NARP August 2000 Hotlines

#150 - August 4, 2000
#151 - August 11, 2000
#152 - August 18, 2000
#153 - August 25, 2000

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Republicans convening in Philadelphia approved a pro-passenger-rail plank in the party platform, for the first time. The language, approved August 1, says, "Republicans support a healthy intercity passenger rail system, and, where economically viable, the development of a national high-speed passenger railroad system as an instrument of economic development and enhanced mobility. We also support a multi-modal approach to our transportation needs." The chairman of the platform committee was Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, who is also the chairman of Amtrak.

Another part of the platform heartily endorses the firewalls Congress built around the highway and aviation trust funds. These same firewalls make the High Speed Rail Investment Act (S.1900/H.R.3700) our last hope for decent funding of intercity passenger rail. The platform -- including much more on transportation -- should be available at the party web site.

The Democratic convention will be August 14-17 in Los Angeles. On June 29, the Gore campaign announced a $25-billion "Keep America Moving" initiative, which, according to a release, would increase "transportation choices available to the American people ... through investments in transportation alternatives such as light rail, high-speed rail, mag-lev and cleaner, safer buses." There are separate paragraphs on "Building High Speed Rail" and on "Expanding and Improving the Existing [Intercity Passenger] Rail Network." The latter includes, "New grants to Amtrak and the states for improving existing and expanding passenger rail routes." More is available at the Gore campaign web site.

Amtrak Northeast Corridor's Twilight Shoreliner (trains 66/76 and 67) got checked baggage service effective August 1, at Richmond, Alexandria, Washington, Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, Newark, New York, New Haven, Providence, and Boston. Trains 173 and 174 still handle baggage for passengers connecting with Amtrak Intercity trains at all the places name above between Washington and Boston, plus New London.

The Kentucky Cardinal will lose its sleeping car effective August 11 southbound (August 12 northbound). The train will then become a coach-only train. On August 13, the California Zephyr will regain a third sleeper over its entire route. Currently, only two sleepers run (quite full) from Chicago to California, with a third doing a short-turn between Chicago and Denver. Amtrak told the Louisville Courier-Journal that the removal of the sleeper from the Kentucky Cardinal is "temporary" and that Amtrak still plans to bring the train to downtown Louisville. "Right now, we have a critical shortage of sleepers, and we need to reroute the [cars] to where the revenue will be better for us," said an Amtrak spokesman.

Amtrak's first "High Horsepower Locomotive" (HHP-8) went into revenue service on July 27 in Keystone service.  A total of 15 8000-horsepower electric locomotives are on order from the Bombardier-Alstom consortium that is building the Acela Express high-speed trains.

Coastal train service in California was interrupted by a landslide across Union Pacific tracks. A landslide July 30 caused Amtrak to bus passengers between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo all week.

Train 98, the northbound Silver Meteor, effective August 14, will leave Miami at 7:00 am (20 minutes earlier than now), and run up to 25 minutes earlier at all points to the north through Richmond (but on the current schedule north of there). This is to accommodate schedule changes on the Tri-Rail commuter trains (Miami-West Palm Beach).

Three commuter-rail demonstration trips will run on the line between Minneapolis and St. Cloud on August 10. There will be welcoming ice-cream socials in both cities. The Northstar Corridor Development Authority is taking advantage of the fact that a train set being delivered to Seattle for Sounder service is passing through Minnesota. The Authority proposes a service running by 2004 that would connect with the proposed light-rail line in downtown Minneapolis.

As Democrats prepare for their convention in Los Angeles this week, an Associated Press report says their platform committee is considering language that encourages investment in "our national passenger railroad, Amtrak, and high-speed trains that would give Americans choices -- freeing them from traffic, smog-choked cities, and being held hostage to foreign oil." The Gore campaign also has published calls for investment in Amtrak and high-speed rail. The Democrats' 1996 platform was silent on rail.

Republicans approved a platform August 1 that supports an "intercity passenger rail system" and high-speed rail. The AP story contrasted the 2000 platform with the 1984 platform that boasted of cutting "taxpayers' subsidy to Amtrak," and with President Reagan's attempts to kill Amtrak in the 1980's, and with Bob Dole's call in 1995 for a "roll back" of "federal programs" like Amtrak. The story noted prominent Republicans who openly support passenger trains, like Wisconsin Governor (and Amtrak board chairman) Tommy Thompson, and Senate Commerce Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas -- though, clearly, opponents remain. The 2000 Republican platform does not make specific reference to investment.

