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October 2003 Hotlines |
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October 2003 Hotlines |
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There will be no work stoppage by Amtrak employees tomorrow, October 3. A U.S. District judge in Washington yesterday (October 1) convinced the union leading the stoppage, the Transport Workers Union (TWU), to hold of on any such action until after a more formal hearing now scheduled for October 20. That gives the judge more time to consider whether such a walkout would violate federal law. Yesterday's hearing was requested by Amtrak.
Amtrak President David Gunn issued a statement that said, in part, "...The best way to gain support for our service is to continue to provide it -- not withhold it. A shutdown, even for just 24 hours, is ill-advised and counterproductive as it undercuts the public's faith in the reliability of our service and threatens our future..."
NARP wrote to TWU on September 26 urging it to drop its counterproductive strike plans.
[Continues with text from #314 of September 26.]
It is still timely to urge your representative and two senators to press for adoption of the 2004 Amtrak funding approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, $1.346 billion. Click here for ways to make contact.
A work stoppage threatened for today by six Amtrak unions has been blocked -- for now. Amtrak went before a U.S. District judge on October 1 to try to block the walkout. The judge secured the voluntary cooperation of the unions to postpone any such action until after his next hearing, on Amtrak's request for a preliminary injunction, now scheduled for October 20.
The six unions represent about 8,000 of Amtrak's 21,000 employees. The lead union on this issue is the Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO. The other five unions are the Brotherhood of Maintenance and Way Employes, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the National Council of Firemen and Oilers, the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
The judge said he would have ruled against Amtrak if he had to rule right away, but also said he was concerned about how little time Amtrak would have had to file an appeal. He also said he needed more time to read the briefs, and to "weigh other labor issues that may preclude a strike" (in the words of a Reuters story). If the judge rules against Amtrak on October 20, Amtrak likely will appeal, but it's unclear at this point whether it will be able to do so fast enough to prevent a walkout.
Amtrak President David Gunn issued a statement that said, in part, "...The best way to gain support for our service is to continue to provide it -- not withhold it. A shutdown, even for just 24 hours, is ill-advised and counterproductive as it undercuts the public's faith in the reliability of our service and threatens our future..."
NARP wrote to TWU on September 26 urging it to drop its strike plans. NARP agrees with TWU that Amtrak has been chronically underfunded, but disagrees that a protest strike will have the desired effect. Another Amtrak union, the Transportation Communications Union, makes clear on its web site that it and "the majority of other unions on Amtrak" are not participating. However, no workers are expected to cross picket lines.
Amtrak notes that, like other transportation companies, Amtrak is not a light switch that is easily flipped on and off, and that a one-day walkout would take days to deal with, and would have a significant adverse impact on Amtrak's finances. If these unions legally stage such a "political protest," this conceivably could set a precedent for a similar shutdown of airlines or freight railroads if their unions don't like, say, the level of federal funding for certain federal aviation programs.
The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing yesterday about the Bush Administration's proposals for passenger rail. Committee Chairman John McCain, who introduced the proposals as S.1501 on July 30, called the proposals a "commendable start" to reforming passenger rail, but acknowledged they are "far from perfect." Federal Railroad Administrator Allan Rutter appeared to defend the bill. DOT Inspector General Ken Mead said the bill "confronts several key issues well," but is "vague on others," including funding amounts (which aren't named in the bill).
Other Senators spoke out against S.1501, including Hollings (D.-S.C.), Hutchison (R.-Tex.), Lautenberg (D.-N.J.), Burns (R.-Mont.), and Dorgan (D.-N.Dak.). Hollings and Hutchison each have their own versions of a plan that would, if adequately funded, improve and expand passenger rail -- S.104 and S.1505 (respectively).
Amtrak President David Gunn and Claudia Howells of Oregon DOT also appeared. She said there were "some good things" in S.1501, but outlined many of the bill's features that would present a great challenge to state passenger-rail programs.
Gunn indicated that Amtrak could survive in 2004 on the Senate level of funding of $1.346 billion -- but not the House's $900 million -- and also make some progress on its maintenance backlog.
