NARP March 2001 Hotlines

#180 - March 2, 2001
#181 - March 9, 2001
#182 - March 16, 2001
#183 - March 23, 2001
#184 - March 30, 2001

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The Bush Administration released its "budget blueprint" for fiscal 2002 on February 28. For Amtrak, $521 million is proposed. While that is the same level as this year, the good news is that it is proposed to be "scored" for budget purposes at 100%. That means Amtrak would get all the money at once, not spread out over more than one year. For example, in recent years, Amtrak's 40% "scoring" has meant it gets 40% of a year's funding in the first year, and the other 60% the following year. Thus, under the Bush proposal, Amtrak in 2002 would get 60% of its 2001 funding ($313 million) plus 100% of its 2002 funding ($521 million), implying a total of $834 million in resources made available in 2002.

This is good, but for now just a proposal. Amtrak critics in Congress could still try to erode this. Tell your legislators, President Bush, and Secretary Mineta you support the Amtrak figure released today. Click here for ways to reach them. Also tell them you support the High Speed Rail Investment Act, which Congress will consider separately. The two items together are important steps toward getting passenger rail back to a "state of good repair" and expanding it.
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The High Speed Rail Investment Act co-sponsor count still stands at 51. Possible recruits include Carnahan (D.-Mo.), Harkin (D.-Ia.), and Reed (D.-R.I.). Click here for ways to contact them.

The Cascades Corridor was disrupted on February 28 by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake centered near Olympia, Wash. The northbound Coast Starlight was annulled at Eugene to be turned back the next day and the westbound Empire Builder was annulled at Spokane; both got substitute buses. Burlington Northern Santa Fe inspected its tracks for 260 miles in each direction and had lines open by the afternoon of March 1. King Street Station is very close to the most damaged part of Seattle, but has been inspected and reopened.

Acela Express service expands March 5, and the Northeast Corridor gets a new schedule. In addition to the single Washington-Boston weekday round trip that began December 11, Amtrak will start a new Washington-New York weekday round trip and a Boston-New York weekday round trip. Both will offer full business days in New York. The Washington run will be non-stop, leaving Washington 6:50 am and New York at 3:50 pm with a running time of 2:28 -- the fastest schedule ever. Previously, Metroliners were scheduled to make that trip in 2:30 for brief periods around 1970 and 1991. Metroliners will continue to follow the new non-stop Acela Express at 7:00 am and 4:00 pm to serve intermediate stations.

The other new round trip will leave Boston at 6:12 am and New York at 6:00 pm, stopping at Back Bay, Route 128, Providence, and New Haven. Also after March 5, Amtrak will add more Metroliner service on weekends. More Acela Express trips are expected to be added when the general timetable change takes place April 30. Acela Express on-time performance was over 97% between January 8 and February 21.

Speed trials were quietly held February 15-16 using a refurbished Turboliner, according to New York state officials. Amtrak and New York State DOT ran tests during the night on CSX track between Albany and Hudson reaching speeds of 125 mph. The train is one of seven being refurbished and could enter regular service on the Empire Corridor about two months from now. The Albany Times Union said Gov. George Pataki (R.) was "pleased" with the test and with progress on the $200 million high-speed rail project. "High-speed train travel is coming to New York State, which will help promote economic development and enhance travel options across the state," he said on February 23.

St. Louis city officials reported February 27 that they were "on the verge" of reaching a 20-year lease agreement with Amtrak that would allow development of a new, intermodal terminal to go forward. This would replace and be on the site of the "temporary" trailers Amtrak has inhabited since 1978, when it evacuated a seriously deteriorating Union Station. The new station will cost $29 million and will include MetroLink light rail, Bi-State local buses, and Greyhound intercity buses.

It appears that the Reno Amtrak station will be spared, as that city prepares for an over $200-million project to depress the busy Union Pacific main line through the downtown area. The two-mile trench will replace 11 street crossings. Temporary tracks will be laid on Commercial Row while the trench is dug. Ultimately, Amtrak will occupy a new addition to the ex-Southern Pacific station, built in 1926, with access to a below-grade platform via elevator and stairs.

