NARP January 2000 Hotlines

#120 - January 7, 2000
#121 - January 14, 2000
#122 - January 21, 2000
#123 - January 28, 2000

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The Y2K "moment of truth" has come and gone, with minimal disruptions to passenger rail, transit, and the world at large. Amtrak and many rail transit agencies stopped trains briefly right before midnight on December 31, and started them again after midnight as soon as they had confirmation that electricity, signals, etc., were in working order. The only Amtrak problem reported so far was by ABC News, which said Amtrak's train-status reporting system had to have train numbers and the date reset manually for the 53 trains that were supposed to be running around midnight.

The Wisconsin Blue Ribbon Task Force on Passenger Rail, which was created by Gov. Tommy Thompson, recommended on December 20 that the Wisconsin Department of Transportation use $50 million in existing bonding authority toward getting 110-mph passenger-train service between Madison and Milwaukee. The bonds were authorized by the legislature in 1993 (though never issued by the DOT), for the purpose of making lower-speed track upgrades for passenger service to both Madison and Green Bay. The current proposal for 110-mph service to Madison would be an initial leg of the network proposed by the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative.

Governor Thompson, who is also Amtrak's chairman, said he supported the Task Force recommendation. The entire Madison project would cost $119 million and could be ready by the end of 2003, with six daily round trips that could later be increased to ten. Thompson recognized that the line between Watertown and Madison would have to be rebuilt "almost completely," and pointed out that the state is in the process of setting up an equipment consortium with Illinois and Michigan.

Passenger rail projects such as Wisconsin's point out the need for a credible federal match on a par enjoyed by highway and aviation projects. As much as Amtrak critics harp about past money spent on Amtrak, much of that money was never intended for the sort of long-term right-of-way improvements contemplated for places like the Midwest. [Indeed, even much of what was spent on the Northeast Corridor was to get a run-down facility back to a state of good repair.] We need S.1144 (state TEA-21 flexibility), S.1900 (tax-free bonding for corridor and other development) and -- most immediately -- President Clinton to include Amtrak's fully authorized $989 million in his fiscal 2001 budget, so that projects like the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative can get some federal help and really move forward. President Clinton still has time to do the right thing and propose this amount.

The Monday-Saturday Toronto-Chicago International will run 80 minutes earlier from Toronto (6:30 am), starting January 17, so our January newsletter is correct and the previous hotline message (#119) is wrong. A widely misinterpreted statement by Transport Minister David Collenette turns out to mean simply that VIA will continue to make some small-station stops that it had planned to drop. NARP is discussing the International schedule with VIA, but with only a week to go, chances of a reversal don't look good.

The eastbound Empire Builder partially derailed at Essex, Mont., January 6, but no one was injured. A locomotive and three cars derailed, none carrying passengers. Passengers were delayed while the derailed cars were set out so the rest of the train could proceed.

A strike on BC Rail began December 27, shutting down freight and passenger operations on the British Columbia carrier. A tentative settlement agreement was reached in the early hours of January 5.

California Gov. Gray Davis (D.) will present next year's budget proposal to the legislature next week. However, there is a shortfall in the state mass transit account of about $158 million, according to the January 5 Sacramento Bee. The legislature's non-partisan policy analyst on January 4 identified plans to expand Amtrak San Joaquin and Capitol Corridor services as a possible place to cut to make up for the shortfall. Naturally, we hope Governor Davis will look elsewhere.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority, meeting in Fresno on December 15, decided not to go to voters this fall and ask for $25 billion to build a 700-mile system. This would connect Sacramento and the Bay Area through the San Joaquin Valley to Los Angeles and San Diego. Rail travel time between San Francisco and Los Angeles would be 2:30 hours, with a top speed of over 200 mph. Instead, the Authority decided to seek $25 million for two years of preliminary engineering and environmental studies, followed by four more years of pre-construction activity. The system would take another ten years to build (i.e., open in 2016).

The $25 million must get legislative and gubernatorial approval. About three years from now, the Authority (if it is extended beyond its current June 2001 expiration date) would seek the rest of the $25 billion either through a quarter-cent sales tax, or approach voters for a bonding measure. The Authority has previously noted that over 60% of Californians favor building the system even if it requires a higher sales tax.

Senator Lautenberg hopes to be able to add to his list of co-sponsors for S.1900 (tax-free bonding for corridor and other rail development) as early as the day after the Senate's January 24 reconvening. It is still timely to push Senators on co-sponsoring the bill and to push President Clinton on including the full, authorized level of $989 million for Amtrak in his fiscal 2001 budget. January 24 is also the date when the Amtrak Reform Council will release its annual report.

The new Oklahoma train, the Heartland Flyer, has more than surpassed expectations, according to state officials. For the five-and-one-half month period from mid-June (when the train began running) through November, over 38,000 people used the train. State officials had said that 25,000 in the first year would be considered successful.