Particularly alarming was Rutter's and Mead's assertions that long-distance routes might be split into shorter, disjointed, coach-only segments, perhaps with gaps in the middle of many routes. Mead said that any passenger who had to cross such a gap not served by such replacement short-distance services "should just consider getting on a plane." He said the focus should be on ridership (not, apparently, passenger-miles) and corridor development "and not just the preservation of the long-distance trains." NARP believes this country can and should do both.
Amtrak President David Gunn spoke at a National Press Club luncheon on September 30, attended by 150 key journalists, Capitol Hill staff, and rail industry people. He expressed optimism for Amtrak by saying, "We know how to fix the railroad. [Amtrak] is coming out of a deep sleep and actually doing it." He said 2003 is the first year since 1995 in which Amtrak hasn't had to borrow money and hasn't had an immediate financial crisis (like 2002), and Amtrak ends the year with working capital. Ridership may be at a record high for 2003, particularly on long-distance and Western trains, despite many potential setbacks. Gunn said that great progress has been made toward keeping costs under control and in starting to address the massive maintenance backlog. He made the some points in his Senate Commerce testimony yesterday.
Gunn said anyone promoting plans that have privatization or competition as a goal or component (such as the Bush Administration) must have a business that is profitable to start with. Gunn said, "My view is that pretending that you're going to run this thing without subsidies, irregardless of whether it's Amtrak or some other functionary organization, is really an exercise in problem avoidance."
Shortly after the Press Club luncheon, NARP's Ross Capon was the main guest on an hour-long Amtrak discussion broadcast and webcast by KPFA-FM, Berkeley. The program is archived at the station's web site.
Amtrak's Heartland Flyer had its speed limit increased from 60 to 79 mph on certain segments of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe between Oklahoma City, Okla., and Gainesville, Tex., effective September 29. It is not yet clear what impact that will have on the schedule. It is made possible by investment in grade-crossing equipment by Oklahoma DOT.
Amtrak will offer eight standard bedrooms in the transition-dorm car on the City of New Orleans for public sale starting October 9 northbound (and October 10 southbound). As is the case with the same rooms on the Texas Eagle, the rooms will be sold at the same price and with the same amenities as on the rest of the train.
Amtrak will ban individual pieces of checked baggage weighing over 50 pounds, effective October 27. Currently, pieces between 50 and 75 pounds are allowed, but subject to a $10 handling charge. Amtrak will provide shipping boxes for $2 that can be used for overflow items from overweight pieces, but will levy a surcharge for more than three total pieces being checked. Amtrak says the change is due to new OSHA regulations regarding what a worker can be required to lift, and to be uniform with the carry-on policy -- especially where part of a passenger's trip involves a segment without checked baggage service.
Due to a CSX collision east of Pittsburgh, Amtrak cancelled the westbound Capitol Limited on October 1. Passengers were bussed from Washington to Pittsburgh to connect to the Three Rivers.
Milwaukee-area officials reached an agreement on September 29 to use $91 million in money once earmarked for a light-rail line (and later for a bus project) for development of a Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter line instead. State and federal officials still have to agree to the transfer. That would mean about two-thirds of the total $152 million capital cost for the rail project would have been identified.
The Chinese Ministry of Railways chose high-speed rail over maglev as the technology to be implemented on the proposed Beijing-Shanghai high-speed route, on September 25. The government-controlled People's Daily reported that for the 808-mile project, the total cost for maglev was projected at $48.33 billion ($59.8 million a mile); but $15.71 billion for rail ($19.4 million a mile). Chinese firms will prepare the infrastructure, while bidding for rolling stock will be put out to foreign firms.
One more continuing resolution to fund most of the federal government -- to cover most of November -- is likely before an omnibus bill setting final spending amounts for the balance of fiscal 2004. Thus, it is possible that the Senate will not vote separately on a transportation bill. If it does, however, that increases the danger that someone will offer an amendment to cut Amtrak funding below the $1.346 billion (plus $100 million loan deferral) the Senate Appropriations Committee voted. Please alert your senators to this possibility and ask them to work and vote against any such amendment if it materializes.
