Hotline #997 - August 29, 1997

Amtrak has now opened up reservations for the Texas Eagle through July 1998, bringing it in line with other trains for the first time in over a year.

Amtrak ridership in the third quarter, April-May-June, was up 3% from the year before, and revenues were up 7%. Metroliner ridership is poised to reach an all-time high this year, and is up 4%. Ridership on the Piedmont is up 60%, and is up 22% on the Coast Starlight. However, ridership is down 21% on the Pennsylvanian, 21% on the Sunset Limited, and 12% on the Texas Eagle.

In conjunction with a reduced rate plan for the fall, Amtrak has realigned its zone boundaries for its Explore America fare. The Western Zone stays the same, but the boundary between the Central and Eastern Zones is moved east to pass through Detroit, Toledo, Fostoria, Cincinnati, and Atlanta. There is also a new Florida Zone, with boundaries at Savannah and Pensacola. There are some winners and losers in this. Trips previously in one zone but now in two include New York-Chicago and New York-Miami. Trips previously in two zones but now only in one include Detroit-Dallas and Mobile-Minneapolis. Travel from the Florida Zone to the Central Zone will count as two zones, and Florida to the Western Zone will count as three zones -- just as when Florida was still in the Eastern Zone.

The Federal Railroad Administration is launching an investigation of safety practices on the Union Pacific, in the wake of several fatal freight train accidents in the last two months. Administrator Jolene Molitoris said, "[Our] investigation of recent collisions on the Union Pacific Railroad has led us to believe there are critical safety deficiencies present at some locations, and immediate action across the entire UP system is necessary." Molitoris and UP President Jerry Davis met for three hours on August 27 to talk about safety. Federal and state safety teams now are doing round-the-clock inspections for at least a week at key UP locations including Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Kansas City, and the headquarters in Omaha. The UP is the largest railroad in the country, and Amtrak trains use much of the UP system.

As the first anniversary of UP's takeover of Southern Pacific approaches, customers, employees, and regulators are examining whether the deal actually has been in the public interest. UP has had capacity problems particularly in Texas, causing many delays and problems for its customers.

The United Transportation Union has written to five government agencies asking they investigate Amtrak management practices. The union is in contract negotiations with Amtrak now, and said it's not right for Amtrak to ask them for concessions, when it says Amtrak "wastes" money in other areas. In particular, the union is concerned about consultants Amtrak has hired and about management raises. The agencies are the Office of Management and Budget, the General Accounting Office, the DOT Inspector General, the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Railroads Subcommittee.

The August 31 SEPTA schedule change shows commuter service extended from Wilmington to Newark, Del.

The incredible success of local rail transit systems that have opened in the last year was the topic of an August 26 Dallas Morning News article. It said that both light rail and commuter rail have exceeded ridership projections. That has led DART transit agency board members and official from local communities to ask for more service expansion, sooner than planned.

The city board in Little Rock, Ark., had a favorable report from consultants on August 26 about a light rail line to connect downtown with an arena in North Little Rock.