NARP July 2000 Hotlines

#146 - July 7, 2000
#147 - July 14, 2000
#148 - July 21, 2000
#149 - July 28, 2000

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Amtrak took what it sees as two major steps towards its goal of self-revitalization yesterday, with the unveiling at Washington Union Station of a service guarantee program and a new logo.

The new service guarantee is an outgrowth of earlier (and on-going) efforts to retrain staff, and to reduce the number of mechanical and supply problems affecting trains (the "Right and Ready" program). It goes beyond programs offered by other carriers in that it is unconditional. From now on, any Amtrak customer who experiences a problem should (a) discuss their concerns with any available Amtrak employee; then (b) request a Service Guarantee Certificate if the concerns aren't addressed in a satisfactory manner in step (a). This Certificate is available by calling the Amtrak reservation phone number (800-USA-RAIL) and requesting one. Customers will be asked for a ticket number for control and valuation purposes (so keep your ticket stubs!) and may be asked questions about the nature of the problem -- but all who request a Certificate will get one, by mail.

Amtrak West has conducted a prototype of the program for the last three years on the Coast Starlight (Los Angeles-Seattle), and it has contributed more in goodwill and repeat business than it has cost in customer compensation. However, the Coast Starlight program excluded factors like lateness and mechanical problems. The new, systemwide program is "unconditional." With lateness and readiness of trains still a serious problem on long-distance trains in June, it remains to be seen whether Amtrak will be flooded with compensation requests. Still, from a customer perspective, a sweeping service guarantee can only be good news for NARP members and other Amtrak customers.

The new logo -- now visible on Amtrak's web site -- has Amtrak's name in all-capital, bold letters with a three-bar wave either below or to the left of it, all in white and the shade of aqua used in Acela materials. It replaces the red, white, and blue "inverted" or "pointless" arrow logo that Amtrak has used since its creation in 1971.

Amtrak President George Warrington told Marketplace (a public radio program) that the actions are to show that "we are no longer that ... image of a tired, complacent company. We're an aggressive, competitive player." He told the Washington Post that 15% of new passengers are dissatisfied and don't take Amtrak again, but that retaining each additional percent of those passengers would mean another $13 million in revenue annually.

Testing of Acela Express high-speed trains has resumed, Amtrak announced June 30. Testing was suspended earlier in June after broken or missing bolts were discovered in truck (wheel-set) assemblies. Engineers proposed using longer, stronger bolts and the Federal Railroad Administration approved resumption of testing. Start of service may be September at the earliest.

A new intermodal station opened in Bakersfield, Cal., July 4. Amtrak vacated a double-wide trailer on F St. for a new, 8,000-square-foot, $15.5 million facility on S St. The city provided the land, Amtrak provide the furnishings, and state and federal grants provided the rest.

A station rededication will take place at Temple, Tex., July 8 from 10 am to 3 pm.

At the National Corridors Initiative (NCI) conference June 26, prominent conservative Paul Weyrich, who is vice-chairman of the Amtrak Reform Council (and a NARP member), pleaded with passenger rail advocates not to confuse conservatives with libertarians. Libertarians, he said, believe "all government is bad." He cited Wendell Cox, the perennial anti-rail transit campaigner, as an example. He said the appeal to conservatives should emphasize that better public transportation gives people more choices. Weyrich also defended the work of the Amtrak Reform Council, which he said has "a solid, pragmatic, bipartisan majority absolutely committed to rail passenger service. If we have our way, there will be a lot more service." He lamented that the unions have made it a legislative priority to try to get rid of the ARC.

A study on restoring rail transit service to San Francisco's Bay Bridge was released June 19 by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. It put the cost at between $4.6 billion and $8 billion, including changes to bridge design and the rail systems themselves beyond the bridge. Rail system options that were studied included light-rail into Berkeley and Oakland, diversion of one BART line to the bridge, and electric commuter service running through from the Caltrain line on the Peninsula. One rail proponent, Emeryville Councilman Ken Bukowski, criticized the report for not considering replacing existing highway lanes with rail lines as a way to keep down costs. There were streetcar lines on the bridge until 1959, but they were replaced with less efficient highway lanes.

A mammoth rail/highway, bridge/tunnel project between Sweden and Denmark was opened officially by the monarchs of those two nations July 1. The link across the Oresund between Malmo and Copenhagen will greatly alter travel patterns in southern Scandinavia, and was written about in the NARP newsletter in August 1991 (in the context of small countries making ambitious rail investments, while projects in the U.S. they would consider modest, like the Boston Rail Link, languish). There is more information at the Oresund link web site.

