Hotline #894 - September 8, 1995

The last round of Amtrak service cuts for 1995 takes place this weekend. Amtrak is intent on replacing the Broadway Limited with the Three Rivers, with no reservations, no checked baggage, and extremely unattractive layovers at Pittsburgh for through-passengers. Amtrak still has not answered NARP why through-cars cannot be operated.

While we are pleased that most of the Cardinal has been saved, today also was the last run of the Chicago-Indianapolis Hoosier State. The Houston leg of the Texas Eagle also stops running, though a positive result of that has been to motivate NARP members in Texas. That may lead, we hope, to a reformation of a Texas Association of Railroad Passengers. Texas is the largest state without an organized network of passenger-train supporters.

This weekend also marks the end of 135 continuous years of passenger service to towns between Memphis and Jackson, as the City of New Orleans is rerouted further west.

The House's National Highway System bill was approved yesterday in subcommittee and was to be considered today in the full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which is headed by Bud Shuster (R.-Pa.). The bill includes language taking transportation trust funds off-budget, which would be very damaging to Amtrak. This bill is the House counterpart to S.440, the Senate bill that gives states flexibility to spend ISTEA money on passenger-rail projects. The House bill is silent on that question.

The highway lobby is still fuming mad about any possibility of ISTEA money going to rail. The Highway Users Federation has waged a misinformation campaign all summer and that is the topic of the lead story in the September NARP newsletter, which is now being printed. On September 12, the Highway Users Federation will hold a pro-highway, anti-rail rally on the Capitol steps, with Bud Shuster present.

Amtrak is having a press conference of its own to refute whatever the highway lobby says. It is at 10:00 am on September 12 in Washington, in Room 1206 of the Press Building.

In other legislation, we understand that the appropriations conferees plan to meet around September 19 to reconcile the two versions of H.R.2002, though committee staff are already doing a lot of preparation work. There may be some movement on the Senate Amtrak authorization bill next week. And we understand that there may be some softening on the deadlock on H.R.1788, the Shuster Amtrak bill.

A list of rail lines that are candidates for abandonment if the merger between Union Pacific and Southern Pacific goes through has been published. One is on an Amtrak route -- the Houston leg of the Texas Eagle between Navasota and Cypress, Tex., 42 miles. This train stops running this weekend, but severing this SP route would make it harder to restore service in the future. SP says 98% of the current combined mileage would be kept.

Grand Trunk Western and the Transportation Communications Union have reached a tentative contract agreement. That alleviates fears earlier this summer that there could be a strike along the route of Amtrak's International and Pontiac trains.

The first Conrail double-stack container train across Pennsylvania reached Morrisville, Pa., yesterday. It followed the route of the Broadway Limited as far east as Harrisburg. There is some doubt about what actually happened during the Superliner test into Philadelphia two weeks ago. Amtrak had said the car did not fit under the catenary in the station, but others saw the car well within the station. Amtrak should consider running a Superliner section of the Capitol Limited into Philadelphia.

The Toledo Amtrak station was purchased on September 5 from Conrail by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority for $23,000. That allows a renovation project to begin next month.