NARP February 2003 Hotlines

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President Bush today requested $900 million for Amtrak in fiscal 2004. While that is significantly higher than the Administration's 2003 request of $521 million, it is also significantly below what Amtrak will request for 2004 (about $1.8 billion), below what the Senate approved for 2003 ($1.2 billion, which we hope conferees will approve soon), and below the pro-rated amount Amtrak has been getting in continuing resolutions for 2003 ($1.039 billion).

The budget statement features a flawed analysis that concludes that Amtrak would be better off without long-distance trains. The statement overstates the financial "benefit" of getting rid of such trains by ignoring labor protection costs (that last long after the year in which a service is cut) and ignoring the many costs and revenues shared among trains. The Administration has embraced the fallacy that "subsidy per passenger" is a valid measure of a train's economic performance or viability.

See our release from today for more information.

[Continues with text from #280 of January 31.]

President Bush on February 3 requested $900 million for Amtrak in fiscal 2004. While that is significantly higher than the Administration's 2003 request of $521 million, it is also significantly below what Amtrak will request for 2004 (about $1.8 billion), below what the Senate approved for 2003 ($1.2 billion, which conferees should resolve soon), and below $1.039 billion, the basis for calculation of the pro-rated amounts Amtrak has been getting in continuing resolutions for 2003.

The budget statement features a flawed analysis that concludes that Amtrak would be better off without long-distance trains. The statement overstates the financial "benefit" of getting rid of such trains by ignoring labor protection costs (that last long after the year in which a service is cut) and ignoring the many costs and revenues shared among trains.

See our February 3 release for more information.

House-Senate conferees on the fiscal 2003 omnibus appropriations bill (H.J.Res.2) have begun their work. It is vital that they approve the Senate figure of $1.2 billion for Amtrak, in order to prevent an Amtrak shutdown crisis this spring, and to allow Amtrak to work towards stabilization while authorization bills and fiscal 2004 appropriations bills are considered during the rest of this legislative session.

House Democrats on February 3 sent a letter to conferees in support of full funding for Amtrak. It had 130 signatures. A similar, Republican letter had 33 signatures.  Click here to see if your Representative signed.

On February 5, 19 senators sent a letter -- the number deliberately limited so that equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats appeared. Click here to see their names.

In addition, a joint, "pro-$1.2 billion" letter was signed by the executive directors of the Council of State Governments, International City/County Management Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, National League of Cities and U.S. Conference of Mayors. Individual letters came from the Coalition of Northeastern Governors, the American Public In Transportation Association, and Norfolk Southern.

Guilford must allow Amtrak trains to operate at 79 mph, where appropriate, according to a Surface Transportation Board decision issued January 31. The STB had previously approved that speed in a decision in October 1999, provided that track testing in areas that were rehabilitated met standards recommended by the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance Association.

In tests performed in fall 2001, 99.95% of the track tested met the benchmark (the rest, a total of 166 feet in 14 locations, is mostly concentrated near Kennebunkport, where Amtrak trains go 30 mph). However, Guilford refused to accept the test results and Amtrak took the matter back to the STB.  Downeaster service began in December 2001, with a top speed of 60 mph in Guilford territory (Portland-Plaistow, 78 miles).

The STB order does not come with a timeline with which Guilford must comply, so it's not known how soon Downeaster trains can begin running faster. Based on the January 1999 agreement signed by Amtrak, Guilford and Maine, it appears that the selective speed increase will cut about 12 minutes from Portland-Boston times (currently 2:45 hours).

Amtrak began issuing a coupon that facilitates booking trips between the Boston-Portland Downeaster trains and the rest of the system, February 3. The coupon looks like a ticket, but is not good for actual transportation (whether by subway, taxi, etc.). It serves as a "placeholder" for through-itineraries for the gap between Back Bay and North Stations in Boston.

Previously, would-be passengers using Amtrak's reservations web site could not book a single reservation that bridged the gap in Boston. NARP urged Amtrak ever since before Downeaster service began in December 2001 to do something to make it clearer to web users that a New York-Portland trip (for example) was possible. The next step would be to make the coupon good for a subway ride. This awaits approval by MBTA.