The October 26 Amtrak timetable includes:
Finally, the summary said that the two passenger fatalities and "many" other passenger injuries were caused by abdominal injuries resulting from impact with tables between facing pairs of seats. The NTSB did not make any specific recommendations in that regard, but the Washington Post said that the FRA is studying whether to take any action about it. The injuries at Atwood caused by the tables seem to have been more serious than those in past accidents.
Amtrak President David Gunn traveled across the country this week. While passing through the area, he gave an interview to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in which he said that he would like to use new diesel-multiple-units to replace 14-year-old Horizon equipment on the Hiawathas and increase service frequency. But he also said ordering such equipment would depend on getting the full $1.812 billion for fiscal 2004, which doesn't seem likely at this point. The article also said that Amtrak appeared to have record ridership in fiscal 2003, at about 24 million.
Gunn was accompanied yesterday from Havre to Shelby, Mont., by Gov. Judy Martz (R.). Both talked to reporters about the need for a nationwide service that is supported by the federal government. As reported in today's Great Falls Tribune, "Gunn is critical of his predecessors' practice of threatening to shut down routes to rally grass-root support and force Congress to authorize subsidy requests. Although he's in the midst of such a battle now, Gunn insisted he will not employ such tactics…'I think they were dead wrong in making those threats and they would never have been carried through,' Gunn said. 'We need local support, but in Montana we have it. Look at what they handed me in Shelby,' he said, pointing to a red, white and blue flier printed with the words 'Amtrak Yes!' The fliers were offered by Shelby Mayor Larry Bonderud who said passenger service is used by residents to get to medical appointments in Seattle and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn."
Effective October 8, Acela Express and Metroliner have the same peak/shoulder/off-peak fare pattern all five weekdays. ["Shoulder" is an intermediate level between peak and off-peak.] Peak fares apply for station departures from midnight to 8:59 am and 2:00 pm - 5:59 pm; shoulder fares apply all other times on weekdays. Off-peak fares apply at all times on weekends, except that shoulder fares apply on Sunday from 1:00 pm to 5:59 pm. In a major improvement for Amtrak Guest Rewards, those points now can be sued on all off-peak Acela Express/Metroliner services.
The locomotive on a New Jersey Transit train from Dover derailed yesterday midday just as it was arriving at New York Penn Station, while crossing switches at low speed. Passengers were transferred to another train, but the incident blocked one of the two Hudson tunnels for two hours.
A plan for making Denver Union Station into a regional transportation hub was released yesterday by Parsons Brinckerhoff, the consultants hired by the Regional Transportation District, city, county, state DOT, and regional council of governments. Under the plan, estimated to cost $560 million, trains (light-rail, Amtrak, and someday commuter) would go underground, but in a way that would allow for through-running again (which was possible at the station years ago). Buses would be elevated, and everything else (pedestrians, cars, shuttles, taxis) at street level. The station project would be part of a transit-oriented sales tax increase on the ballot in 2004, and station construction could start in 2005.
The Texas Transportation Institute released its annual Urban Mobility Report in late September. Among the findings is that transit -- rail and bus -- in the most congested cities in the U.S. saved drivers more than a billion hours in travel time in 2001. Without those transit services, delays nationwide would have increased by almost 30%, costing residents of major urban areas another $21.2 billion in lost time and fuel. The American Public Transportation Association said that shows a strong case for continued investment in transit.
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, which was created to study and establish commuter rail and promote other programs to reduce dependency on single-occupant automobiles in the Atlanta region, is about to get an executive director with an anti-commuter-rail record. Gov. Sonny Perdue (R.) appointed Steven Stancil, a former state representative. GRTA was to consider the appointment on October 8. Stancil once voted against the creation of GRTA, and wrote an opinion column in 2001 for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that attacked proposal for commuter rail and transit and urged building more roads. The Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club expressed concerns about the appointment.
