NARP April 1999 Hotlines

#80 - April 2, 1999
#81 - April 9, 1999
#82 - April 16, 1999
#83 - April 23, 1999
#84 - April 30, 1999

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The Secretary of State in Illinois, Jesse White, reluctantly mailed a reinstated commercial truck-driving license to John Stokes, the driver indicted in the fatal March 15 derailment of the City of New Orleans. However, this week, White's office suspended it again after discovering a previously unnoticed speeding violation near Kankakee last June. Coupled with past moving violations, the newly discovered one allows the state to suspend Stokes' license for two more months, under federal law. The suspension begins June 1. Stokes has not yet been cited in the Amtrak derailment.

A bill that would raise gas tax revenues in Oklahoma to benefit passenger trains was killed late last week. Senate Joint Resolution 12 died in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee when that committee refused to consider the measure.

A Conrail freight train derailment east of Altoona on March 26 tied up that main line for about 20 hours, disrupting Amtrak service.

Ground was broken for an extension of Trinity Railway Express commuter service into Fort Worth, Tex., on March 27. An intermodal terminal is being built in downtown Fort Worth at 9th and Jones Sts. -- apparently reversing a plan to put it at the former T&P Terminal, which is being renovated. Amtrak has not announced whether it will leave the Santa Fe station for the new intermodal terminal. The new terminal reportedly would involve a walk of three or four blocks to reach the passenger platform, would require a longer back-up move for the Texas Eagle, and would reduce the number of tracks available to Amtrak at Fort Worth.

The Minnesota Transportation Commissioner, Elwyn Tinklenberg, and the Twin Cities Metropolitan Council chairman, Ted Mondale, on March 29 proposed creating a state fund dedicated to the development of major transit corridors statewide. It would be called the "Transit Mobility Fund," and would get 5% of the annual state motor vehicle excise tax dedicated to it starting in 2002. That's about $25 million a year. Light rail and commuter rail projects would be eligible for the funding, but the legislature would have to approve it.

A poll commissioned by the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad shows strong support across the state for passenger trains in selected routes, with more mixed response regarding how much government should invest. Routes from Milwaukee to Chicago, to Madison, and to Green Bay, and from Chicago to Madison, all got between 81% and 88% favorable responses. An Eau Claire-Minneapolis route got a 77% favorable response. On spending, 57% favored spending at least $100 million, with support dropping off for higher amounts. The highest support overall came from people under age 45 and independents and Democrats. People between 55 and 64 and Republican were less favorable. The Wisconsin & Southern has been talking to Amtrak about an express-oriented service from Chicago to Janesville and Madison, but the poll information should also be applicable to routes not involving that railroad.

The Washington State House Transportation Committee this week rejected funding for a second Seattle-Vancouver train -- even though the equipment is available and even though the Province of British Columbia is close to agreeing to many needed track improvements north of the international border, if the second train runs. The state Senate Transportation Committee will have a hearing of its own on April 5. Washington State NARP members should contact their state senators in favor of funding the second train.

Amtrak will restore Thruway bus service from New York Penn Station to Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports on April 5. On April 15, Amtrak will begin Thruway service from Temple to Killeen and Fort Hood, Tex., connecting with the Texas Eagle in both directions. On May 1, because of a bus company cutback, the Indianapolis-Davenport Thruway no longer will run west of Peoria.

There is a serious plan underway in Boston to change dramatically the character of South Station. Even though the station was renovated barely ten years ago -- and even though it is widely regarded as a successful public space -- there are plans to put a 60-story skyscraper over the waiting room and drive several large columns through that space. The Boston Globe editorialized against the plan on April 6, saying such a building would be better in the air rights over the tracks. But another area of concern is how the pilings for such a building would affect plans for the Rail Link that should pass under South Station.

Amtrak introduced two new optional programs this week aimed at helping travel agents with little experience in booking Amtrak tickets, to price such tickets. One program, called "Quick Sell," allows a travel agent to see only the lowest available price for a segment, not all possible prices. The "Best Buy" program searches for the lower fares on an entire reservation, such as complex ones using the Explore America Fare. There is also a special 800 number for travel agents using automated computer reservations systems to get help booking Amtrak tickets.

The mayors of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Lima, O., wrote to Amtrak Intercity President Lee Bullock on March 31, requesting that passenger train service be restored to their cities. Apparently, they would like to do this through a re-routing of the Three Rivers, which used to be the Broadway Limited. This is an interesting proposal, but service to Akron must be continued. This is an important city, which recently spent about $100,000 on a station, despite misgivings that arose because Amtrak dropped service both to Akron and Youngstown in 1995. An Akron-Fort Wayne-Chicago run could make some sense, but would require considerable track work, including a new connection at Fostoria, O. However, the case for serving Lima in spite of the required time penalty seems much weaker. In either case, track issues also would have to be addressed between Valparaiso and Gary, Ind.