A bill cutting railroad state property taxes was signed into law by New York Gov. George Pataki (R.), on January 31.  This removes one important obstacle to passenger-related infrastructure improvements to CSX-owned lines in that state. CSX had objected to paying property taxes on such improvements, which have only a secondary benefit (if any) to CSX's freight traffic. The new law cuts New York’s railroad property taxes -- among the nation's highest -- by 45% and exempts infrastructure improvements from local taxation for 10 years.

When Pataki first proposed the measure two years ago, it was thought that an early beneficiary of the new law would be completion of a second track through the 18-mile Albany-Schenectady bottleneck. But now both Amtrak and New York are unlikely to be able to come up with the $28.7 million needed.

Incoming House Transportation Appropriations Chairman Ernest Istook (R.-Okla.), told the Daily Oklahoman (February 2) that "the problem with Amtrak" is that its fares do not cover its expenses.  He did not acknowledge that is also true for most transportation services (including highways and aviation) around the world. Istook claimed that 90% of a trip on the Heartland Flyer is "subsidized," implying a cost recovery rate of 10%. However, in fact (in 2001), cost recovery (counting state payment) was 112% (or 23% without the state payment). It was not clear if Istook was implying that states should not be able to support individual trains if they choose to do so.

A form of high-speed rail bonding is included in an economic stimulus bill introduced January 28 by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D.-Ore.). The Emergency Anti-Recession Act, H.R.396, includes authority for Amtrak to sell, over 10 years, $15 billion in bonds carrying a federal tax credit.

Amtrak and Hotels.com announced a three-year deal on February 4 that will allow Amtrak reservations agents to connect passengers interested in "discount lodging" to Hotels.com. This would work in a manner similar to the way passengers who want a rental car can be connected to a Hertz representative.

The Champlain Flyer commuter-rail service will be shut down March 1 by Vermont's new governor, James Douglas (R.). The Charlotte-Burlington service was started in 2000 by the administration of the previous governor (Howard Dean, D.) as an alternative to a major reconstruction project on parallel U.S. 7. However, the highway project never started, and is now expected to begin a few months from now -- but after the train is gone. Douglas kept open the possibility of restarting the train service later, but said, "We have to maintain our roads and bridges that are in need of repair, and this is not a priority in light of all our other infrastructure needs."

Carl Blaubach, a former Region 12 NARP director, passed away January 1 at his home in Walnut Creek, Cal., at the age of 79. He served on the NARP board from 1988 to 1992. He was retired from a 35-year career at the California Public Utilities Commission, and was known for his "Timetable Classics" reprints of historic transit and rail timetables, maps, and promotional material.

Work on fiscal 2003 appropriations finally has ended -- over a third of the way into the fiscal year.  The House and Senate voted to approve an omnibus package (H.J.Res.2) on February 13, and President Bush is expected to sign it next week.

Amtrak will get $1.05 billion and a deferral (for fiscal 2003 at least) of repaying the $100 million loan it got in June 2002. That, in effect, puts Amtrak within $50 million of the $1.2 billion that Amtrak requested way back in February 2002 -- before the arrival of Amtrak President David Gunn, who has said his pre-loan request would have been higher than $1.2 billion. While this figure represents yet another year of "limp-along" funding, it should forestall a shutdown/cash crisis for the rest of the fiscal year.

Amtrak plans to ask for $1.812 billion in 2004 (vs. the Administration's request of $900 million). The increase is intended to further stabilize nationwide service, repair rolling stock, and begin addressing the massive backlog of capital work needed to maintain commercially viable speeds on the Northeast Corridor over the next few years.

The bill includes several measures designed to increase oversight over Amtrak. One measure requires Amtrak to continue abiding by the terms of the June 2002 loan agreement between it and the DOT.

Another measure requires the Secretary of Transportation to "approve funding to cover operating losses" of each long-distance route "only after receiving and reviewing a grant request for each specific train route," provided that the financial analysis in each request justifies funding for that route "to the Secretary's satisfaction." In theory, that gives the Bush Administration veto power over each long-distance route, but in practice, it's questionable that power will be used. This passage can be viewed as a political game of "hot potato," as this power is not one the Administration sought or wants.  Rather, it is a way for some Congressional opponents of long-distance trains to shift such responsibility elsewhere.

