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April 2004 Hotlines |
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April 2004 Hotlines |
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The FBI and Department of Homeland Security yesterday sent a bulletin to law enforcement officials warning of the possibility of terrorist attacks on buses and rail lines in major cities this summer, according to the Associated Press. The bulletin said explosives could be hidden in luggage or backpacks. It listed things transit agencies could to do enhance security, including removing trash bins, improving lighting, increasing law-enforcement presence, and limiting access points. Passenger screening also is discussed in the bulletin, including random security sweeps, positive matches of baggage to passengers, and reminding passengers to report any suspicious behavior or unattended bags to authorities.
This comes after the March 11 attacks in Madrid that involved explosives in backpacks that were left behind on commuter trains. Earlier today, Spanish police found a bomb and detonator cable under tracks used by Madrid-Seville AVE high-speed trains.
A bomb threat against specific flights and trains on March 30 caused some disruption. The threats were phoned in to the CBS News national desk. One was directed at the northbound Palmetto, which was stopped at Selma, N.C., so it could be searched by authorities with bomb-sniffing dogs. Passengers were evacuated and the train moved away from the station for a time, then, after about two hours, the train and passengers were released. Also stopped were the northbound Silver Meteor at Sebring, Fla., and northbound Silver Meteor at Philadelphia. Four Northwest Airlines airplanes also had threats, but nothing was found.
The Department of Homeland Security has indicated that it is considering an invitation to display proposed rail passenger screening procedures during the Galesburg Railroad Days, according to the Galesburg Register-Mail (March 27). The festival is June 25-27.
The Secret Service is promoting a plan to shut down Penn Station entirely -- all Amtrak, NJT, Long Island, and New York City subway service there -- on September 2, the night that President Bush accepts the Republican nomination above the station in Madison Square Garden. Under the plan, the subway lines would run without stopping at 34th St. (Penn Station), but not the railroads. According to yesterday's New York Daily News, the New York Police Department has not approved the Secret Service plan. The Secret Service also has insisted, successfully, that Boston North Station be closed during the entire Democratic convention starting July 23.
The Michigan Senate voted on March 31 not to strip out anti-rail language from a supplemental appropriations bill (Senate Bill 267). The impact of the language, which was added at the request of the Indian Trails bus company, is to set a floor on Amtrak fares on the Chicago-Port Huron route. Amtrak fares are generally higher than bus fares on that route, but the language could make it impossible for future Blue Water passengers to benefit from occasional Amtrak discounts, or more permanent ones such as for seniors, children, and NARP members. If the language depresses Amtrak ridership and revenues, it increases the cost of Michigan's support for the Blue Water. The language also applies to places not even served by Indian Trails -- Durand, Lapeer, Port Huron. It is important for Michigan House members to block similar language in their version of the supplemental appropriations bill, so Michigan residents should contact their Representatives.
Debate on H.R.3550, the House's TEA-21 renewal bill, began on the House floor yesterday and continues today.
A story in today's New York Times, "As Pork Barrel Halts at Subway, New York Feels Cheated Again," refers to the way H.R.3550 distributes funding to the various cities and states. Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert (R.-N.Y.) pointed out on the House floor yesterday that while New York's transit system carries one-third of the nation's transit riders, it gets about one-seventh of all federal transit aid. New York State officials are also concerned about a Senate provision (in S.1072) that says all states should get a larger percentage of what they pay in gas taxes -- which puts states like New York with proportionally more transit users and fewer gas-tax payers -- at a distinct disadvantage. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D.-N.Y.) said in the House yesterday, "New York has invested huge sums in mass transit. Therefore, we are more energy efficient. And apparently, because we are more energy efficient, because we save on sending money to the Middle East, we must be punished by getting less."
Here are some additional changes expected for the April 26 timetable change, in addition to those mentioned in past Hotlines (note that not all Western changes have been entered into Amtrak's reservation system at this time):
The Amtrak engineer involved in a near-collision between an Empire
Corridor train and a CSX freight train near Syracuse, N.Y., on February
20 has admitted he had fallen asleep, according to the Associated Press.
The engineer told investigators he was awake enough to turn off the periodic
alerter signals in the cab, but apparently he was sleepy enough to miss
three wayside signals in two miles.
