NARP January 2001 Hotlines

#172 - January 5, 2001
#173 - January 12, 2001
#174 - January 19, 2001
#175 - January 26, 2001

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Amtrak passengers continue to experience severe delays in the Midwest, while Amtrak has annulled three trains through the end of the month and is running less than normal capacity on some others. The annulled trains are the Chicago-Janesville Lake Country Limited and two of the three Chicago-Detroit-Pontiac round trips (only morning westbound and evening eastbound are running).

NARP is deeply concerned and dismayed by the current situation, and continues to collect facts about what is transpiring and about the adequacy of Amtrak management's response to the weather. The situation was the subject of a big part of a teleconference meeting of the NARP Executive Committee last night with Amtrak Intercity President Ed Walker and his executive staff. The Amtrak people gave their perspectives on the crisis, and answered questions from Executive Committee members.

Commerce Secretary Norman Mineta is President-elect Bush's choice for Transportation Secretary. Mineta would be the only Democrat in the new Cabinet. He is a former mayor of San Jose and U.S. Representative from that area. He worked his way up the seniority ladder of the former Public Works Committee, serving as Surface Transportation Subcommittee chairman during the passage of ISTEA in 1991 -- at a time when jurisdiction over railroads (and Amtrak) had not yet been transferred to that committee. Mineta was chairman of the full committee in 1993-94.

In early 1995, Republicans became the majority in the House, at which point Public Works became the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (chaired by Bud Shuster, see below), and railroads (and Amtrak) were transferred there. Mineta became ranking Democrat then, but resigned from the House before Amtrak legislation reached the full committee level that year. Mineta's voting record on Amtrak was good, indicating a general support of passenger rail, but it's too early to tell how that will translate in the new administration.

William Thomas (R.-Cal.), whose district includes Bakersfield, is the new House Ways and Means chairman. The Republican leadership passed over the more senior Phil Crane (R.-Ill.) to pick Thomas, who thus could play a major role in the fate of the High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIA) that Senate Leaders Lott and Daschle promised to bring up early this year.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee once again will have a Subcommittee on Railroads. John Mica (R.-Fla.) reportedly is eager to chair it. It appears that Rep. Thomas Petri (R.-Wis.) will continue as chairman of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee.

Congress Daily yesterday said "several GOP sources indicate that ... Harold Rogers (R.-Ky.) will become chairman of the [House Appropriations] Transportation Subcommittee," succeeding Frank Wolf, whose chairmanship was term-limited.

Bud Shuster (R.-Pa.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee since 1995, announced he is resigning his House seat effective January 31. He cited recent "health scares" (for both him and his wife) and the belief that he had "reached the pinnacle of [his] congressional career." Indeed, under House rules, he could not serve as chairman over six years, and his successor (Don Young, R.-Alaska) was named yesterday. Shuster was criticized last fall by the Standards of Official Conduct Committee for "serious official misconduct" in connection with lobbying relations with a former staffer, though Shuster admitted no wrongdoing.

Shuster left a deep imprint on national transportation policy, but one that cannot be said, in its entirety, to benefit railroad passengers. Two of his key pieces of legislation -- TEA-21 in 1998 and AIR-21 in 2000 -- created budgetary firewalls that guarantee funding for transportation programs that benefit from trust fund revenues. That's great for highways and aviation (and transit, too, whose users don't pay a trust-fund user fee), but bad news for unprotected programs like passenger rail, which face a dwindling transportation appropriations allocation.

Shuster also was a main force behind the most recent Amtrak reauthorization act ("Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997"), which mandated operational self-sufficiency for Amtrak by fiscal 2003 and provides for a liquidation scenario for America's only intercity passenger rail service; but which provides no guaranteed capital funding as enjoyed by other modes. Shuster also opposed the HSRIA, which would have provided a federal-state capital funding partnership for many corridors, including many used also by long-distance trains.

Little Rock Union Station is for sale, according to the January 2 Dallas Morning News. Tenants include Amtrak, the Children's Museum of Arkansas, and a restaurant.

Extension of Caltrain commuter trains into the Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco will be the subject of a $900,000 study commissioned last week by the Caltrain Joint Powers Board. Such an extension would open significant intermodal transfer opportunities with BART, Muni rail and several bus systems, but would require reconstruction of the terminal itself.

VIA Rail Canada will acquire 139 "NightStar" passenger cars that were built for night trains using the Channel Tunnel, but which were never deployed. The cars apparently will be used in corridor and Eastern services, displacing equipment there for other uses. Because the cars reportedly have extremely strong crash resilience, with crumple zones and a coupler design that prevents cars from jack-knifing or riding up over each other in a collision, rail passenger advocates in Canada are optimistic that the equipment eventually will be allowed to run in the U.S. However, the tough stance FRA took on the Talgos suggests that a favorable outcome for these cars is not inevitable.