Amtrak must step up the number of financial reports it gives the Administration and Congressional committees, and cannot spend any of its appropriations on items that are not in those plans and were not approved by the Secretary of Transportation, except that changes for under $10 million can be made without formal request.

The bill also retains House language requiring Amtrak to submit a report with, for each route, per-passenger operating loss and net operating loss. This fixation with per-passenger losses makes for good sound bites for those predisposed to oppose long-distance trains, but has no relationship to a route's financial performance. Per-passenger-mile loss or operating ratio would come closer. Conferees did reject language approved by a House committee last year limiting funding for long-distance trains to $150 million.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said, "This budget will help ensure that Amtrak continues to operate for another year as a national railroad system. We must also continue to pursue long-term reform and better service" (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 14).

Deputy Transportation Secretary Michael Jackson appeared before House and Senate Budget Committees this week. Addressing the Bush Administrations fiscal 2004 request of $900 million for 2004, he said $671 million of that is for operations, including "implementing restructuring and management reforms." He added that "passenger rail is an important component of our nation's transportation infrastructure. We stand ready to work with Congress and the states in the upcoming reauthorization to create an intercity passenger rail system that is driven by sound economics, fosters competition, and establishes a long-term partnership between states and the Federal Government to sustain an economically viable system."

Amtrak President David Gunn appeared on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" program on February 10.  It is viewable at C-SPAN's web site -- the program is three hours, but the Gunn segment begins 45 minutes into the program.

The Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission said on February 7 that it would solicit proposals from possible passenger-train operators for the St. Louis-Kansas City service. The service has been in trouble since the legislature, in 2002, granted only $5.0 million of Amtrak's $6.2 million request for the twice-daily operation. Supplemental funding was approved by the House Appropriations Committee today, but it's unclear if the Amtrak funding will survive a House-Senate conference. So it's possible that one of the round-trips (the Mules) could be eliminated at the end of this month -- at least for the rest of Missouri's fiscal year.

Declining and unpredictable federal operating grants has led Amtrak to ask states for more funding. At the state level, however, that federal factor is often left out of the equation, and there are sporadic expressions of concern over "escalating" Amtrak charges.

One private party, Herzog Transit Services, informally has expressed interest in operating the service.  Herzog, headquartered in St. Joseph, Mo., operates several commuter rail systems, but it is quite possible that Herzog's lack of right of access to the Union Pacific route will put it at a cost disadvantage. It's also unclear how such a service would mesh with Amtrak's operations in terms of reservations, ticketing, and use of Amtrak facilities at St. Louis and Kansas City. One of the trains in question, the Ann Rutledge, now runs as a through Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City service.

A barge struck Amtrak's bridge at Spuyten Duyvil -- between Manhattan and the Bronx, N.Y. -- on February 7, disrupting train traffic for several days while repairs were made. Some Amtrak trains ran to Grand Central (rather than Penn Station), some terminated at Croton-Harmon (with connections to Grand Central on Metro North trains), and some were cancelled. Other trains -- the Maple Leaf, Adirondack, and Lake Shore Limited -- ran to Penn Station on a roundabout detour via the Hell Gate Bridge, subject to delay. Amtrak ran shuttle buses between Grand Central and Penn to accommodate passengers making connections.

Service returned to normal February 12. Another barge strike at the same bridge disrupted Amtrak service on March 2, 2002.

Along with the February 10 timetable changes, Amtrak and Greyhound are running a new Thruway service from Cleveland (bus station) to Pittsburgh, connecting with train 40 (eastbound Three Rivers) and from train 43 (westbound Pennsylvanian). NARP has notified Amtrak that this cannot yet be booked on-line.

A Norfolk Southern freight derailment west of Sandusky, O., late on February 11 led to a couple days of detours for the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited around there (on CSX), and at least one instance of extra cars added to the Capitol Limited to ferry Lake Shore passengers between Chicago and Cleveland. The derailment occurred on the Sandusky Bay causeway and appeared to be caused by heavy winds there. On February 12, the Capitol Limited reached Washington at 10 pm, over six hours late.

An Illinois Central freight derailment at Tamaroa, Ill., on February 9 caused at least one day's Illini to be terminated at Champaign (with bus substitution). The City of New Orleans was detoured via East St. Louis, subject to extensive delay. One southbound detoured train (that left Chicago February 9) had its last car, a mail car, derail on the detour route at Pinckneyville, Ill.

