Hotline #872 - April 7, 1995

Yesterday's Amtrak service cut announcements are repeated at the end of this message.

The new House-passed tax cut raises the danger that the House Budget Committee will zero out Amtrak unless legislators hear more support for the system during the two-week Congressional recess that just began.

The Seattle-Vancouver train will start running May 26, funded by the State of Washington, and will use the Talgo set currently on the Mount Adams. It will be called the Mount Baker International. Running time will exceed four hours, because all the track work is not done yet.

The next Amtrak Task Force public forum is April 11 at Meridian, Miss., at 7:00 pm at the Howard Johnson Convention Center. Speakers include Mayor John Robert Smith, Amtrak President Tom Downs, former Federal Railroad Administrator Gil Carmichael (who is now head of Morrison Knudsen's rail division), and NARP President Jack Martin.

Other future forums are April 18 at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento at 5:30 pm; and April 19 at Seattle Union Station also at 5:30 pm.

The Administration released its Amtrak authorization bill yesterday.

The House and Senate, in considering H.R.1158, a California earthquake relief and recession bill, have agreed to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing a program designed to reduce auto commuting to large private employers. Both versions also weaken the EPA's ability to require state auto emission programs.

Region 10 meets at Council Bluffs, Ia., tomorrow at 10:00 am, at the Holiday Inn, 2325 Avenue N. A van will meet Omaha trains. The program includes a tour of the Union Pacific dispatching facility.

The following Amtrak cuts will take effect June 11:

• The Hoosier State will be cut to tri-weekly.
• The Illini and Illinois Zephyr will be cut to a four-times-a-week, weekend-oriented schedule.
• The Loop and State House will be eliminated.
• The California Zephyr will be cut to four-times-a-week west of Salt Lake City, and run different days than the tri-weekly Desert Wind.
• The City of New Orleans will be cut to five-times-a-week, cutting trains originating on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The following will take effect September 10:

• The Broadway Limited will be eliminated. A Keystone Corridor train from New York will be extended from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh in its place. All Broadway points west of Pittsburgh lose their service, unless Ohio pays for the Ravenna Connection, which would allow the Capitol Limited to serve Youngstown. Broadway passengers will have to transfer to the Capitol at Washington or Pittsburgh.
• The Cardinal will become a day train between Washington and Cincinnati only, using Superliner equipment. It will remain tri-weekly but will run on weekends.
• The section of the Texas Eagle between Dallas and Houston will be replaced by a bus between Longview and Houston.

It is possible that Illinois will elect to pay to restore some of its short-distance trains.

Amtrak President Tom Downs reaffirmed his commitment to a national train service. He said that the national network is not disappearing, that from now on Amtrak must expand its business, and that there are no more big savings to be had by lopping off big pieces of Amtrak. He said that the revenue assumptions made with the first round of service cuts in December are holding so far.

The Amtrak press release mentioned it would consider rerouting the International through Detroit and Windsor, saying there was a greater market potential there. The State of Michigan, apparently, is considering a number of routing options.