NARP June 2001 Hotlines

#193 - June 1, 2001
#194 - June 8, 2001
#195 - June 15, 2001
#196 - June 22, 2001
#197 - June 30, 2001

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Florida Governor Jeb Bush signed into law the High Speed Rail Authority Act, which sets up an authority and provides $4.5 million for first-year funding. He could have allowed the bill to become law without his signature. Supporters take his action in signing as an indication of his openness to giving the project a fair hearing. Under the law, the nine authority members must be appointed by June 30 -- three each by the governor, the state Senate's president, and the speaker of the state's House.

Today's Florida newspapers are carrying an Associated Press wire story that begins, "In a declaration that could greatly boost Florida's chances of hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sen. Bill Nelson said today that he supports a proposed high-speed passenger rail line connecting Tampa and Orlando. Nelson said he and Bob Graham, Florida's senior senator, will ask Congress for $10 million to be used for preliminary development and studies necessary before tracks can be laid." The three House members whose districts are most affected by the project support Federal funding as well -- Reps. John Mica (R.), Corinne Brown (D.), and Adam Putnam (R.).

The change in Senate control likely will take place when the Senate reconvenes next week and Senator Jeffords (Ind.) announces that he will be organizing with the Democrats. (Disregard the reference to his "voter registration" in last week's hotline.) Senate Commerce has put all confirmation hearings on indefinite hold, and there has been no further talk of the committee holding an Amtrak hearing. By prior agreement, the ratio of staff will not change, but Democrats are hoping to gain a majority of one on the now-evenly-divided committees by adding one Democrat to each committee. Sen. Biden (D.-Del.) has decided to chair Foreign Relations, which clears the way for Sen. Sarbanes (D.-Md.) to chair Banking (which has jurisdiction over mass transit authorizations).

Amtrak Mail & Express has had a personnel change. Ed Ellis, Vice President-Mail & Express, resigned effective May 30. He was Amtrak's top M&E person before the appointment in October of Lee Sargrad as President-Mail & Express. Sargrad has appointed Ken Asztalos as Acting Vice President-Mail & Express.

Maine service start-up date seems unlikely before August.

From Oklahoma, bad news. HB 1173, a multi-modal funding bill that would have used existing license plate fees to fund a wide range of transportation needs, died in the a state senate conference committee. The bill would have ensured continued funding for the Heartland Flyer. The train now is funded by federal Taxpayer Relief Act dollars that Oklahoma received because it was a non-Amtrak state in 1997. That source will last to next spring, perhaps a bit longer due to higher than expected ridership.

Oklahoma DOT endorsed the bill, which would have included funding for highway maintenance, aviation, transit and rail. Other supporters included the  Heartland Flyer Coalition, Oklahoma Airport Operators Association, Oklahoma Good Roads & Transportation Association, Oklahoma Passenger Rail Association, Oklahoma Railroad Association, and the Oklahoma Transit Association.

The bill's rail funding would have supported expanded rail passenger service, intercity and tourist, as well as grants to short lines. It overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives, but ran into trouble in the State Senate, including from people who had formerly been friendly to Amtrak service. Supporters think, had the bill made it out of committee, the bill would have easily passed the Senate. Another effort will be made next year.

SJR4, an unrelated bill that would put on the ballot a penny gasoline tax to fund passenger rail passed the Senate overwhelmingly, but died in House Committee.

France's TGV Mediteranee line to Marseille begins revenue service June 10. In a May 26 test, a train averaged 190 mph on the 660-mile run from the English Channel port of Calais to Marseille (3 hours 29 minutes). SNCF spokesman Pierre-Bernard Fauvergue said this was "the first time in the world a high-speed train covered such a long distance without stopping and maintained a speed of over 300 km per hour" [186 mph]. The June Modern Railways says fare increases will be modest "despite the massive improvements to all aspects of the service ..." Based on figures the magazine published, a second-class peak-time Paris-Marseille round-trip of 1000 miles would cost about $142 (14.2 cents a mile).

