Hotline #944 - August 23, 1996

A meeting of public officials was held yesterday at Fort Worth, Tex., to discuss strategies on how to save the Texas Eagle. The meeting was hosted by the mayor of Fort Worth and coordinated by the mayor of Mineola. The group passed a resolution calling on Amtrak to examine alternatives to just canceling the train outright and calling on Congress to increase Amtrak's funding while Amtrak studies long-term possibilities for the Eagle.

Mark Cane, the president of Amtrak's Intercity business unit, was present at the meeting and heard strong protests from the public officials to Amtrak's plans. Many of the affected communities in Arkansas and Texas were represented.

An Amtrak bulletin says there will be service disruptions in Michigan next week due to the special presidential train. It is advising passengers to use other trains if possible. On August 27, the trains to be impacted are all Detroit-line trains, between Dearborn and Pontiac. On August 28, the list includes train 350 between Chicago and Pontiac, train 351 between Pontiac and Chicago, train 353 between Battle Creek and Chicago, and train 354 between Chicago and Battle Creek.

Amtrak, Conrail, and CSX are all cooperating to run the train that will carry President Clinton to the Democratic convention in Chicago. The train starts in Huntington, W.Va., on August 25, and will travel through Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.

Amtrak will make nearly all Empire Corridor travel between New York and Albany unreserved, on September 3. Those trains still requiring reservations between New York and Albany are the Lake Shore Limited, the Adirondack, and the express turboliner. All Custom Class seats still require reservations, as do all Empire Corridor seats west of Albany. Reservations had been unpopular with many business travelers.

Amtrak will stop offering Thruway bus connections between Jackson and Meridian, Miss., effective September 6. This bus connection with the Crescent began operating in October 1994.

An article in the Burlington Free Press on August 16 said Amtrak and the State of Vermont were close to agreement on extending an Empire Corridor train to Rutland, Vt. The train, to start in December, is to be called the Ethan Allen.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission is expected to consider requesting state money for Cleveland-Cincinnati service, when it meets September 12.

President Clinton this week signed into law the minimum wage bill. It contains a provision restoring the aviation ticket tax, which has not been collected since December 31. But it is only a temporary restoration, with the tax expiring again this coming December 31.

Amtrak service in Florida was discussed in the Florida edition of the Wall Street Journal on August 21. It reported that the Florida DOT had killed the high-speed rail project. However, the Florida DOT released a statement yesterday saying that all that was untrue, that the project is alive, and that negotiations continue between the DOT and the FOX consortium.

The Flexliner -- or the Danish IC3 train -- has left California. It was in Salt Lake City and Grand Junction this week. It was in Denver today, with a public display tomorrow between 1:00 pm and 5:30 pm. That will be its last public appearance in the U.S. for awhile. On August 26, the Flexliner will pass through Chicago on its way to a tour of the VIA Rail Canada system.

Madison, Wis., will get some Chicago commuter train equipment loaned to it to operate football specials on September 21. The trains will run from parking areas in Middleton and McFarland.