Hotline #916 - February 9, 1996

The Senate recessed for the rest of the month yesterday. The Amtrak authorization bill, S.1318, has not yet reached the floor, mainly because Senator Breaux (D.-La.) has a "hold" on the bill due to his concerns about liability issues. Also, because the bill now includes the Roth-Biden ISTEA flexibility language, Senator Warner (R.-Va.) is causing problems because he opposes flexibility.

Two New Jersey Transit commuter trains sideswiped each other this morning near Secaucus at the junction of the Main and Bergen lines. Both engineers and one passenger died. Of the 700 people on the two trains, 73 went to hospitals, of which 16 have severe injuries. The Hoboken-bound train appeared to have run a red signal. The accident took place near -- but not on -- Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.

President Clinton has appointed Amy Rosen to the Amtrak Board, replacing Bob Kiley in one of the commuter rail slots. She is on the New Jersey Transit board and is a senior vice president for corporate-wide marketing at Lockheed Martin, the nation's largest defense contractor.

The board met at Beech Grove, Ind., this week and heard a progress report on converting old F-40 locomotives into cab cars, with mail and express space where the engines were. This produces a cab car more cheaply than converting existing coaches. The first unit should be ready this week. No action was taken on the high-speed train-set order, but a special meeting might be held late this month or early next month to deal with that.

The Illinois and Wisconsin governors released conflicting news releases this week. Yesterday, Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson said all six Milwaukee trains will continue because Amtrak cut costs by using two train sets, instead of three. He said that this was a great example of the willingness of Amtrak to work closely with its state customers to improve Amtrak service.

On February 6, Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar announced his support for a $2.5-million supplemental state appropriation to keep all Illinois Amtrak trains going through July 1, and $6.5 million to fund trains for the fiscal year immediately following that. But Edgar was overly pessimistic on what that $6.5 million can buy. He said that Milwaukee service would drop from six trains to five, the Chicago-Springfield Loop would be eliminated, other trains would run six days a week instead of seven, and fares would rise 10% every year.

February 14 is Transportation Day in Missouri, and 120 citizen activists will ride Amtrak from St. Louis to Jefferson City to express support for Amtrak and MetroLink.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission yesterday voted to make commuter service from Cleveland to Akron and Canton its top priority, instead of long-awaited intercity service. The Commission had come under pressure from Akron and Canton politicians since it announced its rail program last month.

Flooding in the Northwest has disrupted Amtrak service this week on the Seattle-Portland route and the Pioneer route.

There will be a groundbreaking ceremony on February 14 for a new passenger station at Palm Springs, Cal., which is on the Sunset Limited route. Also, a Talgo train set may be on display there -- a second set that arrived in Baltimore in late January and is traveling west on the routes of the Capitol Limited and Southwest Chief beginning tonight.

Folk singer Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul, and Mary, entertained fellow passengers last month on his snow-delayed Northeast Corridor train. To thank the Amtrak crews who worked so hard, he will perform in Amtrak stations, and NARP members are invited. Concerts are February 12 at 10:00 at Penn Station in New York; at 11:00 am for passengers on Metroliner #111; at 12:20 pm at Philadelphia 30th Street Station; at 1:10 pm on board Metroliner #113; and at 3:15 pm at Washington Union Station. The station concerts are free.