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July 2002 Hotlines |
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July 2002 Hotlines |
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Congress returns from its Independence Day recess on July 9. It has less than three weeks to come up with the $100 million or more needed to keep Amtrak running through this fiscal year (September 30). The June 28 loan guarantee agreement between Amtrak and the Bush Administration provides $100 million to help close Amtrak's fiscal 2002 cash gap of $205 million. The agreement postponed an Amtrak shutdown (that would have happened right now) to mid-August. Congress won't be in session then -- the House adjourns July 26, and the Senate August 2. However, statements from key legislators suggest that chances are good for working out a solution.
There are two basic approaches in play as Congress returns. One is an attempt to increase the funding for Amtrak in the pending emergency supplemental appropriations bill, H.R.4775. As we reported last week, negotiators on that bill, which is in a conference committee, seem to agree on including $205 million for Amtrak. The major benefit of this approach is that Amtrak would not have to pay back a loan out of 2003's appropriation.
Another approach would be for Congress to direct the Secretary of Transportation to provide another loan to Amtrak.
Urge your Senators and Representatives to act quickly on closing the rest of Amtrak's cash gap, and prevent a shutdown of service in August. Click here for ways to contact them.
Details on the 12 terms of the June 28 loan agreement have become available. The $100 million is payable November 15 (not November 22, as we reported last week). One condition is that by August 1, Amtrak must provide the Department of Transportation with a "detailed report on all operating relationships between Amtrak and commuter rail systems, including a concise inventory of such relationships on a state-by-state basis. The report should explain the manner and extent to which any suspension of Amtrak operations would affect commuter rail operations." Presumably, the Administration assumes another Amtrak shutdown is possible and is trying to collect data that would help limit the disruption to "just" Amtrak trains.
We reported last week that Amtrak could not spend any money planning service increases, through September 30, 2003. Actually, DOT can approve such expenditures, but it is still unclear what that means to places like Nevada and Florida that were planning service expansions with Amtrak during that time period.
The Department of Transportation on July 3 released $76.7 million in tunnel improvement money to Amtrak. The money was part of $100 million granted to Amtrak as part of the fiscal 2002 defense appropriations bill (the final version of which was approved by both houses December 20, and signed by the president January 10). The money that was released this week is to go towards addressing fire and life-safety issues in the Amtrak tunnels serving Penn Station in Manhattan. The remaining $23.3 million will be released to Amtrak during fiscal 2003.
The Bush Administration will seek to reverse public policy that provides some parity between highways and transit, when it proposes its replacement legislation for TEA-21, which expires next year. Federal Transit Administrator Jenna Dorn has told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that the Administration favors limiting the federal match for transit projects to 50%, while keeping the federal match for highway projects at 80%.
Prior to the landmark ISTEA legislation of 1991, the federal match for transit projects was 60% -- and 80% for highways, 90% for interstate highways. ISTEA leveled the three programs to 80%. That and an increase in available funding overall account for the flowering of transit projects since then. The Administration claims that cutting the federal match back to pre-1991 levels will provide more money to more transit projects. But its real impact will be to make it simpler for states and localities to choose highway projects over transit projects -- a great step backward in federal transportation policy.
Even more bad news for transit is that state and local budget crises are leading to fare hikes. A July 4 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial, "Transit freeze: Higher bus fares begin in Harrisburg," says state operating assistance to transit rose only 1.2% annually under Governors Ridge and Schweiker, vs. "4.9% annually the previous 10 years." Two Pittsburgh fare increases (the second comes September 1) mean "40% in 17 months, a stiffer increase than riders should have to bear."
The Daily Oklahoman reported June 29 that on June 28 the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority approved bus fare increases and route cuts for Oklahoma City, where "public transit took the second-largest hit in the city's budget." And the July 4 New York Times has a story, "Mayor Acknowledges M.T.A. May Have to Raise Fares in '03." The article says Gov. Pataki is campaigning on holding subway and bus fares at $1.50 but quotes John Kaehny of Transportation Alternatives: "The universal consensus among people who follow this is that there will be a fare hike immediately after the gubernatorial election."
Amtrak Downeaster trains begin seasonal service to Old Orchard Beach, Me., July 12.