The High Speed Rail Investment Act bills have more sponsors -- there are now 49 in the Senate (S.1900; with the addition of Lugar, R.-Ind.), and another 11 in the House (H.R.3700), making 131 there. A complete list is at our web site. No hearings have been scheduled yet for this vital legislation.

The new, summer Northeast Corridor timetable took effect July 9. The biggest changes are the addition of another Philadelphia-Harrisburg weekday Keystone round-trip, and another Boston-Washington weekend Acela Regional (all-electric) round-trip.

Denver RTD opened its 8.7-mile light rail extension from I-25/Broadway south to Mineral Ave. in Littleton this morning. Free rides and other activities are planned throughout the weekend.

Metro North opened a six-mile extension of the Harlem Line commuter rail service on July 9, from Dover Plains to Wassaic. It has an intermediate stop at Tenmile River and a new layover yard and small maintenance facility.

The Toledo-Michigan Amtrak Thruway bus connection with the Pennsylvanian will be discontinued by the provider, Lakefront, July 19. Based on encouraging bus ridership and on the train's need for revenue, NARP is urging Amtrak to find a new provider.

Amtrak West's Pacific Surfliners will make special, additional stops at San Clemente Pier for the Ocean Festival, July 15-16.

Ridership on the Los Angeles Red Line subway has nearly doubled since a six-mile extension opened June 24. Average daily ridership was 40,000 in 1998, then increased to about 65,000 after the first part of the Hollywood Branch opened (June 12, 1999), and is now over 120,000 with the extension of the Hollywood Branch north into the San Fernando Valley. That is more than the Boston, Philadelphia, or Toronto commuter rail systems; more than the Calgary or Los Angeles light rail systems. It is about a tenth of the bus ridership of the Los Angeles transit system, but on far fewer route-miles.

There are logical places to extend the Red Line, such as further northwest into the Valley and further east from Union Station. But voters in November 1998 very shortsightedly rejected any further subway openings, except for segments under construction at the time (of which none remain). Instead of logical subway extensions, now transit planners are considering things like busways that will stymie ridership because buses are less attractive than trains and because of the forced transfers to subway that will be involved. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, voters in 1998 were exposed to too many messages about subway cost overruns and delays, and too few messages about the future benefits a larger rail transit network could have brought to the region.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has reopened a comments and application process for high-speed corridor designation under the TEA-21 grade crossing safety program. The FRA will accept applications for new corridor designations (or amendments of existing corridor designations) from states until August 14. Written comments from others may be submitted until August 4 to Docket Clerk, DOT Central Docket Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh St., SW, Washington, DC 20590 (referencing Docket No. FRA 1998-4759).

In conformance with FRA regulations on passenger equipment, FRA's Safety Board will hold a hearing July 21 at FRA headquarters (1120 Vermont Ave., NW, Washington, 7th floor) at 9:30 am on Amtrak's petition to permit continued operation of the existing Pacific Northwest Corridor Talgo train sets. To ensure consideration, written comments can be submitted until August 2 (at same address as in previous paragraph; referencing Docket No. FRA 1999-6404).

A loan program potentially helpful to passenger rail was authorized by Section 7203 of the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21) in 1998. The Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program (RRIF) allows $3.5 billion in loan guarantees, of which at least $1 billion is for smaller freight railroads. On July 6, the Federal Railroad Administration published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that outlines the proposed procedures for RRIF. It says eligible projects include "acquisition, improvement or rehabilitation of intermodal or rail equipment or facilities (including tracks, components of tracks, bridges, yards, buildings, and shops," and debt refinancing. The final rule (49 CFR Part 260, Docket No. FRA 1999-5663) is effective September 5 and may be read at the Federal Register web site; comments can be read at the DOT web site.

A Toronto-Sarnia VIA Rail train derailed near Rockwood, Ont., July 9, injuring seven. No cause was reported.

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted July 12 to grant preliminary landmark status to Union Station. A year of public hearings will follow, which could mean delays for Amtrak development plans. Today, Union Station includes half of the last remaining major railroad station in Chicago. It opened in 1925, with a concourse building occupying one city block and a waiting room (Great Hall) and eight stories of offices on another. It was designed to accommodate another 16 stories of offices, which were never built. The concourse was razed in 1969 to accommodate some uninspired office buildings, with passengers relegated to a dim basement. An Amtrak concourse renovation in 1991 made the best of the poor space.