Amtrak in July recorded its highest monthly ridership since August 1990. There were 2,053,996 riders, bringing in $107.2 million in revenues -- 11.6% above July 1999. Amtrak President George Warrington said, "Amtrak is having its best summer ever, because we're putting the guest at the center of everything we do and backing it up with a one-of-a-kind guarantee." However, it is not a problem-free summer for Amtrak travelers, especially those on long-distance trains ...

NARP looked at the performance of 192 long-distance trains out of the just over 200 dispatched by Amtrak from August 4 to about August 10, and found that 67% of them were over 30 minutes late at their final destination. The information came from Amtrak's web site, which reports degree of delay (but no causes). The average end-point delay to all 192 trains (both for those that were late and on-time) was two hours and 15 minutes. NARP advises travelers on the worst performers (trains 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 30, 40, 48, 50; all averaging over three hours late) to be aware of the potential for serious delay.

The newest member of the Amtrak Reform Council is Nancy Rutledge Connery, of Woolwich, Me., appointed July 26 by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. She replaces conventional-rail critic Joseph Vranich, who resigned last month. A Council release says Connery is "an independent researcher, lecturer and policy advisor on infrastructure, transportation, and community development." She headed a Reagan Administration advisory panel that studied transportation issues. In the 1990's, she was a vocal opponent of the effort to start Boston-Portland passenger rail service. A letter-to-the-editor she wrote last year questioning the route's "financial sustainability" did not acknowledge government's huge role in planning and financing competing highways, or the pro-rail wishes of Maine voters as expressed through their elected officials.

Amtrak's proposed Los Angeles-Las Vegas Talgo train service has been postponed by at least another year. The most recent opening date had been September 2000 (next month), but an Associated Press story says it will now be late 2001 at the earliest. One factor in the delay is a ten-month project to build 20 miles of double track on the Union Pacific line in the Mojave Desert, work on which has not yet begun. UP required the double track to reduce passenger and freight train interference. Amtrak and UP have a permit request pending before the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where one outstanding issue is the track's potential effect on desert tortoise habitat.

Another outstanding issue is Amtrak's petition for "grandfathering approval" for the five existing Talgo train sets -- four of which are in current revenue service on the Pacific Northwest Corridor, and the fifth of which is planned for the Las Vegas service. The petition is necessary for continued operation of the trains because the trains predate the Federal Railroad Administration's new passenger-car safety standards. NARP testified in favor of the petition at a hearing on July 21. An FRA decision is possible by month’s end and, in any event, long before the Mojave Desert double-track project is completed.

An August 9 Wall Street Journal story on the FRA process, "Amtrak Cars Challenged Over Safety," begins, "A Canadian rail-car manufacturer [Bombardier] is pressuring U.S. transportation officials to take out of service the Talgo passenger cars used on the Amtrak Cascades line…" Stan Suchin of Washington DOT said, "We're extremely worried." Talgo America CEO Jean-Pierre Ruiz said, "The questioning of our safety is insulting…My competitor is causing this problem." Bombardier Transit Corp. President Peter Stangl said, "If there is a [safety] standard out there, then everybody ought to meet it."

A landslide west of Santa Barbara July 30 on Union Pacific tracks got a temporary fix by August 5 allowing Amtrak trains (Coast Starlight and Pacific Surfliner) to pass through. Freight trains are being rerouted around the area.  Permanent work that requires state and local approval is still needed to stabilize the area. Union Pacific has not yet decided when this should occur (or how long it will take), so the passenger trains continue to run with a speed restriction. There is a chance that this permanent work can be done at the same time as a two-week tunnel project between Chatsworth and Simi Valley, Cal., that will require closure of the line starting in late September.

Over 1200 enthusiastic people rode demonstration commuter trains August 10 on the line between St. Cloud and Minneapolis, Minn. The train they rode was on its way west from the Bombardier factory to Seattle to be put into Sounder service next month.