The New Mexico legislature is on the path to approving an Albuquerque-El Paso passenger-train demonstration project. Senate Bill 92 has passed three Senate committees. It would provide $300,000, of which about $200,000 would be for engineering, economic and safety analyses, and the rest for a test operation lasting three days.

Prospects for continuing planning for a proposed Lansing-Detroit commuter rail service are looking up now that five of the six communities that were asked to contribute money for the last phase of a feasibility study have paid their $20,000 share, or have committed to. The effort is being led by the Capital Area Transportation Authority of Lansing.

Amtrak added more Northeast Corridor "Quiet cars" yesterday. As explained in our February newsletter, NortheastDirect train 151, Acela Regional train 170, and Metroliners 106 and 107 already have cars designated as free from cell-phone conversation and computer noises. Now the 1:00 pm Metroliners (trains 114 and 115) also have them. Amtrak will consider adding more as demand warrants.

Amtrak is offering its spring "1-2-FREE" fare. It allows one full-fare passenger to be accompanied by a second passenger at half-fare, and a third (if any) for free. Good for travel from March 11 to June 15 (buy tickets by May 12), blocked around Easter and Memorial Day, not good on Auto Train, Acela Express, Metroliner, Friday/Sunday peak NortheastDirect, or in Ontario.

The High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIA), S.250, has 52 sponsors now, with the addition this week of Jack Reed (D.-R.I.). On the House side, Bob Clement (D.-Tenn.), Amo Houghton, and Jack Quinn (both R.-N.Y.), and James Oberstar (D.-Minn.) need to hear support for introducing a HSRIA similar to what the House passed as part of its tax package last year and the S.1900 as rewritten by the Senate Finance Committee. Today, a bipartisan group of House members and their families took a special Amtrak train to the Greenbrier Hotel at White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., to continue the annual retreat tradition inaugurated by Newt Gingrich.

Amtrak released a final, 20-year improvement plan for California on March 7. The draft version was released last May and described in our December newsletter. The plan calls for $10 billion in investment -- $2.7 billion in the next three years -- to be used to improve all three of today's corridors, plus development of a new "Coast" corridor. That would involve a new Coast Daylight train from San Francisco to Los Angeles, plus other train service from San Francisco to Salinas and Monterey. As with any improvement plans involving state partnerships, this ambitious plan would benefit immensely through passage of the HSRIA.

Flooding and other problems caused by heavy rains disrupted Amtrak service in California this week, particularly between Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo. One problem is that weather-related commercial electricity supply disruptions have caused signal batteries to wear down. Another potential problem is renewed ground instability at the location of a landslide last July 30 west of Santa Barbara.

The March 5 snowstorm in the Northeast had little impact on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. While thousands were stranded in airports, Amtrak reported only cancellation of a pair of midday Metroliners, and other minor delays. The inaugural northbound non-stop Acela Express from Washington to New York was delayed 10 minutes.

North Carolina DOT this week released its "Western North Carolina Passenger Rail Study," updating a 1997 report. The plan calls for starting by beginning Salisbury-Asheville Thruway bus service in 2002, or possibly running it further to Knoxville, Tenn. Other activities like property acquisition, negotiation with Amtrak and Norfolk Southern, track work, and equipment acquisition would take place up to a potential start-up of Salisbury-Asheville rail service in 2005. The last service to run there ended in 1975.

The Portland Press Herald today reports that the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority and Guilford are discussing starting Boston-Portland service in June at 59 mph top speed (2:40), while the Authority and Amtrak seek clarification of the Surface Transportation Board's original order allowing 79 mph (2:28).

St. Louis Mayor Clarence Harmon announced March 2 that the city and Amtrak had agreed on a 20-year lease that will allow the proposed intermodal terminal to go forward. The $29-million St. Louis Gateway Transportation Center will be funded by the Federal Transit Administration, Missouri DOT, the Bi-State Development Agency, and the city. The first work will be on a maintenance building starting in the next few weeks. Work on the new station -- roughly on the present site -- will begin within a year.

