NARP September 2002 Hotlines

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Congress returned from summer recess this week. The biggest outstanding issue is the lack of a House version of a fiscal 2003 transportation appropriations bill (which would include funding for Amtrak). It is possible that the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee will consider such a bill late in the coming week (that is, around September 12).

If you haven't done so already, urge your Representative to urge appropriators to support at least $1.2 billion for Amtrak in 2003. That is the same level as the Senate bill. Click here for ways to make contact.

Yesterday, a Senate Commerce subcommittee chaired by John Breaux (D.-La.) held confirmation hearings for two nominations President Bush has made -- David M. Laney to the Amtrak Board, and Roger Nober to the Surface Transportation Board. Bush has indicated that Nober, if confirmed, would become chairman of the STB. Nober is counsel to Deputy DOT Secretary Michael Jackson and previously was general counsel at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, first to the surface transportation subcommittee and then to the full committee. The hearing was a "love-in," with nothing but praise for both candidates, from Democrats and Republicans alike.

Laney is chairman of Jenkens & Gilchrist in Dallas and served as a gubernatorial appointee in Texas for 12 years, first on the Texas Finance Commission and later on the Texas Transportation Commission. Laney called the appointment of David Gunn "a very positive step by the board" which has significantly improved Amtrak's credibility in recent months. Asked if he felt free to disagree with the Administration on such issues as Amtrak funding, Laney said, "I view this as an independent position and I think" the Administration does also. "If I disagree, I'm sure [the Administration] will hear me. Oftentimes, I can be quite persuasive."

Breaux closed the hearing by noting that one of his staffers recently rode Amtrak coast to coast and was impressed with the heavy use of long-distance trains by senior citizens. Saying that the "senior population is the fastest growing segment of our population," Breaux suggested that Amtrak marketing should reflect that.

Congress held a ceremonial session today in New York, at Federal Hall, one of the few times that Congress has met outside of Washington since it became the capital. About 300 members (out of 539 possible) were expected to attend. Though Vice President Cheney flew to New York and back, most took a special Amtrak train from Washington to New York this morning.

The California Senate approved the final version of the high-speed rail bond voter initiative bill on August 30. The vote was 27 to 6, with 27 votes required for passage. Governor Davis has until September 30 to sign the bill, which he is expected to do, paving the way for a vote in November 2004.

Amtrak ran 23 Acela Express departures over Labor Day weekend; this increased to 27 departures on Tuesday, September 3. On September 5 and 6, that was increased to 35. The normal amount for a weekday is 50.

Over this coming weekend, Amtrak will run a regular Saturday schedule for Acela Express for the first time in a month (on September 7). Sunday will have 23 departures. On Monday and Tuesday, 40 departures are expected. Updates are being posted on Amtrak's web site.

Amtrak and the Capital District Transportation Authority reached an agreement on September 4 on the terms under which Amtrak would occupy the new Albany/Rensselaer station. A move to the new station, adjacent to the old one, is still possible late in the month.

The north/eastbound Texas Eagle has a significant schedule change effective September 5. All times for train 22 from San Antonio through Chicago are 90 minutes later than published in the April 29 timetable, in order to provide even more cushion at San Antonio from a usually late eastbound Sunset Limited. That means train 22 will leave San Antonio at 9:00 am, Dallas at 5:40 pm, Little Rock at 1:25 am, St. Louis at 10:10 am, and arrive at Chicago at 3:50 pm.

Amtrak will offer free movies, TV programs, and Internet access on seat-back screens on Keystone Corridor trains this fall. The first car will get the service on October 15, with gradual expansion after that. The project is a partnership between Amtrak, Pennsylvania DOT, and NRoute Communications of Philadelphia. The service will be available to passengers on a first-come, first-served basis. Passengers will be able to use their own headphones, or borrow some on the train. The NRoute service uses high-speed wireless digital technology to send signals to the moving train. The service will be advertiser-supported.