Finally, he was aware enough to see the other train and set the emergency
brake. Amtrak said he no longer works for Amtrak.
Colorado Railcar's prototype diesel rail car will visit Pittsburgh April 14-15, at the request of Pennsylvania DOT. It will make a trip along the Allegheny Valley rail line, which has been suggested for future commuter-rail service, from Pittsburgh to New Kensington on April 14 (10:00 am - 2:00 pm). It also will be on display at the Pittsburgh Amtrak station the evening of April 14 and morning of April 15. Then it will carry local officials to Greensburg.
Oregon DOT has announced this year's dates for operating the Lewis and Clark Explorer train to Astoria. It will run Friday through Monday, May 28 through September 20. Like last year, it will originate at Linnton, eight miles northwest of Portland Union Station, with shuttle buses available. Reservations and ticketing are available through Amtrak.
Korea Train eXpress ("KTX") opened yesterday, with 186-mph service from Seoul to Busan in the southeast and Mokpo in the southwest. A ceremonial opening was March 30. TGV-style trains use the Seoul-Daejeon-Daegu high-speed trunk and upgraded, electrified existing lines to their terminal cities (much as in France). New high-speed tracks will be extended to Busan by 2008. Press accounts put first-year ridership between 55 million and 80 million (where the Paris-Lyon TGV segment has about 13 million a year, according to International Railway Journal).
Amtrak has announced that its Florida Rail Pass will be available for a fourth year, but that a reduced rate of $199 will be in effect only from April 1 to August 27. The pass is available only to state residents who are making trips within the state. It is good for a year, in coach. See the Amtrak web site for more about the terms of the pass.
The National Park Service and Amtrak will conduct a new Trails & Rails program on the Crescent, between Atlanta and New Orleans, this summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day. About 30 volunteers are to be recruited to provide a "Civil Rights Program."
Canadian Pacific is putting a new bridge into place across the Black River, west of the La Crosse, Wis., Amtrak station, on about April 26-28. During that time, trains, including the Empire Builder, will have to be rerouted. The new, 307-foot lift bridge will replace a 1902 swing bridge installed by the Milwaukee Road.
A 1.7-mile passing track opened March 31 on the San Diego line at Encinitas. It was built by the North County Transit District, which owns the line and operates Coaster commuter trains. The new track will also benefit freight and Amtrak trains.
The Florida Transportation Association, which was formed in 2001 to promote high-speed rail in Florida, has a new "Rail Truth" web page. The group is fighting efforts to repeal the 2000 constitutional amendment and will post updates and rebuttals on the web site.
A German ICE train, traveling at 50 mph, struck a farm tractor that had rolled down an embankment and partially derailed, scraping the side of a passing, opposing train, just north of the Swiss border near Basel. There were no serious injuries on the trains.
The upgrades discussed here last week and planned for April 3 by NARP's internet service provider have been postponed. NARP's e-mail and web site will function normally tomorrow. The upgrades and possible disruptions instead are now planned for April 17.
On April 3, NARP Region 12 meets in Oakland, Cal.
The northbound City of New Orleans derailed between Jackson and Yazoo City, Miss., on April 6, killing one passenger and injuring 63 people on the train. The accident occurred on Canadian National tracks about one mile north of the bridge over the Big Black River, between the towns of Flora and Bentonia. This is the site of a smaller trestle, which is about 10-15 feet high. The entire train derailed, with some cars falling onto their sides from the trestle.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating. It has reported that the train was going 78 mph (where the limit is 79 mph) and that the engineer activated the emergency brakes just before the derailment. The NTSB also said the engineer said he saw some type of rail misalignment ahead of the train. CN said that it last visually inspected the tracks on April 4 and last mechanically inspected them on April 2. There has been no indication of foul play. Amtrak did not run a train south of Memphis on April 7 or 8.
