Hotline #895 - September 15, 1995

The transportation appropriations conferees are expected to meet next week, so there is still time to call and ask for higher Amtrak numbers.

Within the next two weeks, Chairman Shuster is likely to mark up the House Amtrak authorization bill. This is the same bill labor initially approved, and then opposed, leading to cancellation of a mark-up on August 2. Rail workers have not been well served by labor's preoccupation with the authorization at the expense of the more important appropriations bills.

At a well attended September 12 news conference, Amtrak President Tom Downs emphasized the strong customer support Amtrak has enjoyed this year. Downs was asked about the low figures in the appropriations bills and whether that meant more service cuts -- he said they were possible. Funding levels should be known in time for the Amtrak board to approve a 1996 budget on September 26.

Downs said Amtrak would not need an operating subsidy by 2002 if it got a half cent of the gas tax, and if Amtrak could spend that money. The transit industry opposes this because Amtrak would get a half cent that under current law would be added to the transit account of the Highway Trust Fund starting October 1. However, since this account has a $9 billion surplus, the change should not hurt transit spending.

Pro-Amtrak Sen. William Roth (R.-Del.) is now chairman of the important Senate Finance Committee.

The House's National Highway System bill, H.R.2274, may go to a floor vote next week. We hope this bill will remain silent -- rather than negative -- on the Senate-passed Roth-Biden language making passenger rail eligible for ISTEA funding. In that event, the House-Senate conference committee could well include the Roth-Biden language.

Norman Mineta (D.-Cal.), ranking member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said on September 11 that he will resign October 10. He probably will be replaced by James Oberstar (D.-Minn.), who will vacate his ranking position on the Aviation Subcommittee at the end of the year. The ranking member of the Railroads Subcommittee, William Lipinski (D.-Ill.), may move to Aviation. Possible successors on Railroads include Robert Wise (D.-W.Va.) and James Traficant (D.-Ohio).

The southbound Silver Meteor, starting last week, runs about 20 minutes later than under the spring timetable, creating a 50-minute guaranteed connection from the Vermonter in Washington every day but Sunday.

A project funded by the State of New York to restore a passing siding between Albany and Schenectady has been completed. That should eliminate a troublesome bottleneck and increase the reliability of Amtrak trains.

The video ticketing system described in the March newsletter has completed its initial testing. The State of Michigan has approved funding for machines at Grand Rapids, Holland, and St. Joseph, to be controlled by the Amtrak agent at Niles. Illinois and North Carolina also are considering this.

The list of rail segments that could be abandoned if the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific merge has been revised. An SP line between Navasota and Cypress, Tex., that was part of the Texas Eagle route until a week ago, was removed from the list.

Amtrak has said that it will add Dunkirk, N.Y., as a stop for the Lake Shore Limited with the spring timetable. That closes a chapter in that community's long struggle to get a stop, but work remains to be done with the station itself.

The Hoboken Rail Fair will be September 23.