NARP August 2003 Hotlines

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The Senate will adjourn today until after Labor Day. A week ago, it was thought that a Senate transportation appropriations bill might be considered this week, but that has not happened.

The House transportation/treasury appropriations bill was introduced formally July 30, and is numbered H.R.2989. This bill was released from committee July 24, and has $900 million for Amtrak, which Amtrak characterizes as a shutdown figure.

The American Rail Equity Act, S.1505, was introduced July 30 by Republican Senators Hutchison (Tex.), Lott (Miss.), Snowe (Me.), and Burns (Mont.). It is a six-year Amtrak reauthorization bill and infrastructure bill. It establishes Amtrak's current system as a base for a national system, authorizes $2 billion a year for it (consistent with H.R.2572, released by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on June 25), and establishes a Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation (similar to the TEA-21 renewal language approved by the Senate Commerce Committee on June 26). The Corporation would issue $48 billion in federal tax-credit bonds for rail infrastructure projects, subject to approval by a new DOT rail office.

We strongly support the bill's objectives. The bill's initial sponsors illustrate the importance of nationwide service. It is absolutely critical that negotiations relating to some bill features (below) that can give the bill bi-partisan support be successful. That is essential if the bill is to have any chance of getting enacted. Items needing resolution include a provision allowing routes with less than 80% on-time performance (after some number of years) to be franchised out. This provision also does not require new operators to operate in the same labor environment as Amtrak does. It is not clear how much more likely a new operator would be to run a route more on-time than Amtrak, since over half of train delays are caused by freight trains. Another item needing resolution is ownership of the Northeast Corridor, which S.1505 would transfer to U.S. DOT.

The Bush Administration released its own passenger rail authorization bill on July 28, which was introduced as S.1501 on July 30, with John McCain (R.-Ariz.) as the lone sponsor. The six-year bill would divide Amtrak into three parts -- private operating company, private Northeast-Corridor-only infrastructure company, and vestige DOT agency that would retain Amtrak's brand and track-access rights to give to other, private operators. The bill would scale back operating grants for long-distance trains to zero by the end of six years, with the unrealistic expectation that multi-state compacts would step in and operate such service. The end impact would be the end of nationwide service, and the end of whatever national consensus exists today to continue support to the remaining few corridors.

Upon introduction of S.1505 (see above), one of that bill's sponsors, Trent Lott (R.-Miss.) said, "I am extremely disappointed with the Administration's plan. If after 2-1/2 years that’s all they can come up with, they should be ashamed. It is a guarantee to fail. What if one state in a group doesn't join? Is the train going to stop in that state? It's ridiculous! It's a total non-starter and for the most part will get little consideration in our committee."

See also NARP's release on the Administration bill.

The Amtrak Board of Directors has a new chairman and vice chairman. David Laney, the board's newest member (since November 2002) is the new chairman. The board's longest-serving member (since 1994), Sylvia de Leon, is the new vice chairman. The July 25 board action came in the wake of the expiration in June of the terms of the previous chairman and vice chairman, Meridian (Miss.) Mayor John Robert Smith and former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.

Service disruptions earlier in the week delayed commuters and intercity passengers alike on the Northeast Corridor. Some trains were delayed by five hours or more. The main problem began the evening of July 28, when an Amtrak Metroliner pulled down a section of overhead wire near Metropark. For several hours, only one of four tracks was open, causing a line of trains to wait on either side. NJT passengers complained of sketchy information (or none at all). NJT said, "Information was changing rather rapidly and it was difficult getting updated information to our passengers." NJT has said it would improve passenger communication by equipping crewmembers with bullhorns and radios, increasing crew on some trains, analyzing the existing public address systems, and providing more training to crewmembers and station agents.

Amtrak was investigating the reason for the downed wire, but left open the possibility that it was wire that was on a long list of repairs awaiting adequate funding. In a letter to passengers, Amtrak President David Gunn said, "We've had a number of disruptions in the Northeast Corridor lately that can be attributed to years of deferred maintenance and lack of funding for capital projects."