Passenger rail is a key part of the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Winter Meeting in Washington, which starts January 17 at Union Station with "the Conference's first ever National Summit on 'A National Rail Policy for the 21st Century.'" New Orleans Mayor Marc H. Morial, the Conference's incoming president, chose rail as the topic. The mayors will have an open dialogue on a new vision for passenger rail investment, release a national poll on "Passenger Rail Investment in America," and take an Acela Express trip to Baltimore.

Regarding the High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIA), it's not too early to ask your senators -- particularly those who were sponsors last year -- to agree to co-sponsor again as soon as they are asked. Getting 51 original co-sponsors would be a good way to start this year's campaign. There is an interesting analysis of the challenges awaiting the HSRIA in 2001 in an article in the January 11 Washington Post. Meanwhile, Olympia Snowe (R.-Me.), a strong passenger rail supporter whose state gains Amtrak service in a few months, has won a position on the Finance Committee (while retaining her Budget Committee seat).

In the House, the new chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation is Rep. Harold Rogers (R.-Ky.), whose district in the southeastern corner of the state, has no Amtrak service. At Transportation and Infrastructure, due to term limits -- and contrary to what we said last week -- Thomas Petri (R.-Wis.) cannot continue to chair the big Ground Transportation subcommittee. John Duncan (R.-Tenn.) also is term-limited at the Aviation subcommittee. A Petri/Duncan trade is possible, leaving others to compete for Railroads. The committee says chairmanships will be announced after the inauguration.

We hear that about a half dozen people have been contacted as possible candidates for Federal Railroad Administrator. The Meridian Star reported on January 10 that the former Bush Administration's Administrator, Gil Carmichael (now Amtrak Reform Council chairman), sees Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith as "in the top group of prospects."  Smith is currently a member of the Amtrak board.

The Clinton Administration's "current services" budget for fiscal 2002 likely will be submitted to Congress on February 5.  The Bush transition team, however, is working on its own budget proposals, which the Office of Management in Budget will review and pass back to the departments.  Resulting budget revisions will be submitted to Congress in March or April.  That could allow Congressional appropriations hearings to begin in February or March (as usual), but perhaps without the benefit of knowing what the new administration will propose.

Media coverage of the first four weeks of Acela Express ridership has been good. The single daily train (serving Washington at 5:00 am north and 11:43 pm south) carried over 11,000 passengers, or 12% above projection. The train had an on-time performance of 92%. That includes a 15-minute grace period (as for other Amtrak short-distance trains), but also includes a first week that was laden with service problems.

In a proposed budget for California for 2001-02 released January 10 by Governor Gray Davis, intercity passenger rail gets substantial funding above existing commitments. The proposed new funding requires legislative approval and includes $48 million for more Pacific Surfliner double track, $29.4 million for more San Joaquin double track (particularly near Pittsburg), $20.6 million for more Capitol Corridor double track (particularly between Sacramento and Davis), and $9.5 million in operating funds for additional service.

Amtrak Intercity said today that George Erickson, recently hired from the Alaska Railroad, will become General Manager, Chicago Terminal, effectively trading places with Steve McClarty, who becomes Senior Director, Operations Support. Jim Wolfe, General Manager, Midwest Corridor, is leaving Amtrak January 15. Though service annulments discussed here in previous messages remain, problems on remaining Chicago-based trains seem to be less severe than two weeks ago. The weather has been milder the last week, with days above freezing, and that may be helping.

Buses will replace certain Amtrak trains between Oakland and Stockton, Cal., between January 17 and February 8, due to track work. This applies to San Joaquin trains 713 and 716, weekdays only. Also, a track improvement project in the Florida panhandle is requiring some bus substitution for the Sunset Limited.  For eastbound trains (train 2) arriving Pensacola on Mondays and Wednesdays through January 31, the train will terminate in Pensacola (the Friday train will operate normally). On Monday, February 5 and Wednesday, February 7, train 2 will terminate in Tallahassee instead.

Amtrak will run an ad with a coupon for a 10% travel discount in USA Today starting today. It is meant to stimulate winter travel demand, but it is more restrictive than the NARP 10% discount (for example, the coupon is not on most Northeast services). The coupon is redeemable only at travel agencies, a feature that was praised by the American Society of Travel Agents.