Groundbreaking for an intermodal station in Pittsfield, Mass., was August 26. The site is off Columbus Ave. on the north side of CSX's Boston-Albany line, across from the shelter on Depot St. now served by Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited. The station will be operated by the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, and will serve Amtrak, intercity and local buses, taxis, and include some form of food service and a police office. It should be completed in November 2003. Pittsfield's ornate Union Station was razed in 1968.

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez will come to Washington this month to talk to Amtrak about moving into a second phase of the Alvarado Transit Center. Chavez met with Greyhound officials in Dallas on the same topic this week. The first phase of the transit center, mostly for local bus service, opened in June, adjacent to the current Amtrak station. Chavez hopes to break ground on phase two within a year, and it would take two more years to complete. Since the old, main station building burned in 1993, Amtrak has been operating out of a side building.

A joint-ticketing program took effect in Southern California on September 5, launched by Amtrak, Metrolink, and Caltrans. Under the new "Rail 2 Rail" program, Metrolink monthly pass holders on the Ventura and Orange County lines who previously bought "Step-Up" coupons to ride on Amtrak Pacific Surfliners may now simply use their Metrolink pass. They can also do the same on parallel Amtrak buses, within the limits of their pass, and ride on Amtrak weekend trains (which are the only trains on those routes on weekends). Passengers with Amtrak tickets can ride Metrolink trains, within the limits of their tickets.

Metrolink and Amtrak will also cross-honor tickets for travel between Los Angeles Union Station and Burbank Airport. To promote that service, Southwest Airlines is offering its passengers free Amtrak or Metrolink travel between those two stations for the next 90 days.

The first of Tacoma's new streetcars arrived by ship on September 3. The fleet of three cars will be similar to those in Portland, Ore., built by Skoda of the Czech Republic. Service is expected to begin in September 2003 on a 1.6-mile line.

The appropriations process is further behind schedule than most people can remember. The House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee did not introduce a 2003 transportation funding bill this week, but they might next week. Chairman Bill Young (R.-Fla.) may move funding bills that use the Administration's numbers, in hopes of proving to the Administration that the votes needed to pass such low spending levels are not there. For Amtrak, of course, the Administration's $521 million is a non-starter if Amtrak is to make it all the way through 2003. Amtrak's finances will be tight even with the $1.2 billion that was passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

There is danger that a House-Senate conference committee would "split the difference" between the two figures and approve a figure that would cause Amtrak another cash crisis sometime in the new fiscal year. Another danger is Congress' failure to pass a spending bill by September 30. Amtrak then would be one of many programs to get temporary funding through a continuing resolution, but at the old fiscal year's level -- in Amtrak's case, $521 million, prorated down to the length of time the continuing resolution is in effect. A "lame duck" session of Congress would have to move rapidly to avoid inflicting yet another cash crisis on Amtrak.

Meanwhile, Amtrak has reported that the Acela Express crack problems in August cost it 76,000 riders (August 12-31) and $9 million in lost ticket revenue.

This past week (September 9-13), Amtrak ran 40 weekday Acela Express departures, where 50 is normal. That level of 50 counts all weekday Acela Express departures from Washington and Boston, plus New York departures in both directions. Since some trains run through New York, the actual number of trains is lower, both in terms of the "normal" schedule and what's being run now. There are now 12 sets in service, instead of the normal 15.

For this weekend, Amtrak will run a normal Acela Express schedule Saturday and 23 on Sunday (same as last week). Service updates are on Amtrak's web site.

The nation now finds itself one year removed from the terror attacks of 2001. That's also true of our transportation system.

To coincide with a moment of silence held in New York City on September 11, at the same hour that the first plane hit the World Trade Center a year ago, Amtrak planned a moment of silence of its own -- 8:46 am (Eastern). Passengers on trains and visitors in stations were encouraged to participate. Locomotive horns were sounded just before that.

Three paragraphs from the Hotline of a year ago bear repeating now, not only to remind advocates of what needs to be done, but to measure what progress -- or lack of it -- our government leaders have made since then:

"How this will impact passenger rail remains to be seen, both in terms of public policy and in terms of train-travel demand. While we can imagine that airline services will return to some level that is more like normal than it was this week, a return to the pre-September 11 status quo seems unlikely. We can also imagine that demand for all passenger rail services will remain higher than normal -- even for the long-distance and corridor services of less than 125 mph that rail critics profess to find no use for.