All Thruway bus services in South Carolina were eliminated on June 30, when the contract carrier, Pee Dee Transit, ceased operations. This impacts the Florence-Myrtle Beach and Florence-Camden-Columbia-Spartanburg-Greenville routes. No alternative transportation is being offered for Amtrak passengers currently holding tickets on these routes, except Greyhound will honor Myrtle Beach tickets (via Rocky Mount, N.C.).
Starting tomorrow, there will be no weekend Caltrain commuter rail service for two years. This is to make way for the single, biggest construction project on the San Francisco-San Jose rail line since it opened in 1863. The "CTX" program will add track capacity, add computerized signals and switches, upgrade grade crossings, connect with BART at Millbrae, and cost $110 million. It will then allow "baby bullet" express trains to connect the two cities in a little over half of today's travel time. During the project, there will be express replacement bus service, stopping only at San Francisco, Hillsdale (San Mateo), Palo Alto, and San Jose, plus bus service to weekend Giants games.
Delaware DOT and the Delaware Transit Corporation will sponsor the 11th annual "Rail to the Fair" train, on July 20. A special Amtrak train will run from Philadelphia to the state fair in Harrington, with stops at Claymont, Wilmington, Churchmans Crossing, Newark, Middletown, and Dover. Passengers have the option of staying on the train and riding to Frankford and back. More information is at 800/652-DART (302/652-DART within Delaware).
The supplemental appropriations bill has passed both houses. In light of Amtrak's recent funding crisis and a general desire not to increase Amtrak's debt load, a bipartisan consensus for $205 million for Amtrak had developed on the House-Senate conference committee handling the bill.
Today, to reduce the bill's cost, the White House asked conferees to choose from a hit list of several items, one of which is $100 million of the Amtrak money. To express your support for the full Amtrak $205 million, and opposition to the Administration's effort to reduce it, call the White House comment line (business hours) at 202/456-1111; or e-mail.
S.1991, the Amtrak reauthorization that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved 20-3, could come up for a vote as early as the week of July 22. The bill now has 38 sponsors; the two newest are Evan Bayh (D.-Ind.) and Paul Wellstone (D.-Minn.). More co-sponsors would be helpful. Full Senate passage would strengthen Amtrak's hand in the inevitable fight over funding for fiscal 2003 (and beyond), even if no authorization is enacted this year.
In the House, action remains stalled because House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Don Young (R.-Alaska) will not advance the committee's Amtrak reauthorization bill, H.R.4545, without resolution of labor issues that are hanging up his high-speed rail bill, H.R.2950.
A Washington Post story, "State Role in Amtrak Funding Could Be Part of Rail Solution," by Don Phillips, fills the entire "Federal Page" today. It includes a discussion of contracting out one long-distance train as a pilot project and ends with a quote from Secretary Mineta about supposed state willingness (ultimately) to pay for keeping long-distance trains -- "They're going to pony up to the bar. I think they'll see the benefit and will want to be part of the system."
The July 10 Washington Post has a letter from Chairman Young. He writes, "In the past 4-1/2 years, Amtrak's former and present boards have made only trivial changes to what is largely a 1971 route system while evoking the fictional excuse of a mandate to run the ossified route system." Young notes that the 1997 law "repealed laws specifying Amtrak's basic system of routes and eliminated federal statutes that triggered labor-protection payments if routes were discontinued, relocated or thinned to fewer than three trains weekly ... The only requirements now are notification that a route is being discontinued and the goal of a national system.
However, Amtrak still has labor protection obligations. The 1997 law required Amtrak and its employees to negotiate new provisions or submit to binding arbitration. They did the latter. "In a November 1999 decision, the arbitration board modified the pre-existing employee protective provisions in significant respects, including reducing the maximum duration of ... benefits from 6 years to 5 years and adopting a sliding scale in terms of service to reach maximum benefits ... The arbitration panel agreed that no employee protection would be required for the first two years of any new service commenced after the arbitration" (Amtrak Reform Council Second Annual Report, pages 82-83; First Annual Report, page 22). NARP is interested in changes that improve Amtrak labor productivity, but not in changes (such as further labor protection cuts) that would just make it easier to drop service.
Amtrak was a major discussion topic at the July 10 Senate rail safety hearing. Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman Ernest Hollings (D.-S.C.) responded to Chairman Young's Washington Post letter. The letter was headed, "House Cleaning at Amtrak." Hollings said, "What we ought to clean out is what we in the Congress have done ... We need to make a master decision on whether or not we're gong to have an intercity passenger rail system. This committee voted 20-3 yes." Hollings also decried the contrast between federal aviation and highway generosity and rail stinginess.
