NARP July 1998 Hotlines

#41 - July 2, 1998
#41-A - July 8, 1998
#42 - July 10, 1998
#43 - July 17, 1998
#44 - July 22, 1998
#44-A - July 24, 1998
#45 - July 31, 1998

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Senators are still on alert for a likely meeting of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee on July 7, to approve a 1999 transportation funding bill. The chairman of the Subcommittee is Richard Shelby (R.-Ala.).

If that meeting takes place, the full Senate Appropriations Committee will take up the new bill on July 9. The House returns to work July 14, so that is the earliest that its Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee can take up its bill.

Despite the funding from the 1997 Taxpayers Relief Act, the consequences for the national passenger network of eliminating or sharply cutting the requested $621 million would be serious. Amtrak Acting President George Warrington said in today's Washington Post that it "could squander the nation's multibillion [dollar] investment in passenger rail service, abandon the promise of a break-even Amtrak when it is finally within reach, and jeopardize the country's railroad system."

Your work with Senators on Amtrak funding is helping. One of the reasons Chairman Shelby has had to postpone the funding bill is that he has been hearing from pro-Amtrak Senators.

There's still time to ask your Senators to tell their leaders that they strongly support the $621 million for requested by Amtrak and the Clinton Administration, and the redefinition of capital to allow maintenance expenses. Republicans should tell that to Senators Lott, Nickles, Stevens, and Shelby. Democrats should tell Senators Daschle, Byrd, and Lautenberg. The Capitol switchboard is 202/224-2121.

The Amtrak Reform Council's second public meeting is July 6, 9:00 am to 12:00 noon in Washington at 400 North Capitol St., N.W., in room 223.

A CSX freight train derailment the evening of June 29, west of the Amtrak station in Alexandria, Va., disrupted Amtrak and VRE service the rest of that day and part of the next morning. Before that situation could stabilize, a water main break in southwest Washington early the morning of June 30 disrupted VRE and Amtrak services again.

A tornado derailed an Illinois Central freight train at Tolono, Ill., on June 29, disrupting Amtrak services. Passengers on the Illini were bussed around the area between Champaign and Mattoon. The City of New Orleans was first detoured from Chicago to Mattoon by way of Watseka, Sidney, and Sullivan; then between Carbondale and Chicago by way of St. Louis and Springfield.

Union Pacific told the Surface Transportation Board that service recovery efforts on its most congested routes slipped last week. Systemwide train speeds slowed 5% to below 14 mph, which is as bad as at the height of UP's service crisis last year. Sunset and Eagle on-time performance is so bad that Bill Pollard, chairman of the Texas Eagle Marketing and Performance Organization, wrote asking Union Pacific Chairman Richard Davidson to intervene personally.

The German Railways resumed a normal schedule June 30, after replacing almost all the wheels on the 59 first-generation ICE train sets. One of those trains was involved in the catastrophic wreck of June 3, in which a broken wheel is suspected as the cause. Since then, German passengers have experienced numerous train cancellations, overcrowded conditions, and delays of up to several hours.

Lobbyist Edward Hamberger will become the new president of the Association of American Railroads on July 15. He is a former Reagan DOT official.

The Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee finally met late this afternoon. They approved a 1999 transportation funding bill with $555 million for Amtrak, about 90% of what Amtrak had requested and a vast improvement over the zero that the Subcommittee for weeks had been prepared to approve. This was a big victory for the Subcommittee's ranking Democrat, Frank Lautenberg (N.J.), who kept delaying the meeting while trying to solve the problem. On July 7, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R.-Miss.) had said publicly that he hoped Amtrak would get funded in this bill.

This is good news for all who care about passenger train service. Amtrak Acting President George Warrington hailed the outcome. He said it "is clear recognition of the agreement between Congress, the Administration and Amtrak to preserve and strengthen national passenger rail service in the United States." Warrington added, "For its part, Amtrak is fulfilling its commitment with major reforms and market-driven business strategies that have increased ridership, improved its financial performance and put it on the right track."

The full Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to approve the new bill July 10. Also, the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee will take up a bill of its own on July 14.

Thank you, all of you, who have worked hard through this latest crisis. But now it is time to turn our attention to the House -- and quickly. Tell your Representatives that the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Frank Wolf (R.-Va.) must also fund Amtrak in 1999, hopefully at the full, requested level of $621 million.

It is still not clear what the outcome was on the question of getting Amtrak the same definition of capital as transit already has -- in other words, allowing appropriated capital to be spent on maintenance items. That's still important, and needs to be part of the House bill in any event.