NJT officials, in their investigation of a derailment at Secaucus on July 14, now believe the cause is an electrical surge that caused a wheel to overheat, weaken, and fall off, not a steady leaking of lubricant (as was reported earlier). A similar overheated wheel last week led to examination of the Arrow III fleet, and an examination of cleaning and maintenance practices of parts that are supposed to prevent power surges. Unlike July 14, last week's overheated wheel was caught before it could cause an accident.

New Jersey Transit will open -- partially -- the new Secaucus Junction station on August 4. This is the station that, formerly known as Secaucus Transfer (and much earlier as Allied Junction), sits on the Northeast Corridor between Newark and New York, over the Bergen and Main commuter lines (which lead into Hoboken). The partial opening will be for daily service on the Bergen Line (though Harmon Cove, nearby, closes at the same time). Additional service will be added September 6, but the station's full potential as a transfer station won't be realized until after PATH's World Trade Center station reopens later in the fall. That's because so many former PATH passengers continue to crowd NJT trains on the Northeast Corridor.

Oregon's quad-weekly Lewis and Clark Explorer train has been selling so well that it has been extended for two weeks. Now, the Portland-Astoria train's last day will be September 15.

The Transportation Agency of Monterey County approved a plan to buy 13.5 miles of Union Pacific line between Monterey (Seaside) and Castroville (junction with Coast Starlight route) on July 23. The county hopes to use it for future passenger service to San Francisco.

It is possible that a Senate transportation funding bill for 2004 could come as early as the first week (or day) the Senate returns from summer recess, which is September 3. During this August break is a good time to contact your Senator in support of Amtrak's request of $1.812 billion. Click here for ways to make contact.

We have as yet heard no dates for the counterpart House bill (H.R.2989) to reach the floor. We understand that Appropriations Chairman C. W. Bill Young (R.-Fla.) already has heard discontent about the $900-million ("kill Amtrak") figure in his bill (as passed by the Committee on July 24). If he hears enough such discontent, it is possible he would increase the Amtrak funding level in his manager's amendment (a common device used to clean up technical problems in bills, but which also can address issues of substance).

If enough members of both parties make their unhappiness with the Amtrak figure clear, Young will have to choose between addressing it in a manager's amendment, or facing a floor amendment to increase Amtrak funding. Given the number of Representatives who signed a letter to him in favor of the $1.812 billion, there is a good chance Young would lose such a floor vote.

Besides the many negative features in H.R.2989 mentioned here in past weeks, two more have come to our attention. First, the bill specifies that funding for Amtrak is contingent on passage of an authorization bill, the outcome of which, given the remaining legislative days, is unclear. Second, the bill "requires non-federal entities to provide payments on lines that have a greater than $200 passenger loss based on procedures developed by the Secretary of Transportation." Never mind that "per-passenger loss" is no credible measure of a train's financial performance, or that there is no agreement on which costs to include (fully allocated or variable). This year, the DOT has been using "FRA-defined losses" that include only the direct cost of an individual train's operation. But a switch to fully allocated costs (that include things like interest and depreciation) would be fatal to nationwide service. Furthermore, fully allocated costs do not even accurately reflect the financial benefit of removal of a given service.

The Montana Departments of Agriculture and Transportation released a study August 5 that outlines the contribution that passenger train service makes to Montana's economy. It says the annual economic impact of Amtrak's Empire Builder in Montana is nearly $14 million. Gov. Judy Martz (R.), who chairs the Western Governors Association, plans a resolution next month to continue federal support for long-distance trains, which would be eliminated by a Bush Administration proposal (S.1501).

Sen. Ernest Hollings (D.-S.C.) has announced he will not seek re-election in 2004. Hollings is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over passenger rail, and is a past chairman.  He is also a senior member of the Budget and Appropriations Committees. Hollings has been a great supporter of nationwide passenger-rail service. He is the lead sponsor of S.104, the National Defense Rail Act, which (if enacted and funded) would vastly expand train service, and was awarded NARP's George Falcon Golden Spike Award in 2002.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People today issued a statement of strong support for passenger rail and against the Bush Administration plan for it.