Washington Metro tomorrow opens the rest of its Green Line, from Anacostia in the District of Columbia to Branch Ave. in Prince George's County, Maryland.  That completes all five lines as originally planned.  However, expansion efforts have not stopped, as new maps appearing in subway cars this week already show a planned Blue Line extension in Prince George's County east from Addison Rd. to Largo, and a planned Red Line "infill" station at New York Ave., N.E.; both scheduled to open in 2004.  Additionally, Metro and Virginia officials are working on plans for transit service to Dulles Airport by way of the enormous office center of Tysons Corner, whether by express bus, Orange Line Metro branch, or some combination of the two.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors on January 17 released a poll that shows strong public support for investing in passenger rail. The poll was conducted in late December among over 1000 randomly selected registered voters in ten metropolitan areas not located in the places with the best developed corridors (i.e., Northeast and California). When asked whether the federal government had the resources to develop a high-speed rail system, 87% said "yes." When asked whether their particular metropolitan area should be part of such a system, 69% said "yes." When asked if traffic congestion has worsened nationwide, 89% said "yes." When asked whether a high-speed rail system would have an effect on reducing traffic, 60% said it would have a "somewhat large impact." When asked if congestion was a good reason to spend public funds to build or improve rail systems, 68% said "yes."

The poll was released at Washington Union Station as part of the mayors' annual Winter Meeting, at which the mayors also renewed their support of the High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIA) and had a short ride on an Acela Express train. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R.-Miss.), who last month pledged early action on HSRIA in the new Congress, appeared at the meeting.

We expect a new, Senate version of HSRIA to be introduced early the week of January 22. At the moment, there are 29 Senators who have indicated they would be an originating sponsor, and we hope for more. Please ask your Senators to sponsor; click here for information on contacting Senators.

Outgoing Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater told the press this week that one disappointment from his tenure was the failure to enact the HSRIA. "Perhaps we could have exerted greater pressure on Capitol Hill," he said, "but I am not prepared to do a lot of second-guessing because we have made record investments in transportation infrastructure in the past eight years and I think that Congress will recognize that we do not want to leave America's passenger rail system behind." The confirmation hearing for Slater's successor, Norman Mineta, will be before the Senate Commerce Committee on January 24.

The Senate Finance Committee is getting its biggest turnover in members in years (including an even division between parties). The new chairman is expected to be Charles Grassley (R.-Ia.), who replaces HSRIA supporter Bill Roth (R.-Del.).  Other new members (those who were HSRIA sponsors last year denoted with asterisks) are Senators Daschle* (D.-S.Dak.), Torricelli* (D.-N.J.), Kerry* (D.-Mass.), Lincoln* (D.-Ark.), Bingaman (D.-N.Mex.), Snowe* (R.-Me.), Kyl (D.-Ariz.). The new ranking Democrat is Max Baucus* (Mont.), replacing Daniel Patrick Moynihan* (N.Y.). Baucus is giving up his seat as ranking Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over highways and transit. A reintroduced HSRIA likely would be referred to the Finance Committee as it involves tax matters.

New members of the Senate Commerce Committee are Boxer* (D.-Cal.), Edwards* (D.-N.C.), Carnahan (D.-Mo.), Smith* (R.-Ore.), Fitzgerald (R.-Ill.), Ensign (R.-Nev.), Allen (R.-Va.) -- again, those who sponsored HSRIA are denoted with asterisks. Commerce has jurisdiction over railroads, aviation, and maritime issues. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.-Tex.) will not be returning as Surface Transportation Subcommittee chair.

The Michigan State Transportation Commission on January 17 approved a $5.7-million operating contract between Amtrak and Michigan DOT for fiscal 2001 (same as federal fiscal year) for the Pere Marquette and International. Some minor details remain to be worked out, but problems are not expected.  The contract includes an agreement for the DOT and Amtrak to meet quarterly with freight railroads with the aim of improving on-time performance.

Florida legislators are divided over what to do about the high-speed rail constitutional amendment approved by 53% of voters in November. Some want a repeal of the amendment, which would have to be approved by two-thirds of both houses and then by voters in 2002. Some want to sue amendment backer C. C. Dockery for not including in the amendment the costs of beginning construction of a 120+ mph system by the end of 2003. Some are resisting Dockery's call for a state high-speed rail authority and spending $70 million a year on high-speed rail, as was state policy before the FOX project was cancelled by Governor Jeb Bush in 1999. Bush has said he will recommend no high-speed rail money in his budget proposal, which would seem to place him in the unconstitutional position of not moving forward on a project approved by the voters.

The Hiawatha light rail line in Minneapolis had its groundbreaking January 17, at the site of the proposed shops near downtown. Participants included Gov. Jesse Ventura, Transportation Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg, and Rep. Martin Sabo (D.). Completion of the 11.6-mile, $675-million line from downtown to Fort Snelling is due in 2003, with extension to the airport and Mall of America in 2004. Ventura said, "[This ceremony] is happening today because the public demanded more transportation choices and because so many have worked hard and kept their sights focused. Now the reality of the Hiawatha Line will make the Twin Cities and Minnesota more competitive in the 21st century."

Houston officials had planned to break ground January 25 on a 7.5-mile light rail line. However, a state judge has issued a restraining order against this after a lawsuit requesting a referendum on Metro's use of city streets. Metro and city officials say Metro is a government entity and does not need such a referendum.