There was no progress this week in settling transportation funding for fiscal 2004. Messages to your Members of Congress in favor of the Senate figure of $1.346 billion and against the House shutdown figure of $900 million are still timely. Click here for ways to make contact.
Rep. Michael Castle (R.-Del.) sent other Representatives a "dear colleague" letter on October 9 in support of the Senate funding level. It included this quote from DOT Inspector General Ken Mead's October 2 Senate Commerce testimony -- "We think the Department, the Amtrak Board, and David Gunn and his management team have all done a good job over the last year of controlling expenses -- an issue we have consistently cited in our annual Assessment Reports as a key to improving Amtrak's financial performance. We think that Amtrak can maintain reliability on its system and meet its other obligations if its 2004 appropriation were near to or matched the Senate figure of $1.346 billion."
It is important to note that Rep. Jack Quinn (R.-N.Y.)'s June 26 letter supporting the full $1.812 billion featured 219 signatures. The major point of this is that there are enough votes in the House to support a conference report that includes the Senate number for Amtrak.
A coalition of 30 groups, led by the Surface Transportation Policy Project and including NARP, sent a letter today to Senate appropriations leaders in favor of the Senate funding level for Amtrak, and on other topics, such as to express support of the new transit starts language in the Senate appropriations bill (S.1589).
Also today, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison was expected to release a letter also signed by other Republican Senators in favor of the Senate figure for Amtrak.
The court hearing on a possible Amtrak work stoppage has been postponed from October 20 to November 14, after discussions yesterday between Amtrak and those unions who want to shut Amtrak down for a day, in protest against inadequate federal funding. The unions' agreement to postpone their threatened strike until after the U.S. District Court judge considers Amtrak's request for a preliminary injunction remains in place. The unions involved represent about 8,000 of Amtrak's 21,000 employees; the Transport Workers Union (TWU) is leading the effort. NARP, Amtrak, and other unions oppose the strike. The Transportation Communications Union has a strong anti-strike statement on its web site.
If, after the November 14 hearing, the judge rules in Amtrak's favor, there would be no walkout. If the judge rules in favor of the TWU, but stays his order pending an appeal by Amtrak, the strike could be postponed for many weeks. If there is no such stay, it becomes harder to predict what will happen. The longer this uncertainty drags on, the more damage it could do to Amtrak's commercial revenues.
Amtrak released ridership figures for fiscal 2003, which ended September 30. Ridership was 24.028 million, up 3% from the year before, and the highest in Amtrak's history. Highlights included Silver Meteor and City of New Orleans both up 15%, Texas Eagle up 20%, Chicago-Grand Rapids up 22%, Pacific Surfliners up 26%, and the Pennsylvanian (reconfigured in February as a New York-Pittsburgh train) up 65%. Long-distance trains as a whole were up 5%. Amtrak said ridership were due largely to "back-to-basics" initiatives, such as the fare rollbacks in January. Significantly, ridership got stronger as the year progressed, with September long-distance ridership up 22%. This included Texas Eagle up 42%, Southwest Chief up 36%, Sunset Limited up 34%, Pennsylvanian up 122%. September ridership on short distance trains was up 10%.
With Arnold Schwarzenegger to become governor in California next month, some outlines of his feelings about transportation policy are beginning to emerge. His campaign web site mentions a perceived need to "redistribute transportation revenues away from costly transit programs to pay for more freeway lanes in the most congested areas." The San Jose Mercury News last week, in writing about Schwarzenegger's borrowing of Florida's budget director to perform a budget audit in California, noted that could spell trouble for high-speed rail in California. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R.) has resisted high-speed rail proposals in Florida, even after voters amended in the constitution in 2000 to require the start of construction in three years -- a deadline less than a month away from now.
At a Washington, D.C., forum yesterday, "California: After the Recall," panelists, including former Gov. Pete Wilson and Robert Hertzberg (former Speaker of the Assembly), all imparted that California is in a state of crisis and that under Schwarzenegger, no program will be safe from cuts. No specific mention was made of rail or transit service. Although questions were solicited from the audience of about 150 people -- including NARP's new Transportation Associate, David Johnson -- and many questions were submitted, the only one that was answered dealt with education. The common theme was repeated: nothing is sacred.