"To truly meet the nation's travel needs, now more than ever, the government must abandon policies that have weakened the financial health of passenger rail and that have prevented its expansion into new markets. Specifically, these include the Congressional mandate of operational self-sufficiency for Amtrak by fiscal 2003; and features of the TEA-21 and AIR-21 laws that deny that passenger rail is a form of surface transportation worthy of investment, that shut highway and aviation funding into tight, budgetary lockboxes, and that deny rail the resources it needs to play a meaningful alternative to congested (and now partially crippled) highway and aviation modes.

"Because of flawed transportation policy in the past, we could only imagine -- not witness -- a far-reaching passenger-rail network that could act as a more effective travel alternative this week -- and, no doubt, for the foreseeable future. Congress and the Administration will be right if they act to make the aviation system safer, but they must also look at the benefits of a better passenger-rail system, and begin to make serious, public investments in that system."

Amtrak made some changes to its security policy, effective September 10. One is a change NARP worked very hard for and welcomes -- once again, individuals at a ticket window who want to buy tickets for a party of two or more may do so, even if the other party members are not present to show photo identification to the ticket agent. Such tickets will be stamped in a way to let conductors know identification was not presented at the time of purchase, so that conductors can check identification themselves.

A second policy change was announced, and then quickly withdrawn and postponed. That change would have allowed random identification checks of passengers on-board trains, with people under 18 or over 64 exempted. "An unbiased method, which will vary daily, will be used to determine which passengers will be asked for this identification," read an Amtrak bulletin. In any event, passengers traveling on a senior discount must, as before, carry identification to show eligibility for the discount.

Finally, also September 10, Amtrak adopted the federal government's "Homeland Security Advisory System," whose five "threat conditions" are Green (Low), Blue (Guarded), Yellow (Elevated), Orange (High), and Red (Severe). More about the system is at the White House web site. Attorney General John Ashcroft said on September 10, "The recommendation has been made to increase the national threat level, currently classified at Elevated Risk, to High Risk. The President has accepted this recommendation."

One result of going to Code Orange is that Amtrak tightened baggage policies at New York Penn Station. Amtrak suspended parcel check services ("day check" -- important in a big-city station with no lockers), and allows checked baggage only on day of travel, and for those holding tickets for the train departing the same day. The federal government's threat status normally applies to Amtrak, but Amtrak could go to a different level at times, depending on any location- or industry-specific threat.

New York City Transit is restoring subway service on the route most disrupted by the terror attacks. The 1-9 line will reopen to South Ferry on September 15, except that the Cortlandt St. station will remain closed, pending plans to redevelop the World Trade Center site. The Cortlandt St. station on the N-R line also reopens September 15.

Former NARP director F. Travers ("Trav") Burgess, of Kirkwood, Mo., died September 7 at the age of 82. He served as a director-at-large on the NARP board from 1977 to 1986, and represented Region 9 on the board from 1994 to 1998. Burgess earned a law degree from Washington University ('41) in St. Louis, then served in the Army during World War II, attaining the rank of captain. He later worked as a patent attorney at a rail supply company, with expertise in underframes and trucks, knowledge that helped NARP when he served on its board. Also, he was active in the unsuccessful fight to save St. Louis' streetcar network (which was gone by 1966), in the later, successful effort to introduce light-rail service, and in the ongoing effort to get a permanent rail station.

The Boston-Portland Downeaster had a schedule change September 7. Previously, all four trips in each direction ran daily. Now, two southbound trains, 680 and 686, run Monday-Friday only, with a new Saturday-Sunday train 678 (leaving Portland at 6:30 am) and new train 688 (leaving Portland at 7:00 pm). Northbound, train 685 is Monday-Friday only, and new Saturday-Sunday train 689 leaves Boston at 7:45 pm. The idea is to encourage weekend day trips to Maine. Old Orchard Beach "summer" service ends October 31.