A new version of a rail security bill was introduced on April 1 by Senate Commerce Chairman John McCain (R.-Ariz.) and eight other Senators. S.2273 is very similar to S.2216 (introduced last month), in that they both call for studies of risk assessment on passenger and freight railroads and for a pilot test of passenger and baggage screening at a few Amtrak stations. Both bills also have several of the same sponsors. S.2273, the newer bill, also makes Amtrak eligible for grants from the Department of Homeland Security for rail security improvements. It requires Amtrak to submit to the National Transportation Safety Board plans for passenger lists and passenger family notification in the event of an accident (also the topic of H.R.874, which was approved by the House last year).
The Senate Commerce Committee approved S.2273 yesterday, along with a maritime security bill (S.2279). The rail bill was amended to include authorization of $350 million in grants to states and localities for stations not owned by Amtrak.
During yesterday's meeting of the Senate Commerce Committee, the nomination of Debbie Hersman to a position on the National Transportation Safety Board (through 2008) was approved and sent to the Senate floor for later consideration. She is a staff member of Committee Ranking Member Ernest Hollings (D.-S.C.) and has been deeply involved in efforts to get a rail title in the TEA-21 reauthorization. Also approved were the nominations of Louis S. Thompson to the Amtrak Board of Directors (for five years) and Kirk Van Tine as Deputy Secretary of Transportation. All nominations were approved on voice votes, however Thompson was handled separately, with Hollings making his opposition clear and saying he would explain his opposition in a statement for the record.
The Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday held a hearing on S.2289, the Railroad Carriers and Mass Transportation Protection Act, which defines various types of attacks on passenger and freight rail and on mass transit as federal offenses. Amtrak Security Chief Ron Frazier testified.
Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) yesterday introduced S.2306, a bill to authorize specified passenger rail programs. While there are some things in the bill for passenger rail advocates to like, such as a program for state corridor infrastructure development and a program to pay down Amtrak debt, there is much to dislike.
In particular, the bill proposes a commission for the purpose of closing down long-distance routes. The bill says that remaining corridors must still be connected by some sort of rail service, but how much of a nationwide service would really be left is very much unclear. Given that the bill requires such remaining trains not to exceed a loss of 11 cents per passenger-mile, and given that only one long-distance train met that test in 2002 (Silver Meteor), one can expect little to remain.
Like the Administration bill, S.1501, this bill would allow a remnant Amtrak agency to lend its right to operate on freight railroads to other operating entities, but specifies that a railroad would not have to accept more than one operator at a time. Also, both bills require splitting Amtrak into several pieces and creation of an interstate Northeast Corridor compact to lease the corridor from the federal government.
The House on April 2 approved H.R.3550, extending surface transportation programs through 2009. During that period, federal highway spending would increase in phases from $33.6 billion (in 2004) to $38.9 billion and transit would increase from $7.3 billion to $10.0 billion.
The Missouri legislature gave final approval on April 6 to a supplemental funding bill that includes support for Amtrak to run both daily Kansas City-St. Louis round trips through the end of the state fiscal year (June 30).
Michigan residents are urged to contact their state representatives in Lansing and ask them to oppose anti-Amtrak language approved by the Michigan Senate last week in a supplemental appropriations bill (Senate Bill 267). The language could depress Amtrak revenues (and increase state costs) by setting a floor on Amtrak fares on the Chicago-Port Huron route, thereby disallowing many Amtrak discounts. The representatives are on recess until April 20.
North Carolina will pay for an Amtrak agent at the normally unstaffed High Point station during the busy International Home Furnishings Market, April 19-28.
Effective April 26, Washington-Newport News weekday train 77 runs 0:30 earlier (but still connecting from Federal); weekend train 75 1:00 earlier; and train 76 1:00 later. This allows better day trips to downtown Richmond from the north.
Due to previous track projects, Capitol Corridor trains will run up to ten minutes faster between Sacramento and Oakland.
Amtrak will cancel some Sunset Limited trips east of New Orleans to accommodate a CSX track project. Eastbound trains originating in Los Angeles on April 11, 18, 25, and May 2, will terminate in New Orleans. Westbound trains originating in Orlando on April 15, 22, 29, and May 6, will originate in New Orleans (a day later). Amtrak will provide alternate bus transportation for passengers who already paid for their trips (but will accept no new reservations on those dates).
Service east of New Orleans also was disrupted for planned track work for part of March 2004 and part of July and August 2003.