Hollings insisted that S.1991 contains important reforms, particularly regarding accounting, but John McCain (R.-Ariz.), the ranking member, said he plans to offer floor amendments aimed at incorporating some reforms recommended by the Amtrak Reform Council.
Media reports focus on Amtrak President David Gunn's statement that Amtrak would lose over a billion dollars again this year, or about $500 million on a cash basis (which excludes depreciation). The headlines go to "over $1 billion," but a big part of that depreciation is on right-of-way property, which was $251 million in 2001, up a whopping 28% from $196 million in 2000. No airline or highway carrier has this sort of expense.
Federal Railroad Administrator Allan Rutter said that, "In a matter of days, we'll be coming to Congress for up to $170 million" more for Amtrak for fiscal 2002 (evidently a loan, not a grant). Rutter said that DOT did a $100 million loan to Amtrak last month because that is what DOT believes it has the legal authority to loan. Rutter said the auditors want to see $170 million more if they are to certify Amtrak as a "going concern." Gunn later testified that Amtrak originally expected to draw down $205 million of a $270 million private short-term lending facility, but that proved impossible because of the inability to secure a final audit.
As to safety, Gunn said he was satisfied that Amtrak runs a safe operation, based both on statistics and on many hours he has spent observing out on the railroad.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Marion C. Blakey focused her testimony on the NTSB's two open rail recommendations "with the greatest potential to save lives," relating to Positive Train Control (PTC) and to track problems. She said PTC could have prevented the Placentia, Cal., BNSF/Metrolink collision on April 23 where the freight rain ignored both yellow and red signals, applying the brakes only when the Metrolink train was visible. Two Metrolink passengers were killed.
Blakey said that 1,115 of the 2,962 reportable train accidents in 2001 were track-related. NTSB said that FRA should increase track inspections and should modify the inspection program to include the volume of hazardous material shipments in determining "the frequency and type of track inspections." She illustrated the seriousness of the problem by citing the Amtrak Auto Train accident on April 18, as well as a January 2001 Canadian Pacific accident in Minot, N.Dak., that created a huge vapor cloud of ammonia and caused one fatality. [Luckily, the accident was at night so most people were indoors.]
Association of American Railroads President Ed Hamberger said that last year was the safest on record, and argued that PTC technology is not yet proven. He said a "basic" systemwide PTC system was estimated to cost $1.2 billion, producing benefits under $500 million; comparable numbers for the "full bells and whistles" version are $7.8 million and about $850 million.
"The whole town came alive" as Old Orchard Beach, Me., became a seasonal stop on the Downeaster, following a ceremony this morning. All trains will stop there through mid-October. Meanwhile, Downeaster ridership jumped from an average of 775 per day in May to 856 in June.
Good news from Canada's Vancouver Island -- the passenger train is safe for now. The Vancouver Island Rail Development Initiative (VIRDI) reached agreement with ENR (Rail America), the current operator of Island rail services, to permit VIA Rail to continue operations on present terms through September. A VIRDI release says, "This will allow for the transition to a new, integrated rail service company for the Island that will ensure the continuation of rail services well into next year. This agreement is an important step toward the development of an integrated, sustainable and economically sound rail service for the Island."
Congressional negotiators reached final agreement July 18 on H.R.4475, the emergency supplemental appropriations bill. In the end, the bill includes $205 million for Amtrak, to be used to cover a cash shortfall in this fiscal year, and to allow services to run through September 30. Both houses must approve the final version of H.R.4775, and the President must still sign it. No strings are attached to the $205 million, in contrast with the elaborate $100 million loan agreement finalized June 28. (Amtrak received the cash from that loan on July 5). It is not clear if Amtrak can or will use part of the newly granted $205 million to erase the loan.
The next big issue facing passenger rail is for the transportation appropriations bills -- not yet introduced in either the House or Senate, and far behind schedule -- to include at least $1.2 billion for Amtrak in 2003. The Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Patty Murray (D.-Wash.), plans to act on July 23; the full committee on July 25. Please urge your Senators to support and work for that $1.2 billion at the subcommittee and committee levels and on the floor; click here for ways to contact them.