Meanwhile, state Sen. Dave Herbert (D.-Midwest City) said he will propose a bill to allow a referendum on a one-cent gas tax dedicated to passenger rail service. If approved, it would be the first such tax in the U.S. It would generate about $18 million a year, and be renewable by a vote after ten years. The state currently has a 17-cent tax. But Herbert said he expects that there would be federal matching funds to go along with the state gas-tax money he proposes -- once again (as in last week's message) underscoring the need for such federal matching funds as proposed in federal bill S.1144 if state passenger rail proposals are to move forward.

Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater on January 12 announced a proposed rule that would prohibit municipal grade-crossing "whistle bans" (250 now exist) where specific safety improvements are not in place. This carries out a provision of the 1994 Swift Rail Development Act, which required the Federal Railroad Administration to order horns be sounded at every crossing, but also to formulate conditions needed for horn-free "quiet zones." The FRA's recommendations for quiet zones include cameras to record crossing violators, four-quadrant gates (still uncommon in the U.S.), and median dividers that deter motorists who drive around lowered gates.

The FRA says highway-rail grade crossing incidents are 62% more likely to occur at crossings where train horns are not sounded. The FRA -- which does propose an upper volume limit for train horns -- will take comments through May 26. After reviewing the comments, FRA will issue a final rule, and -- unless Congress intervenes -- the regulation would take effect one year later. More information is at FRA's web site.

Opposition from affected communities and others -- including House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R.-Ill.) and Rep. William O. Lipinski (D.-Ill.) -- surfaced quickly. This is unfortunate, because the FRA's provisions for reasonable, long-overdue safety improvements mean this rule cannot be portrayed accurately as promoting safety at the expense of quality of life. The Bourbonnais, Ill., tragedy of March 1999 (with the first Amtrak passenger fatalities in a grade-crossing accident) makes obvious the importance of this rule to railroad passengers.

A four-times-a-week Thruway service began January 9, running between Seattle and southeastern Washington. Operated by Genie Express bus lines, it runs from the Seattle Amtrak station (King St.) to Sunnyside, Pasco (Amtrak station), Richland, and West Richland. A stop at Yakima will be added later this month. The bus runs Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, taking about five hours (arriving Seattle 11:30 am, departing 6:00 pm).

The Amtrak web site now accepts reservations for "Heritage" roomettes and bedrooms on trains 40 and 41, the Three Rivers. Though this sleeping car service was added to the train on April 1, 1999, the web site could not handle reservations or fare information for it until this week.

Governor Davis of California released his next fiscal year budget proposal on January 10. All requests still must have legislative approval. From general funds, Davis proposed $30 million for two more Pacific Surfliner train sets (freeing up more California Cars for other state corridors), $20 million for double-track and signal upgrades on the San Joaquin route, and $36 million for ACE commuter equipment and other improvements. Also included was a transfer of $45 million from the State Highway Account to the Public Transit Account to ease a projected shortfall in rail and transit funds, which can be used either for capital or operating purposes.

The Amtrak Reform Council will announce the release of its first Annual Report on January 24. There will be a business meeting at 9:00 am, then a news conference at 11:00 am, both at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill Hotel in Washington. In a January 10 news release, Chairman Gil Carmichael said, "The Council's first annual report is not intended to reach conclusions or make recommendations about Amtrak's long-term future, but to provide a picture of the Amtrak organization as it exists today, as well as a perspective on Amtrak's performance to this juncture. Against this backdrop, the report raises questions, concerns, and issues that the Council believes should be addressed in its future efforts, and ultimately, by Congress."

However, a column in the January 21 industry magazine Traffic World, "Amtrak Slam," fueled speculation that the report will be harshly negative. Though author Frank Wilner wrote that he had a "final draft" of the report, what is released January 24 actually will be different from what Wilner had. Nevertheless, four of the Council's 11 members had such strong negative feelings about the actual final draft that they voted against it -- Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, Clarence Monin, S. Lee Kling, and Donald R. Sweitzer. On January 24, the report will be at the Council web site.

President Clinton will make his State of the Union address January 27, followed in early February by the release of his budget proposals for fiscal 2001.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe will shut down its mainline between Fresno and Stockton, Cal., for a reconstruction project. The railroad, after consulting with Amtrak, chose a two-week shutdown period during the winter rather than the six months it would take to do the same work under normal traffic. The shutdown period will be January 24 through February 5. Amtrak will run bus bridges between the two cities, but warns that the bus service won't be as fast as the San Joaquin trains they replace.

Amtrak passengers in the Northeast should be prepared in the event that Amtrak makes a last-minute announcement next week for schedule changes to take effect about January 31.

Guilford this week said it was willing to sell a branch line to the city of Portland, Me., that the state has determined is important to future plans for passenger rail service in and out of that city. Instead of building a new station near the former Union Station site, the state wants to rehabilitate the "Bayside Line" (former Maine Central Union Branch) to a new station site near Franklin Ave. and Marginal Way. From there, future northbound trains would use a new right-of-way and trestle over Back Cove to reach the St. Lawrence and Atlantic East Deering line. An interim station adjacent to the intercity bus station on Congress St. may be used for the first Boston service that should begin by the end of this year.

Amtrak moved back into the train station in Salem, Ore., after the completion of a $1 million renovation of the 1918 structure. Amtrak had been using a temporary facility immediately outside. A formal rededication will take place in the spring, once exterior landscaping work is completed.