There is a good chance that a House version of the fiscal 2002 transportation appropriations bill will be marked up (i.e., approved at subcommittee level) as soon as Tuesday, June 12. Phone or fax your Representatives to urge them to urge the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee to support President Bush's request for Amtrak, $521 million to be "scored" at 100% (i.e., all the money paid up front). If your Representative is a Subcommittee member, then just urge him or her to work for the Bush request. If you don't already know your Representative's phone number, the Capitol switchboard is 202/224-3121 (or click here). Subcommittee members are:
 

The American Passenger Rail Coalition -- representing business interests -- organized a successful high-speed rail lobby day that took place yesterday. About 100 leaders speaking for industry, labor, passengers, and local governments converged on Capitol Hill, with their primary message being to pass the High Speed Rail Investment Act (which, of course, benefits the entire national passenger rail network). An early meeting with Sen. Joseph Biden (D.-Del.), Rep. Jack Quinn (R.-N.Y.), and Rep. Bob Clement (D.-Tenn.) preceded many visits organized between the participants and legislative staff. The day ended with a reception hosted by APRC, where the guest of honor was Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, who was recognized for his many contributions during his two terms on the Amtrak board. To see a longer release about this, jointly issued by APRC, High Speed Ground Transportation Association, NARP, Rail Labor Division, and Railway Progress Institute, click here.

Amtrak's apparently longstanding plans to mortgage part of New York's Penn Station for $300 million became public this week in an awkward way. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta mentioned the deal to reporters last week, leading to a June 6 Washington Post story. Amtrak calls the loan "a one-time financial transaction to make up the Acela-related shortfall" caused by delivery delays. Later, Mineta agreed to remove a federal lien on the collateral property, allowing loan negotiations to proceed. To its credit, Amtrak is not seeking to cut routes to save money, though Secretary Mineta told reporters Amtrak should consider that. NARP said in a release that the Amtrak network is already skeletal and does not need to be reduced.

The Vermonter has been suspended north of Springfield, Mass., since June 1, due to track conditions on the New England Central (north of Palmer, Mass.). The train had been due to delays of about a half hour before that, but after further inspection, more slow orders were imposed. The total resulting delay was about 2.5 hours, so Amtrak annulled the train.  A replacement bus has been running, but its last day is June 10. Evaluation of the track is still proceeding, but Amtrak does not expect to reinstate the service until the New England Central makes such repairs as are identified as being necessary.

Amtrak's Cascades service added a new stop on June 1. Trains now stop at Tukwila, south of Seattle near I-5 and I-405. It is also about three miles east of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. This is not a stop for the Coast Starlight. Amtrak and the new Sounder commuter rail service share this station, which is temporary until an adjacent, permanent facility is built within a couple years.

A tunnel fire on the Union Pacific that started June 2 between Eugene and Chemult (where the crosses the Cascade range) resulted in Amtrak temporarily turning the Coast Starlight in both Portland and Klamath Falls, with replacement bus service provided.

Because "Quiet Cars" have been so popular, Amtrak on June 1 extended the program to nearly all its Northeast Corridor trains. Now -- except on Acela Express 2150 and Metroliners 121 and 123 -- the policy on all weekday NEC trains will be to not have cell phone use in one car. This will normally be the first coach of the train; signs will be posted and announcements made.

Amtrak and Icelandair announced May 31 a program to share codes -- in other words, a traveler can book a ticket for both carriers through either carrier for certain itineraries. This is one of the first times this has been done between an airline and Amtrak -- there was such a short-lived arrangement in the early 1990's for Midway Airlines and Amtrak's Philadelphia-Atlantic City service. Travelers may book Amtrak tickets from Washington or Philadelphia to BWI Airport on the Northeast Corridor to connect to Icelandair flights to Iceland, Britain, Scandinavia, or other European points served by the airline.

A ceremony at the Amtrak station in San Jose on June 6 celebrated the millionth passenger to ride a Capitol Corridor train in the last 12 months.

Amtrak moved into historic Union Station in Worcester, Mass., on May 30.  It recently had a major renovation, conducted by the Worcester Redevelopment Authority.

The "Trails and Rails" program of Amtrak and the National Park Service was expanded May 26 to the Adirondack (Yonkers-Hudson; Saratoga Springs-Westport) and Vermonter (Amherst-Essex Junction). Narrated on-board tours of the areas are provided on these segments weekends (plus Monday holidays).

The Fort Worth-Oklahoma City Heartland Flyer's second anniversary, June 14, will be observed with special activities at Oklahoma City, Norman, Pauls Valley, Ardmore, Gainesville, and Fort Worth -- plus a station dedication at Purcell.

A fiscal 2002 transportation funding bill was approved June 12 by the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Harold Rogers (R.-Ky.). It contains President Bush's request for Amtrak -- $521 million in capital, "scored" at 100%. "Scoring" refers to the spend-out rate, meaning that Amtrak would get the entire amount at once. Amtrak said in a statement that the amount, if it survives through the remaining steps in the process, would "enable Amtrak to continue to make key infrastructure investments in passenger rail service while maintaining the lowest level of federal funding operating assistance in the company's history." The next step in the process would be approval of the bill (as yet unnumbered) at the full committee level (possibly next week; but certainly by the end of the month.