The Chicago-St. Louis high-speed rail Final Environmental Impact Statement was completed in January.  It is available at the web site of the Illinois Department of Transportation. Comments on the statement are due by March 10.

Amtrak has embargoed (temporarily removed from service) its "MHC" mail handling cars, as of February 11.  CSX and Norfolk Southern had imposed 60-mph speed limits on them, with Burlington Northern Santa Fe following suit on February 10.

The Texas GulfLiner train will operate during two periods this month -- February 21-23 and February 28-March 2 -- for Mardi Gras.  The train runs from League City to Galveston, Tex.  See the service's web site for more information.

NARP Region 2 will meet on March 1 in Schenectady, N.Y.; Region 9 will meet in Fort Worth, Tex.

The snowstorm that hit Washington, D.C., on February 15-17 was one of the largest in the city's history. The storm also hit every metropolitan area up the coast to Boston. Amtrak performed very well. Amtrak ran a reduced service on the Northeast Corridor throughout the storm period, when those trains were the only things moving over longer distances. Some news accounts said the trains were quite busy.  The Corridor returned to a normal schedule February 19.

Unfortunately, Washington Metro performance was a disappointment. While subway systems in other Northeastern cities -- where the snow stopped falling well after the storm was over in Washington -- were nearly back to normal on February 19, Metro ran only a 60% schedule that day (and 70% on February 20). Metro thought a normal schedule might not occur until February 24.

During much of the storm period, Metro ran trains at 30- or 60-minute intervals, and then only below ground -- the evening of February 16, they ran every 120 minutes. Some trains ran less often than Metro had said they would, some trains were too full to pick up passengers (meaning many people waited far longer than 30 minutes), and information given to people waiting in stations was mostly poor. Adding insult to injury, Metro charged passengers higher rush-hour fares for service that was far below rush-hour service in terms of quality and quantity.

At midweek, nearly half the Metro cars in the fleet were still frozen in place in outdoor yards. Before the storm, Metro had parked 70 cars in tunnels, less than a third of what can be parked in tunnels. Initially, Metro said (according to the Washington Post) they didn't have enough time. Later, they said they could have parked the cars if they closed early the night of February 16, but they didn't want to strand people who were out for the evening (including at a Disney on Ice show). Still, the storm had been predicted, accurately, a few days in advance. It is possible Metro did not fully understand the ramifications of its decision the night of February 16, but Metro and many thousands riders the rest of the week certainly paid a high price for the accommodation of relatively few people on a Sunday night.

Another factor is equipment design. The older Breda cars have below-body electrical components that easily suck in snow and short out. Metro's 80 newer CAF cars, though troubled with door problems when first delivered, had no breakdowns this week.

The other great disappointment was CSX. While Amtrak and Norfolk Southern managed to keep their own lines running, CSX completely shut down west and south of Washington. On the Washington-Richmond line in particular, CSX said, this was because of downed trees, switch problems, and difficult crew transportation. There also were stranded freight trains blocking that line and the Baltimore-Washington Camden line.

As a result, Amtrak canceled all its service south of Washington, though CSX allowed the Crescent to run on its seven-mile Washington-Alexandria segment on February 17. CSX banned MARC and VRE commuter trains on February 17 and 18. VRE, in particular, was disappointed because it has paid for electric switch heaters on the Washington-Alexandria CSX line to prevent just such service interruptions. A CSX assistant vice president was quoted in the Washington Post saying that banning passenger trains even on that short segment -- nearly all of it within sight of major streets -- was "a wise and prudent decision to do the safe thing for the traveling public" because there was inadequate CSX staff to go to the rescue of passenger trains that might stall there.

Elsewhere on CSX, during the storm period, the Auto Train was annulled (though it was the first passenger train to be restored, on February 18); Silver service trains were annulled north of Jacksonville; the Cardinal was annulled east of Huntington, W.Va., due to downed trees and flooding; and the Kentucky Cardinal could not run into Louisville because of a bridge problem.

