Hotline #947 - September 13, 1996

The conference committee on the 1997 DOT appropriations bill, H.R.3675, met and finished their business late on September 11. The Amtrak total is $760 million, up from $750 million in 1996. Amtrak system capital is $223 million, much closer to the Senate than to the House figure, but still down from $235 million in 1996 and still below Amtrak's annual depreciation level of about $250 million. Capital helps cut operating costs, which is crucial when operating grants are plunging.

For the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak got $115 million, the same as 1996. Amtrak says that level likely will allow the Boston electrification project to continue through the year, but warns that if that is the pattern for the future, there will be delays.

If the whole high-speed package is not ready on schedule in fall 1999 -- three years from now -- then Amtrak will not fully enjoy the benefits of the increased revenues that service will bring. And that has implications for the Amtrak system as a whole, which may be close to having no operating grant by then.

The committee did not change items on which the House and Senate bills already agreed -- $200 million for Amtrak operations, $142 million for mandatory payments, and $80 million for maintenance facilities for the Northeast Corridor high-speed train sets. The bill now must be reapproved by both Houses and signed by the President by the end of this fiscal year, September 30.

The conference committee adopted language that lets states apply for Congestion Management and Air Quality (CMAQ, part of ISTEA) money to save the trains that Amtrak will cut on November 10. That is a long-shot probably dreamed up to make people think that it solves the problem. Although Federal Highway personnel reportedly will be receptive to applications and waive the normal CMAQ eligibility criteria, state DOT's and local planning organizations still must go through a lengthy process and highway interests will fight hard to block this use of gasoline-tax money. Furthermore, there must be a 20% non-federal match.

The conference report still could get derailed -- and transportation still could wind up in the catch-all 1997 continuing resolution -- because of two controversial features -- a highway funding allocation fight and a provision involving a high-profile child custody case.

In any event, efforts are going forward to use the continuing resolution to provide additional money for the Northeast Corridor, the Gulf Coast Limited, the Texas Eagle, and possible other services. The process began when Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D.-N.J.) identified $80 million in unobligated transportation funds. There is also talk of using an even larger chunk out of $1 billion that Congressional leaders have made available to avoid Presidential vetoes. This is an insiders game but continued pressure on behalf of threatened routes might still save them.

The Amtrak board met September 10 and 11. There was no public session and final action on service cuts is likely at the next meeting on September 24, pending the outcome of Congressional action.

The Senate Commerce Transportation Subcommittee held its hearing on Amtrak service cuts on September 10. It was chaired by Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.-Tex.), who said, "Dismantling Amtrak piecemeal won't be cost effective." She said it's not reasonable to ask Amtrak to cut costs without having an authorization bill in place with needed reforms, and that she supports a dedicated capital funding source. Other Senators echoed those sentiments. Hutchison said that it still may be possible -- and certainly desirable -- to move the Amtrak authorization bill this month, perhaps without a couple of the more contentious reforms in it, like the liability language. There were several Congressional and community witnesses, including NARP Executive Director Ross Capon.

Hurricane Fran continued to wreak havoc on Amtrak trains long after it swept through the Piedmont area September 6. The Auto Train station at Lorton, Va., was an ugly scene on September 7 when scores of passengers arrived with their cars after having been told erroneously by the 800 number that day that the train would run. The Capitol Limited has run only between Chicago and Pittsburgh, with passengers bussed around the flood-ravaged Potomac Valley. The Capitol was further disrupted September 10 when the westbound train had to detour over the Michigan line between Toledo and Gary due to a freight derailment at La Porte, Ind. MARC service began running from Brunswick on September 11. On September 10 and 11, the Silver Star was running, but detoured via Charlottesville and Charlotte to Columbia. The same days, the Silver Meteor ran, except for a nighttime bus bridge between Richmond and Florence. The Auto Train still was not running those days.

The Southern Pacific Rail Corporation officially ceased to exist on September 11, as documents representing $5.4 billion in cash and stock were exchanged in a New York City office building. Union Pacific now is the largest railroad in the U.S., bigger than the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which was formed in another merger in 1995. The Union Pacific plans to spend $1.3 billion to upgrade Southern Pacific infrastructure. The first operational change takes place later this month, when UP dispatchers take over the former Rio Grande main line between Salt Lake City and Denver, which is the route of the California Zephyr.