Bombardier's JetTrain, the fossil-fuel version of the Acela Express locomotive, was displayed in the past week in Florida, at Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. Bombardier, in conjunction with the Fluor Corporation, has expressed interest in participating in Florida high-speed rail development.
A Metra commuter train derailed in Chicago on October 12, injuring 45. The train, which was running southbound on the double-track Rock Island line, was approaching a crossover near 47th St. at 67 mph, but should have been going 10 mph to change tracks. One car struck a Metra maintenance building next to the tracks. Investigators were trying to determine whether the engineer missed two lineside signals, or whether the signals themselves were malfunctioning. According to the Chicago Tribune, the engineer claimed that the signals were set for continuous operation on the same track. However, the dispatcher claims that he lined the train to take the crossover (due to maintenance) before the train even left La Salle Street Station. As can be expected in our society these days, the first lawsuits claiming negligence on Metra's part were filled yesterday in Cook County Circuit Court.
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority's bus and rail services were shut down October 14 by a strike by mechanics. Other workers honored the picket line. A bus driver strike shut the system down for 32 days in 2000. The MTA carries about 500,000 a day. The mechanics want the MTA to contribute more to their health fund, while the MTA charges that the union has mismanaged the fund. Alternate services are being set up with other non-MTA bus operators, and Metrolink is operating a shuttle bus roughly parallel to the Red Line. There is no strike against Metrolink commuter trains, which continue to operate.
A groundbreaking for a new station at Kannapolis, N.C., was October 6. A permanent platform and temporary station were opened at the same time, at a new location off S. Main St., a few blocks south of the old station on N. Main St. A historic home was moved away from the new site in September, for preservation. The new station should be done in fall 2004.
A trial of wireless internet connections began October 15 on an Amtrak Capitol Corridor train. The program, to last three months, is a cooperative effort between Amtrak, the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, and PointShot Wireless. The first train to have the service was San Jose-Sacramento train 534, but the car now equipped with the service will cycle through onto other trains. The service will be free to users the first month, and a fee will be charged after that, to test demand. Other companies' technologies will be tested on the Capitol Corridor in the next year, after which Corridor officials and Caltrans will solicit bids for equipping all three state intercity corridors with the service.
Amtrak lowered most fares for local travel (including 10-ride tickets) on the Philadelphia-Harrisburg line on October 15. Some reductions will be as much as 55%. As with the Springfield line earlier this year, the move undoes prohibitive fares the previous management created by applying dollar rather than percentage increases to shorter trips. The Keystone Association of Railroad Passengers had urged the fare reductions. A few fares will increase in markets also served by SEPTA commuter rail, consistent with Amtrak's general policy of not undercutting commuter agency fares.
The Senate passed its 2004 transportation-treasury appropriations bill yesterday, keeping intact the $1.346 billion for Amtrak that was approved by the Appropriations Committee on September 4.
A threatened Bond (R.-Mo.) amendment never materialized. It sought to cut the Amtrak figure by $157 million. A premise of the amendment was that some of the money for Amtrak in the Senate bill came from the Highway Trust Fund, but, as ably illustrated in an October 22 "dear colleague" letter from Transportation-Treasury Subcommittee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D.-Wash.), that has never been the case. All the funding for Amtrak comes from the general fund. In any event, the amendment was never offered.
Nine Republican senators signed an October 17 letter supporting the Senate figure for Amtrak funding were Hutchison (Tex.), who originated the letter, Collins (Me.), Snowe (Me.), Chafee (R.I.), DeWine (Ohio), Coleman (Minn.), Burns (Mont.), Warner (Va.), Allen (Va.).
In an earlier letter to Congress, Amtrak President David Gunn said the Senate amount -- while not the desired $1.812 billion -- "will allow us to operate the existing system and hopefully not worsen the amount of deferred maintenance."