The Crescent ran along its entire route February 17 (mostly on Amtrak and Norfolk Southern tracks) but was cancelled February 18 because of the CSX ban. The Capitol Limited was annulled east of Pittsburgh (a CSX route). While western Maryland had the deepest snowfalls in the mid-Atlantic region, it's also true that Norfolk Southern continued running Amtrak's Harrisburg-Pittsburgh trains (in some places less than 30 miles away from the CSX line).

CSX allowed partial VRE and MARC service to return on February 19. Amtrak trains that were restored the same day included the Capitol Limited, Crescent, Silver Star, Twilight Shoreliner, a Richmond train, and the Carolinian (south of Raleigh).

Baltimore got even more snow than Washington, which caused severe damage at the B&O Railroad Museum. The 1884 roundhouse, housing some of the rarest antique railroad equipment in the nation (some dating to the 1830's), had half its roof cave in. Light-rail and subway service in Baltimore also was shut down by the storm.

In the New York area, certain above-ground subway services were halted, and New Jersey Transit Midtown Direct trains were diverted to Hoboken. Hudson-Bergen light-rail service was partially shut down for awhile. Metro North and Long Island Rail Road ran regular schedules on February 19, though the Long Island had problems similar to Washington Metro's -- snow above the third rail and under-body electrical equipment that collected snow. All three commuter systems ran trains earlier in the week, but subject to delay (and with several cancellations). Disruptions in the Philadelphia and Boston areas seemed minor compared to other cities (at least as reported in newspapers).

Penn Station in New York was evacuated the afternoon of February 14 (before the snow storm) due to a smoky track fire in the Long Island Rail Road area of the station. Subway lines serving the station had to pass through without stopping due to the smoke.

Amtrak has formally made its grant request for fiscal 2004 -- $1.812 billion, of which $768 million is for operations (including excess mandatory railroad retirement payments) and $1.044 billion for capital (both Northeast Corridor and network). It does not include money to repay the $100 million DOT loan from 2002 (which was deferred from the current fiscal year by the omnibus appropriations bill signed by President Bush February 20).

Several published reports made much of the fact that the request is 73% more than what Amtrak just got for fiscal 2003 ($1.050 billion). However, the fiscal 2003 level is a "limp along" budget that does not let Amtrak address deferred maintenance. The $1.812 billion request, on the other hand, is a realistic assessment of current needs.

Amtrak President David Gunn made clear that slow orders will begin to strangle the Northeast Corridor if work is delayed beyond 2004 on such vital projects as replacing three key river bridges in Connecticut. Gunn said that annual funding near the $2 billion level for about five years would let Amtrak get all of its equipment, facilities and infrastructure in a state of good repair.

NARP issued a release yesterday in support of Gunn's 2004 request.

Supplemental funding approved by the Missouri House Budget Committee on February 14 was reduced by the full House on February 18. The Committee had approved $1.2 million to let the St. Louis-Kansas City Mules continue to run after February 28. The House approved $800,000. It appears that part of the $400,000 shortfall would be offset by removing ticket agents from Jefferson City and Kirkwood stations. Another idea, to remove food service cars, appears not to be under consideration now. There also has been discussion of a $5 per ticket surcharge. Hopefully, Amtrak will accept the $800,000, and the Missouri legislature will let Amtrak make the business judgments about the best way to live with that level (while running both trains).

Missouri fiscal 2004 funding also will be tough. On February 19, the Missouri House Appropriations - Transportation and Economic Development Committee cut Amtrak funding from $8.9 million to $5 million (which compares with Amtrak's expected revised request of $6.4 million). A motion to delete Amtrak funding entirely was defeated.

In 2000, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring construction of a high-speed rail system free of grade crossings and capable of 120 mph service.The measure got 53% support, winning by a convincing 300,000-vote margin, despite strong opposition from all the state's major newspapers, Gov. Jeb Bush, and the Florida Chamber of Commerce. Now, some Florida lawmakers want to overturn the vote, and are promoting bills that would put the question back on the ballot in 2004, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Four companies entered bids on February 10 to build the first leg of the system, Orlando-Tampa. The two lower bids involved speculative, unproven technology, while the other two (in the $2.2-2.7 billion range) involve "from-scratch" high-speed rail proposals. None of the four bids involve conventional rail technology that could run, in places, at 120 mph (to satisfy the constitutional amendment).

