Hotline #914 - January 26, 1996

Amtrak's Intercity business unit has a new chief executive officer. He is Mark Cane, a former intermodal vice president for Burlington Northern. NARP had strongly urged Amtrak President Tom Downs to pick Bob VanderClute, who has greatly improved Intercity business unit operations since he became acting CEO in October. NARP also shared that view with some Amtrak board members. It is encouraging, however, that Mark Cane called NARP President Jack Martin the very afternoon the board made its decision. Also, Cane already has accepted an invitation to speak at the Region 7 meeting in Chicago on March 16. Jack Martin also will speak there.

Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar has gotten hundreds of letters in support of Illinois passenger trains in the last two weeks, according to the Chicago Tribune (January 24) -- so keep up the pressure! Also, volunteers have been leafleting the Quincy train and the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce has produced a supportive video.

The Interstate Commerce Commission has ordered an increase in Amtrak payments to Conrail. It was one of the ICC's last decisions. Amtrak must pay Conrail an additional $2.7 million a year. This is almost $4 million less than what Conrail sought, but $2 million more than Amtrak had urged the ICC to require.

An Amtrak passenger who may have active tuberculosis was removed from the southbound Silver Star on January 21 at Starks, Fla., which is between Jacksonville and Waldo. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital for tests. Because there is a slight risk of transmission, Amtrak has been cooperating with the Centers for Disease Control in contacting other passengers who may have been exposed and has disinfected some passenger cars. The man got on the Capitol Limited in Chicago on January 19 and rode the substitute bus from Pittsburgh to Washington, where he boarded the Silver Star to Florida.

The CDC wants to contact passengers as a precaution, but naturally some of the media have acted irresponsibly. The Fox affiliate in Washington concluded in one report that "it makes you wonder about taking the train." Of course, this episode could just as easily have played out in a bus, airplane, movie theater, shopping mall, or school.

Flooding affected several Amtrak services in the Northeast earlier this week. Passengers were bussed for awhile between Harrisburg and Lancaster, and Pittsburgh and Washington, where CSX reported 10 wash-outs. Some MARC commuter service also was disrupted.

Amtrak is expected to keep four weekly Crescent trips to New Orleans through August; space is already being sold.

The Shore Line East commuter service will be extended 18 miles east to New London, Conn., on February 1, twice daily.

Washington Metro Deputy General Manager Fady Bassily, in the Washington Post last week, denied that the train operator killed on January 6 had asked to control the train manually after skidding past some platforms at the start of the big snowstorm. Today, however, the Post published transcripts confirming that many trains had slid past stations. It also showed that at least one operator expressed surprise at central control's insistence on continued automatic operation. Today's Post also reported that Metro General Manager Lawrence Reutter will leave to become president of the New York City Transit Authority, and said Bassily was a possible candidate to head Metro.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe announced that it will pursue plans to add freight capacity across Washington State by reopening the old Northern Pacific Stampede Pass line. BN had closed the line in 1981, after Amtrak moved the Empire Builder from there to the current route and created that train's Portland section. The east end of the line now belongs to a short line, the Washington Central. BNSF hopes to have the line running by the end of the year.