[Continues with text from #41 of July 2.]

The Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee met July 8 and approved a 1999 transportation funding bill with $555 million for Amtrak -- about 90% of what Amtrak had requested and much better than the zero the Subcommittee long had been threatening. This was a big victory for the Subcommittee's ranking Democrat, Frank Lautenberg (N.J.), who kept delaying the meeting while looking for a solution to the problem.

The full Senate Appropriations Committee will approve the new bill on July 14. Also, the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee will take up a bill of their own on or after July 16.

Thank you, all of you, who have worked hard through this last crisis. But now it is time to turn our attention to the House -- and quickly. Tell your Representatives that the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Frank Wolf (R.-Va.), must also fund Amtrak in 1999, hopefully at the full, requested level of $621 million.

It is still not clear what the outcome was on the question of getting Amtrak the same definition of capital as transit already has -- in other words, allowing appropriated capital to be spent on maintenance items. That's still important, and should be pushed with House members in any event.

This week, the Senate approved a TEA-21 technical corrections bill that the House had approved earlier. One provision diverts $5 million for low-speed maglev projects from the $60 million in guaranteed maglev funding reported in our June newsletter.

Amtrak will restore the Hoosier State train, effective July 19. It last ran three years ago. It will run tri-weekly between Chicago and Indianapolis on the same schedule as the Cardinal. The result -- in combination with the Cardinal -- is to link these cities daily except Mondays southbound and except Tuesday northbound. The new train will transfer all equipment to and from the Beech Grove shops, eliminating one cause of Cardinal delays. The train will use one reserved Superliner coach, with no food service.

A track washout and freight train derailment June 27 at Port Kent, N.Y., has disrupted Adirondack service between Albany and Montreal until perhaps next week.

The northbound Texas Eagle derailed on July 2 just west of the station in Dallas, Tex. It split a switch at low speed, and there were no serious injuries. However, press reports said there were serious delays in unloading the passengers.

The Illinois DOT signed a $3.75-million contract last week with the Gateway Western Railroad to build a new track along the Mississippi River in East St. Louis. This is expected to cut 20 minutes from the schedule of Amtrak trains running between St. Louis and Chicago. Passenger trains then would use the MacArthur Bridge across the river, instead of the Merchants Bridge.

Due to Conrail track work, Amtrak's Bay State will not run between Springfield and Boston certain days the rest of the month, with alternate transportation provided. The Lake Shore Limited will run subject to delay.

State transportation commissioners approved a project to refurbish the Santa Fe station in downtown Oklahoma City on July 6. The decision was made in light of the proposal to restore Amtrak service to that city next year. Eighty percent of the $1 million approved is from federal sources.

July 8 was the deadline for suggestions to the Surface Transportation Board on how to modify the Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger. The July 7 Wall Street Journal had a story on UP's continuing service problems, and another titled, "Bit Railroads Will Post Lower Results As Problems At Union Pacific Linger." Amtrak passengers will not be surprised that the story says, "The rail system in general has been running more slowly than it was just a few years ago." CSX and NS are incurring extra short-term costs related to the Conrail break-up in efforts to avoid UP-type problems.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the 1999 transportation funding bill on July 14. It was approved by the Transportation Subcommittee last week. It is the bill with $555 million for Amtrak. The Committee added language making clear that the "transit definition" for capital applies to the Amtrak appropriation, allowing it to go for maintenance of equipment and facilities. The committee also earmarked $5 million of high-speed rail funds for capital improvements for Amtrak's planned daily Los Angeles-Las Vegas train.

However, some bad items from the subcommittee survived and may be the target of Senate floor amendments. One requires the Amtrak Reform Council to identify Amtrak routes that are candidates for closure and to report to Congress annually on such recommendations. This arguably would end the Council's independence and impartiality, instead giving it a vested interest in those management decisions it promoted.

The other bad idea is requiring Amtrak to tell its customers the most up-to-date GAO measure of Amtrak's average subsidy per passenger. The GAO has shown it has an anti-Amtrak ax to grind. Also, no one is about to impose such a requirement on other transportation. Almost three-quarters of Amtrak passengers travel on trains whose average subsidy per passenger is below the systemwide average. Subsidy per passenger is really a measure of average trip length and not of economic efficiency. Recognizing that Chairman Shelby (R.-Ala.) is just trying to make Amtrak look bad, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.-Tex.) may offer the floor amendment to strike this language.

The Senate bill will not go to the Senate floor, however, until the House passes its bill.