Amtrak has announced a spring discount program. A 25% discount is offered for adult fares sold on the web site only. The discount may be used with parties traveling with children, or with senior and Student Advantage discounts. The discount is sold from today through March 14, for travel February 26 through August 28. Reservations must be made at least five days before travel. See Amtrak's web site for more information. The promotion code now is H304.

Improving the link between the air and rail modes will be the topic of a joint hearing of the Aviation and Railroads Subcommittees (House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee) on February 26.

Guilford has filed a motion asking the Surface Transportation Board to reconsider its decision approving 79 mph operation of Amtrak's Downeaster. It is too soon to predict whether the STB will agree to hear the motion.

A pro-rail rally, sponsored by "Save Our Trains," will happen on March 1 at 11:00 am, on the west steps of the State Capitol in Lansing. Organizers are concerned that service on the International and Pere Marquette could end after March 31, absent a contract renewal agreement between Michigan DOT and Amtrak.

NARP Region 2 will meet on March 1 in Schenectady, N.Y.; Region 9 will meet in Fort Worth, Tex.

The States for Passenger Rail Coalition held a well attended Capitol Hill briefing on February 27. The speakers were Reps. Jack Quinn (R.-N.Y., Railroads Subcommittee Chairman) and Howard Coble (R.-N.C.). Quinn said that he and Ranking Democrat Corrine Brown (Fla.) "approach rail in a real nonpartisan way ... I can't imagine America without a national passenger rail system ... You probably never make a profit as a public service.  I've said we've always given Amtrak just enough money to fail." Quinn said that Amtrak President David Gunn is "the right person in the right place at the right time." He said he was "even" encouraged by the Administration's request of $900 million for Amtrak in 2004 -- "I think [Secretary] Mineta and [Deputy Secretary] Jackson 'get it.' They know we can't send Gunn into negotiations with the workers if they don't know a stable system will be there ... I'm encouraged that we're heading in the right direction."

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials circulated a statement calling for federal funding to let Amtrak keep running for at least two years, a moratorium on higher state payments to Amtrak, and a passenger rail policy to be developed by the federal government.

Jean Kirby, of the Greater Atlanta Chamber and the Southeastern Economic Alliance (14 chambers of commerce from Richmond to Birmingham), cited a consultant's finding that the southeast would have to spend $4.5 billion a year on highways just to keep congestion from getting worse, and that Atlanta -- in danger of going from "serious" to "severe" on air quality -- is limited in what it should spend on roads. The business community hopes for a high-speed network using dedicated tracks because the freight railroads "feel strongly we can't run over 90 mph on their tracks."

The Southeastern high-speed rail concept has the support of Reps. Jim DeMint (R.-S.C.) and Johnny Isakson (R.-Ga.), who announced at a February 26 Capitol Hill news conference that they will seek $10 million in study and analysis funding as part of the TEA-21 surface transportation reauthorization.

David King, Deputy Secretary of North Carolina DOT, chaired the session and ended by summarizing the message, "We need the feds to fill the gaping hole in transportation policy!"

A joint hearing of the Aviation and Railroads Subcommittees of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committees was held February 26, entitled, "Planes, Trains, and Intermodalism -- Improving the Link Between Air and Rail." It was chaired by Aviation Chairman John Mica (R.-Fla.), who called for high-speed rail investment, and an "embrace of new technology" -- a Washington-New York maglev, on a new right-of-way, which he claims will be cheaper than upgrading the Northeast Corridor. His focus on an expensive, untried technology seems to rule out the alternative of providing proper funding (for the first time) to develop a network of fast passenger trains, as other countries have done and are still doing.

Hank Dittmar, of the foundation-supported Reconnecting America group, called for replacing short-distance flights with trains, noted that 2003 is an opportunity for a coordinated approach, since reauthorization of air, highway, transit, and rail programs is on the table. NARP believes that such a system, also tied together with trains going longer distances, is in the interest of the traveling public and of national security. NARP filed a statement for the record, and indicated general support of Dittmar's testimony.

The National Rail Defense Act, S.104, got its 32nd sponsor this week (Kohl, D.-Wis.). This bill authorizes investment in corridors and nationwide service alike.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on February 26 approved H.R.874, the "Rail Passenger Disaster Family Assistance Act Of 2003." It was introduced the day before. This bill would require the National Transportation Safety Board to provide an assistance phone number for family members of victims of intercity passenger train accidents, and bars solicitation of family members and injured parties for 45 days after an accident. While it largely codifies Amtrak's current practices, it would apply to potential future carriers as well. A similar bill was approved by the House two years ago but never considered by the Senate.