The American Public Transportation Association has released the results of a poll from February that shows widespread support for public transit. Among other things, the poll found that 80% of Americans "see quality of life benefits from increased investment in public transportation" and 92% want "transportation legislation passed immediately."
The Transportation Security Administration announced a pilot project for screening rail and transit passengers on April 14. The "Transit and Rail Inspection Pilot" will begin sometime in May and take place at New Carrollton, Md., which is served by Washington Metro, MARC commuter, and Amtrak intercity trains (the last two on the same platforms). The Washington Post yesterday said TSA "will test a variety of screening technologies and methods to scan New Carrollton passengers and their luggage before they board Amtrak and MARC trains." Metro passengers will not get the same scrutiny, but Metro said it would increase explosives-detection patrols. TSA did not yet know if screening of Amtrak and MARC passengers would be mandatory. The pilot will last through most of the summer.
NARP welcomes increasing indications by government officials -- particularly within TSA and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security -- that trains and airplanes have intrinsic differences and have different vulnerabilities. In other words, simply transferring aviation-style security measures to the railroad (or to rail transit) is not appropriate or desirable. For rail and rail transit, the main goal ought to be protection of sensitive infrastructure and detection of explosives in a way that minimizes delays to passengers. It is quite possible that TSA's experiments will yield useful information for the long-term.
The Federal Railroad Administration published a notice in the April 13 Federal Register to solicit comments from interested parties on how the Department of Transportation should "develop and implement a procedure for fair competitive bidding by Amtrak and non-Amtrak operators for State-supported intercity passenger rail routes." Development and implementation of such a process was mandated by Congress in the omnibus appropriations law that funds transportation programs in fiscal 2004. FRA, in its notice, also asks states to submit a statement saying they are interested in a pilot program on a specific state-supported route that would operate under whatever terms are created by DOT for bidding. The deadline for states to submit statements is May 28.
The April 26 Amtrak timetable, which is beginning to appear in stations, confirms earlier reports that Amtrak will greatly reduce the number of overnight trains that allow on-board smoking in a special room designed for that purpose. The new policy will be to allow on-board smoking only in smoking rooms in lounge cars on the Auto Train, Crescent, Silver Star, and Silver Meteor. Smoking will be eliminated on all other trains that currently permit it -- the Lake Shore Limited, and the several trains with smoking rooms in Superliner coaches (except Auto Train, as noted above).
The overnight Boston-Washington Federal will lose its name and become a Regional service. The train continues to run without a sleeping car, though Amtrak will revisit that in the future.
Also starting April 26, three weekend Pacific Surfliners in each direction stop at Old Town San Diego, oriented toward day trips from the north.
The new timetable shows Boston-Chicago through-cars on the Lake Shore Limited. However, Amtrak will not be restoring those cars quite that soon. The restoration will take place on the May 7 westbound train and May 8 eastbound train.
In connection with the Silver Meteor annulment that takes place April 25-June 23, Amtrak will allow southbound passengers from Boston to ride Acela Express 2151 to connect with the (temporarily) rescheduled Silver Star.
Amtrak's Cascades trains began serving the new station at Oregon City, Ore., today. That is 16 miles south of Portland.
The California Zephyr began using a temporary, 2.2-mile shoofly track in downtown Reno, Nev., on April 13. The single-track detour is for the construction area of downtown Reno that will become a trench holding the Union Pacific main line, to be finished in September 2005. A temporary Amtrak station is located a block east of the previous location.
Service begins April 18 on the Canal streetcar line in New Orleans. The new service, to be run as Routes 42 and 45, run from Esplanade along the Riverfront (sharing tracks with the Riverfront line, which continues west to Thalia St.), then up Canal, past the connection to the St. Charles streetcar line, to N. Carrollton Ave., with some cars continuing on Canal to City Park Ave. and others turning on Carrollton and going to Beauregard Circle. The Canal streetcar line last ran in 1964.
The California Assembly Transportation Committee approved a bill, AB2865, on April 12, to delay the high-speed rail bond initiative for four years, until 2008. Voters are currently scheduled to vote on it this coming November, but Governor Schwarzenegger has expressed concern about adding more state debt after voter approval last month of other state debt. There is some concern that a delay of four years could cause ongoing environmental studies to be outdated.