The official ribbon-cutting for the new Multimodal Transportation Center in Portland, Me., was today.

Amtrak's Rail Sale offers steep discounts on-line for coach travel September 20 through November 21 for all city-pairs on some short-distance and these long-distance trains -- Coast Starlight, the four transcontinental routes, Capitol Limited, Pennsylvanian, Lake Shore Limited (Boston-Chicago), City of New Orleans, Auto Train. You can upgrade on board after travel has begun, if space is available. Sample one-way, non-refundable fares include Boston-Albany $8.80; Harrisburg-Cleveland, train 43, $10.00; Raleigh-Charlotte, train 73, $3.40; Chicago-St. Louis, train 303, $5.90; Chicago-Denver $38.20. Some dates and city-pairs may already be sold out for these fares. Amtrak's "main Rail Sale page" shows endpoint stations only; for intermediate-point fares, select route, click on "save my selection," and use "Departure Station" and/or "Arrival Station" drop-down menus to show station(s) you want.

Last day of service for three New Jersey Transit stations -- Arlington (Kearny), Rowe St. (Bloomfield), Benson St. (Glen Ridge) -- will be September 20. These stations, located on a former Erie branch, are all served by weekday-only, Boonton Line diesel trains. Starting September 23, the Boonton Line trains will use the new Montclair connection, running to Hoboken via Newark Broad Street. Starting September 30, Midtown Direct electric service will provide 19 weekday round-trips between Montclair Heights (on the current Boonton Line) and New York Penn Station, via the Montclair Connection and Newark. Current Montclair Branch trains are also extended to Montclair Heights then.

Amtrak will move into the new Albany-Rensselaer station on September 22. The announcement came after a meeting of the board of the Capital District Transportation, Authority, which built and owns the station. There will be no grand opening for now. The board also approved building a new station at Saratoga Springs, to replace the 1956 building now used by Amtrak, with the hope of having it ready by the 2003 racing season.

Greyhound has moved its East Lansing stop to the Amtrak station. Indian Trails has moved there as well (previously, only Indian Trails Thruway buses went there). Greyhound said it was its 100th location in an intermodal facility.

A truck that crossed in front of Amtrak's northbound Vermonter on September 11 derailed it, injuring only the truck driver. The incident occurred at an industrial part in Sharon, Vt., just north of White River Junction. The locomotive, lounge, and two coaches derailed but remained upright, except for the lounge that leaned to one side. Train service was expected to be interrupted through September 12.

The East Coast Greenway Alliance has gotten a $1,500 grant to help publicize its "Bikes on Board" project, which is a partnership with Amtrak. The goal of the program is not only to make roll-on bike access more widespread on Amtrak, but also to make the public aware of the service where Amtrak already offers it. The grant came from the Kodak American Greenway Awards program, which is administered by the Conservation Fund.

Fannie Mae, the Federal National Mortgage Association, is expanding its program to provide bigger mortgages to transit users, according to a September 6 Associated Press story. The program allows borrowers to qualify for bigger mortgages if they agree to limit the number of automobiles in their household to one per adult driver, and if they buy a house within a quarter-mile of a bus stop or half-mile of a rail transit station. That split between bus and rail reflects the fact that people are more willing to walk a longer distance to use rail transit than to use bus. The program uses studies showing that people who use transit instead of driving can save $200-250 a month, which represents a form of income that can be used on a higher home mortgage instead.

Fannie Mae had a similar pilot project two years ago in San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle; and added Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and Salt Lake City last year. The current form of the program is now being expanded to Philadelphia, and may come soon to Washington, Atlanta, Baltimore, Louisville, and State College, Pa.

Canadian Transport Minister David Collenette has asked VIA Rail for a report on what is needed to increase speeds and ridership in the central Quebec-Windsor corridor. Collenette sees improved rail service as a way to reduce overall pollution emissions, in keeping with Kyoto agreement goals, and to serve a new market that has emerged since the 2001 terror attacks. He is a regular user of VIA trains in the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto triangle, according to a recent Canadian Press story. However, Harry Gow of Transport 2000 said in the same story that investment should not be made in one corridor alone, and pointed out the irony of B.C. Rail being set to abandon its North Vancouver-Whistler passenger service, just as Vancouver is pushing for the 2010 Winter Olympics (in which Whistler would be a venue).