Joseph Vranich, frequent critic of Amtrak (and conventional passenger rail in general), resigned abruptly from the Amtrak Reform Council, July 10.

The House Ways and Means Committee's Oversight Subcommittee, chaired by Amo Houghton (R.-N.Y.), will hold a hearing July 25 on "tax law treatment of transportation infrastructure." It will include discussion of the High Speed Rail Investment Act, H.R.3700, which now has 137 sponsors (click here for more information). Houghton is the lead sponsor of the bill.

The Senate approved on July 20, 72-24, an amendment to the agriculture appropriations bill by Senators Specter (R.-Pa.) and Kohl (D.-Wis.) that would allow Amtrak to continue its eligibility to lease vehicles from the General Services Administration (GSA). Without the amendment, Amtrak estimated it would get hit with a $15 million a year increase in costs for leasing vehicles, including road-rail "high-rail" vehicles, police cars and buses for track gangs. The matter still will have to survive a House-Senate conference. There was lengthy, vocal opposition from Senate Commerce Chairman John McCain (R.-Ariz.; see also following paragraph). Click here to see how your Senators voted.

Senator McCain further expressed opposition to the High Speed Rail Investment Act (S.1900) in a July 19 letter to Senate Finance Chairman William Roth, whose committee has jurisdiction over the bill. McCain said, in part, "I am adamantly opposed to any efforts to provide Amtrak $10 billion of additional funding … I find it a breach of the [1997] agreement that Amtrak and others are already seeking substantial increases in funding …" The bill, of course, puts states in control -- investment only happens where a state is willing to help with funding. The bill also aims to bring geographical balance to corridor investments; almost all federal high-speed rail corridor funding to date has gone to the Northeast.

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R.-Ill.) made a rare appearance before a Congressional panel July 18 to attack the Federal Railroad Administration's proposed rule on municipal whistle bans. The proposed rule was the subject of a hearing of a subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The FRA, acting under the direction of Congress as expressed in the 1994 Swift Act, released the rule several weeks ago.  NARP has supported it in the interest of public safety -- that of motorists, pedestrians, railroad employees, and passengers. FRA studies have shown that whistle bans contribute to a higher rate of accidents than would otherwise occur. The rule lets communities keep their bans if they make modest improvements to the crossings, but some communities -- including some wealthy ones -- are complaining anyway.

The Federal Railroad Administration's Railroad Safety Board held a hearing today on Amtrak's petition for "grandfathering approval" of the use of five existing Talgo train sets on the Pacific Northwest Corridor and the Los Angeles-Las Vegas and San Diego-San Luis Obispo lines. NARP Executive Director Ross Capon, Ken Uznanski of Washington DOT, and Amtrak and Talgo representatives testified in support.

In the hearing, Amtrak said that Las Vegas service should start nine months after environmental approval is obtained for infrastructure work. Uznanski said most Pacific Northwest passengers would drive if the trains stopped running, and the fatality rate for autos is 23 times higher -- the injury rate 63 times higher -- than for passenger rail. Capon said efforts to save and improve Amtrak nationwide would be jeopardized by the shutdown of such a visibly successful corridor (ridership 226,000 in 1993; 565,200 in 1999). A Bombardier representative said that company still has major concerns about the equipment and would file detailed written comments. FRA promised to consider all comments submitted through August 2. A DOT site allows comments to be made electronically (and view written comments by others); specify Docket 6404.

An Amtrak police officer shot and killed a man July 18 just before 11:00 am in the concourse of Philadelphia 30th Street Station. A wire story said witnesses reported the man threatening others in a station restaurant and using profane language. The man, apparently homeless, was being escorted from the station by police when, reportedly, he picked up a metal chair and swung it at the police, daring them to shoot him.

Amtrak's new Auto Train terminal in Lorton, Va., was formally opened July 18. Construction took two years (completed in June) and included a new, 450-seat station, support facilities, and track improvements. Significantly, it means the CSX mainline should no longer be blocked by Auto Train switching movements. Indeed, the new, 1500-foot platform means the train doesn't have to be broken up. Thus, passengers can  reclaim their cars 20 minutes faster. Funding came from Amtrak, Virginia Railway Express, and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.

A tunnel on the ex-Southern Pacific Coast Line will be shut down the first two weeks in October for a major track and drainage project. The tunnel is between the Chatsworth and Simi Valley stations. Amtrak said it likely would run buses between those stations for Pacific Surfliner and Coast Starlight passengers. Metrolink will do the same for its 1,000 daily passengers who use that segment. When the work is done, track speeds can be raised from 10 to 40 mph, allowing timetables to be tightened by several minutes.