Oklahoma House Bill 1173, which would move about $60 million in motor vehicle registration fees from the general fund to transportation programs, was approved by the House of Representatives this week, 98-0, and sent to the Senate. If approved, HB 1173 would provide about $17 million for the state Railroad Revolving Maintenance Fund, some of which would be used for the current Fort Worth-Oklahoma City Heartland Flyer, plus a proposed extension north to Newton, Kans. Senate Joint Resolution 4 would allow voters to consider a 10-year, one-cent gas tax to finance passenger rail projects. It has been approved in committee and awaits a floor vote. Its wording allows for other funding sources as well (like that in HB 1173).

The Amtrak Reform Council will release its annual report March 20. It may contain all or part of recommendations from an ARC staff paper on taking Northeast Corridor infrastructure away from Amtrak. Click here for a critique of this idea.

Responding to media reports from last weekend, Amtrak has denied that it will cut train and/or food service on the Empire Corridor. However, it remains true that Amtrak's budget for the current year is exceptionally tight.

As part of a meeting this week of the National Conference of Black Mayors, Amtrak ran a special train from Atlanta to Macon on March 6, and then to Savannah on March 7. The route is part of the federally designated Southeast High Speed Corridor. Among the mayors on board were those from Denver, New Orleans, Birmingham, and Meridian, Miss.

The Ohio State University Center for Survey Research released a poll on March 8 in Columbus showing strong support for passenger rail. The poll results show that 80% of Ohioans want the state to develop passenger rail service. More than half (53%) said the best way to relieve road traffic congestion is to "improve all forms of transportation including mass transit and high-speed rail." More information on the poll is available at the Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers web site.

The Great American Station Foundation is taking applications for this year's grants for station revitalization projects. Grants are intended to help jump-start community efforts to restore stations as active intermodal facilities and to ensure such stations contribute to local economic development. Applications are due April 13; for more see their web site.

A House version of the High Speed Rail Investment Act should be released soon. In the meantime, we need Carnahan (D.-Mo.) and Cantwell (D.-Wash.) to co-sponsor the Senate bill, S.250. If one is your Senator, please let her know you support this bill.

Houston Metro broke ground on the area's first light rail line on March 13 -- a 7.5-mile, $300-million line connecting downtown with Hermann Park, Rice University, and the Astrodome. Among the many obstacles to this project has been opposition from powerful U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay (R.), who represents a far southwestern suburban area. He blocked $65 million in federal funding last year. Also, a lawsuit claimed a referendum on the light rail line was required. An appeals court rejected that idea March 8, reaffirming Metro's position that a referendum is not needed (or perhaps not even legal) since Metro is a public agency and no bonded debt will be issued to fund the project. However, the Metro board decided on March 8 that future extensions would be approved by voters.

Twelve employees of the Birmingham Steel plant at Bourbonnais, Ill., have been  nominated for the prestigious Carnegie Medal, awarded by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission. They were nominated by survivors of the March 15, 1999, collision of a steel truck and Amtrak's City of New Orleans, and by the relatives of the 11 killed on the train, in recognition of the rescue assistance provided by the workers. Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board expects the investigation to be completed this summer. Such investigations usually take a year, but this case has been held up in part because of the untimely death of the lead investigator a year ago. Concrete medians will be installed at the McKnight Road crossing, scene of the accident, preventing vehicles from zigzagging through.

New York State officials plan to use rebuilt Turboliners to cut Amtrak's Albany-New York running time down to two hours, but CSX says tax relief from the state must come before track improvements. CSX owns the Albany-Poughkeepsie segment, where some running at 125 mph is envisioned. Current state law would make CSX pay taxes on improvements that benefit only passenger trains. This unfortunate law also has delayed restoration of double track between Albany and Schenectady, a bottleneck for Amtrak trains. Governor Pataki has proposed a ten-year tax exemption on such upgrades and the legislature nearly agreed to that last year before annual budget negotiations ended.

