Hotline #972 - March 7, 1997

A "dear-colleague" letter is circulating in the Senate this week, asking Senators to join a bipartisan intercity passenger rail caucus. The sponsoring Senators are Baucus (D.-Mont.), Roth (R.-Del.), Kerry (D.-Mass.), DeWine (R.-Ohio), Biden (D.-Del.), and Jeffords (R.-Vt.).

The Administration still has not delivered its draft ISTEA bill to Congress, even though DOT Secretary Rodney Slater appeared at two hearings last week that were called to discuss the phantom bill. He did say the Administration would keep highway and transit spending levels flat, over a six-year period. It is also known that the draft contains flexibility for states to spend some of their federal money on intercity passenger rail, if they choose.

Secretary Slater appeared before the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee yesterday. While Chairman Richard Shelby (R.-Ala.) did not mention Amtrak once, Ranking Member Frank Lautenberg (D.-N.J.) did so emphatically. Slater responded that Amtrak has to be part of our 21st-century transportation system. He said the Administration is struggling with how to fund Amtrak and that he does not want to see more service lost.

That means that even though the President's budget came out a month ago, the Administration's final position on Amtrak remains unclear. It might change for the better due to public reaction to the bad treatment Amtrak got in the President's budget.

President Clinton signed into law the extension of the aviation ticket tax through September 30 last weekend. It takes effect today.

Features of an Amtrak plan for long-term service on the Pioneer route got some coverage in the March 1 Denver Post. Amtrak apparently is considering a coach-only train with lots of mail and express to run from Chicago to Ames, Ia., Cheyenne, Boise, and Portland. The whole route would be on the Union Pacific, which would have to approve the operation. It is unlikely that this service would begin as early as May 11.

Norfolk Southern and CSX appear to be heading toward an agreement to divide up Conrail between themselves. Likely features of the ultimate plan were published in various papers this week. For Amtrak routes, these include giving CSX the Lake Shore Limited route from Cleveland to New York and Boston. Norfolk Southern would get the Capitol Limited route between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and Capitol and Lake Shore route between Chicago and Cleveland, the Three Rivers route between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, and the Detroit-Kalamazoo line. The route of the proposed Cleveland-Cincinnati service within Ohio would be split, with CSX getting the portion north of Columbus and Norfolk Southern getting the portion to the south. Norfolk Southern would get freight rights on the Amtrak line from Newark to Washington; and CSX would get the freight rights between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

About 220 Members of the House of Representatives and their families took a special Amtrak train today from Washington to Harrisburg. They were going to a bipartisan retreat at Hershey, Pa., aimed at bringing more civility to Congress.

Service on Amtrak's Cardinal was disrupted this week as flooding affected parts of its route from Cincinnati, O., to Ashland, Ky.

Transport Canada has ordered train speeds through White Rock, B.C., to be lowered from 30 to 21 mph, for about a mile. Amtrak's Mount Baker International uses this route. The action resulted from an Amtrak train hitting and killing a 12-year-old boy who was crossing the tracks near the beach.