Rep. Bill Lipinski (D.-Ill.), who is a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has begun a campaign to improve service on Metra's route from Chicago Union Station to Joliet, also known as the Heritage Corridor. Lipinski calls this Metra's worst route for on-time performance. It is also part of Amtrak's Chicago-St. Louis corridor.

In a March 29 release, Lipinski proposed four grade separations to alleviate passenger-train delays caused by several places where railroads cross each other. He also proposed track and signal work and a new Metra stop near Midway Airport. He says the entire project would cost $200 million. To gain support, in late March he wrote the Illinois and U.S. transportation secretaries, and various Metra officials, freight railroads, and fellow U.S. and state legislators. His would got a nice write-up in the April 7 Chicago Tribune.

The Amtrak board met in Meridian, Miss., this week. One of the highlights was a reception at the intermodal Amtrak station with about 300 local residents and a children's chorus in attendance.

In Minnesota, a House committee has rejected $60 million for Twin Cities light rail that was requested by Gov. Jesse Ventura. In response, Ventura plans to take committee members on a rush-hour tour of the proposed corridor to show them how much rail transit is needed there.

Amtrak will begin running a daily train between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City on June 14, under an agreement announced April 14 by Amtrak President George Warrington, Sen. Don Nickles (R.-Okla.), and state DOT Secretary Neil McCaleb. NARP has urged operation of a Thruway bus linking the train with Dallas. The announcement came two days after Gov. Frank Keating signed into law Senate Bill 383, which allows that state to enter into a proposed passenger rail compact with Kansas and Texas. The new law creates a commission to pursue such an alliance.

The State Senate in Washington has approved money in its budget allowing a second daily Amtrak train between Seattle and Vancouver. The House budget, however, does not include the funding. NARP members in Washington need to contact their legislators to make sure the funding ends up in the final, reconciled budget.

Comments made to reporters last month by the new Democratic governor of California, Gray Davis, suggest that he sees other forms of mass transit as deserving priority over investment in high-speed rail. The California High Speed Rail Authority has been working on a proposal for high-speed trains from San Diego to Sacramento and the Bay Area. But Davis said that his highest priority for rail transportation would be to "facilitate the commute of hundreds of thousands of Californians who experience unwarranted frustration, delay and loss of productivity because of all the delays they encounter."

There will be a Thruway bus connecting with the Texas Eagle to and from the north only, effective May 1, between Little Rock, Ark., and Branson, Mo. Also May 1, the existing Longview-Houston Thruway will be extended to Galveston.

Federal Railroad Administrator Jolene Molitoris promised a safety blitz involving major Amtrak routes to gain the attention of local officials and commercial motor vehicle operators. This came at a meeting April 15 of the FRA's Railroad Safety Advisory Committee, on which NARP sits. She advocated widespread use of photo enforcement, noting that violations in California fell 90% during a test period and 70% over the long run. She noted that states theoretically could flex $820 million into grade-crossing work and urged states to follow the example set by Texas last year, which alone flexed $30 million and experienced a 30% reduction in injuries and fatalities.

A federal judge has approved a deal between Amtrak, SEPTA, Conrail, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and various Pennsylvania agencies, under which the three railroads will pay $1.45 million in damages resulting from hazardous PCB's in the Paoli rail yard. The successor company to the Penn Central has not yet entered the agreement, and manufacturers like Monsanto, G.E., and Westinghouse still face a class-action suit on behalf of almost 200 individuals. The three railroads all owned or conducted operations in the yard at various times in the last 20-25 years. They have already spent $12 million on clean-up, but EPA says there is $20 million more to do. The Paoli yard has been in operation since the Pennsylvania Railroad extended its electric suburban operations there before World War I.

The United Transportation Union petitioned the Surface Transportation Board on March 26 to indemnify its oversight of the Safety Integration Plans in the Conrail break-up, Finance Docket 33388. UTU alleges a shortage of conductors and engineers on Conrail.

With the passage in both houses of Congress of a budget resolution last week, the die is cast for appropriations battles in the months to come. The fact that the guaranteed funding programs for highways and transit threaten to take money away from non-guaranteed programs like Amtrak and the Coast Guard will be exacerbated if Bud Shuster succeeds in taking aviation "off-budget," and greatly increasing its funding. Shuster is the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Fortunately, there still is a core group of Senators opposed to Shuster's proposal.

The NARP board is meeting in Washington, and last night was the annual reception in Union Station. The George Falcon Golden Spike Award was presented to Gov. Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, who gave a very rousing and enthusiastic address about the future of Amtrak and passenger trains, saying he would not rest until their financial and political health was assured. The Dr. Gary Burch Memorial Safety Award was presented to Amtrak conductor Frank Garrard of Jacksonville, for his extensive work in training Amtrak employees and local emergency response personnel about railroad safety and rescue procedures.

Amtrak President George Warrington addressed the board today. He stressed his commitment to seek the capital resources needed to increase market share for Amtrak. He also made a commitment to the group to keep and expand the national system, vigorously denying charges from some quarters that he has a secret agenda to do quite the opposite.