Due to Norfolk Southern track work, Amtrak will reduce Michigan corridor service Monday-Thursday, through October 9. On those weekdays, train 350 will run Chicago-Battle Creek only, about 15 minutes later than times shown in the schedule, with no replacement bus. Train 353 will run Battle Creek-Chicago only, about 29 minutes later than scheduled, with a Detroit-Dearborn-Ann Arbor-Jackson replacement bus.

The Oregon House approved a transportation budget bill on August 5, but with no funding for state-supported Amtrak service between Portland and Eugene. The vote was 31-25 (after once being rejected, 27-27), and the bill now goes to the Senate. Funding for the two daily round trips ends August 31.  Support for the service has been expressed so strongly that the bill sponsor acknowledged as much on the House floor (but without acting to restore the funds). Oregon residents need to contact their state senators now.

The National Transportation Safety Board released two sets of findings on August 5. One related to the Amtrak Auto Train derailment at Crescent City, Fla., on April 18, 2002, which killed four passengers. The NTSB determined that the probable cause was "a heat-induced track buckle that developed because of inadequate CSX Transportation track-surfacing operations. These operations included the misalignment of the curve, insufficient track restraint, and failure to reestablish an appropriate neutral rail temperature."

The NTSB made several recommendations to CSX regarding track installation and maintenance, which CSX says it is already implementing. It also recommended that Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, and Transportation Security Administration work on ways to have "an accurate passenger and crew accountability system for all [reserved] passenger trains that will immediately provide an accurate count and identity of people on board the train in case of emergency."

The NTSB also recommends that Amtrak install restraints for the folding armchairs used in Superliner Deluxe Bedrooms, and install automatic two-way end-of-train devices on locomotives with such manual devices. Apparently, the emergency brakes on the rear of the Auto Train didn't engage until seven seconds after they did in the front, causing the heavy auto-rack cars in the rear to keep pushing forward into the rest of the train.

The other finding related to the accident on the Angel's Flight funicular in downtown Los Angeles on February 1, 2001, which killed one passenger. The funicular had operated from 1901 to 1969, then was stored and later rebuilt (opening in 1996). The NTSB found that the probable cause was "improper design and construction" during the rebuilding and failure to conform to funicular safety standards.

Amtrak and the Transportation Communications International Union have reached a tentative contract agreement, according to an August 5 Reuters story. The contract must be ratified by the union, which represents about 5,000 Amtrak employees. They include ticket and reservations agents, baggage handlers, and clerical employees, and are about 25% of Amtrak's total employment. The contract is likely to include efficiency-related work-rule changes, and is the first of 13 such contracts to reach this stage. It would be retroactive to January 2000 and run through December 2004.

Changes are coming to Amtrak timetables, according to an August 6 Wall Street Journal article. The National and Northeast booklets, which have been printed separately since Spring 1993, will go back to being one, single booklet, starting this fall. Also, the timetable will have three pages of sample fares and sleeping car charges, something not included in Amtrak timetables in many years.

There are now just three Amtrak overnight, single-level trains that allow on-board smoking. They are the Crescent, Silver Meteor, and Silver Star, which have enclosed smoking areas in their Amfleet lounges. The Lake Shore Limited recently went to all-non-smoking as it was not always possible to equip all four trains with smoking lounges.

Much of the Northeast and eastern Midwest was stricken by a late-afternoon electrical blackout yesterday. Its impact extended into today, and transportation was deeply affected, as airports, subways, train stations, track switches, track signals, catenary/third-rail (on electrified routes), and street traffic signals all lacked power.

Amtrak Northeast Corridor service between roughly Newark and New Haven shut down immediately.  Amtrak was able to run service from the south into New Jersey, but only after 8:00 pm was able to get a train or two in and out of New York Penn Station. Amtrak is running limited service to Penn Station today (from New Jersey), and hoped to get back to normal by midday -- but Amtrak advised passengers to continue to avoid travel into Manhattan. There is also limited Albany-Penn Station service today.