The first House step came yesterday morning, when the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Frank Wolf (R.-Va.), approved a 1999 transportation funding bill. It basically gave Amtrak full funding. Wolf's $609 million nominally is $12 million less than the Amtrak request of $621 million, but that $12 million was for the Manhattan Penn Station/Farley project, which was funded separately in the recent TEA-21 law. An Amtrak release praised Wolf and the Subcommittee for "keeping faith with the Congressional agreement to provide the necessary support to make Amtrak" operationally self-sufficient by 2002.

Rep. Sonny Callahan (R.-Ala.) had threatened to cut Wolf's Amtrak amount by $50 million, but no such amendment was offered yesterday.

The full House Appropriations Committee may take up the new bill on July 22.

Last week, the Senate Commerce Committee approved the nomination of William Clyburn to the vacant position on the three-slot Surface Transportation Board. He is a Democratic staffer in the Senate. The full Senate still needs to vote on his nomination.

Amtrak, Guilford, and the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority on July 10 formally entered into an agreement over running a Boston-Portland service. The agreement got some bad press because it specifies a top speed of 59 mph, consistent with the Surface Transportation Board's recent decision. However, the STB said the parties could negotiate higher speeds. Maine plans to use its TRA money to pay for higher speeds and, to that end, on July 22 will begin negotiations with Guilford.

Greyhound moved into the new intermodal terminal in Syracuse, N.Y., on July 15. Amtrak will follow in the fall.

Amtrak will run another San Diegan round trip on weekends between Los Angeles and San Diego, from July 25 through September 7, which is Labor Day.

As of July 1, VIA Rail trains in Canada no longer have conductors. The tasks performed by conductors will be divided between engineers and on-board service staff. VIA says it will save $17.5 million a year from this.

The House Appropriations Committee this morning approved the subcommittee's $609 million for Amtrak. Floor action is possible as early as July 28. Committee dialogue indicated continuing danger of a steal-money-from-Amtrak amendment. The Coast Guard on its own is seeking $200 million more than the committee gave them, which was $75 million more than President Clinton requested.

The Senate counterpart bill is likely to be on the Senate floor late next week. Times are tough but Subcommittee Chairman Shelby (R.-Ala.) -- with strong support from Senator Byrd (D.-W.Va.) -- found $200 million for the 13-state Appalachian Regional Commission (mostly highways) beyond the $450 million a year mandated by TEA-21.

The first NARP Youth Rail Passenger Citizenship Award will be presented July 24 at the Spartanburg, S.C., Magnolia Street Depot at 10:30 am. The winner is Paul Dupree "Trey" Davis, III, who just graduated from Spartanburg High School and plans to attend Duke University. He is interested in public policy. NARP's Ross Capon will make the presentation. Also attending will be the mayor, city manager, some council members, staff representatives from the offices of Senator Ernest Hollings and Rep. Bob Inglis, Amtrak's Ray Lang, and Norfolk Southern's South Carolina Resident Vice President for Public Affairs, Frank Macchiaverna.

Davis in 1996 saw the need to save Spartanburg's fire-damaged depot. It was his initiative "through letters, editorials, and visits" to city leaders that saved the building from possible demolition and led to a campaign to restore it. The award text notes that "the depot and its improved surroundings will contribute to and help anchor the revitalization of downtown Spartanburg."

NARP established this award both to honor exemplary work such as Davis' and to encourage involvement of more young people in efforts to modernize and expand the national passenger rail network.

The Akron, O., Amtrak station will have its grand opening July 31, at 10:30 am. It is downtown, next to the Quaker Square Hilton Hotel (end of Bowery St. just east of Broadway). TV cameras are likely to be on hand, so Ohio ARP urges a good turnout. Funding for the small, modular station included $97,500 from the city and $12,500 from the Ohio Rail Development Commission.

"Union Pacific says its trains are backed up about 760 miles from Southern California to New Mexico," said the July 20 Wall Street Journal, "mostly because it's having trouble finding enough train crews." UP reportedly is routing some trains off the Sunset route to help matters. Until recently, UP publicity implied that all their problems were on their "central" corridor. The article said some freight is going through the Panama Canal because of the freight-train mess. Adding to shippers' woes is the disastrous premature opening of the Hong Kong airport, which has resulted in some air freight being shifted to ships. Today's Wall Street Journal has a brief item on BNSF earnings -- showing benefits from freight traffic gained from UP.