The Colorado Railcar diesel rail car prototype ran on a demonstration trip on April 14 between Arnold and Pittsburgh, Pa. Arnold is 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, on a line, owned by the Allegheny Valley Railroad (ex-Pennsylvania Railroad) that has been proposed for commuter-rail service. The car was on display at the Amtrak station on April 15 and ran on a demonstration trip east to Greensburg later that day. On April 18 (2:00 pm - 5:30 pm) it is on display at the APTA Commuter Rail Conference in Atlantic City, N.J. It will make display stops at Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Altoona, Johnstown, and Pittsburg on various dates, May 14-16.
Negotiators in the Metro Transit strike in the Twin Cities seemed to be close to agreement this week. If an agreement is ratified, it's possible that the Hiawatha light-rail line could begin running by the end of June. The original start-up date for the first service segment, April 3, was missed because of the strike.
Reminder -- NARP's internet service provider will be making certain upgrades on Saturday, April 17. Any e-mail messages you send NARP during that day are unlikely to go through. The Hotline and the rest of the NARP web site are likely to be down sporadically that morning (8:00 am - 12:00 noon, Eastern).
The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed on April 20 Guilford Transportation Industries' suit against the Surface Transportation Board, Amtrak, and the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority. Guilford claimed that the STB could not rule that Amtrak can run Downeaster trains at 79 mph on Guilford tracks because the STB does not have the power to regulate safety-related issues -- despite the fact that the Federal Railroad Administration, which Guilford admits has such safety regulatory power, already has approved the 79-mph operation (twice). The court pointed out that the STB "expressly subjected Amtrak's use of the line to 'FRA's safety jurisdiction.'" The court further stated that Guilford could show no "injury-in-fact" and therefore Guilford's suit lacked standing.
An empty Amtrak train and a Long Island Rail Road commuter train were involved in a minor collision the morning of April 19, as they entered New York Penn Station from the east. The Amtrak train, headed for Penn Station from Sunnyside Yard, was moving at 10 mph and struck the rear of the Long Island Ronkonkoma-line train at a switch. There were over 100 minor injuries. Officials from both railroads who are investigating have determined that track and signals functioned properly and that the most likely cause was operator error on the part of the Amtrak engineer.
A contract between Amtrak and the Amtrak Service Workers Council was ratified by member employees on April 15. The contract runs retroactively from 2000 to the end of this year, covering workers in such areas as on-board food preparation, lead service attendants, and train attendants.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled on April 19 that gas-tax money may not be spent on commuter rail. The state has wanted to use that to help pay for a $12 million extension of commuter-rail service from Lowell, Mass., to Nashua, N.H., but the New Hampshire Motor Transport Association (a trucking lobby) successfully argued against the concept.
Do you live in a state with a Senate election this year? NARP does not take sides in elections, but we encourage our members to contact their local Senate campaigns -- whether in person or in writing -- and sound them out on their support for improving passenger-rail service.
Orlando-area theme parks that will not have direct connections to the proposed Tampa-Orlando Airport high-speed rail line have banded together to sink the entire project, according to the St. Petersburg Times (April 18). "Financial reports filed in Tallahassee this week show that of the $226,000 collected by a political action committee [Derail the Bullet Train] formed to pry a high-speed rail mandate out of the state Constitution, more than $220,000 of it came from the holding company that owns the Universal theme park complex in the International Drive area of Orlando," said the story. It continued, "Officials of Anheuser-Busch, which owns Busch Gardens and SeaWorld, also in the International Drive area, said more road building would be a better way to spend state money than the train" -- just the opposite of what Florida needs.
The Shanghai airport maglev, which began revenue operations earlier this year, averaged just 73 passengers a day in March, according to an April 14 Associated Press story. Each train has 440 seats. "German companies spend decades and billions of dollars developing maglev technology, but searched in vain for a customer until Shanghai leaders chose the system to highlight the city's hi-tech ambitions," said the story. The guideways, over which the maglev vehicles travel 270 mph, have experienced some subsidence, or settling.