Amtrak catenary between Penn Station and New Rochelle, and Metro-North catenary from there to just past New Haven station remained out of service this morning. As a result, all Amtrak New York-Boston service remained canceled today.

Amtrak services in other areas are moving, but subject to delay. For example, yesterday's westbound Capitol Limited lost only a half hour in Ohio (after arriving at Pittsburgh two hours late, losing most time on CSX between Martinsburg and Cumberland). The westbound Three Rivers was 40 minutes late into Chicago. The westbound Lake Shore Limited was about seven hours late at Cleveland. The eastbound counterparts of those trains experienced delays leaving the Chicago area. Yesterday's eastbound Maple Leaf was five hours late into Albany.

Downeaster trains are running, but anyone planning to use other Northeastern services today or tomorrow (NEC to Boston; Inland Route; Springfield line; Vermonter, Empire services) should contact Amtrak at 800/USA-RAIL for an update.

Michigan service was severely disrupted. Westbound train 355 left Pontiac on-time yesterday right before the blackout, and got stuck a couple miles short of the Detroit station for a couple hours while switches were set manually. It terminated in Battle Creek (as did an eastbound train). Nothing appears to be running east of Dearborn today, due to signal and switch problems. The International is running.

New York City Transit subways shut down immediately, and remained closed today. About 350,000 passengers were on trains at the moment of the blackout, and had to be evacuated. City bus service was fare-free today.

PATH trains (New Jersey-Manhattan) were shut down yesterday, with 5,000 passengers evacuated.  Limited service was restored after 10:00 pm. PATH is running today.

Long Island Rail Road was shut down immediately. Two trains were in tunnels at the time of the blackout, including a Babylon train under the East River, with 1,000 passengers, who had to be evacuated. Bus service replaced trains between Penn Station and Jamaica today, from which hourly service is running on several branches (local train service to Jamaica began late in the afternoon).

The impact on New Jersey Transit commuter trains was scattered. North Jersey Coast Line trains ran, but only to Newark last night. That line and the Northeast Corridor and Raritan Valley lines are running today on a limited schedule. Diesel routes going north out of Hoboken were suspended due to signal outages. That continued today (including on the Montclair/Boonton route). Newark and Hudson-Bergen light-rail lines ran normally today.

Metro North was shut down yesterday, and very limited service is running today. Some diesel Shore Line East trains were used to rescue stranded Metro North passengers yesterday, but all Shore Line East service was cancelled today.

Buffalo's central area was largely spared, so it's possible that NFTA light rail service was not interrupted.

Greater Cleveland RTA trains and cars were halted yesterday and were expected to resume service midday today.

Toronto streetcars and subways were shut down. TTC streetcar service was being restored gradually today, but subways could take a couple more days. GO Transit is not running commuter trains today.

VIA Rail Canada ran trains in the Toronto region today.

Greyhound shut down north of a line roughly from Cleveland to New York. It is running again today, including at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York (which was still without power at midday).

Generally, incoming air flights were allowed to land at New York-area airports (and others), but could not leave again. Many flights were diverted or canceled. Airlines struggled today to get planes and crews into position for normal service.

Amtrak released some ridership figures this week. It said that ridership on the Pennsylvanian was up 98% in March-July 2003 (over the same period in 2002), the highest increase in the system. Amtrak credits that growth to the February 10 conversion of that train from a Philadelphia-Chicago mail-and-express-oriented train (with poor endpoint times) to a marketable New York-Pittsburgh train.

Amtrak also said that its July 2003 ridership, at 2,223,358 passengers, was the highest single month in Amtrak history. It noted that routes with particularly good ridership increases over July 2002 included the Texas Eagle (49.8%), Sunset Limited (39.2%), Pacific Surfliners (32.4%), Silver Meteor (30.5%), City of New Orleans (21.0%), Auto Train (19.3%), Empire Builder (13.8%), Hiawathas (13.4%), Northeast Corridor Regionals (9.9%).