Amtrak President David Gunn has presented to the Amtrak board a fiscal 2003 budget that assumes receipt of $1.2 billion in federal grants. Some aspects were outlined in a Washington Post article yesterday. They include continuing repairs to wreck-damaged equipment; continuation of long-distance trains; elimination of most express service; putting off expansion proposals, such as restoring service along the east coast of Florida; putting off "many worthy projects" including major Northeast Corridor track work; and requiring (within two years) that states cover all operating losses of trains that Amtrak and states jointly fund today.

The express initiative has not produced the revenues Amtrak had hoped for in the 1990's. It's unclear how fast Amtrak could discontinue the service, given existing contracts. Ending express service likely would increase train reliability, and lead to speeding up of some schedules. It also brings into question the survival of services like the Kentucky Cardinal and Pennsylvanian.

Requiring states to pay more is consistent with Bush Administration views, but will be difficult, given current state budget deficits. In 2001, the only route that got some state funding -- but that did not add to Amtrak's operating losses -- was the Heartland Flyer. In many other states, the situation is murky. States like New York, California, Michigan, and Illinois help fund some trains, and not others, but all of them have an operating loss.

There was still no action on transportation funding in 2003 in the House of Representatives. The new fiscal year is ten days away. Amtrak will not shut down on October 1, because programs whose appropriations bills are not yet passed probably will get funded through a "continuing resolution." But continuing resolutions normally peg funding to the previous year's normal appropriations, which in Amtrak's case is $521 million -- not the $1.2 billion minimum it needs. If a favorable adjustment is not made, and the continuing resolution runs past roughly Thanksgiving, Amtrak could face another cash crisis.

Deputy Transportation Secretary Michael Jackson was quoted in yesterday's Post article as saying the Administration did not want Amtrak to go through such a crisis, by finding an "appropriate continuing resolution mechanism." The Post also reported that Administration sources said no "reforms" will be tied to the continuing resolution, but the Administration will ask that the 2003 appropriations bill, when it finally appears, "clear the way for private enterprise to operate some Amtrak routes as an experiment, to determine whether competition would lead to more efficient service. Such service could then be set up in fiscal 2004."

The Administration, however, has not budged from its "non-starter" $521 million request for Amtrak. Also, the House transportation appropriations subcommittee reportedly is working with perhaps $4 billion less than its Senate counterparts (for all transportation), which will make it hard to fulfill Amtrak's needs.

Amtrak has adopted a schedule for the Acela Express service that will stay in effect the rest of the month (through September 29) and possibly longer. On weekdays (beginning September 16), 41 of the 50 normal departures (from Boston, New York, and Washington) are operating. Saturday schedules are normal (17 departures, as indicated in the August 3 timetable) and Sundays have 23 departures (out of 29 normally). Service updates are on Amtrak's web site.

Stan Bagley, Amtrak's Chief Operating Officer, retired after 28 years with Amtrak, according to a September 16 message to employees from Amtrak President David Gunn. People who had reported to Bagley now report to Gunn, until a replacement for Bagley is found.

California Governor Gray Davis (D.) signed on September 19 a law allowing California voters to consider a ballot initiative for passenger-rail bonds in November 2004. The bill, S.B.1856 (the "Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act"), was signed at the California Railroad Museum in Sacramento. It got final legislative approval on August 30. If approved by voters, the measure will provide $9 billion for high-speed rail and $950 million for conventional rail and rail transit.

Bombardier will close its assembly plant at Barre, Vt., indefinitely, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail. The plant, near Montpelier, now has 40 employees who will be laid off, though some may be offered jobs at another plant in Plattsburgh, N.Y. The Barre plant, over the years, has built many rapid transit cars, as well as some equipment for Amtrak -- Superliner II's, Horizon cars, Acela Express coach units.

