Hotline #908 - December 15, 1995

The federal government faces another budget showdown today, but, as was the case in mid-November, Amtrak will not be affected.

Federal agents raided the home of a man in Val Verde, Cal., on December 13, with a search warrant in connection with the sabotage derailment of the Sunset Limited in Arizona on October 9. The man, John Ernest Olin, age 32, is a private contractor who has worked for railroads, and who the Washington Post said had grievances with the Southern Pacific, whose tracks were tampered with prior to the derailment. No arrest was made, but the FBI took away several bags of items to be examined.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bud Shuster (R.-Pa.) may support an Amtrak half cent, according to today's Washington Post. He said he needed "an oath signed in blood" that no future effort will be made to transfer highway funds into the mass transit account.

Rep. Nancy Johnson (R.-Conn.) today introduced a half-cent bill, H.R.2789, similar to S.1395 in the Senate.

Amtrak President Tom Downs met with reporters on December 13 to express his belief that Amtrak could operate without subsidy if it received the gas-tax half cent for five years, as proposed in S.1395. Clearly, four straight years of capital investment above $600 million would be a huge boost, but it is doubtful it would eliminate the need for federal funding, as long as indirect subsidies for aviation and highways continue.

Downs also said that Amtrak will no longer operate routes just because they have been operated for a long time. He spoke of running higher-priced, luxury long-distance trains in partnership with parties such as the Disney Company. Downs said Amtrak needs to go where people want to go -- something he also said a year ago when well used services such as the Chicago-Milwaukee line were proposed to be eliminated.

The fact is, there are no remaining Amtrak services that don't "go where people want to go." The Amtrak network should instead be considered a rock-bottom foundation on which to build.

The Senate-passed ICC "sunset" bill has a provision that would let Vermont spend federal highway funds on Amtrak service. Senator Jeffords deserves credit for this, but the chances of this provision surviving a House-Senate conference are not good.

After further study, Michigan DOT has recommended to the state transportation commission that daily service continue on the existing route of the International. The DOT studied alternate routes but found none to be as cost-effective as the existing one. The commission appeared to receive the news well, and is expected to vote on the matter on January 18.

A few cars of the eastbound Sunset Limited derailed yesterday at low speed as it was leaving the station at Houston, Tex. Also yesterday, the northbound City of New Orleans hit a pick-up truck near Hammond, La., killing all five occupants but injuring no one on the train.

Be sure the read the editorial page of USA Today on December 18 for an item on Amtrak.

The U.S. DOT's Grade Crossing Safety Task Force will hold its first public meeting on December 19 in Raleigh, N.C. It will be at the Museum of History, 109 E. Jones St. There's a Town Hall meeting from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, then technical sessions from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm. Dates for meetings in Chicago and Los Angeles in January will be announced later.