Almost 90% of the new business identified in the Canadian National/Illinois Central merger application filed last week comes out of the pockets of the four largest U.S. railroads, according to the Journal of Commerce (July 20). The story says UP stands to lose nearly $165 million in revenue if CN and IC will merger approval and execute their plan. CN -- overcoming historical IC/KCS animosity -- has a friendly relationship with KCS, adding to UP's vulnerability. However, today's Journal of Commerce says UP controls a key link between IC and KCS -- a 1.3-mile track segment in Springfield, Ill. IC's only other link with KCS is at Jackson, Miss.

No one expects the Surface Transportation Board to turn down the merger application, precisely because of the problems with existing U.S. rail service, especially on UP.

The House Rules Committee will consider the House's transportation appropriations bill on July 27. At that point, we will learn if there will be any anti-Amtrak amendments.  This message will be updated July 27 if there are. Since time would be short, don't wait to tell your Representative to oppose any anti-Amtrak amendment that might come up.  The bill is likely to be on the floor for general debate on July 28, and amendments could be debated on July 29.

This morning, the Senate passed its transportation appropriations bill on a vote of 90-1. Negotiations among interested Senators allowed the Senate to avoid Amtrak-related roll-call votes. Senator McCain (R.-Ariz.) accepted something Amtrak had agreed to support months ago -- a restriction against using appropriated funds for those labor costs attributable to the wage increases in the new labor contracts. Meanwhile, the subsidy disclosure requirement was extended to airline tickets and highway signs on the expectation that this would cause it to be dropped in conference with the House bill.

Today's Washington Post carries an opinion column about Amtrak by Anthony Haswell. This is available on the Post web site for two weeks.

[Continues with text from #44 of July 22.]

The House passed its 1999 transportation appropriations bill early yesterday on a vote of 391-25. The bill has full Amtrak funding of $609 million, thanks to skillful work by Subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R.-Va.) and his staff. An amendment by Representative Andrews (D.-N.J.) added language already in the Senate bill denying the Amtrak Reform Council the ability to spend appropriated funds on consultant services. The stated rationale is that Council members were selected for their technical expertise. However, as Chairman Wolf indicated in a C-SPAN interview shortly before the House took up the bill, many Representatives are concerned about the ARC's broad jurisdiction. Indeed, one could argue that the Council's statutory ability to determine as early as December 1999 that Amtrak is not adhering to its business plan constitutes, if you will, a time bomb that could destroy intercity passenger rail.

The new, four-member Amtrak Board held its first regular meeting on July 29. The board members are thrilled by the positive results Amtrak has shown through the first three quarters of fiscal 1998.

Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson (R.) said of Amtrak, "You have your ridership up, your on-time performance up, and a newfound love of railroads in America. I think you're on the dawn of a new era." Thompson said the board will unveil more plans for expansion but he did not specify a date. "We've got a lot of plans going right now. We're going to be revealing a Midwest plan. We have to go to Congress and get that clarified. Growing ridership and improving financial performance show that Amtrak is on the right track to improve service, modernize its business, and strengthen passenger rail service. I think we've got a story to tell and I'm more than willing to tell that story."

Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith said, "This board is not about allowing Amtrak to gasp for breath. It's about reinvigorating this system, and high-speed rail is not just a metropolitan solution; it is a solution also for my part of the country."

Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater said, "We are delighted with the third quarter results and look to Amtrak as a vital element in our 21st-century transportation system. Last December, President Clinton signed the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 that provided Amtrak with the three things it needed to succeed -- freedom to operate like a business, financial resources necessary to rebuilt a railroad, and partnership with its employees." Referring to labor officials, Slater said, "When you think about their participation, you have, for the first time, basically everything that's always been needed."

The fourth board member, former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, said, "In the Northeast Corridor, the kind of capital investment Congress has been kind enough to provide is going to create enormous new revenue." Dukakis, noting growing congestion at airports and on highways, said, "We're not going to double-deck them. Rail's the answer."

Amtrak's through Eagle-Sunset cars are now open for reservation through May 31, 1999.

The Surface Transportation Board issued its 424-page written decision on the Conrail takeover by Norfolk Southern and CSX. Lawsuits must be filed within 60 days from the issue date, July 23. Requests for board reconsideration are due August 12. Barring a successful challenge, the break-up could begin as early as August 22, but the acquiring railroads have said they will not act that fast. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D.-N.Y.) is disappointed that the STB did not order competition east of the Hudson River. He said he was preparing a lawsuit in the federal appeals court in New York and will separately ask the STB to reopen the case. He wants the break-up delayed by up to a year so that the city can continue its talks with the railroads.