Amtrak's consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2002, with auditors' report, is now on its web site. With revenues of $2.212 billion (less certain federal and state payments) and expenses of $3.224 billion, Amtrak has an implied cost recovery of 69% -- up from 63% in 2001. By comparison, a recent Brookings Institution report we cited recently (Hotline #304 of July 18) says that on all levels of government, certain user fees (tolls, gas taxes, and vehicle taxes and fees) made up only 59% of what was spent on highways in 2001.

Due to an apparent lack of communication, several Amtrak passengers who had just been dropped at Richmond, Cal., by a Capitol Corridor train were stranded in the station for about an hour late on August 9. Neither they nor the train's conductor knew that people in the Richmond area had been told by local emergency personnel to stay indoors because of a cloud of gas that had escaped from a nearby refinery. The only exit to the station, which has no Amtrak staff, was locked because of the alert, and the elevator turned off. Some passengers were helped over a fence by bystanders in a parking lot, some others walked along the tracks to go around a long fence, some boarded a following Amtrak train and went to Emeryville, and a couple waited an hour for BART police to arrive.

County and city officials each said the other agency should have notified Amtrak not to drop passengers at Richmond. Apparently, BART, which shares the Richmond station with Amtrak, only learned of the alert because its own yard workers heard an emergency siren. The public officials said they planned to reevaluate their emergency notification procedures.

San Joaquin service was disrupted August 11 when a Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train derailed near Allensworth, Cal. (between Corcoran and Wasco), leaking tomato paste and liquid fertilizer and starting a grass fire. Amtrak passengers were bussed between Bakersfield and Hanford most of the day.

Caltrans (California DOT) announced that it will test on-board high-speed wireless internet service ("Wi-Fi") this fall on the Capitol Corridor. A three-month test will start in September.  Equipment will be provided by PointShot Wireless of Ottawa, Ont., which is conducting a similar test on VIA Rail's Montreal-Toronto line. Part of the test period will feature free wireless service.

Two former Amtrak conductors, who had been based in Albany, pled guilty yesterday to charges of stealing from the railroad, according to the Albany Business Review. Typically, cash fares paid on board the train were pocketed by the conductors. One man admitted to taking over $16,000 in about the year before January 2001 (and not remitting $7,100 in credit card sales), and the other admitted to taking nearly $32,000 in three years before February 2001. Sentencing will be in December. Three other Albany conductors admitted last month to taking a total of $69,000. The paper said that the Amtrak Inspector General, Fred Weiderhold, said at least $1.4 million has been stolen by Amtrak conductors and assistant conductors, and 110 of them have been fired (with another 20 resignations) since his investigation began (out of a total 1,200 people in those positions).

The new light rail line in Tacoma, Wash. -- Tacoma Link -- will open August 22. It runs 1.6 miles from downtown Tacoma to the Tacoma Dome. A new intermodal station at that location, serving Amtrak, Sounder commuter rail, Greyhound, airport buses, and Tacoma Link, should open next month.

Reps. Julia Carson (D.-Ind.) and James Oberstar (D.-Minn.) will tour Amtrak's Beech Grove Maintenance Facility on August 18, along with Beech Grove, Ind., Mayor Warner Wiley. Oberstar is the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and both he and Carson are members of that committee's Railroads Subcommittee.

Amtrak President David Gunn appeared on the CNN "Lou Dobbs Tonight" program last night, as part of a larger series of interviews relating to deteriorating infrastructure in the U.S. Gunn said that if Amtrak gets its request for $1.812 billion in appropriations for 2004, "We'll be able to start rebuilding the existing system and putting it back into a state of good repair."

The importance of getting to that "state of good repair" cannot be overstated. By repairing equipment and reducing debt, Amtrak not only would be able to provide a more reliable service in 2004, it also would avoid a cash-shutdown crisis (like the one in June 2002). That, in turn, would allow Congressional leaders to focus their attention on reauthorization proposals that can improve and expand passenger rail in the longer term. Good proposals like those by Senators Hutchison (S.1505) and Hollings (S.104) will go nowhere if Amtrak collapses for lack of funding, or if leaders are preoccupied with the threat of such a collapse.