The next step is a House-Senate conference committee. That might be done for just the transportation-treasury funding bills (H.R.2989/S.1589), or, if the process goes much deeper into fiscal 2004 (which began October 1), there is a chance the whole thing would get wrapped up into a larger omnibus bill. For the individual bill, Senate conferees will be the transportation subcommittee plus Senators Stevens (R.-Alaska) and Inouye (D.-Hawaii), and House conferees are likely similarly to include the entire subcommittee. This means Bond will be a conferee, and thus -- by siding with the House -- still could tilt things toward cutting Amtrak funding. Senate Majority Leader Frist has set November 7 as an adjournment target, so action could come quickly.
Either way, as Gunn's comments suggest, it's vital that the final outcome be the Senate's $1.346 billion for Amtrak. Please urge your Senators and Representative not just to support that, but to work to make that happen. Click here for ways to make contact.
The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to take up H.R.2571, the "Railroad Infrastructure Development and Expansion Act for the 21st Century," on October 28. It was approved by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on June 25. It would fund high-speed corridor development through a mix of federally tax-exempt bonds, bonds with federal tax credits, and loans, and comes before the Ways and Means Committee because it touches on tax policy. However, the Ways and Means Committee has indicated that Chairman William Thomas’s (R.-Cal.) amendment will delete the tax exempt and tax credit bond provisions on which the bill relies for funding. So it's important that your representative hear expressions of support for the entire bill, including the critical bonding provisions, and be alerted to the likelihood that a floor amendment will be needed to restore those provisions. Click here for a list of Ways and Means members.
Leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee announced they have reached an agreement for the structure of a TEA-21 renewal bill, to be considered by that committee on November 5. No details regarding bill content have been released, though there are concerns that the draft does not contain funding room to accommodate something like rail bonds. There also are reports that it makes environmentally unfriendly changes, both to the Clean Air Act and regarding "environmental streamlining."
A westbound Pontiac-Chicago Amtrak train derailed at low speed at Battle Creek, Mich., the morning of October 21. Train 351's rear two cars, the ones derailed, were cut off and the train proceeded to Chicago after a delay, but the derailed cars blocked several other Amtrak trains later in the day.
The ex-Southern Pacific station in Stockton, Cal., was scheduled to be rededicated today. It will be used by Altamont Commuter Express and Amtrak's San Joaquins (Sacramento line).
The transit strike in Los Angeles has entered its second week. Services on the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority -- bus, light rail, and metro (but not commuter rail) -- account for about 5% of all Los Angeles County weekday travel. The bus system provides about 580,000 bus trips and 100,000 rail trips each weekday. Negotiations continued this week, with little progress, and the strike is causing even worse traffic congestion than normal and great hardship to those who absolutely depend on transit.
The government of out-going Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien today pledged C$692.5 million ($530 million) in new capital funding to help VIA Rail upgrade rolling stock and increase speeds. The funding would be spread over five years, the first part of which would not arrive until after a new Liberal government is installed. VIA currently gets C$ 170 million ($130 million) a year in government support, so the capital increase is an average funding increase of 80% during the five-year period. Liberal officials protested the new funding.
Conferees on the 2004 transportation/treasury funding bill now have been named. They are the chairmen and ranking Democrats of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, plus all members of both those committees' Transportation/Treasury Subcommittees. The conferees are expected to begin meeting on November 4, and the outcome of their work will be critical in determining whether Amtrak runs all the way through fiscal 2004. It is still timely to contact your legislators and urge them to press for conference adoption of the Senate figure ($1.346 billion). Click here for ways to make contact.
In addition to the nine Republican Senators who signed an October 17 letter in favor of the Senate funding level for Amtrak in 2004, Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.) wrote his own October 24 letter with the same message in it.
The House Ways and Means Committee approved H.R.2571, the "Railroad Infrastructure Development and Expansion Act for the 21st Century," on October 28. However, the provisions funding high-speed rail corridor development through a mix of federally tax-exempt bonds, bonds with federal tax credits was stripped out. Should the bill come to the House floor, there is a chance of an amendment to restore the language -- without which, the bill does not much at all to develop corridors.
