NARP November 2000 Hotlines

#163 - November 3, 2000
#164 - November 10, 2000
#165 - November 17, 2000
#166 - November 22, 2000

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The main message on the High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIA), to the White House and to legislators, should be -- "Work out your disagreements on the tax bill; pass it and sign it this year. HSRIA, which is part of the tax bill (and thus has passed the House), is too important to put off another year." Hope for passing the tax bill before the election ended last weekend after disagreements cropped up regarding other bills. The Senate adjourned November 1, with plans to reconvene November 14. The House likely will adjourn tomorrow and return November 13. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R.-Miss.) expressed hope that the lame duck Congress will make quick work of remaining legislation, including the tax package.

NARP has posted answers to questions by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers to presidential candidates George Bush and Al Gore.

Many voters will get to decide rail-related issues November 7, including:

Florida -- (statewide) Amend the constitution to require the state to begin construction within three years of a high-speed rail (or maglev or monorail) system linking the five largest urban areas, capable of at least 120 mph.

Missouri -- (Kansas City) Question 1 to provide a 0.5-cent sales tax for 20 years for the local funding match for a cross-shaped, two-line light-rail system, supported by Citizens for Kansas City Light Rail.

New York -- (statewide) Issue $3.8 billion in transportation bonds. Intercity (non-MTA) passenger rail would only get just over 1% ($40 million plus), but this is the first state bond issue in nearly 20 years with any intercity passenger rail money. Projects include upstate stations; for more, see the Empire State Passengers Association.

Texas -- (Austin area) Capital Metro seeks voter approval for a $919-million light-rail system. For more, see Light Rail Now!

Utah -- (Davis, Salt Lake, and Weber counties) Add a quarter-cent-per-dollar sales tax for transit expansion, including Ogden-Salt Lake City commuter rail, light-rail extensions south to Draper and west to the airport, and more service on existing rail and bus lines.

Washington -- (statewide) Initiative 745 would divert 90% of the sales tax revenue now dedicated to local transit systems to highways. This terrible proposal would cripple local transit agencies and also quite likely the Pacific Northwest High Speed Rail Corridor. For more, see Washington Association of Railroad Passengers.

Two freight collisions on the BNSF ex-Santa Fe mainline in the Southwest disrupted passenger-train service on Amtrak's Southwest Chief route this week. On the evening of October 29, a freight train partially derailed and collided with another freight train stopped on a passing siding, near Thoreau, N.Mex. (between Albuquerque and Gallup). It took about 24 hours to reopen both tracks, and Amtrak trains passing through the area had delays up to six hours. Then on the evening of October 31 -- before the congestion from the Thoreau accident had dissipated -- two freight trains collided west of Flagstaff, Ariz., blocking all tracks and causing a local evacuation due to hazardous materials concerns. That caused at least two nights' worth of Amtrak passengers to be bussed between Los Angeles and New Mexico.

Maine Department of Transportation awarded a contract for $22.6 million for rebuilding 56 miles of the state-owned, ex-Maine Central Brunswick-Rockland line. The winning bidder, Atlas Railroad Construction of Pennsylvania, was the low bid (the high bid was Guilford Rail Systems at $44.6 million). A spokesman for Governor King said the award was "more good news for efforts to restore passenger rail service north of Portland." Work is expected to begin in spring 2001 and end in fall 2002.

The Citizen Advisory Council for the North Station-South Station Rail Link in Boston on October 25 had its first meeting in almost two years. Part of their job is to review progress on the long-overdue Major Investment Study; Environmental Impact Study; and (Massachusetts) Environmental Impact Review. For the first time, a high-ranking Amtrak official was present, John Bennett, Vice President, Northeast Corridor Transportation Planning and Policy. He emphasized the need to get those reports out for public comment as soon as possible. There was much discussion about the need to protect the alignment from construction projects that would hinder building the Rail Link. The alignment will be easier to protect once those reports are final. Amtrak President George Warrington has said the earliest this could happen likely is next April. This probably depends on full cooperation from the Federal Transit Administration.

In a related matter, the October 26 Boston Globe carried an important editorial, "Saving South Station," about a 47-story skyscraper planned atop the station. The editorial endorses concerns of Federal Railroad Administrator Jolene Molitoris about the impact of this high-rise and its construction would have on South Station. The Globe praises Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation and Construction Kevin Sullivan for "resisting pressure to precipitously approve the project," but says the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the state legislature (by waiving some regulatory requirements) are pressing for quick approval. The Hines development group promises "a temporary 'commuter enclosure' that would provide an 'aesthetically pleasing and comfortable' environment." Responds the Globe, "That is like saying it would be enjoyable to wait for a train in the middle of the Big Dig ... The work would produce a dreadful environment for everyone inside the station ... This is no time to threaten a building that is one of the major transportation hubs of New England."