The threat to one of the two St. Louis-Kansas City trains has been postponed. Funding for the Mules was set to run out today, and Amtrak had been saying today would be the last day of service. However, Amtrak has been encouraged by movement of supplemental appropriations bill HB15, which contains $800,000 to continue running both daily round trips (Mules and Ann Rutledge) for the rest of the fiscal year (ending June 30), and has decided to keep running them for now. The Missouri House approved the bill, and the Senate may vote on it on March 3.

The $400,000 difference between bill's funding level and the $1.2 million originally sought by Amtrak is to be made up partly by unstaffing the Kirkwood and Jefferson City stations. A $5 fare surcharge on each ticket also is under discussion, but it is unclear what impact that would have on the service's bottom line.

CSX's weather-related problems continued last weekend with 15-mph, passenger-only slow orders in many places north of Savannah to Washington and west to Cumberland and towards Huntington. Freight slow-orders were 40 mph.  Norfolk Southern routes from Alexandria and Raleigh to the southwest were not affected. CSX also imposed a flash-flood warning from New Orleans to Mobile, again at 15 mph, which caused Amtrak to annul the Sunset Limited and replace it with buses. Richmond line trains were severely delayed on February 22 and 23, some taking up to ten hours to complete a two-hour trip from Washington.

Perhaps the 15 mph dictate came from the CSX legal department. In any event, there is no engineering basis for running freight trains 25 mph (167%) faster than passenger trains on the same track. Indeed, given identical speeds, a heavy freight train is more likely to derail on certain substandard track.

Virginia officials, along with officials from CSX, Amtrak, and Virginia Railway Express, met on February 25 to talk about the closure of the CSX Washington-Richmond line February 16-18 (when Amtrak north of Washington and Norfolk Southern kept running). The meeting was described by the Washington Post (February 28) as "sometimes testy." The Post said that CSX insisted it had to shut down during the storm, but that they could do better in the future.  CSX avoided answering VRE's questions about why the short Washington-Alexandria segment, equipped with state-funded switch heaters, could not have remained open, and about why local CSX officials couldn't make some decisions now made at CSX's center command center in Jacksonville, Fla.

The southbound Texas Eagle, running over nine hours late on February 25 due to Union Pacific slow orders, freight interference, and inability of UP to dispatch crews in icy conditions, terminated in Fort Worth and originated there the next day.

A Norfolk Southern freight derailment west of Johnstown, Pa., on February 25 resulted in disruptions to Amtrak trains between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, including annulments and bus substitutions.

Amtrak has a healthy share of the Northeast Corridor market, according to a quote in a Boston Globe (February 26).  Amtrak says that from April to June 2002, it had a 53% share of the combined air-rail market between Washington and New York (endpoint-endpoint) -- more than the airlines combined. Using the same measures, Amtrak had 37% of the Boston-New York market (more than any single airline), and 25% of the Boston-Philadelphia market.

During a session with reporters on February 26, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.-Tex.) repeated her desire to keep Amtrak going (San Antonio News-Express, February 27). "I just don't want to give up on Amtrak, but I want it to operate efficiently," she said. Amtrak has been "starved" for resources, she said.

The Amtrak station at High Point, N.C., will close after March 28 for the duration of its reconstruction project, and trains will not stop there again until the work is done in July. Work on the two-level station has been a challenge while it remains in service.

The Canadian Transport Ministry unveiled a long-term transportation plan on February 25. Among other things, it seeks a "VIA Rail Act" which would be analogous, roughly, to an Amtrak reauthorization act in the U.S. Congress. One Ministry goal for that act would be to give VIA Rail the ability to make more service decisions without government permission than it can now.

The Champlain Flyer commuter service in Vermont made its last run today, closed by order of Gov. Douglas. It could be reinstated later if delayed US 7 reconstructions begins -- which was the service's original purpose.

NARP Region 2 will meet on March 1 in Schenectady, N.Y.; Region 9 will meet in Fort Worth, Tex.