Amtrak has broadened the terms of the 10% travel discount offered to NARP members. Effective yesterday, the discount is available for all dates in the Amtrak inventory, which is typically 11 months into the future. Also, the discount is now good on Thruway buses in the 7000 and 8000 number series. Finally, the discount is now good on joint Amtrak services in Ontario. Fulfilling a 1998 promise by Amtrak President George Warrington, this brings the NARP discount up to a par with the AAA discount, except for one respect. The NARP discount cannot yet be booked on the internet, but we understand that may happen next month.

Amtrak and Norfolk Southern announced an agreement on express shipments, on April 19. Norfolk Southern's Triple Crown Services unit will be able to run RoadRailer trains on the Northeast Corridor and on the Keystone Corridor, both owned by Amtrak. Revenue projections from the deal for Amtrak were not released, but were described as being in the "millions" annually. Northeast Corridor President Stan Bagley said, "Amtrak will expand our partnership with [Norfolk Southern] in a manner that is compatible with Amtrak and commuter rail operations ..." This will primarily be at night, though that is when much maintenance work also is performed. Amtrak will also get access to Norfolk Southern's Portside Yard in northern New Jersey for its own express traffic.

The announcement did not include information about possibly adding express shipments on Amtrak routes outside of the Northeast Corridor. Currently, the only Amtrak train using a significant amount of Norfolk Southern traffic is the Crescent. However, there will be more after the break-up of Conrail is complete, including the entire Pennsylvanian route west of Harrisburg.

A computer problem in South Station yesterday disrupted signals and trains on the Amtrak line between Boston and New Haven.

The new intermodal station in Champaign, Ill., had its grand opening April 16. The station has been in service since January 29.

VIA Rail passenger train 74, the weekend St. Clair, headed from Windsor, Ont., to Toronto, derailed and overturned April 23 at Thamesville. Press reports suggested that the train went through an improperly aligned crossover switch at 80 mph, and that part of the train hit three large hopper cars parked on a nearby siding. Two people -- an engineer and engineer trainee in the locomotive -- were killed. About 100 people on board the train were injured. Another VIA train, the westbound Trillium, train 71, was approaching the scene but apparently was warned by radio in time enough to stop.

Amtrak announced last week it was ordering another 129 RoadRailers from Wabash National Corporation. Of those, 89 will be designed for use in postal shipments.

A Washington State DOT official is quoted in press reports saying that there will be a study of a new train over Stampede Pass, from Seattle to Ellensburg, Yakima, Pasco, and Spokane. The official said the train would not replace the Empire Builder, which currently runs over Stevens Pass and through Wenatchee. However, the official suggested that a Yakima train would somehow cause the state to want to reroute the Empire Builder also through Yakima.

Amtrak reservations personnel will ask people booking to certain locations if they would like a rental car, starting May 3. If they say "yes," they will be switched to Hertz. Amtrak gets a commission and customers are assured the car will be provided conveniently, even if their train is late. At first, there will be 17 locations, but the list will be expanded as fast as possible. The list includes Orlando, Kissimmee, Chicago, San Diego, Oakland, Seattle, Portland, and several other Amtrak West sites. There are likely to be some growing pains, so no formal announcement is planned next week.

All current Amtrak Custom Class services and Metroliner coach class will be renamed "Business Class" effective May 16. Some local variations on the name will exist -- Pacific Class replaces Custom Class on the San Diegans, there will be Cascades Business Class on Talgos in the Northwest, and Carolina Business Class on the Carolinian. Newspapers and beverages will still be provided, except in the Northeast, where the only train with Business Class providing papers and drinks will be the Twilight Shoreliner. Most Business Class seats have electrical outlets for laptops; eventually all will.

Everything in the Northeast will be replaced by three classes. Metroliner Club Class becomes First Class, offering services consistent with those planned for Acela Express First Class service later this year. Business Class replaces all current Metroliner coach class and NortheastDirect and Empire Custom Class seats. Coach Class will be the coach seats on all the other trains. Many Northeastern passengers and crew are unhappy that this arrangement will end all Club or First Class service between New York and Boston until the new Acela Express trains are running.

The Arizona Republic reported on April 23 that pending legislation would speed up construction of Phoenix-area freeways by seven years. At the same time, the bill would strip away any regional transportation authority that could hold an election to extend a Maricopa County sales tax that is supposed to benefit both freeways and transit.

The Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council plans to take bids in the next two months for turning part of the Memorial Auditorium in downtown Buffalo into an intermodal station. It would include both Amtrak and light rail. Amtrak trains that currently run in a tunnel under the building would be rerouted to run alongside. The existing Exchange Street Station would be closed if the new facility opens on schedule in 2002.

A Japanese maglev beat its own previous record for speed with people on board on April 14. The old record, set in December 1997, was 342 mph. The new record is 343 mph.