All remaining staffed Amtrak stations in Vermont -- Rutland on the Ethan Allen route and St. Albans, Essex Junction, and White River Junction on the Vermonter route -- are losing their station agents effective September 27. These stations had already lost checked baggage service, carry-on bicycle service, and weekend staffing earlier in the year.

Caltrans has asked Amtrak to end table service in San Joaquin food-service cars, as an economy move. This will happen October 4-6 (depending on the individual train). The lounge service (and menu) will continue. Starting October 27, tray meals will be offered to passengers who want to take them to the tables in the lounge car, or back to their own seats.

The Heartland Flyer will have a "free companion" offer in effect from October 1 to November 14 (for reservations made in the same period). The two-for-one offer is good for Oklahoma City to Fort Worth and all intermediate stations. An adult who travels for free on this fare can bring up to two children (age 2-15) at half the regular fare (just as the adult who paid full fare can).

A new passenger concourse for New Jersey Transit commuters will open September 23 in Penn Station in Manhattan. It is in the southeast area of the station (i.e., Seventh Avenue and 31st Street), on the same level as the Long Island Rail Road concourse (in the northeast area). This should help alleviate crowding in the Amtrak waiting area, particularly at rush hour. There is more information at NJT's on-line release.

NJT also announced a timeline for opening the Secaucus transfer station on the Northeast Corridor. This won't happen until PATH can open a station in Lower Manhattan, probably early in 2004. The return of PATH to Lower Manhattan will free up capacity on NJT trains into Manhattan that will be needed by transferring passengers at Secaucus.

NJT's annual "Try Transit Festival" at Hoboken Terminal on September 29 will coincide with the opening of light-rail service to the terminal.

The government of the District of Columbia is asking Washington Metro to start engineering studies next month for a 7.2-mile light-rail starter line in Washington. The line would run from the Minnesota Avenue Metro station (Orange Line) southwest to the Anacostia Metro station (Green Line), with a segment crossing the river at 11th St., S.E., to the Navy Yard and Waterfront stations (Green Line). Other, crosstown light-rail lines (or, less desirably, "bus rapid transit") are envisioned after that.

The District's light-rail plans fit in with a ten-year plan released by Metro last week in which light-rail and bus enhancements are emphasized over previous calls for new Metro lines. A major exception is the Orange Line branch to Dulles Airport, which is still envisioned as a Metro line in the long-term. The new Metro plan also emphasizes squeezing more capacity out of existing Metro lines.

President Bush on September 18 issued an executive order to "accelerate" environmental reviews of certain transportation projects. Many see this as a move to circumvent the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970, which requires environmental reviews and public comment periods. The Natural Resources Defense Council argues that project complexity, not environmental reviews, causes most delay to big transportation projects. The text of the order was not posted on the White House web site as of today.

A Washington Post story today did not make specific reference to rail-related projects, just "high-priority projects, such as highways, bridges, tunnels and airports" of the sort that Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, under the new order, must make a list of for submission to the White House. Mineta lamented in the article that it takes 10 years to complete a new airport and 13 years to complete a highway project. Environmentalists argue that blaming environmental reviews for delays is wrong because projects more often are delayed by lack of funds and inadequate political support. Rail doesn't seem to be any part of the Administration's discussions in this area.

The Utah Transit Authority and Union Pacific Railroad finalized a rail corridor agreement this morning, at a ceremony at the State Capitol. UTA is paying UP $185 million for a series of properties and easements, including space for a commuter-rail track on UP's Salt Lake City-Ogden main line, space for a commuter-rail track on UP's Salt Lake City-Provo-Spanish Fork main line, access to UP's Ogden-Brigham City line, and purchase of abandoned lines to Roy, Orem, Payson, and South Jordan. UTA plans to have Salt Lake-Ogden commuter service running by 2007, and plans to use the South Jordan spur for light-rail expansion.

