, recession, s-bahn, sunset limited, video, youtube,

    Flag Stops: Making No Small Plans

    Friday, February 26, 2010

    Reasons to be hopeful, to be concerned, and to take action.

  • As we have reported, the jobs bill passed by the Senate on Monday contains no investment in 21st-century transportation alternatives like trains. Our partners at Transportation for America are calling on everyone to write Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and ask that he include investment in better transportation in a future jobs package, as more appear to be in the works. Please join us in taking action.

  • While we’re on the subject of taking action, why not take a minute (especially if you live in or near New Orleans) to ask New Orleans Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu to make restoring the New Orleans-Florida Gulf Coast Connector a transportation priority. Click here and scroll down to the middle left of the page.

  • The nascent flow of federal money to intercity passenger rail improvement is jumpstarting rail planning in states that have lagged far behind for decades. One example is West Virginia, where a small group of dedicated NARP members called Friends of the Cardinal is working with influential state legislators to enact a bill that will match $1 billion from the Recovery Act with state funds to put together both a comprehensive rail plan and a high-speed rail plan for the state. The bill, SB 527, is expected to pass the full Senate on Monday, but may face a difficult journey through the House, with the legislative session set to end on March 12. One of the rail advocates working the halls of power in Charleston, long-time NARP member Bonni McKewon, penned an op-ed for the Charleston Gazette. If you live in West Virginia, ask your Delegate in the House to work for swift passage of SB 527. You can also follow Friends of the Cardinal on Twitter.

  • In answering questions after his testimony [PDF] before the Senate Budget Committee this week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood proclaimed that “streetcars are coming back to America,” citing Portland, Oregon, as a model for other cities. His comments come as more people are realizing how the world’s most expansive streetcar network, which covered every small and large American city early in this century, was decimated as road-building mania, combined with pressure from oil and rubber interests, made buses the seemingly more economical choice for urban transit. Yet, for a number of reasons, buses don’t attract riders the way streetcars do. More and more cities, with help from Uncle Sam, are looking to join in the American trolley revival.

  • New York State is already home to more train stations (of all types) than any other state, and intercity service on the New York City-Albany-Buffalo trunk line is set to be upgraded [PDF] thanks to the Recovery Act. Yet many are still pushing for brand-new high-speed tracks along this line, including the President of the state Senate. The means that Sen. Malcolm Smith’s wishes are highly appropriate—a state High-Speed Rail Authority, a council to pursue public-private partnerships, and a business council to raise awareness and build support—but more thinking is needed about how to get there. Continuing to improve service by adding more frequencies and shaving an hour or two off NYC-Buffalo travel time, and investing in connecting bus and rail service to bring more communities on-line will prove to be the best way to get to an even faster future.

  • LCL: One of Amtrak’s newest stations is far exceeding projections for passenger boardings and alightings since it opened. * * * The Washington-Lynchburg, Va. extension of the Northeast Regional continues to outpace ridership projections. * * * Another sign that passenger train equipment manufacturing in the US is headed for revival. * * * A Seattle resident has a pleasant Amtrak trip to the Vancouver Olympics, but a not-so-pleasant experience with border security. * * * A new Amtrak site caters to African-American riders and students at historically black colleges.

    • —Malcolm Kenton

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: amtrak, budget, congress, gulf coast, investment, jobs bill, legislation, new orleans, new york city, passenger trains, rail planning, ray lahood, ridership, senate, sunset limited, take action, transportation, west virginia,

    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,

    NARP members communicate passenger needs to White House officials

    Wednesday, November 02, 2011

    The call hosted by NARP and the White House today produced some very fruitful discussions about the direction of the passenger rail program in the U.S.  Led by Deputy Federal Railroad Administrator Karen Rae, talks centered on what practical effects the President’s transportation infrastructure plan—part of his proposed American Jobs Act—would have on Amtrak and high-speed rail. 

    Los Angeles to
    *Jacksonville    		Through SE Colorado?

    Rae explained that the President envisions the construction of 4,000 new miles of track, and would bring a $6 billion infusion in rail funds this year to enhance and expand current service levels.  That $6 billion breaks down to $4 billion for competitive grants to states for high-speed and intercity upgrades (including equipment expansion), and $2 billion to Amtrak for state-of-good repair work (making sure existing Amtrak service can operate at optimal levels).  That figure does not include $9 billion that would go to transit and commuter rail—systems that link with intercity rail to get passengers to their final destination.  Rail is also eligible to compete for the $5 billion for “TIGER-like” projects.

    The question & answer portion was as interesting as the presentation, if not more so.  We got to hear the concerns from train passengers all over the country, and how they’d like passenger rail to develop in America in the coming years.  Participants included:

    • Aaron from Newton, Kansas, who was worried about the deterioration of track along the Newton-Albuquerque portion of the Chicago-Los Angeles Southwest Chief route*.  At 70 years old, he explained how the Chief plays a vital role in ensuring his mobility as a senior in a rural community, and that he doesn’t know how’d get around if his town lost service.
    • Penny from Baltimore explained how she needs trains to commute everyday to her job in Washington, D.C.  She described how she engages in advocacy as part of her normal commute, explaining to other passengers the real danger of declining levels of service if Amtrak and commuter agencies aren’t properly supported by elected officials in Congress.
    • Several people spoke of the need to restore Amtrak’s Sunset Limited service to the Gulf Coast region (between New Orleans and Florida).  With a tourism industry hurt by the BP oil spill in the Gulf, these trains are incredibly important to getting American tourists to visit struggling coastal towns.

    » read more...

    Posted by NARP

    Tags: american jobs act, fra, karen rae, southwest chief, sunset limited, white house,

    Amtrak Funding, Amtrak’s CEO, and the National Network

    Friday, January 13, 2012

    Under the debt ceiling law enacted in August, if the supercommittee failed (which it did), domestic discretionary programs would be cut 7.8% in Fiscal 2013, which starts October 1, 2012. That would mean yet another Amtrak funding reduction, this one exceeding $100 million. Three other wild-card factors could affect the outcome:

    Amtrak’s westbound Sunset Limited arriving at Palm Springs,
    CA. [Image: Florian Boyd on Flickr.com]
    1. Efforts to reduce the impact of sequestration on the Pentagon by increasing the magnitude of cuts for other programs.

    2. Flexibility in application of the 7.8%. If it applies only to the transportation/housing appropriations subcommittee’s overall total, the subcommittee almost certainly would hit some programs harder in order, for example, to protect the Federal Aviation Administration, which is being forced to “lay off more than 2,000 employees…close 246 air traffic control contract towers.” The 7.8% cut applied across-the-board also would “cause significant delays of FAA’s NextGen program which is needed to modernize an already aging air traffic control system.” See House Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers’ (R-KY) “failure-is-not-an-option” letter of October 14 to the supercommittee (FAA paragraphs are on page 6). Particularly given the amount of new equipment authorized (both Amtrak’s orders already placed and planned orders for California and Midwest states), it would appear that Amtrak will have to fight hard just to be exempt from the hunt for “offsets” to protect the FAA.

    3. If funding for 2013 remains unresolved by November, the outcome of the elections could bring an even darker future for Amtrak, considering the statements that some candidates have made.

    » read more...

    Posted by Malcolm Kenton

    Tags: amtrak funding, faa, federal transportation spending, joseph boardman, long-distance trains, national debt, sunset limited, union pacific,

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