The State of Florida will do a two-year, $2.5 million study of moving Amtrak and Greyhound into an intermodal facility in the former Union Station in downtown Jacksonville, according to the Florida Times-Union. Passengers would use part of the historic main part of the building, while the newer Prime Osburn Convention Center in the rear would remain. While the site is more centrally located than Amtrak's current facility and connects to the downtown elevated transit system, it also would require Amtrak trains to back in and out (except for potential future service along the Florida East Coast).

We urge people to read the Federal Railroad Administration's notice of proposed rulemaking on use of locomotive horns before criticizing it and to recognize that changes in the rule are likely before it becomes final. A common question is why an entire community should suffer noise -- or be forced to pay for safety improvements -- because a few drivers are careless. FRA supports increased enforcement, but persuasively argues that death or permanent maiming is an unacceptably harsh punishment for grade-crossing violations. Also, victims can be innocent automobile or train passengers, train crews, and people who live or are driving near an accident scene. Some motorists from "non-whistle-ban" territory, while driving far from home, may assume that train whistles are always blown at crossings. Another common view is that railroads should pay most or all safety improvement costs -- even though the railroad generally was there first and was forced by law to accept at-grade highway crossings.

January 31 is a historic day in passenger railroading -- the introduction of electric revenue service between New Haven and Boston. Two Acela Regional Washington-Boston round trips (one daily, one Monday-Friday) will replace two existing NortheastDirect round trips, covering the New York-Boston segment in four hours. They will depart Boston 6:15 am weekdays, 5:00 pm daily; depart New York eastbound 8:35 am weekdays, 4:55 pm daily. Other Northeast Corridor schedule changes take effect the same day, including replacing the 8:10 am departure from Newport News with one at 10:30 am. Also on January 31, a special train will depart Boston in the morning and head for New York, making stops for ceremonies at some stations. NARP President John R. Martin will be one of the guests on this historic occasion.

The snowstorm that hit the Eastern Seaboard on January 25 had a great impact on all forms of transportation, including rail. North of Washington, Amtrak ran fairly well on the Northeast Corridor, though it cancelled many Metroliners on January 25 in anticipation of greatly reduced business travel demand (as is typical during such storms). South of Washington was another matter, as on January 25 everything except the Crescent was cancelled (even, somewhat surprisingly, the Cardinal). CSX was apparently unable to keep up with the snow in its territory and was shut down. Keeping switches clean was one of the many problems.

On January 26, all trains south of Washington were cancelled again, though some service resumed in the afternoon. Virginia Railway Express managed to run on a "snow schedule," but somehow CSX was not able to run its two MARC commuter rail routes. Because of many investments made since the many failures during the storm of January 1996, Washington Metro ran well during the storm itself, but has suffered problems since then with about 100 cars. Other rail transit agencies reported sporadic delays.

The southbound Silver Palm of January 28 was canceled. The westbound Three Rivers that left New York on January 27 was annulled at Pittsburgh due to frozen plumbing.

President Clinton delivered his State of the Union address on January 276, and transportation issues were virtually absent from it. However, the night before, Wisconsin Governor (and Amtrak Chairman) Tommy Thompson (R.) delivered his State of the State address. He repeated his call for $50 million in state investment for the Milwaukee-Madison line as part of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, plus $100 million in federal spending -- something that could be accomplished if S.1144 (TEA-21 flexibility for states to spend federal funds on passenger rail) ever passes, or if President Clinton proposed the fully authorized amount of $989 million for Amtrak in fiscal 2001 in early February (and then Congress approves that).

State bills are pending in Indiana, Illinois (HB3032), and Nebraska to allow those states to join a compact to push forward with the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative. Three of the nine states must pass identically worded laws for the compact to formally take effect. NARP members in those states should urge their state legislators to support these bills.

The Amtrak Reform Council met on January 24 and released its first annual report on Amtrak. Chairman Gil Carmichael and Vice Chairman Paul Weyrich repeatedly made clear their desire to see Amtrak succeed and add more routes. The report's tentative recommendation that Amtrak expand its mail and express business seems consistent with that desire. The Council is correct to condition that on confirmation that this business is -- or soon will be -- profitable. NARP also believes Amtrak must reduce the time added to schedules for handling this business, and reduce the number and extent of related delays.

However -- unlike the Council -- NARP, Amtrak, and the Clinton Administration do not believe that the law requires Amtrak to cover depreciation and progressive overhaul costs with commercial (or other non-federal) revenues in order to meet the "test for operational self-sufficiency). It will be a significant challenge to achieve that without covering those two items. Raising the bar by $567 million (Amtrak's fiscal 2002 estimate for those items), as the Council report hints may be required, would insure that Amtrak could not meet the test.

Congressional hearings on this are likely. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.), who chairs the Senate Commerce Transportation Subcommittee, said in a wire story that "if we are not going to be on the same description of self-sufficiency, then that could be a disaster." Governor Thompson claimed that the Council had "raised the bar ... in the middle of the game."