The House may vote as early as September 4 on H.R.2989, the 2004 transportation funding bill, which currently has only $900 million for Amtrak (less than 2003). The Senate Appropriations Committee may take up its own bill the same week. Tell your legislators now that you support $1.812 billion for Amtrak to maintain its network and work toward a state of good repair. Click here for ways to make contact.

The Oregon legislature passed a two-year revenue package on August 20 with a tax increase that allows for a balanced budget.The Oregon DOT two-year budget has not yet been approved, but the revenue package creates room in the budget to fund Amtrak's Portland-Eugene Cascades service (and associated motorcoach service). The House had passed a DOT budget on August 5 with no rail funding, but there is strong interest in the Senate (with Gov. Ted Kulongoski's support) to add back the needed funding (about $9.5 million) for operations. The House must then concur with that add-back.

In addition, $10 million is needed for capital improvements to the line to allow the second Portland-Eugene train (added in 2000) to continue to operate, based on an arrangement between Union Pacific and the state. Thanks to Governor Kulongoski, that capital is currently provided in a separate lottery bond bill now pending in the legislature.

With the legislature ready to adjourn within a few days, Oregon residents must act quickly -- click here for state senators; and click here for state representatives. It's vital that the final DOT budget bill include the $9.5 million for rail operations, and that the lottery bond bill pass with its $10 million for rail capital.

Anti-tax forces have already begun a referendum campaign to throw out the tax increase, the budget, or both. If the budget ends up having rail money in it and voters reject it a few months from now, the service will be in jeopardy again.

The Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates says that -- provided the trains keep running -- the stage is set for "meaningful progress" in the next legislative session in 2005, because legislators heard ("as never before") about the importance of passenger rail to Oregon. AORTA worked very hard on a grass-roots effort to save the train service all through the summer.

The extreme difficulty in maintaining just existing state-supported train services in Oregon (and earlier in Michigan and Missouri) exposes one of the deepest flaws in the Bush Administration's passenger-rail proposal (S.1501) -- that states are eager to step in and increase their support of passenger train operations.

In the aftermath of last week's massive blackout, Amtrak was back to normal service on August 16, except in Michigan. The first Northeast Corridor services through New York to Boston were the overnight Federals (both directions) late on August 15. The main Amtrak problem in New York during the blackout was more the lack of power for lighting, ventilation, escalators, and other services at Penn Station, all of which is separate from the power supply used on the railroad itself (for example, for the catenary).

The Long Island Rail Road Babylon train we referred to last week stuck under the East River was towed back to Penn Station by a diesel locomotive after about two hours. The 1,000 passengers had to wait in the heat, but did not have to walk in the tunnel. There was a normal weekend schedule on August 16 on all New York-area commuter lines, and, by morning the same day, on the New York City Transit subways.

Toronto streetcar service, though largely restored by the evening of August 15, was taken back out of service due to rolling blackouts. Both streetcar and subway service resumed August 18.

A track washout on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe near Yampai, Ariz., late on August 19, caused the westbound Southwest Chief to be held at Flagstaff about 13 hours, and the eastbound train to be held at Kingman about nine hours. The westbound train arrived Los Angeles 16:35 hours late and was turned to become the eastbound Sunset Limited (which left Los Angeles about 11:00 am on August 21, over 12 hours late). That train will terminate in New Orleans.

A computer crash at CSX's centralized dispatching facility in Jacksonville, early on August 20, brought traffic to a halt across most of CSX's network. That knocked out many signals, and trains approaching a dark signal had to stop and get permission to proceed. Amtrak long-distance trains were delayed 4-6 hours, and VRE and MARC morning commuter services were severely disrupted. A similar outage occurred three weeks ago, but CSX said this one was caused by a virus.

In addition to the high-speed wireless internet service ("Wi-Fi") experiment starting this fall on the Capitol Corridor, mentioned here last week, there will be a similar experiment on Altamont Commuter Express commuter trains (Stockton-San Jose).

The House of Representatives is expected to begin debate on the fiscal 2004 transportation/treasury appropriations bill, H.R.2989, on Thursday, September 4.