A Missouri House bill (HB 685) would create a Transportation Sales Tax fund using three cents per gallon added to the state fuel tax and from a few other sources. In return, it would distribute 65.5% of the funds to transit, 13% to intercity passenger rail, and lesser amounts to ports, intercity bus, and bicycle and pedestrian needs. This could help with investment in the St. Louis-Kansas City route (which on January 19 got federal designation as a high-speed corridor), and others. The sponsor is Joan Bray of St. Louis, a long-time friend of rail passengers. The bill has been referred to the House Transportation Committee.

Also in Missouri, a Senate bill, SB 286, would increase the sales tax by 1% to create a State Sales Tax Transportation Fund, with 80% going to roads, 15% for transit, and 5% for other "multi modal transportation projects." Its sponsor is James Mathewson of Sedalia.

Amtrak's Boston-Portland service is postponed from May 1, as reported here in recent weeks, probably to sometime this summer. A 1999 decision on the part of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) seemed clear that Amtrak could run at 79 mph on 115-pound rail on Guilford track in New Hampshire and Maine after track work and testing. However, since Guilford has refused access to Amtrak to do the testing, Amtrak has had to file another petition to the STB (on March 12). Guilford also has claimed that the STB decision requires repeated testing the length of the line, something that is not practical. Amtrak's new petition also asks for approval of the proposed testing methodology and clarification that continuous testing is not required. Meanwhile, Guilford has increased its effort to reach agreement on other outstanding issues -- and the lead story in the March 15 Maine Times focuses on "The Guilford Dilemma."

Amtrak today issued its 180-day notification to discontinue the Chicago-Janesville Lake Country Limited. Effective March 24, this train will convert from daily to Saturdays only (the day of highest passenger use), on its present schedule. When it began in April 2000, the train was expected to carry significant amounts of express business and relatively few passengers. The express business did not materialize, in part because of Amtrak's inability to work out an agreement on a connecting train with Norfolk Southern in a timely manner (the proposed Chicago-Philadelphia Skyline Connection).

The Janesville train has been part of bad press Amtrak has gotten lately, including in this week's U.S. News and World Report. That article used the train as an example of all Amtrak trains, ignoring its experimental status and ignoring Amtrak's successes. The article -- like some government officials -- also confuses operating loss and federal operating support, in an attempt to make it seem less likely Amtrak can meets its Congressional mandate to survive without federal operating grants. "Operating support" is smaller than "operating loss," and does not include depreciation and mandatory excess payments to the federal railroad retirement system (that benefit freight railroad retirees).

The New York Times on March 13 reported on a March 12 race between three reporters from the White House in Washington to City Hall in New York. While the reporter who flew beat the reporter who took the new Acela Express run by 24 minutes, she also paid $67 more for a less comfortable, more hectic journey. The reporter who flew also benefited from ideal weather conditions and the foresight to use subways on both ends of the journey. The reporter who drove had the slowest and cheapest trip, but had to park illegally upon arrival.

The House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee held its hearing on fiscal 2002 Amtrak funding on March 21, presided by the new chairman, Harold Rogers (R.-southeast Ky.). Witnesses were Amtrak President George Warrington, DOT Inspector General Ken Mead, and Phyllis Scheinberg of the General Accounting Office. The overall tone was rather negative. Many questions properly focused on Amtrak's ability to comply with the statutory operational self-sufficiency mandate. But questions and comments from some subcommittee members (including the chair) and the GAO made much about the profitability of trains when that is not expected of highways or airports. Much also was made of the "billions" needed to develop rail corridors, as if "billions" also won't also be requested for highways and airports in the future. And much was made of Amtrak's puny market share without discussion of its puny funding.

Amtrak President George Warrington made a sincere effort to provide some balance, noting the rail renaissance now underway. He said he would not identify a couple long-distance routes to be sacrificed in the name of budget cutting -- "My focus is on attacking [modernizing] business systems in the company ... I can leverage our assets and other income to cross-subsidize critical passenger services that by nature won't cover all their costs, and so not need a federal operating grant overall."