A hearing on the "Tax Treatment of Transportation Infrastructure" was held July 25 by the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, chaired by Amo Houghton (R.-N.Y.), who is the lead sponsor of H.R.3700, the House version of the High Speed Rail Investment Act. Most of the testimony -- where witnesses included Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Democrat James Oberstar (D.-Minn.) and Amtrak Chairman and Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson (R.) -- discussed the importance of H.R.3700. Indeed, no witness or subcommittee member expressed direct opposition to the bill.

Houghton said in his opening statement, "The tax law historically has sought to address the special needs of the transportation sector, but it has not always provided uniform assistance. Regrettably there is an imbalance in how federal law addresses the unique needs of the various modes of transportation...There is no comparable [to highways and aviation] source of stable, long-term federal support for the infrastructure related to passenger rail service...If the current tax law does not treat all transportation modes fairly, then we should point out where an imbalance may exist and explore how to correct it."

S.1900, the Senate version of the bill now has 50 sponsors and H.R.3700, the House version, has 147 -- see our web site for the full list.

Earlier on July 25, the full Ways and Means Committee approved a bill to overhaul railroad retirement, H.R.4844, which now includes an amendment to repeal the 4.3-cent-per-gallon diesel fuel tax that railroads including Amtrak still pay for deficit reduction. TEA-21 diverted the equivalent highway fuel tax to the Highway Trust Fund, benefiting the railroads' trucker competition. Some want to see the revenue from the railroad tax diverted to a trust fund benefiting regional railroads, but a representative of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) opposed that at the July 25 hearing. The AAR says railroads are entirely in the private sector and maintain their own infrastructure--they don't want to send their maintenance money through a bureaucracy and have it come back to them in reduced amounts.

The American Passenger Rail Coalition, a trade organization of Amtrak suppliers, on July 26 honoring Chairman Houghton, giving him the group's annual Rail Leadership Award, at a reception at Washington Union Station.

Congress has recessed until after Labor Day, having passed only one 2001 appropriations bill, and with the House not having named conferees for the transportation appropriations bill, H.R.4475. It's becoming more likely that the transportation bill will be part of a single, government-wide funding bill.

Amtrak Chairman and Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson is the chairman of the 107-member Platform Committee at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. He told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he will advocate a plank favorable to passenger rail. "I'm going to have us come out in favor of mass transit and high-speed trains across America," he said.

Testing of the Acela high-speed train was halted for a few days, Amtrak and Bombardier said July 21. Loose and broken bolts under a coach were discovered while testing the train at above 150 mph. However, unlike the bolt problem with power cars in June, this problem seems to be an issue of improper installation, rather than one of design. The bolts were to be inspected and reinstalled correctly, and then testing could resume. Service will begin in September at the earliest, according to the Washington Post.

A reminder that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) seeks comments through August 4 on its notice about new high-speed corridor designations. The notice is available at the FRA web site. Comments can be submitted electronically at a DOT web site, referencing Docket 4759.

Apple shipments from Washington State will begin on Amtrak's Empire Builder starting September 1, according to the July 27 Wall Street Journal. A refrigerated car will run from Wenatchee to Chicago and points east.  Suddenly, after an absence of many years in that market, two freight railroads, the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe, have come to Wenatchee and Yakima looking for similar business. The state DOT has a $500,000 state grant to buy cars to lease to Amtrak for the trial program.

Professional rail-transit critic and Amtrak Reform Council member Wendell Cox has taken his anti-light-rail show to Dallas, home of the successful DART system. The July 20 Dallas Observer outlined Cox's recent campaigns, including his success in San Antonio in helping to defeat a light-rail ballot initiative this spring, and his recent foray into Atlanta where he tried to promoted building a grid of freeways a mile apart. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on July 6 called this plan a "regressive hallucination" by an "untrained transportation expert who makes his living writing propaganda for pro-road causes."

Now Cox and the Texas Public Policy Foundation are trying to convince Dallas voters to reject an August 13 ballot question that would let bond sales speed light-rail construction. The Observer said the Foundation and Cox were "a San Antonio-based conservative group and a hired gun from Illinois who have traveled here to tell unenlightened Dallasites why light rail is bad." Cox often criticizes light rail for failing to "solve" highway congestion, without noting, as local light-rail supporters do, that the Dallas area's annual gain in residents is over twice the daily ridership on DART's current system.