Last week's election does not change the fundamental pro-rail message we need to send to Congress (whose lame duck sessions begin November 13 and 14) and the White House -- continue working to reach a deal on the tax bill, and include the High Speed Rail Investment Act provisions. That's too important to put off for another year. [Of course, the defeat of Senate Finance Chairman Bill Roth means it likely would be much more difficult to get these provisions enacted next year.]

There were several rail-related ballot initiatives on November 7 -- here are some results:

California -- (Santa Clara County) Measure A providing a 30-year, half-cent sales tax for transit was approved by a 70-30 margin. The $6 billion in revenues will go toward extending BART from Fremont to San Jose, building two additional light-rail lines, and electrifying the Caltrain commuter line. Also, Alameda County Measure B (approved by an 81-19 margin) provides a half-cent sales tax generating $1.4 billion for highway, bicycle/pedestrian needs, and transit (including the county's share for BART to San Jose).

Florida -- (statewide) A constitutional amendment requiring the state to build a high-speed rail system was approved byt a 53-47 margin. If the amendment survives expected legal challenges, construction of a high-speed rail (or maglev or monorail) system linking the five largest urban areas, capable of at least 120 mph, must begin within three years.

Missouri -- (Kansas City) Question 1 was rejected by a 39-61 margin. It would have provided a 0.5-cent sales tax for 20 years for the local funding match for a cross-shaped, two-line light-rail system.

New Jersey -- (statewide) Public Question 1 was approved, amending the state constitution to put about $400 million per year of petroleum and auto sales taxes into the transportation trust fund over the next four years, to benefit highways and transit.

New York -- (statewide) An initiative to issue $3.8 billion in transportation funds was defeated by a 53-47 margin. Intercity passenger rail would have gotten just over 1% (a little over $40 million), but it would have been the first state bond issue in nearly 20 years with any intercity passenger rail money.

Texas -- (Austin area) Voters rejected by a 50.4-49.6 margin (just 1,851 votes) a plan by Capital Metro for a $919-million light-rail system. Metro has the option of reformulating the plan and coming back to voters in a year, but there are concerns that highway interests will see this week's defeat as an opportunity to divert some existing sales tax revenues from transit to roads, citing Austin's traffic problems. Meanwhile, other "transportation" bonds for road projects appeared to have been approved by area voters.

Utah -- (Davis, Salt Lake, and Weber counties) An additional quarter-cent-per-dollar sales tax for transit expansion was approved by a 55-45 margin. The revenues will support plans that include Ogden-Salt Lake City commuter rail, light-rail extensions south to Draper and west to the airport, and more service on existing rail and bus lines.

Washington -- (statewide) Initiative 745 to divert 90% of the sales tax revenue now dedicated to local transit systems to highways was defeated, 58-42. This terrible proposal could have crippled local transit agencies and also quite likely the Pacific Northwest High Speed Rail Corridor. King County Proposition 1 to raise sales taxes was approved by a 53-47 margin. This was necessary to make up for lost transit revenues after last year's Initiative 695 reduced the motor vehicle excise tax that provided much transit and rail funding. Although I-695 was ruled unconstitutional earlier this fall, the state legislature voted to keep I-695's $30 registration fee cap.

Amtrak's first Acela Express high-speed train set will have its formal launching November 16. The train, carrying invited guests, will travel non-stop between invitation-only ceremonies at Washington, New York, and Boston. The train is expected to leave Washington about 10:00 am, and New York about 1:00 pm. It is expected to appear in displays and on selected Metroliner schedules until the first day of regular, revenue service, December 11.

A truck derailed an Amtrak train at Moorpark, Cal., on November 4, derailing three of the five cars. Twenty-eight passengers and one crew member received minor injuries. The truck driver was killed, and a truck passenger critically injured. The train was northbound Pacific Surfliner #773 bound from San Diego to Goleta. It was running cab-car forward, and the impact caused the cab car -- a new Surfliner car delivered just this year -- to overturn. The National Transportation Safety Board said it would investigate the accident partly to see how the cab car's reinforced collision posts performed. The crossing was on a private, rural farm road, protected by signs. One witness told the California Highway Patrol that the truck did not stop at a stop sign at the crossing.

Amtrak accepted the first of 85 new diesel locomotives at Chicago on November 2. The balance of the $200-million order of General Electric P-42 locomotives will be filled over the next 12 months. Amtrak already owns a number of P-42's, but the newest one is the first to have a paint scheme compatible with the new Amtrak logo introduced in July.