Transit plans totaling $2.9 billion for the Charlotte region were presented this week by the Charlotte Area Transit System to the Metropolitan Transit Commission, for approval in November. Of the five corridors originally planned to get rail transit, two are now supposed to get busways instead -- east and west (including the airport). That drew protests from neighborhood associations in those areas. CATS claims that busways can "carry far more passengers" at "half" the cost, notwithstanding extensive evidence that rail is far better at attracting riders. Voters approved a half-cent sales tax for rapid transit in 1998, but CATS, with extensive moral support from the Federal Transit Administration, wants to dress up busways as "rapid transit," a term that always has referred to rail. Charlotte's north corridor is still supposed to get commuter rail, and the south and northeast corridors are still supposed to get light rail. CATS also plans a streetcar line for Central Avenue.

The House Appropriations Committee voted 35-25 (on party lines) against an amendment to fund Amtrak as its requested level of $1.2 billion. Instead, the pending 2002 transportation appropriations bill will have an unworkable $762 million for Amtrak, plus an also unworkable $150 million cap on operating grants for long-distance trains.

Because Congress is extremely late in passing appropriations bills this year -- none of the 13 bills have been passed, just days before fiscal 2003 begins (October 1) -- the step of passing the bill through the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee was bypassed, and the bill went straight to full committee. The committee did not finish the bill yesterday, and will resume consideration October 1.

An amendment to raise Amtrak's proposed funding to $1.2 billion (the same level already approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee) was introduced by Subcommittee Ranking Democrat Martin Olav Sabo (D.-Minn.). Sabo said failure of his amendment would mean Amtrak will be back asking for more money in a few months, at which point "we would be just as much at fault." Rep. Sam Farr (D.-Cal.), whose district includes Salinas and Santa Cruz, said the committee could spend three hours debating Amtrak because "we know more about this subsidy than any other subsidy we provide," and suggested that if more was known about other programs, Congress might consider suggesting that highways be ripped up, port dredging terminated, and airports closed, unless communities spend more money.

Rep. Anne Northrup (R.-Ky.) said, "You can have my train ... spend the money on something more people will use." Subcommittee Chairman Harold Rogers (R.-Ky.) praised Amtrak's new president, David Gunn, but said he was not ready to give him $1.2 billion. He also said that would be rewarding "Amtrak for their poor management and poor performance."

In the end, all 35 Republicans on the committee voted against the Sabo amendment.

Rogers was working with $4 billion less for transportation than his Senate counterparts, so he may be right when he says giving Amtrak $1.2 billion would have stretched other transportation programs too thin and cause the House to vote the bill down. Nonetheless, Amtrak cannot survive on $762 million (and probably could not even be liquidated for that amount) and cutting routes offers no short-term savings. The Senate Appropriations Committee report on transportation funding said in July that "eliminating [the 18 long-distance trains] ... would yield effectively zero savings in the first year ... Only after 5 years would the elimination of these services yield annual operating savings exceeding $200 million -- an amount that will not even cover Amtrak's anticipated debt service payments for that year. And such savings does not represent even 5% of the identified capital backlog in the Northeast Corridor. This analysis prompts the Committee to reject the notion that Amtrak can shrink its way to financial health."

The House committee's bill may never reach the floor. It is part of a broad disagreement that pits conservative House leaders and the Bush Administration against the Senate and the rest of the House. Most appropriations disputes may end up being resolved by the four senior appropriators, who have a reputation for getting things done without major ideological hang-ups -- Senators Byrd (D-W.Va.) and Stevens (R.-Alaska) and Reps. Bill Young (R.-Fla.) and David Obey (D.-Wis.).

To get the right outcome for Amtrak, however, your Representatives (and Senators) still need to hear that you are angered by the Committee's vote -- that such an approach is short-sighted and wrong; that it ignores the wishes of the majority of Americans who favor federal funding of passenger rail; and that it would destroy nationwide passenger-rail service just a year after the 2001 terror attacks, when a need for a stronger service was clearly demonstrated. Click here for ways to contact your legislators. The House Appropriations Committee web site lists committee members, but you ought to write to your representative whether or not he or she is on the committee.