The High Speed Ground Transportation Association had a legislative conference in Washington, October 28-29. Sen. Ernest Hollings (D.-S.C.) said he will offer his planned "ARRIVE-21" rail bill as a floor amendment to fill in the "placeholder" he worked on with Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.-Tex.) during the Commerce Committee's June 26 consideration of TEA-21 renewal. Staff members to Reps. Don Young (R.-Alaska) and James Oberstar (D.-Minn.) and Sens. Hollings and Tom Carper (D.-Del.) all said TEA-21 renewal will have a rail title.
Later, House Railroads Chairman Jack Quinn (R.-N.Y.) offered to help get high-speed rail demonstration projects into TEA-21 renewal, saying it was his responsibility as Railroads Subcommittee chair to help the rail community get this accomplishment -- significant because last month he told state rail officials in Buffalo that he did not expect a TEA-21 renewal rail title. Railroads Ranking Democrat Corrine Brown (Fla.) said she and Quinn have talked with Chairman Young about a rail title, and that bonding within that title would be the only way to get funding for rail. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D.-N.J.) said he thought the Senate might work hard next year to give the retiring Hollings a parting gift in the form of a rail title. He urged those present to get Arizona constituents to change Sen. John McCain's (R.) mind.
Rep. John Mica (R.-Fla.) delivered yet another anti-Amtrak blast. He called Amtrak the number one impediment to high-speed rail development and said that Amtrak can't clearly show how its resources are being spent, that Amtrak long-distance service is "Soviet-style" and should be replaced with diesel-multiple-units, and that running long-distance trains is the only thing Amtrak should do. He said he likes to work in "quiet and devious ways," and after Congress adjourns he'll be working with the Administration to "fix the Amtrak problem," which some took to mean encouraging the White House to make recess appointments to the Amtrak board.
The deadline for construction on a Florida high-speed rail line is tomorrow, as set by state voters three years ago when they amended the state constitution. The Florida High Speed Rail Authority met October 27 in Orlando to determine a route and pick one (of two) companies to build and run the preliminary Tampa-Orlando line. According to the Lakeland Ledger (October 24), the Authority "has declared that a designated route and a signed preliminary contract with the preferred builder will constitute the beginning of construction."
The route that was selected begins on the northwest side of downtown Tampa -- not at Union Station, which is on the east side of downtown -- and runs along I-4 to Lakeland, the Disney complex, and Orlando International Airport (via the Central Florida GreeneWay highway). A variant stopping at Orlando International Drive was rejected due to opposition from Disney, which has offered to pay for a station at Celebration and pay for passenger fares from there to the Orlando airport. It is imperative, of course, for the route to serve a major airport such as Orlando, but no attempt seems to have been made to tie the route into any of Florida's existing Amtrak routes.
The preliminary equipment and operation contract went to the Bombardier-Fluor group, with its JetTrain technology, which bid lower than Global Rail Consortium, made up of 29 European, Korean, and American companies. The JetTrain is, essentially, a fossil-fuel version of the Acela Express, which was built by a pairing of Bombardier and Alstom. The JetTrain has been under development for several years by Bombardier and the Federal Railroad Administration.
Serious hurdles remain ahead, including a general lack of funding and continuing opposition to the project by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R.).
Amtrak and Michigan DOT are in talks over a contract to run the Pere Marquette and International during the current state fiscal year, which began October 1, according to today's Lansing State Journal. The state has appropriated $7.1 million, up from $5.7 million in 2003, so a shutdown crisis like the one earlier this year is unlikely. Amtrak yesterday formally proposed to legislators and the DOT a plan to cut the Chicago-Toronto International back to a Port-Huron-Chicago train, as it was between 1974 and 1982. [There was no service on the Port Huron-Kalamazoo segment 1971-74.]
In recent years, the problem of going through U.S. Customs at Port Huron has only grown and cut into ridership. The news article did not give a bottom-line financial comparison between today's service (with direct service to Toronto) and the proposed service (with no Customs delays, fewer train-miles, better Chicago connections, some sort of bus connection to VIA Rail services). It's unlikely that the new service would offer Michigan residents a full day of activities in Chicago.