The Railroads Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has on its schedule a June 21 hearing on maglev; but we are told that Amtrak issues will be discussed as well.

A rail station for the Milwaukee airport took a step forward, as Wisconsin Governor Scott McCallum (R.) announced on June 11 that the state will begin a design process, using $100,000 in state aviation funds. However, airline and Milwaukee County officials were quick to criticize the proposal for not being near enough to the airport terminal, and just as quick to say they would not favor helping pay for even the cheaper station alternative on the current railroad route.

Besides offering a south-suburban location for Amtrak passengers, the station would provide another alternative to Chicago-area air passengers by allowing air-rail transfers at Milwaukee. The demand for such a transfer would only increase with implementation of Hiawatha-line improvements envisioned under the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative -- not only because of faster, more frequent service from Chicago, but also because of new service from places like Madison and Green Bay. The state Department of Transportation will hold a hearing on the project early this summer.

Wisconsin DOT also released an environmental impact study that showed that the potential impact on communities from highs-speed rail service between Milwaukee and Madison was not insurmountable.

Amtrak has extended its 30th Anniversary fare (G/PRO/ANV) good for 30% off regular, full adult fares. Travel must be completed by August 31, but the deadline for purchase of tickets using this discount is extended from June 15 to August 24.

Amtrak will issue a new Northeast Corridor timetable July 9 -- both in booklet format and with "walled cards" for individual services. Weekday Acela Express service betwen Boston and New York will increase from four to five (each day, each way), between New York and Washington from three to six (two of them replacing Metroliners). Weekend Acela Express service between Boston and New York will go from two to three; between New York and Washington will remain at two. All Boston-New York NortheastDirect trains will be converted to all-electric Acela Regional -- the only train still using diesels Boston-New Haven will be the Twilight Shoreliner.

Also July 9, the Empire Corridor will have significant changes with the end of the Metro North construction period, as will the Adirondack and Ethan Allen.

To promote weekend Acela Express patronage, Amtrak is offering a "free companion" program, for sale from June 20 through September 20, valid for weekend travel June 23 through September 23. It includes July 4 and Labor Day (September 3 -- but not September 1 or 2). Tickets must be bought at least three days before travel, and are valid both in business and first class.

The Federal Transit Administration has given a proposed light rail line in Cincinnati a "not recommended" rating for federal funding this year. Local planners acknowledge that one problem they face is that no local funding source has been identified yet. Further, the FTA says the project should be shortened and/or ridership projections increased, based on an arbitrary "cost per new passenger" measure. Cincinnati is asking 50% federal funding for the 19-mile proposal from Blue Ash in Ohio to Covington in Kentucky, much less than the 80% highway projects routinely receive.

A prototype solar train made its maiden run, with passengers aboard, June 12 on a short test track in Felton, Cal. The "SolTrain" ran at 10 mph, though proponents hope to reach 50 mph eventually. The train has been under development for a year by the Sustainable Monterey Bay group, with support from the Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission and private donors. They hope that a quiet, clean, solar-powered train service along existing tracks from Davenport to Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Seaside (and maybe on an inactive line into Monterey) can one day operate and connect with other proposed rail services. The prototype was made from an electric bus fitted with train wheels and 13 rooftop photovoltaic cells and 22 batteries inside.

A fiscal 2002 transportation funding bill was approved June 20 by the full House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Bill Young (R.-Fla.). It continues the action on Amtrak funding that was approved by the Transportation Subcommittee June 12 -- $521 million in capital, "scored" at 100%. This is the same as President Bush's request for Amtrak. "Scoring" refers to the spend-out rate, meaning that Amtrak would get the entire amount at once, which is what Amtrak says it needs. The next step in the process would be House approval of the bill (as yet unnumbered). Senate action would wait until after that. While in recent years it has not been unusual for the Senate to start work on their appropriations bills before the House sent their own bills over, incoming Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd (D.-W.Va.) has said that will not happen this year, in line with his interpretation of the Constitution.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Railroads Subcommittee postponed its Amtrak hearing, but did hold a hearing yesterday on magnetic levitation.