The Amtrak Reform Council issued its second annual report on March 20. The report states, "The Council believes a secure, long-term source of funding is needed to fund an effectively-structured national rail passenger system." However, this observation comes at the end of a long paragraph otherwise devoted to recommending a near-total restructuring of how rail passenger service is delivered in the U.S. The Council thinks Amtrak's "poor performance is due to fundamental institutional flaws, and not to Amtrak's Board of Directors, managers, or employees."

The report says restructuring can only work "if appropriate and adequate funding is available." However, if the ARC is able to launch a big restructuring debate, this could take the spotlight away from the critical -- and tough -- problem of securing the needed funding. It is not clear that a restructuring alone will cause Congress to open up its purse strings. Tight spending "lids" and firewalls protecting most other transportation spending are the real major obstacles to more rail funding today. The ARC plans hearings on its report, and hopes it also will receive consideration at Congressional hearings on Amtrak.

The ARC report got a cool reception at the March 21 House hearing. Warrington, Mead, and Scheinberg all agreed that the restructuring recommendations were premature, absent clearer direction (presumably from Congress) on the size of the nation's passenger rail network and the funding to be provided.

About 200 business leaders and others interested in better passenger rail attended a conference in Charlotte on March 19, sponsored by the Southeastern Economic Alliance -- made up of 13 Chambers of Commerce from across the Southeast. Among the speakers were South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges (D.), Senator Max Cleland (D.-Ga.), and Bank of America President Hugh McColl, who said building highways alone hasn't relieved congestion -- "You simply invite more people to the party." The participants support passage of the High Speed Rail Investment Act as a means to attract investment to the several corridors that cross the Southeast, thereby spurring economic development and providing an alternative to congested highways and airports.

The newest co-sponsor of the High Speed Rail Investment Act, S.250, is George Allen (R-Va.), but the total is still 52 because Max Baucus (D.-Mont.) dropped off, at least for now.

One passenger was killed when the westbound California Zephyr derailed shortly before midnight March 17 near Nodaway, Ia. There were 85 passenger and 11 crew injuries. Investigators are concentrating on fragments of broken rail found at the accident. The train derailed where a rail defect was detected last month and where a temporary patch had been installed. The patch was to be replaced with a new length of rail soon. Burlington Northern Santa Fe inspects the line visually at least three times a week, and with ultrasound equipment monthly. Both locomotives and 11 of 16 cars derailed, several overturning; the five mail/express cars at the end of the train did not derail.

The Florida Senate Transportation Committee passed a bill March 22 to spend $8 million to create a High Speed Rail Authority to start preliminary work on the high-speed rail system that was approved as a constitutional amendment by voters last fall. Also, a House committee approved a bill to create a commission to study financing options. U.S. Rep. John Mica (R.-Fla.), member of the House Railroads Subcommittee, said he expected the federal government to provide $5-8 million toward any preliminary efforts.

A bill in Colorado, HB-1329, that would have helped non-highway forms of transportation was rejected by the House Appropriations Committee on a 7-6 vote. The bill would have asked voters this fall to approve use of $1.325 billion over ten years in surplus tax revenue for rail, bus, bicycle, and pedestrian projects.

Amtrak has announced a 25% discount on rail fares through June 15. It is for individual passengers, unlike most "companion" discounts. It is not combinable with most other discounts, but can be combined with the Explore America fare. It is nonrefundable and blacked out around Easter and Memorial Day.

A note of caution is in order for those booking Amtrak's "1-2-Free" fare, mentioned here on March 2. While Amtrak promotional materials mention the possibility of "weekend trips," the fare does not apply to peak "YOFC/YOSJ" fares. On Friday-Saturday-Sunday on Michigan services and Friday and Sunday on Northeast Corridor, New York, and Vermont services, those peak fares generally apply and thus makes the "1-2-Free" fare invalid for most weekend travel in those areas.

Track work in Metro North territory will force an Empire Corridor schedule change from April 1 to June 8. New York-Albany trip times will be 10-15 minutes longer, trains 236 and 295 are annulled (April 29-June 8 only), and the Adirondack will have a separate weekend schedule in both directions.