It is important that the $1.2 billion appropriation be accomplished without what the New York Times recently called "reforms that are impractical in the foreseeable future." In that vein, Senate Commerce Chairman Ernest F. Hollings (D.-S.C.) wrote to Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta on July 16, expressing deep concerns over the Administration's apparent path on passenger-rail policy. Hollings pointed out that at a July 10 Senate Commerce hearing, Federal Railroad Administrator Allan Rutter linked the Administration's proposed reforms (released on June 20) with support of full funding for Amtrak in the fiscal 2003 appropriations bill ($1.2 billion).
Hollings instead urged the Administration, through the letter to Mineta, to leave such proposed reforms to authorization bills, not appropriations bills. Hollings said he would resist an approach such as the Administration's. The tight deadline for fiscal 2003 appropriations bills makes implementation of the Administration's controversial reforms unlikely. Hollings complained (as he did at a June 27 hearing) that the Commerce Committee, with authorization jurisdiction over Amtrak, has received no formal proposal from the Administration, nor any Administration input on S.1991, the National Defense Rail Act.
Late last week, the Administration had proposed a loan package of up to $170 million to keep Amtrak running through the rest of the fiscal year. This was a change from the Administration's position after the June 28 agreement with Amtrak to loan Amtrak $100 million to make it through mid-August, when the Administration said the next aid package could take the form of a loan, loan guarantee, or direct grant. As with the earlier, $100-million loan, the second loan would come with reform conditions. On July 12, the Administration rejected plans in Congress to give a direct grant of $205 million to Amtrak -- as Congress is now poised to do (see above) -- with one spokesman saying a loan was "more fiscally responsible" because a grant would be "a continuation of the broken pattern of the last 30 years."
However, as we saw this week, that view is not prevailing. Several Congressional leaders, including Senate Transportation Appropriations Chairman Patty Murray (D.-Wash.), pointed out that loans to Amtrak in 2002 mean a reduction in spending power from the 2003 appropriation, because the loans have to be repaid from that appropriation. That just pushes the problem to next year -- either way, an appropriation has to cover the shortfall.
Northeast Corridor schedules will change August 3, to accommodate a project to rehabilitate one of the Hudson River tunnels during weekends. The weekend work, which will take at least a year, will involve closing one tunnel entirely during work periods. During each hour, the remaining tunnel will be open for 25 minutes to eastbound traffic, close for five minutes, reopen for westbound traffic for 25 minutes, close for five minutes, and so on. The new schedule is an attempt to minimize passenger waiting on either side of the tunnels (in Penn Station or New Jersey).
On weekends, Acela Regional trains will leave Washington at 20 or 25 minutes past the hour (most now leave at 5 past). A new, Washington-New York train 158 will leave at 6:20 pm, with train 80 (Carolinian) becoming a discharge-only train north of Alexandria on weekends. Northbound trains will leave New York generally on the even hour, with Springfield connections re-timed. Southbound trains will leave New York close to their current times.
Weekend Acela Express service is not affected, though two new Sunday trains will run -- 4:00 pm New York-Washington, and 2:00 pm Washington-New York.
Changes to Keystone trains include restoring trains 662 and 643 to through-operation, Harrisburg-New York. Long-distance trains will be affected as well.
Train speeds between Charlotte and Durham, N.C., will increase on August 1. Increases on this stretch of the North Carolina Railroad will vary between 5 and 44 mph, cutting about 10 minutes from Amtrak passenger schedules. This results from some track straightening, and some grade-crossing improvements and/or eliminations, performed with state support. Another project between Greensboro and Cary will be done in 2004, cutting about 20 minutes from passenger schedules. That project includes elevated curves, lengthened passing sidings, signal improvements, and grade-crossing improvements.
APTA, the American Public Transportation Association, announced on July 17 a new study called "Conserving Energy and Preserving the Environment: The Role of Public Transportation." Its findings make a strong case for building a balanced transportation system and investing in transit. Though the study focused on transportation within metropolitan areas, the concepts it contains can be applied easily to intercity passenger rail investment.
The study said that if just one-tenth of all Americans regularly used transit, the U.S. could:
Caltrain has kept its electrification schedule on target for 2006, which had been threatened by local government budget problems. Caltrain will use $12 million in federal funds originally meant for improvements between San Jose and Gilroy, and spread it over the 2003 and 2004 budgets, to be used on engineering and design. Last month, Santa Clara County had said it would not contribute to electrification this year because of its own tight budget, but San Mateo County and San Francisco were still prepared to move forward. The total project will cost $600 million.