Wildfires in Southern California interrupted train service earlier in the week. The westbound Southwest Chief was stopped at Victorville, Cal., early on October 26 because of fires along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe main line from Cajon Pass to San Bernardino. It had to be run back to Barstow to detour via Mojave and Lancaster, resulting in about 12 hours' delay (buses were not available for passengers at Victorville). That evening's train ran the same route. The line reopened October 27, and closed again briefly on October 29.
Similarly, the Coast Starlight was annulled that day between Los Angeles and Oakland, and also disrupted Pacific Surfliner service. There were fires in the Simi Valley area. Trains began running through there again on October 27, subject to speed restrictions.
Voters in Harris County, Tex. (Houston), will be asked on November 4 whether to approve Metro's expansion plans for light rail and bus services, as well as a commuter rail line. Also included in the ballot question is authorization to continue using 25% of the sales tax received by Metro on street projects. The outcome of the vote does not affect Metro's starter light-rail line, now under construction and expected to open in January.
The ballot question is being bitterly opposed by a group of generally conservative, anti-transit, pro-highway interests, led by the shadowy "Texans for True Mobility," which has refused to identify how it is being funded. It is outspending the pro-rail group, Citizens for Public Transportation. Some opponents want to divert transit money to expanding highways in order to "solve congestion," which is ironic considering the ineffectiveness of such a program to accomplish that goal over the last 50 years. Among the loudest voices in the anti-transit camp is local Rep. John Culberson (R.), who sits on the House Transportation-Treasury Appropriations Subcommittee.
San Francisco voters will consider extending a half-cent sales tax (Proposition K) for certain street and transit project, including extension of Caltrain into downtown. It requires a two-thirds vote for passage.
With Thanksgiving a month away, Amtrak has said that all Northeast Regional, Empire, and Pacific Surfliner trains will again be all-reserved during the holiday period (November 25 through December 1). This does not apply to Clocker, Keystone, or Springfield line (numbered in the 400 series) trains. Some extra Northeast Corridor trains will run, some with cars borrowed from commuter agencies. Also, some extra Empire and Cascade service will be run.
Amtrak is temporarily suspending sleeping-car service on the Federal, throughout November. This is to ensure a sufficient number of available cars to run on other trains that use Viewliners. Several Federal October trips were cancelled unexpectedly due to the general Viewliner situation.
Amtrak will alter many Auto Train discounts starting January 6. Currently, discounts such as NARP and AAA apply to the vehicle alone, but will change to apply to the rail fare alone, as is already the case on all other trains.
Construction on the Sound Transit light-rail line in Seattle may begin in November, following the October 25 signing by the Federal Transit Administration of a $500-million grant agreement. That followed an October 23 decision by House Transportation-Treasury Appropriations Chairman Ernest Istook (R.-Okla.) to drop his opposition to the funding, provided Sound Transit agree to certain conditions. That, in turn, followed the Bush Administration's refusal on October 22 to kill the light-rail project at the request of Istook and two Washington Republicans (Dunn and Nethercutt). The funding still has to be appropriated, but the project can now go forward.
The City of Detroit will abandon the historic streetcar operation it has run downtown since 1976. They are to be replaced with rubber-tired "trolleys."
Proposals for rail transit in Honolulu are resurfacing, after last being rejected by city officials in 1992. On October 27, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle (R.) released a proposal to elevate Nimitz Highway for $200 million and build a light-rail system in West Oahu (Iwilei-Kapolei) for $2.6 billion. This is in addition to a city-backed bus "rapid transit" program which is to begin in 2004.
The destruction of Pennsylvania Station in New York began 40 years ago this week, on October 28, 1963, as we are reminded by author Tony Hiss in an October 26 New York Times article. There were some people who protested at the time and while their efforts were unsuccessful, it's widely acknowledged that their efforts led to later, successful ones to save other landmark buildings, including Grand Central. A group called the New York Preservation Archive Project planned to assemble and honor the veterans of the 1963 effort this week.