The Georgia Department of Transportation had a meeting April 14 that, among other things, served to "kick-off" the state's passenger-rail program, centered on Atlanta. This program ultimately will include development of high-speed corridors to Birmingham and Charlotte, intercity service to Jesup, Savannah, and Brunswick, and several commuter-rail lines. The first commuter line, to Lovejoy, is targeted for a February 1, 2006, start-up, but a Norfolk Southern official at the meeting said it could start even earlier. The DOT may order used equipment from Chicago within the next few weeks. The DOT issued certificates of appreciation to the offices of U.S. Representatives Lewis, Scott, Majette, Isakson, and Collins, to five mayors on the Lovejoy line, and to NARP President Alan Yorker, for their efforts.
Amtrak and Michigan DOT are planning inaugural events tomorrow for stations along the new Blue Water line (which replaces the International with the timetable taking effect April 26). Events are at these stations, timed for passage of a train that will carry Amtrak President David Gunn and Gov. Jennifer Granholm -- Port Huron (8:30 am), Lapeer (9:30 am), Flint (10:00 am), Durand (10:30 am), East Lansing (10:45 am), Battle Creek (12:45 pm), Kalamazoo (1:25 pm), Dowagiac (1:45 pm), and Niles (2:00 pm).
The Victoria Transport Policy Institute of Victoria, B.C., has released a report by Todd Litman called, "Comprehensive Evaluation of Rail Transit Benefits." It finds that "cities with larger, well-established rail systems have significantly higher per capita transit ridership, lower average per capita vehicle ownership and mileage, less traffic congestion, lower traffic death rates and lower consumer transportation expenditures than otherwise comparable cities."
The NARP Board of Directors has been having its annual meeting in Washington this week, and today elected a slate of officers for the 2004-2006 period. They are George Chilson (President); Art Poole, David Randall, Wayne Davis, and Robert Stewart (Vice Presidents); Al Papp (Secretary); and Robert Glover (Treasurer).
The House of Representatives passed its third TEA-21 extension on April 28, this one good through June 30. The Senate followed suit last night.
It remains unclear whether Congress can pass a six-year bill this year. Both houses have passed their own bills (S.1072 and H.R.3550), but have not yet appointed conferees to meet to reconcile differences in the bills. There is still no agreement between Congressional leaders and the White House on funding. President Bush has threatened to veto anything higher than his proposed $256 billion over six years.
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, a former U.S. transportation secretary, has been meeting with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, and apparently the parties have pledged to work through the weekend. Failure to reach agreement by next week might doom passage of a long-term bill this year and lead instead to a two-year stopgap measure. (Incidentally, 2003, a non-election year, was the original target for passage of TEA-21 renewal.)
Even among Hill Republicans there is tension. The leadership and conference committee members -- assured of priority treatment of their earmark requests -- apparently have greater incentive to compromise on a lower total spending number than do rank-and-file members. The Hill newspaper reported April 29 that commitments have been made to Speaker Dennis Hastert (R.-Ill.) to complete three "projects of national or regional significance" (such projects must cost over $500 million). One of those is the vital Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) project to modernize Chicago-area railroads. CREATE's total cost is $1.5 billion, to be shared among the freight railroads, Metra, the State of Illinois and the federal government. (Hastert's other two big projects, according to the Hill are western road access to O'Hare International Airport, and modernization of O'Hare.)
Transportation activists and environmentalists continue to prepare for the possibility that there will be a multi-year bill. One important area is getting conferees to adopt the Senate language regarding highway tolls. This would allow great flexibility, including use of toll revenues for transit. By contrast, thanks to a Rep. Mark Kennedy (R.-Minn.) amendment, the House language restricts the use of toll revenues to pay for construction of new lanes, and requires removal of tolls once the lanes are paid for.
Rep. Jack Quinn (R.-N.Y.), chairman of the House Railroads Subcommittee and great supporter of passenger-rail service, announced on April 26 that he would retire from the House of Representatives when his term ends at the end of this year. NARP awarded Quinn the George Falcon Golden Spike Award in 2002.
Federal Railroad Administrator Allan Rutter, a native of Texas, is leaving his position in mid-June to become Deputy Executive Director of the North Texas Tollway Authority.