Amtrak would get $1.2 billion in fiscal 2003, under a transportation appropriations bill approved July 24 by the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee. The full Appropriations Committee approved the bill on July 25. The bill has no number yet; floor consideration is expected in September.
The Bush Administration has been opposing any increase in Amtrak funding over their proposed level of $521 million, absent "long-term reforms," some of which are controversial and threaten the viability of nationwide passenger rail service. However, some Senate leaders have said that such "reforms" must be worked out -- that is, adopted or rejected -- in the form of an authorization bill. There is little time remaining to pass such a bill, and so it is important for Amtrak to get the funding it needs to run another year while Congress and the Administration try to come to an agreement on what to do about passenger rail in the longer-term.
The new bill also funds highways at the current $31.8 billion level, compared with $23.3 billion in the Bush request; $28.9 billion approved by the Senate Budget Committee; and $27.7 billion that the House is preparing to approve (the basic TEA-21 authorization without "RABA" cuts).
As for Amtrak, Senate Transportation Appropriations Chairman Patty Murray (D.-Wash.) said, "I put into our bill what I really believe is the need we have for Amtrak [and] for highway funding, particularly at a time when our economy is floundering." However, Ranking Republican Richard Shelby (Ala.) said, "I believe [the bill] goes too far in throwing money at Amtrak." This is consistent with his past statements.
Normally, the House passes an appropriations bill and sends it to the Senate, but the House subcommittee -- struggling with tighter budget limits -- is not expected to pass its bill until September. Amtrak might have a problem if no appropriations law is enacted by September 30. In such cases, programs are funded beyond October 1 by temporary continuing resolutions that usually provide funding closer to the previous year's level (in this case, $521 million). On the other hand, with Congressional actions since Amtrak's cash crisis (notably the $205 million in supplemental funding), and with new President David Gunn inspiring more confidence on Capitol Hill, it's possible Amtrak might be better protected in a continuing resolution.
In any event, the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee needs to hear strong support for funding Amtrak at $1.2 billion in 2003. Please urge your Representative to make that point to the Subcommittee. For ways to contact Representatives, see the House web site. Also, to see if your own Representative is a member of the Subcommittee, see the House web site.
Yesterday, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, in considering S.2452, the National Homeland Security and Combating Terrorism Act of 2002, approved an amendment offered by Thomas Carper (D.-Del.). It would authorize $55 million for "emergency repair, and returning to service of Amtrak passenger cars and locomotives," $778 million for life/safety improvements to Northeast Corridor tunnels, and $375 million "to finance the cost of enhancements to the security and safety of Amtrak rail passenger service." The amendment was approved on a 9-7 party-line vote, except that Susan Collins (R.-Me.) did not vote. S.2452 would create a cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security.
Also yesterday, Rep. Julia Carson (D.-Ind.) introduced H.R.5216, the companion legislation to Senator Hollings' S.1991, the National Defense Rail Act. The bill, introduced with 23 original co-sponsors (including Carson), is identical to what Hollings introduced earlier this year, except for one section that addresses Amtrak's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. As for S.1991, it is up to the Senate leadership to decide when the bill will come to the floor.
The conference agreement on the emergency supplemental appropriations bill, H.R.4775 -- with $205 million needed to keep Amtrak running through September 30 -- passed the House on July 23, and the Senate on July 24. The Amtrak money in H.R.4775 came with no conditions attached to it, except for a requirement that Amtrak share with the appropriations committees any information it gives to the Department of Transportation, under the terms of the June 28 loan agreement between Amtrak and the DOT.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors wrote to President Bush on July 24, urging development of high-speed and conventional rail services. "The tragic events of September 11 have forced our constituents to evaluate viable alternatives to driving and flying, and passenger rail, particularly Amtrak, was there when many of our citizens needed it," wrote Conference President Thomas M. Menino, Mayor of Boston. "It is clear that a regional network of high-speed train corridors feeding into a national system of long distance trains operated by Amtrak is a real alternative, but it dependent on meaningful and sustained federal investment." Those positions were reaffirmed at a mayors' annual meeting in Madison, Wis., in June.