A four-car New Jersey Transit commuter train derailed near Garfield, N.J., during the June 20 afternoon rush, causing minor injuries to 27. The train was traveling from Hoboken to Port Jervis, N.Y. The cause is under investigation. Cars remained upright but tilting about 30 degrees -- not on their sides as some news accounts claimed. The accident was on the Bergen Line; the parallel Main Line was not involved and both were back to normal by mid-morning, June 21.

The Vermonter will be restored all the way to St. Albans northbound June 24 and southbound June 25. Amtrak discontinued the train north of Springfield, Mass., on June 1 due to track deterioration on the New England Central Railroad. The track conditions would have meant adding an unacceptable 2:30 hours of delay to the Springfield-St. Albans trip. A round of inspections this week after recent repairs showed that 45 minutes' delay is still possible due to continuing maintenance work, but not enough to prevent restoration of service.

Amtrak closed a mortgage deal for part of New York Penn Station on June 20. The loan is for $300 million, and is designed to offset revenue losses from, among other things, the expected 2.5-year delay in full deployment of the Acela Express train sets.

A report by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General repeats earlier such reports, saying Amtrak's financial picture remains troubled, despite growth in riders and revenue. The report had been prepared for a canceled Senate Commerce hearing May 22, but was released June 21. Amtrak said that the report bolsters its argument that more investment in passenger rail is needed.

The Industrial Designers Society of America has announced its 2001 winners of its Industrial Design Excellence Awards. The Amtrak Acela Express was one of six "Gold Winners" in the "Design Explorations" category; there is also a "Transportation" category, among others. The winners were announced in the June 25 issue of Business Week.

The City College of San Francisco and Amtrak have set up a free course on becoming an assistant conductor, according to the June 16 San Francisco Chronicle. More than 90 people attended a June 15 orientation, though only half remained at the end. Another orientation will be July 13; the course runs August 20-September 28. The course is in response to the growing need for assistant conductors on Bay Area passenger trains operated by Amtrak -- including Caltrain, Capitol Corridor, and the San Joaquins. It's the first such program for Amtrak or the college. It carries no credit, and runs 40 hours a week.

A forest fire disrupted Amtrak's California Zephyr June 17 and 18 near Truckee, Cal.

The Thruway shuttle van connecting Hot Springs, Ark., with the Texas Eagle at Malvern is being discontinued; last trip July 17. Amtrak has said it would try to find another service provider.

People by the dozens turned out at crossings and former station sites as Amtrak ran an inspection train along the Florida East Coast Railway on June 18, from Jacksonville to Miami. The ride took 14 hours, much longer than it will take for revenue service. Five-minute stops were made in eight cities along the way.

Two Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line trains collided at low speed near Addison Street station June 17, injuring 18 people slightly. The trains were both headed to O'Hare Airport, having just left a temporary single-track zone (due to track work) southeast of the collision site. Neither train derailed.

A new, 800-foot platform at the Richmond, Cal., intermodal station was dedicated June 19, making it easier for BART passengers to find the Amtrak stop. The work is part of a larger project to develop a transit village around the Richmond BART station.

NARP President Alan M. Yorker has a letter to the editor in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, responding to an op-ed piece by Wendell Cox that attacked plans for commuter rail in the Atlanta region.

The House version of the High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIA), H.R.2329, was introduced June 27 by Representatives Houghton (R.-N.Y.) and Oberstar (D.-Minn.). This was announced in a news conference the same day, at which nine of the bill's sponsors spoke (Houghton and Oberstar, plus Quinn, R.-N.Y.; Clement, D.-Tenn.; Buyer, R.-Ind.; Larsen, D.-Wash.; Nadler, D.-N.Y.; Baldacci, D.-Me.; Blumenauer, D.-Ore.), plus David King of North Carolina DOT and Amtrak President George Warrington. The bill itself had a total of 125 sponsors (now 129), click here to see a list. Houghton's comments are in the June 27 Congressional Record.

Oberstar said, "We have had plenty of money for studies ... but haven't had money to implement the studies.  Now we can start building with this bill." Warrington said, "This is not about Amtrak, nor about competing with resources with other modes of transportation, but about developing the third leg of an intermodal transportation stool."

The House of Representatives on June 26 approved H.R.2299, fiscal 2002 transportation appropriations, with no change to Amtrak's proposed $521 million (to be paid at once). However, an Andrews (D.-N.J.) amendment was approved on a voice vote to cut funding for the Amtrak Reform Council from $785,000 to $450,000. A Jackson-Lee (D.-Tex.) amendment was rejected on a voice vote to strip out a ban on federal funding for Houston light rail. Mica (R.-Fla.) expressed hope that funding could be found later for Florida high-speed rail, where state enabling legislation was passed after the process for H.R.2299 had begun. The bill deleted all funding for the Penn Station/Farley project; last year, the same thing happened and the money was restored in conference.

The Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing June 28 on aviation and passenger rail. Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey was a witness, but most of the time was spent on Amtrak. Subcommittee members Shelby (R.-Ala.) and Bennett (R.-Utah) both questioned the need for passenger trains away from the Northeast, with Bennett going so far as to say he didn't care if Utah lost its remaining service. He did, however, ask for more aviation resources before the 2002 Winter Olympics. Witness John McCain (R.-Ariz.) echoed that, saying rail was needed only in the Northeast and West. He implied the HSRIA is a bailout for Amtrak (even though it would help rail in the places even he acknowledges it has a use).

Witness Joe Biden (D.-Del.) gave a spirited defense of passenger rail, calling into question the goals of the operational self-sufficiency mandate (a point also raised by Chairman Murray, D.-Wash.), and attacking rail critics for opposing every legislative idea that has ever come along to make rail more viable. He said that if Amtrak were cut back to the Northeast and the West -- as suggested by McCain, Shelby, and Bennett -- the votes would be lacking to maintain even that -- a "Catch-22" for Amtrak.

Warrington, the last witness, outlined areas of progress and challenge for Amtrak, saying that Amtrak is still on the path to meeting the narrow definition of operational self-sufficiency. He said Amtrak did the Penn Station mortgage to address the gap in revenues caused by late delivery of Acela Express trains, instead of coming back to Congress for "bailouts." He repeated the call he made at the National Press Club for Congress to decide how much of a rail system it wants and then commit to the funding needed for that system. Chairman Murray said she expected the subcommittee to consider a Senate fiscal 2002 transportation funding bill on July 12.

At an outreach hearing in Newark on June 26, the Amtrak Reform Council ran into great criticism for its proposal (as they now phrase it) to "appropriately separate" Amtrak's infrastructure from its operations. States from Maine and Vermont to Delaware opposed the proposal. For example, New Jersey Transportation Commissioner James Weinstein said, "The current structure has served well and should remain unchanged." He decried the small size of Amtrak's federal appropriation and said the ARC plan "has negative implications for how we provide financial support ... Separation will ultimately destroy both our national rail passenger system and our regional system as well." New York DOT Deputy Commissioner Jack Guinan complained that the ARC has not "framed a debate about the future of passenger rail" but simply presented a series of options on how to implement an Amtrak-restructuring "conclusion ARC has already reached."

The Senate Commerce Committee held a brief confirmation hearing for Allen Rutter, President Bush's choice for Federal Railroad Administrator, June 26. There were other nominees in the same hearing, and Rutter got no questions. His prepared statement said, in part, "I look forward to being given a chance to work with Secretary Mineta's team, the Bush Administration, and Congress in developing a national passenger rail policy as this committee's 1997 Amtrak legislation reaches its conclusion this coming year."

At Amtrak's annual Presidential Service and Safety Awards June 22, one of the honorees was Dr. Bill Pollard, of Conway, Ark. He is chairman of the Texas Eagle Marketing and Performance Organization (TEMPO), a NARP Region 9 board member, and president of the Arkansas Rail membership group. Pollard was among those recognized in the "Champion of the Rails" category, for all his work on helping save the Texas Eagle a few years ago, on TEMPO, on assisting the Arkadelphia station renovation project, advocating getting "pathfinder" highway signs to all Arkansas stations, and on starting the Hot Springs Thruway bus.

A major bridge project will cause busing for Amtrak's Pacific Surfliners, July 7 and 8, between Los Angeles and Norwalk Metrolink station, north of Fullerton -- not normally an Amtrak stop. The Southwest Chief will take a different route between Los Angeles and San Bernardino, missing its Fullerton stop (protected by a Fullerton-San Bernardino bus). During this weekend project, a new bridge over the Los Angeles River will be put into place near Redondo Jct., and old signal systems will be replaced at several points, allowing Amtrak trains to pass through the zone more quickly.

The Capitol Limited will have a schedule change July 9 (in addition to the July 9 Northeast Corridor changes described here earlier). Westbound, the train arrives Chicago 9:19 am, 19 minutes earlier than now. Eastbound, the train leaves Chicago 6:40 pm, 55 minutes earlier than now and arrives Washington 1:23 pm, 77 minutes earlier than now.  In both cases, most of the reduction is west of Toledo.