At the Southeast High Speed Rail Conference in Richmond November 9, a Canadian Pacific official described his company's program to put short-haul truck containers on the rails. Montreal-Toronto-Detroit service began in June, and CP is in talks with Amtrak and Norfolk Southern aimed at extending the service to Chicago on the back of Amtrak trains early next year. The equipment is to be tested at 100 mph next month at Pueblo, Colo.

Also at the conference, Norfolk Southern Senior General Counsel Wiley F. Mitchell, Jr. -- who is leading the NS team studying public investment in rail infrastructure as an alternative to widening the Interstate highway from Harrisburg, Pa., to Chattanooga, Tenn. -- said that since 1950, U.S. railroads have applied for and received permission to abandon 82,884 route miles, about twice the length of the Interstate highway system. Mitchell said public policy should mandate that rail be considered as an alternative to any major highway improvement. He said the freight rail network includes many places (such as on NS east of Asheville, N.C.), where circuitous rail routings are not competitive with modern, parallel highways. He said it will take public investment to create modern rail infrastructure in such places.

Amtrak formally launched its Acela Express service yesterday. The event got positive coverage nationwide, especially on television. After a gala send-off at Washington Union Station, the train (filled with dignitaries) ran non-stop to New York in 2:26 hours; then non-stop to Boston in 3:14 hours. There were more celebrations at New York and Boston. The passenger list included the entire Amtrak Board of Directors, several Amtrak Reform Council members, Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D.-N.J.), Rep. Robert Borski (D.-Pa.), and Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater. In New York, noted sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer pronounced the train "very sexy."

This is the most visible step of a ten-year program to electrify the New Haven-Boston segment and improve the entire corridor. This larger program benefits all passenger trains using the corridor, not just Acela Express. Still, much more work remains to realize Acela Express' full potential -- mainly updating electric catenary in portions of the Corridor's South End to allow the top speed there to be raised from 135 to 150 mph (as will already be the case on parts of the North End), and addressing speed and capacity issues on the Metro North-controlled portion of the North End between New Rochelle and New Haven (where the highest possible speed is 75 mph for a nearly 50-mile stretch). Also, the Boston Rail Link is needed to replace today's "dead end" at South Station with access to many markets in Northern New England.

From November 18 to December 8, there will be other events involving the Acela Express train. These include "surprise" substitutions for Metroliners and Thanskgiving-weekend trains, station displays, and travel industry previews. Amtrak has not announced an exact schedule for those events. Revenue service begins December 11 with one daily round-trip, departing Washington at 5:00 am and Boston at 5:12 pm. After that, the next planned service addition (expected in February) will be a non-stop, South-End round-trip departing Washington at 6:50 am and New York at 3:55 pm, and a North-End round-trip departing Boston at 6:15 am and New York at 6:02 pm.

The Amtrak Reform Council met in New York yesterday. They discussed the staff working paper that advocates separating Amtrak from the infrastructure that it owns. Staff was authorized to develop the paper further, but also was told to include comments from other parties, including Amtrak. Click here for the comments NARP filed on October 6. NARP's Ross Capon reiterated parts of that document during yesterday's public comments session. He noted that Amtrak, even in its present structure, has some innovative contracts and agreements with individual states and with the Midwest states.

Chances of enacting the High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIA) this year hang on the lame duck session scheduled to start December 5. Although Senate Finance Chairman Bill Roth of Delaware was defeated, he remains determined to do what he can -- and Congressional leaders, if they hear enough support for the bill, just might pass it as a farewell tribute to Roth. Ask your legislators to tell their leaders this bill (part of the House-passed tax bill) is important to you and the nation. Tell the White House the same thing. See our web site for details on how to contact political leaders -- and consider using regular mail if you can get it out more than a week before Congress reconvenes. Tell everyone how unfortunate it would be if Amtrak met (or nearly met) its statutory self-sufficiency target -- and then fell apart for lack of further capital investment.

Thanksgiving is the busiest travel period of the year, and Amtrak is no exception. Trains will be added in the Northeast, Pacific Northwest, and Pacific Surfliner corridors. If you are traveling, you can make your trip easier by avoiding Wednesday evening (if possible), arriving at the station early, and booking a reserved seat (if possible) to ensure having a seat.

New Jersey Transit's Hudson-Bergen light rail line tomorrow will be extended north from Exchange Place in Jersey City to Newport. A further extension north into Hoboken is expected for spring 2002.

The Penn Station/Farley project in Manhattan will benefit from a $140-million loan agreement signed by Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater on November 14. The agreement, made with the Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment Corporation, falls under the terms of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA), which was part of the 1998 TEA-21 law. TIFIA allows for federal credit assistance to major transportation projects, while leveraging private co-investment.