Two maglev-project finalists were named January 18 by the Department of Transportation, under terms of the TEA-21 legislation of 1998. Of the seven semi-finalists, a 40-mile, $3.4-billion Baltimore-Washington project and a 47-mile, $2.7-billion Pittsburgh-area project remain. The two projects will get a total of $14 million this year for environmental impact studies and preliminary engineering.

Forty-eight senators so far have agreed to be original co-sponsors of the High Speed Rail Investment Act, which likely will be introduced next week. The new bill number is not known yet. Key senators who are not yet co-sponsors are: Allen (R.-Va.), Bayh (D.-Ind.), Dorgan (D.-N.Dak.) and Lott (R-Miss.). Allen was one of several senators who spoke positively about passenger rail at a Senate Commerce hearing (see below).

Senators who may not be so close to signing but who should hear from rail passenger supporters include Akaka (D.-Hawaii), Cochran (R.-Miss.), Ensign (R.-Nev.), Fitzgerald (R.-Ill.), Lugar (R.-Ind.), Murkowski (R.-Alaska), Nelson (D.-Fla.), Nickles (R.-Okla.), Smith (R.-Ore.), Stevens (R.-Alaska), Voinovich (R.-Ohio). Click here for information on how to contact Senators.

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta was confirmed by the Senate by a voice vote on January 24 -- even as his nomination hearing still progressed in the Commerce Committee. The same day, Wisconsin Governor and Amtrak Board Chairman Tommy Thompson was confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary.

Mineta said a lot about increasing aviation capacity in his opening statement, but did not address passenger rail until the question period. When asked what he thought about Amtrak's prospects, he said, "I am looking towards the work of the Amtrak Reform Council. They have the charge on operating self-sufficiency.  We need to wait for their report and see what progress has been made. There is a question of limited financial resources and seeing where to make them work. The issue of operating subsidies is what's being looked at by the ARC. Capital, I think, is one that has to be looked at. The capital starvation of Amtrak means that it is not operationally successful. With my limited knowledge, I have to explore what's needed to make it work."

Chairman John McCain (R.-Ariz.) renewed his earlier call for a "national debate" on the role of passenger rail, adding that "any objective observer will tell you we will have the Northeast Corridor and California, but rail service nowhere else will be viable." He attacked those that would provide more funding for passenger rail -- conceivably benefiting areas in addition to the Northeast Corridor and California -- without going first through his committee. He attacked Amtrak ridership as "essentially flat through its history," without acknowledging the powerful role that government largesse to other modes has played during that period (and for decades earlier).

However, Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.-Tex.) said, "I believe all modes have taxpayer capital subsidies. I don't mean operating subsidies ... We can't starve Amtrak on capital and expect operational self-sufficiency ... When we see overcrowded highways and airports there is no question that we need to keep rail as an option."

Amtrak released a schedule for restoring train services in Michigan and Wisconsin that were suspended in late December due to an inability to keep up with freeze problems on some rolling stock. The Lake Cities (trains 350/355) was restored January 26 (today) between Chicago and Detroit (but not Pontiac). The Lake Country Limited (Chicago-Janesville) resumes westbound today and eastbound January 27. The Twilight Limited (trains 352/353) will resume service westbound February 1 and eastbound February 2. Detroit-line trains will run with Superliner cars (not Horizon as usual) at least through the end of February, though with no Business class service. All trains in Michigan will offer a two-for-one fare available for purchase and use February 1-March 10. No explanation for not running the Lake Cities to Pontiac has been offered, which is disappointing after the effort it took in 2000 to get all three trains restored on that segment.

A temporary reroute began for the westbound Texas Eagle this week between Texarkana and Dallas. The reroute is being forced by a Union Pacific track project, and involves running train 21 south from Texarkana to Jefferson on its traditional UP route, then west on the Kansas City Southern to Dallas. This is one of the possible routes for the proposed Texas section of the Crescent. Eastbound train 22 is unaffected. Train 21's missed stop at Gilmer will be covered by a temporary stop at Jefferson. The detour periods are January 21-27, February 1-11, February 16-24, and March 1-11.

The Montana House of Representatives voted 80-20 January 20 in favor of House Joint Resolution 3. This puts the House on record in favor of a Spokane-Denver passenger train route proposed by the Montana/Wyoming Association of Railroad Passengers, though it provides no funding or other mechanism to move the idea along.

For those interested in rail history, PBS will broadcast "Streamliners: America's Lost Trains" as part of its "American Experience" series, Monday, February 5 at 8:00 pm Eastern (but check local listings). The one-hour documentary "follows the rise and fall of an American transportation system born of desperation and the genesis of a design movement on the rails and in popular culture."