The $150-million cap on long-distance train operating funding was inserted into the bill during debate yesterday, replacing a provision that would have ended (by July 1, 2003) service on six routes where a per-passenger loss over $200 is claimed. This had the effect of targeting six trains -- Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle, Kentucky Cardinal, Three Rivers, Pennsylvanian, and Southwest Chief -- which the General Accounting Office claims experienced such losses in 2001.

The $200 provision was reported September 25 in the Washington Post and elsewhere. Reaction, particularly in Texas, was so strong that the provision was shelved in favor of the less specific -- but equally devastating -- $150 million cap on long-distance train operating grants. The Post said the six trains run through the districts of "several key Republicans who face tight races for reelection," such as Northrup. Total funding, however, remains the most important part of the bill. NARP wrote to the committee September 25 underling our support for $1.2 billion and pointing out that "subsidy per passenger" is not a measure of economic efficiency. Click here to read that letter.

In reality, a per-passenger loss -- a standard not used for any other form of intercity passenger travel -- inordinately punishes routes that have passengers traveling long distances, or significant mail and/or express traffic. NARP has argued that more appropriate measures, such as loss-per-passenger-mile or operating ratio (total costs divided by total revenues) would come closer to measuring a service's true economic performance. In particular, the Southwest Chief performs much better than some corridor services when measured by operating ratio. Back at the time of the "Carter cuts" of 1979, the measures used were a combination of "avoidable loss" per passenger-mile and passenger-miles per train-mile.

An Associated Press story noted that Chairman Rogers said that "every long-distance train could continue if ridership and revenues increase, and if states and cities help fund them." [That is the story's paraphrasing, not a direct quote.] Given the fact that Amtrak as a whole is woefully underfunded -- getting about half of what was authorized 1997-2002, and getting barely half what it got 20 years ago (adjusted for inflation) -- and given the fact that Amtrak serves so few intercity markets with so little equipment; and given the utterly unrealistic goal -- shared by the Administration -- of getting "states and cities" to fund the operations of interstate services (including long-distance trains); Rogers' comment implies an upbeat, "painless" scenario that is completely unrealistic.

Since no appropriations bills have been passed, Congress yesterday approved a continuing resolution to fund federal programs after September 30. The resolution has four days' duration -- good through October 5, when an extension to October 11 is expected. October 11 is the target for adjournment and it is not yet clear whether the continuing resolution approved then will run until sometime in November -- after the election, but before the 107th Congress dissolves -- or into 2003, after the new 108th Congress convenes. The continuing resolution is adequate to keep Amtrak running.

The new rail station at Albany-Rensselaer opened September 22, with a ribbon-cutting the following morning. The first-day crowds gave the new station great reviews, especially from those who had just used the old station days before, according to a September 23 article in the Albany Times-Union. Amtrak is still using the old station for crew quarters until that can be moved to the new building in October. After that, the old station will be razed, with some of that space being used for additional tracks.

New Orleans largely shut down on September 25-26 as Tropical Storm Isidore passed through. This had an impact on surface transportation, with both Amtrak and Greyhound suspending operations to the city. The City of New Orleans was turned at Hammond on September 25, and McComb on September 26. The Crescent got as far as Hattiesburg on September 25, but ran from Meridian on September 26 and today. The Sunset Limited may not run through New Orleans again until September 29.

A man who allegedly made a bomb threat on the westbound Capitol Limited on September 22 is being held in the Allegheny County Jail, in Pittsburgh, on a drug-possession warrant from Georgia. The train, which happened to have Amtrak President David Gunn aboard, was stopped for over two hours 10 miles east of Pittsburgh and evacuated so it could be searched. The man who allegedly made the threat was another passenger, and the U.S. Attorney's office was deciding whether to press charges.

A ceremony was held at the Oakland Amtrak station this afternoon to mark the start of an $88-million track and station project. In attendance were local politicians, transportation officials, and Amtrak President David Gunn. The project involves upgrades that will allow additional Capitol Corridor service between Oakland and San Jose. It includes additional track capacity and a station at Oakland Coliseum. Funding comes from the state and localities.

The Amtrak station at Meridian, Miss., regained daily agent service today, including checked-baggage service.