Currently, the bill contains $900 million for Amtrak, which Amtrak has called a shutdown amount. Amtrak has requested $1.812 billion, which would allow it to continue running the nationwide system with no threat of a cash crisis in 2004, allow it make more progress on paying down debt, and allow it to repair more equipment and infrastructure.

There is significant support in the House for the $1.812-billion level, as reflected in a June 26 letter signed by half the House. That raises the prospect of a floor amendment, though no details are available about that at this moment.

H.R.2989 removes the provision from the TEA-21 law that sets aside 10% of a state's federal transportation money for the Transportation Enhancements program, and, essentially, makes it voluntary for states. That program funds things like bike trails, pedestrian overpasses, and development of historic train stations. An effort to have an amendment to strike this part of H.R.2989 is being worked on by Reps. Petri (R.-Wis.), Olver (D.-Mass.), and Lipinski (D.-Ill.).

Contact your Representative and urge him or her to support any amendment that raises Amtrak's funding level to $1.812 billion, and to support the expected Petri-Olver-Lipinski amendment on Transportation Enhancements. Click here for ways to make contact.

The Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Richard Shelby (R.-Ala.), may introduce its version of a 2004 funding bill the week of September 15. The fiscal year ends September 30.

The funding situation in the Oregon legislature took a turn for the worse this week. On August 20, the legislature approved a two-year, balanced-budget package with increased revenue to allow (in theory) for $9.5 million to run both Portland-Eugene trains. Additionally, a lottery bond bill that was before the legislature provided $10 million for infrastructure improvements, which is required under the terms of the agreement between the state and the Union Pacific for operation of the second round trip (that began running in 2000).

The legislature completed its session -- including work on a final Oregon DOT budget bill -- on August 27 and adjourned. The bill includes $8.8 million for running both round trips. But it also deletes the $10 million in lottery bond funds. That could trigger the Union Pacific to cancel a Portland-Eugene round trip as early as October 1.

This is a step backwards in the development of an important, emerging rail corridor. Ironically, it is the same corridor that the Bush Administration has used to tout its passenger-rail restructuring bill (S.1501) that relies on cash-strapped states to do more to cover both capital and operating costs associated with passenger trains.

At the request of the State of Oklahoma, Amtrak will extend the Heartland Flyer from Fort Worth to Dallas on October 10 and 12 (but not October 11) because of the annual Oklahoma-Texas football game. No local riding east of Fort Worth will be allowed.

Amtrak Missouri trains will make special stops for community festivals at Pacific (September 27) and New Haven (September 6).

Michigan DOT has created a web site to solicit public comments for consideration by a Michigan Transportation Summit that will be held December 3-4. There are nine general topics to comment on, including "Need for Mobility Options (Urban and Rural)." For more information, see also a DOT release on the Summit.

A dump truck drove in front of Amtrak's northbound Crescent yesterday at Manassas, Va. The driver was killed and six on the train were injured. The train did not derail, but the lead locomotive was damaged badly enough to delay the train for six hours.

The city of Palatka, Fla., today marked the completion of a project to make its Amtrak station into an intermodal center. Besides Amtrak, the station now serves Greyhound and Ride Solutions (bus service to Jacksonville), and houses the offices of the local Yellow Cab company. The building also has other community uses. The city renovated the building in 1988.

The Texas GulfLiner, an occasional demonstration train service, will run all three days of this holiday weekend.  Using leased Amtrak equipment, it will run twice daily from League City to Galveston, and -- on a new route -- twice daily from Alvin to Galveston.  The train previously ran Labor Day weekend 2002, and Mardi Gras 2003.

A survey of 500 London businesses shows a level of acceptance of the motor vehicle congestion charge, which was implemented six months ago. The August 18 Guardian said the poll was commissioned by the lobby group London First, and showed that 49% of businesses think the charge is working to ease traffic congestion, and 16% believe it is failing. A big majority, 71%, said it had "no discernible impact" on their business' bottom line. One-fifth of the businesses polled were small ones (ten or fewer workers), in an attempt to address Conservative charges that the congestion charge was hurting such businesses. The charge is £5 per day (currently about $8).