Voters in the Dallas metropolitan area on August 12 approved by an overwhelming margin a ballot initiative allowing Dallas Area Rapid Transit to quicken the pace of expansion by issuing $2.9 billion in bonds. Though only 3.7% of eligible voters turned out, the approval rate was about 75%. This will allow currently planned light-rail projects to open five years earlier, on average. It will also allow for a future round of planned project to begin in 2014, rather than 2020. Light-rail supporters hope that an accelerated pace of light-rail construction will help concentrate population near present and future transit stations, in an area that attracts 100,000 new residents annually. The Dallas Morning News pointed out that while the "starter" system built since 1996 cost $860 million, it has already attracted $800 million in private investment near rail lines.

An alert CSX freight crew in Virginia averted a possible tragedy on August 8, according to an August 17 Washington Post report. A signal had failed in two ways -- it did not show "red" for a train occupying the track ahead, nor did it show "red" as it should have in case of malfunction. This nearly allowed a northbound Amtrak Auto Train to enter a track segment at the Fredericksburg station, where passengers were boarding a VRE commuter train. The signal showed "yellow" for "approach," requiring the Auto Train to slow from 40 mph to prepare to stop at the next signal, beyond the VRE train. However, the segment is on a curve, making the VRE train invisible to the Auto Train until the last half-mile. Fortunately, the CSX crew noticed the faulty signal aspect and called a dispatcher in Jacksonville, who then radioed the Auto Train engineer, who stopped before reaching the signal.

The Post said a possible cause is a type of signal wire ("TC Green") made between 1948 and 1962, which has insulation that deteriorates with prolonged exposure to humidity. CSX told federal officials it is making daily inspections of 250 signals it owns with such wiring and would begin replacing such wiring. It is also installing dehumidifiers for signal bungalows. Other railroads are examining signals they own with such wiring and replacing the wiring over time.

The Maryland Transit Administration this week announced completion of a report saying that surface light rail is the most cost-effective way to link Silver Spring and Bethesda. Transit advocates and the Montgomery County Council have supported this for a long time. The Georgetown Branch project (using part of an old B&O line) would cost $258 million single-track ($293 million double), compared to about $1 billion for an underground Metro-style line. The Maryland General Assembly requested the report last spring.

At Baltimore-Washington International Airport, a light-rail vehicle on August 15 crashed through a barrier at the end of the line -- for the second time this year. Twenty-two were injured, one seriously. The front of the light-rail car jutted up several feet and struck an overhang of the airport building. The accident is still being investigated. Press reports indicate the driver told authorities he blacked out before the crash. He had been involved in three other accidents in 13 months -- two with automobiles that were determined not to be his fault, and a minor one in the Glen Burnie rail yard in July 1999. Tests done after all the accidents, including this week's, found no traces of illegal drugs, though the driver reportedly told investigators he was using prescription drugs.

After the February 13 crash that took place at the same spot, that driver told investigators he had been using illegal and prescription narcotic drugs. He was fired for violating a Maryland Transit Administration policy requiring employees to notify the MTA when they are taking such prescriptions. The MTA then reviewed its standards for operators and now requires drivers to have automobile drivers' licenses as well. On August 16, the MTA called for the immediate firing of drivers found to be using illegal drugs, though that would require union approval. MTA also said that a new bumping post ordered after the first accident would not arrive for another four months.

The Denver Regional Transportation District announced August 16 that it was reversing a decision it made in February to end the proposed Central Platte Valley light-rail line 1,000 feet short of Union Station. The RTD had been unable to reach agreement with the parties who control Union Station. But now, the entire 1.8-mile line can open next year, and Union Station will be in a better position to serve as the intermodal hub that RTD envisions it can be.

Construction began this week on a 1,200-foot, electrified track connection in Montclair, N.J., between the Montclair Branch of New Jersey Transit's Morris & Essex Line, and the Boonton Line. By the end of next year, the connection will allow trains from the western part of the Boonton line to pass through Montclair toward Newark and Penn Station in Manhattan. Work began with demolition of 19 structures that formerly housed 33 families, who have been relocated. Some of the residents accepted New Jersey Transit's offer of a down payment to purchase new homes, rather than taking a rental supplement.

Amtrak's southbound Silver Meteor derailed the morning of August 21 at Lake City, S.C. The accident occurred just after a street sweeper jumped a curb near a "T"-intersection next to the tracks and bent them, according to the state highway patrol. The train was on the scene almost immediately. Ten of the cars derailed, with up to 20 people taken to hospitals in Lake City and Florence. Altogether, there were 40 individuals among the 218 passengers and 15 crew with injuries. The single-track CSX main line at Lake City was blocked for at least a day, with Amtrak either detouring, annulling, or providing bus bridges for its trains.

