Hotline #898 - October 6, 1995

Congress was on recess this week and returns October 10. Nevertheless, Chairman Bud Shuster (R.-Pa.) of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee was in Washington this week individually lobbying Senators who are members of the conference committee on the National Highway System bill.

One of his key goals is to kill the Senate's Roth-Biden amendment giving states ISTEA funding flexibility for intercity passenger trains. Senate conferees appear strongly on our side, but three Senators reportedly are wavering and have a special need to hear more support for flexibility from their constituents -- Kempthorne (R.-Ida.), Smith (R.-N.H.), and Baucus (D.-Mont.). The other Senate conferees are Warner (R.-Va.), Chafee (R.-R.I.), Moynihan (D.-N.Y.), Reid (D.-Nev.), Pressler (R.-S.Dak.), Lott (R.-Miss.), and Hollings (D.-S.C.).

Meanwhile, Chairman Bill Archer (R.-Tex.) of the House Ways and Means Committee has written a letter opposing the Amtrak flexibility language, and claiming jurisdiction.

Under the continuing resolution that took effect October 1, federal programs are funding at 5% less than the average of the pending House and Senate levels. That means, for example, Amtrak's operating grant for the next few weeks will be treated as if it were $226.1 million for the whole year. That is a 42.3% reduction from 1995.

Airlines have begun to pay the 4.3-cent fuel tax, from which they were exempted two years ago. Amtrak and intercity buses have been paying the tax all along. Measures to extend the airlines' exemption did not move all the way through Congress by a September 30 deadline. However, airlines vow they have not given up on further exemption.

The Chief Executive Officer of Amtrak's Intercity Business Unit, Art McMahon, resigned on October 4, effective October 15. The Chief Financial Officer, Rick Yager, also resigned. Bob VanderClute, vice president of Customer Services and Support in Washington, will go to Chicago to act as interim head of Intercity. Ron Hartman, vice president, Contract Services, will be supporting VanderClute.

Amtrak President Tom Downs said he would make an expedited recruitment effort for McMahon's replacement, hoping to have a candidate to submit to the board in December.

NARP and Amtrak officials met on October 4 to discuss a number of Intercity concerns, especially the Pittsburgh transfer problem for former Broadway Limited passengers. It looks like Amtrak will take a serious look at running through-cars across Pittsburgh, as well as at ways to improve the handling of trains and passengers at Pittsburgh.

On a related note, baggage service began on the New York-Pittsburgh Three Rivers last weekend. That will make the cross-Pittsburgh transfer less onerous for passengers who want to check their bags. Apparently, the Pennsylvanian has offered checked baggage service for some time, but the timetable has never indicated that.

A Metro-North train on the Waterbury branch struck a truck carrying a heavy crane and derailed, injuring 22. The truck was stuck on the crossing.

The Netherlands Railways have ordered six sets of the second-generation ICE high-speed train from Siemens. The trains will be faster than existing ICE's and will link Amsterdam with Frankfurt or Berlin. This is the first time Siemens has sold an ICE outside of Germany, though it is one of the bidders for the pending Amtrak order.

Hurricane Opal disrupted Amtrak service between New Orleans and Jacksonville, and between New Orleans and Birmingham, earlier this week.