Hotline #946 - September 6, 1996

Appropriations conferees did not meet this week to discuss H.R.3675, the 1997 DOT funding bill. They may meet next week. Early information we are getting from Capitol Hill paints a grim picture for Amtrak. Staff seem to be leaning toward doing no better for Amtrak than splitting the difference between the Senate and House figures for Amtrak capital and the Northeast Corridor. But any amount that is below the Senate numbers will be disastrous for Amtrak. All NARP members need to call their Senators again to ask them to tell conferees that the Senate Amtrak numbers must be preserved by all means.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.-Tex.) is still planning to hold a hearing in Washington on September 10 on the Amtrak service cuts. NARP has asked to testify.

The Amtrak board will meet September 10-11.

Hurricane Fran made landfall last night on the Atlantic coast at Wilmington, N.C., and headed north toward Raleigh and the Virginia Piedmont. Amtrak and CSX began canceling passenger trains yesterday, with no alternate transportation offered. Only the following ran yesterday -- all Richmond and Newport News trains, the Carolinian and Piedmont, and the Silver Meteor between Miami and Jacksonville only.

Today, nothing is running south of Richmond and southwest of Washington. The northbound Crescent this morning was annulled at Greensboro due to a washout, and probably will be sent south as tonight's train. Today's eastbound Cardinal will be terminated at Huntington, W.Va., and turned as the westbound train. Crescent and Cardinal passengers will be bussed around affected areas. Anyone planning to use Amtrak services that pass through Virginia and the Carolinas over the next couple days should call Amtrak first.

Amtrak has announced it will move one New Haven-Boston train over to the Inland Route. Amtrak claims this is unrelated to its plans to discontinue the Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited on November 10. This reroute will preserve Amtrak service to Framingham and Worcester, but does nothing for passengers seeking direct service between New England and points in the Midwest and beyond.

We are also hearing that Amtrak is considering a plan it wisely rejected a year ago -- that of replacing the Cardinal with a weekend train between Washington and Huntington. That would end all service to Cincinnati and Indianapolis and serve almost no basic transportation function.

Amtrak is cutting fares between certain Northeast Corridor stations on Saturdays during September. The one-way fares, which are reduced between 33% and 50%, are valid locally in three segments -- Boston-Providence, Hartford-New York, and New York-Wilmington.

The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission has announced it will buy eight commuter coaches from Bombardier. The total cost will be $16.6 million for four bi-level cab cars and four coaches. This should allow delivery by December 1997, at which time the Commission plans to start its Altamont Express commuter service from Stockton to Livermore and San Jose.

The Clinton Administration proposes -- for the first time ever -- to have the federal government assume much of the cost and responsibility for airline security, according to the Washington Post (today). The government would buy and install multi-million-dollar bomb detection systems for major airports. The Post quoted Congressional sources saying that the total cost of such systems would be between $1.5 billion and $3 billion. The Administration believes this is proper as a way to counteract terrorism. However, by relieving airlines from this responsibility, the Clinton proposal might also be considered a subsidy to users of airports, particularly if the money does not come from the Aviation Trust Fund.