As a result of damage to Viewliner sleepers in Lake City, the new Chicago-Philadelphia Skyline Connection, assuming it begins operation in the near future, likely will run without sleeping cars until the third week in October, when reduced consists on other trains will permit assignment of Viewliners to the new train.

The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) said August 21 that it had fired the driver involved in the August 15 light-rail accident at BWI Airport that injured 22 -- the second this year at the same spot. The driver had been fired once before, in 1994, after testing positive for cocaine, but returned after union officials intervened, according to the Baltimore Sun. He completed a drug rehabilitation program in 1997. He was disciplined in 1999 for a non-revenue light-rail accident.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari apologized for the incident to a panel of state legislators at an August 23 hearing in Annapolis. Legislators set an October 1 deadline to institute new safety features on the light-rail line and provide a written explanation as to why the two accidents happened, or face safety legislation making relevant changes. MTA promised that a train-stop type of signal system will be in place before service resumes to BWI Airport station in late October. New bumping posts that were on order before the August 15 accident will take four months to arrive. For perhaps 60 days, trains will continue to terminate at the parking-lot stop just outside the air terminal.

"The Georgia Rail Passenger Authority Wednesday approved a state budget request of $44.6 million [for 2002], primarily to ratchet up work on two planned commuter rail lines linking Atlanta with Athens and Macon," reported the Savannah Morning News August 24. Gov. Roy Barnes and the General Assembly must approve the request, which compares with $7 million in state funds for passenger rail in the 2001 budget.

Amtrak's Twilight Limited will resume service on the Detroit-Pontiac segment effective August 31. The Lake Cities -- which was to have been diverted to Toledo -- instead will continue to run to Pontiac for the foreseeable future. Thus, the Pontiac segment will be back to three daily frequencies (although the May 21 timetable only shows one).

Amtrak will lengthen the schedule of the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans, effective September 12. This is due to chronic lateness problems on that CSX line. (The train also does poorly on Union Pacific in the West). The westbound Sunset will leave Orlando at 1:00 pm, arrive New Orleans at 9:20 am (increasing running time 1:25 hours and New Orleans dwell time 2:25 hours). The eastbound train will leave New Orleans at 10:30 pm, arrive Orlando 9:00 pm (increasing running time 3:15 hours and dwell time 1:20 hours). The increased dwell time in New Orleans will be used for some equipment maintenance. Since CSX participated with Amtrak in creating the new schedule, Amtrak is expecting good reliability from the new schedule, and to tighten the schedules early next year when major trackwork is complete. NARP understands the impact on customers of trains that are almost ridiculously late, but is concerned about a history of railroads responding poorly when given more running time to Amtrak trains.

New York Gov. George Pataki (R.) on August 23 unveiled the first, newly rebuilt Turbotrain set at Albany. Six more such trains are to be rebuilt and made capable of running at 125 mph for service on Amtrak's Empire Corridor (though currently the top speed is 110 mph, south of Albany). The set unveiled this week will enter revenue service in October, but is now on display at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, through August 27. The Empire State Passengers Association was among the groups asked to volunteer to staff the display train. Pataki congratulated the workers of Super Steel in Schenectady, who rebuilt the train, and said the trains would be a cheaper alternative for travelers in an area with high airfares. The effort is part of a joint Amtrak-state $185-million program that will increase speeds and frequencies (trips from New York to Albany will eventually go from 13 to 18; to Buffalo from four to ten).

Amtrak complaints about its electrification contractors got another round of publicity. The Hartford Courant on August 24 published a story based on material Amtrak filed in U.S. District Court in Hartford. The filing was another step in the process that became public after FBI and Amtrak Inspector General personnel raided contractor offices June 7. Amtrak is concerned about the quality of material and the quality of installation work by Balfour Beatty Construction, Inc., of Atlanta and Massachusetts Electric Construction Co. of Boston. An AP story said, "Amtrak officials said they must review the companies' records to determine if certain bolts and clamps were tested properly, and whether zinc-plated clamps that are used on Connecticut's movable bridges were altered or another type of clamp substituted, according to the documents obtained by the Hartford Courant."