NARP presented two George Falcon Golden Spike Awards at its annual Washington reception on April 22. One went to Sen. Tom Carper (D.-Del.) for his work to include rail titles in surface transportation legislation and in general to keep nationwide rail service. The other went to Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R.-N.Y.) for his work over many years for high-speed rail development and for our national rail passenger system.
At the same time, NARP awarded the Dr. Gary Burch Memorial Safety Award to Amtrak safety liaison Steven Tomlinson. He works to ensure that Amtrak track maintenance employees and supervisors understand and comply with rules designed both for workplace safety and for safe installation and operation of critical track elements. Tomlinson also trains field managers and supervisors in these vital areas.
Passengers on trains can expect "monumental delays" during the Republican National Convention this summer, according to the New York Post (April 30). The article said, "Cops and dogs will check every car of every train" before it enters Penn Station. "Seven subway lines -- the A, C, E, 1, 2, 3 and 9 -- and two commuter lines, the Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit, use the hub, as does Amtrak ... The convention will be held at Madison Square Garden, upstairs from Penn Station from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. The policy is the opposite of that in Boston, which will host the Democratic Party's confab. City officials there plan to close North Station and a part of Interstate 93 that borders the Fleet Center during the Dems' convention this summer. But, the Secret Service has the final say over the president's security, and could opt to shut Penn Station down when Bush attends the conference."
The Michigan House Appropriations Committee will have a hearing on the amendment to the fiscal 2004 supplemental appropriations bill (SB 267) that requires Amtrak fares to be equal to or greater than intercity bus fares. The hearing is May 6 at 10:15 am (apparently rescheduled from May 4). The key, offensive provision of the bill that was promoted by the Indian Trails bus company states, "Any state subsidy for rail passenger service between Port Huron and Chicago shall not be used to artificially reduce passenger fares below the fare box cost of a private entity participating in the intercity bus loan program."
Amtrak's new Blue Water was involved in a grade-crossing accident on April 27 at Charlotte, Mich. (between Battle Creek and Lansing), killing a woman and her teenage daughter. Canadian National promptly put speed restrictions on all Amtrak trains operating on former Grand Trunk territory. There is a possibility the restrictions will be lifted soon.
There are conflicting reports about whether the gates operated properly. The April 29 Lansing State Journal reported, "Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the train's engineer, whose name he would not release, said he saw the lights flashing and gates moving as he approached the crossing. A recording device in the train shows it was traveling 44 miles per hour, within the 45-mph limit, Magliari said. The device also showed the train's horn was sounding and its warning lights were flashing, he said." A day earlier, the same paper reported, "Charlotte police Lt. Rick Terpstra said witnesses told police the gates did not come down before the collision."
Amtrak now is providing detailed financial reports on its web site. Amtrak anticipates posting future reports about six weeks after the end of the reported month. Amtrak ended February 2004 with an invested cash balance of $44.5 million. For the October-February period (first five months of fiscal 2004), operating expenses were $1.25 billion ($38.4 million favorable compared to budget); operating revenue was $775.4 million ($22.3 million favorable compared to budget); adjusted (excluding depreciation and non-cash pension expenses) operating loss was $291.1 million ($49.7 million favorable compared to budget); ridership was 10.0 million (471,000 favorable to compared budget). System on-time performance was 73% (12% unfavorable compared to Amtrak's goal of 85%).
The Alaska Senate has given preliminary approval on April 27 to a bill (SB 31) allowing the Alaska Railroad to begin planning to build a line from Fairbanks southeast to the Canadian border. The ultimate goal would be a connection to the rest of the North American rail system, though to do that, several hundred miles of line would still have to be built in Canada.
The TriMet transit agency of Portland, Ore., will open a new MAX route on May 1, the Yellow Line. It runs on existing tracks from PGE Park (S.W. 18th Ave.) through downtown to the Interstate/Rose Quarter station, then north along N. Interstate Ave. (state highway 99W) to the Expo Center. The new route north of Interstate/Rose Quarter is 5.8 miles. Free rides will be offered on the Yellow Line on May 1 and 2. The line was originally planned to extend 1.5 miles further north to Vancouver, Wash., but voters there rejected a local tax in 1994 to help pay for it.