Denver Union Station may be the object of a condemnation proceeding, after a vote November 14 by the Regional Transit District. The RTD wants to use the historic building as an intermodal terminal, but despite the vote, wants to continue negotiating with the owners.

The MBTA seems determined to use "dual-mode" buses for the South Boston Piers Transitway and some type of 60-foot articulated CNG bus as a replacement for the former Washington Street (Orange Line) elevated rail line to Dudley Station in Roxbury. The diesel/electric buses will now be electric only in the underground Transitway segments, between South Station and the South Boston Waterfront, as opposed to MBTA's original proposal to use articulated electric trolley buses for the entire service (both above and below ground). The MBTA now refuses to even discuss the community's desire for light rail for all-electric buses.

As a result, talks between the community, some environmentalists, and MBTA broke down, and Massachusetts Environmental Affairs Secretary Robert Durand must decide November 24 whether the MBTA's proposed $38-million bus purchase meets clean-air standards. On November 9, the South Boston Environmental Health Watch, a grassroots organization, wrote to Durand calling the Transitway buses a threat to the air quality of those living on the route. The November 10 Boston Globe reported that the breakdown of talks "has opened up a chasm between community groups and the Conservation Law Foundation," over who is really speaking for the neighborhoods involved.

Hope for the High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIA) is still alive, with Republican Senate Finance Chairman Bill Roth (Del.), Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, and Democratic Senators Frank Lautenberg (N.J.) and Daniel Patrick Moynihan (N.Y.) determined to make it happen if at all possible. Success probably depends on Senate and House leaders hearing enough support for HSRIA from colleagues. Ask your legislators to tell their leaders about the importance of enacting HSRIA this year. The leaders are, for Senate Republicans -- Trent Lott (Miss.), Senate Democrats -- Tom Daschle (S.Dak.), House Republicans -- J. Dennis Hastert (Ill.), and House Democrats -- Richard Gephardt (Mo.). Also, the White House needs to hear from you. To telephone any office on Capitol Hill, call 202/224-3121. The White House comment line is 202/456-1111. See our web site for more ways to contact political leaders -- and consider using regular mail if you can get it out more than a week before Congress reconvenes on December 5.

Committee chairmanships in the House of Representatives will be reassigned in January, in accordance with a 1995 Republican Caucus rule that limits chairmen to three terms (six years). Don Young of Alaska is in line to become chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The current chairman, Bud Shuster of Pennsylvania, likely will chair the big Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, which has jurisdiction over highways, transit, and Amtrak -- unless Young reshuffles subcommittee jurisdictions (as Shuster did).

Bill Young of Florida can continue as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee because he's only had the position for two years. It is not clear who will replace Frank Wolf of Virginia as chairman of the transportation subcommittee.

Charles Grassley, of Iowa, likely will succeed Roth as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

Equal party representation on committees in the Senate is the goal of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (S.Dak.). Currently, Republicans hold a two-seat advantage on committees. That could drop to one in light of this month's election. If Sen. Slade Gorton, the Washington Republican, holds onto his lead, and a Bush presidency keeps Democrat Joseph Lieberman in the Senate, the result would be a Senate with 51 Republicans and 49 Democrats. The outgoing Senate has 54 Republicans and 46 Democrats.

In the House, where 218 is a majority, the makeup likely will be 221 Republicans and 212 Democrats. The ration in the outgoing Congress is 222 to 209. [The outgoing House had two vacant seats; both new and outgoing Houses include two Independents.] Thus, the current, four-member Republican margin on committees could be reduced next year.

Amtrak's Acela Express tickets go on sale November 29; revenue service -- a single frequency in each direction -- starts December 11.

The Memphis station was officially opened, at last, on November 17. The station area is on the same level as the train, in the old, open concourse area that has been enclosed for a very nice and brand-new station. Parking is right outside the door to the station, next to the terminal track. You can step off the train and right into your car or a taxi. The old trailer will be removed. A precinct station for the Memphis Police Department should be open soon -- the space is finished. NARP Director Ed Von Nordeck of Riverside, Cal., says, "Memphis has gone from being one of the worst stations in the system to a spectacular star that has become an anchor for a growing arts and residential district in lower downtown Memphis. The 85-year-old building hasn't looked this good since it was new. The upper floors that used to house Illinois Central division offices now have apartments and commercial offices. The old REA Express area now is condos and apartments. The lower floor of the main station building is available for shops and restaurants, and negotiations are under way for several new tenants. Memphis is now one of the safest downtown stations in Amtrak's system."