Penn Station in Manhattan has a shortage of police officers, according to the New York Post (July 22). The paper reported Amtrak police force members commenting that their ranks have been spread so thin that three officers sometimes are patrolling the station, rather than the 15 they say are needed. Today, the paper said Amtrak would increase their patrols to six officers, with six more coming from the National Guard. The shortage is caused by Amtrak's going through its overtime pay budget so quickly at the start of the fiscal year last fall -- during the heightened state of emergency in New York at the time -- and by a failure of Congressional proposals to direct additional operating money to Amtrak security items to be enacted.
Amtrak has laid off 88 employees at its three reservations centers, citing increased use of alternative means of booking tickets -- like ticket machines and the Amtrak web site -- and the ongoing reorganization. Booking alternatives have cut into call volume, as have slower than expected summer bookings. Some of that likely is due to headlines in recent weeks calling into question Amtrak's survival this past month.
The reservations area of the Amtrak web site will be taken out of service on July 27, from 12:30 am to 12:00 noon Eastern time, to accommodate an upgrading program.
There is still no opening date set for the delayed, new intermodal terminal at Rensselaer (Albany), N.Y. But the Capitol District Transportation Authority is growing increasingly concerned that Amtrak has not yet signed a lease to use the new facility, which is adjacent to the current Amtrak station. Amtrak and the Authority are continuing their negotiations.
Amtrak's south/westbound Texas Eagle will miss two stops, Marshall and Longview, Tex., for certain dates the rest of the summer, due to a Union Pacific track project. The train will detour through Mount Pleasant (but not stop there). The missed stops will be handled by a reconfiguration of area Thruway bus routes in the area, connecting with the train at Texarkana. The dates -- when the train passes through Texarkana (not origin dates) -- are July 24-27, August 1-11, August 16-24, September 1-5.
The National Transportation Safety Board on July 23 released its investigation findings for a grade-crossing accident near Kissimmee, Fla., on November 17, 2000, between Amtrak's Silver Meteor and a large, low-profile truck carrying heavy equipment to a nearby utility site. The Meteor did not derail that time, but that train and a truck of the same type collided at the same place in 1993, derailing the train and injuring 63. The NTSB is recommending that various federal and state agencies update their highway policies to require such trucks to notify railroads of intent to move over railroad tracks, and to include ground clearance as part of the truck permitting process.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority on July 20 opened the first phase of what it calls the "Silver Line." This is a bus service using natural-gas busses and satellite tracking -- items that will become more common on bus systems in the coming years. The Silver Line is controversial because local residents have consistently preferred light-rail service in the corridor -- and indeed, were promised rail service by the MBTA years ago when the Orange rapid transit line was moved further west. Some protesters were present at the opening last week. The bus segment that has opened cost $40 million and links Roxbury with downtown along Washington St. Further extensions are planned to South Station and Logan Airport, for a total cost of $1.6 billion.
A U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco ruled on July 22 that Bay Area transit operators must increase regional ridership by 15% over 1983 levels. The suit was brought against the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), which is a regional planning organization that coordinates transportation planning and funding. The suit was brought by a coalition of environmental and community groups, represented by Earthjustice (a non-profit law firm that used to be the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund). The plaintiffs sought enforcement of MTC's transportation control measure of 1982, which was intended to allow the MTC to meet its Clean Air Act obligations to reduce air pollution. Despite that proposal, Bay Area transit ridership is up only slightly higher than in 1983, even though overall population has grown 30%. Under the ruling, MTC must do whatever it takes to achieve the transit use increase by late 2006, and show the court what steps it is taking to do that.
Separately, AC Transit and Muni reached an earlier settlement with the plaintiffs stating that they would produce plans to increase transit use if the MTC provides the funding.
Europe's latest high-speed rail line opened yesterday, between Cologne and Frankfurt, Germany. Once every two hours, ICE trains running up to 186 mph will connect the two cities, with the fastest runs taking 1:16 hours, along the new, 110-mile route. That's an average of 86.8 mph, comparable to Acela Express between New York and Washington. There will be hourly service starting in September. Service along the older, extremely scenic route along the Rhine River remains (137 miles, taking about 2:14 hours, average speed 61.3 mph). The ICE trains on the new route are the fastest in Germany. The route runs along an Autobahn for long stretches, and took six years to build.