Washington Metro's rail system this week marked the 25th anniversary since the first segment opened for revenue service. That was 4.6 miles of the Red Line, Rhode Island Ave.-Farragut North, March 29, 1976.  Segment by segment, the system grew until the last piece was added this year (Green Line to Branch Ave., January 13), rounding out the original 103-mile system envisioned by Congress. Metro now carries 600,000 a day on trains and 500,000 on buses, making it the second-busiest transit agency in the US, after New York City's system.

As pointed out in Washington Post articles this week, Metro's twin challenges are serving the suburb-to-suburb travel market that didn't exist 25 years ago but which now plugs up area roads, and meeting Metro's own capacity needs since ridership could double in the next 25 years, on infrastructure that is already beginning to age. Yet there is no denying the great extent to which Metro has affected development in the places (like Arlington and Bethesda) where local leaders encouraged it.

The High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIA), S.250, now has 54 Senate sponsors, with the addition this week of Bayh (D.-Ind.) and Dayton (D.-Minn.). Click here for a full list. The following Senators really should be on that list too; contact them if they are yours -- Cantwell (D.-Wash.), Carnahan (D.-Mo.), Harkin (D.-Ia.), Lugar (R.-Ind.), Wyden (D.-Ore.), Smith (R.-Ore.), Baucus (D.-Mont.). Tell them you support HSRIA and that its passage would benefit the national passenger rail network as a whole. Click here for ways to contact them.

A House version of HSRIA is in final stages and could be introduced in the coming week with as many as 30 original co-sponsors. Contact your Representative to urge him or her to be one of them.

Engineers have completed a seismic evaluation of Union Station in Portland, Ore., and officials are looking for funding to make reinforcements. The project, including improvements to the landmark tower, will cost $30 million.

In Portland, Me., state DOT officials are considering elevating a proposed railroad alignment and downtown passenger station. This would increase the cost from $10 million, to $20 million. The idea would be to keep the passenger-only alignment along I-295 but not create new grade crossings at busy streets that have freeway ramps -- federal officials have told the state officials that such crossings could tie up traffic. But it's unclear just how often and for how long passenger trains would block crossings. In any event, this does not affect the timing of bringing Amtrak service to Portland, since that is expected to use a temporary station in another part of town until the permanent station on the new alignment is completed.

The Albany Times Union reported March 28 that a state budget agreement was near that could be a big step forward for a number of passenger rail projects. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D.-Manhattan) has in his budget proposal a ten-year tax exemption on track improvements for the owners of the track, matching an item in Governor Pataki's (R.) budget proposal. Any agreement is still preliminary, however. Understandably, CSX has said it would not allow improvements that benefit passenger trains (like those needed south of Albany for 125-mph service, or double track in the Albany-Schenectady bottleneck) if CSX will be taxed on the improvements, as is done under current state policy.

Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore (R.) on March 27 signed legislation authorizing a special regional financing district in the Dulles Corridor (Falls Church-Tysons Corner-Dulles Airport). The district -- if created by commercial property owners along the corridor -- could then assess special improvement taxes to help pay for a branch of the Metro Orange line to Dulles. Gilmore also signed legislation creating a Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, which can issue bonds and do long-range transportation planning (and which will be consolidated with the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission by 2003).

Oklahoma Senate Joint Resolution 4 was killed by the House Revenue and Tax Committee this week. It would have allowed voters to consider a 10-year, one-cent gas tax to finance passenger rail projects, and had previously been passed by the Senate. Another bill, House Bill 1173, would move about $60 million in motor vehicle registration fees from the general fund to transportation programs. It had been approved by the House three weeks ago with language allowing $17 million to go to various rail projects, including the current Fort Worth-Oklahoma City Heartland Flyer, plus a proposed extension north to Newton, Kans. However, the House on March 26 changed it to apply to transit only and that is headed for a Senate vote. There is still a chance the pro-passenger-rail language could be restored in conference committee.