Hotline #2 - October 3, 1997

It is important to find House and Senate Democrats to co-sponsor and vote for the Amtrak reauthorization bills, H.R.2247 and S.738. Also, President Clinton needs to hear more requests that he get involved in the Amtrak issue, and that he exercise leadership in finding an Amtrak labor solution he and Republicans can live with.

We don't know what strike activity might occur on or after October 22, though we do not expect a lock-out on Amtrak's part. Any Congressional action to prevent a strike could come at the last minute. Amtrak is not planning to cancel any overnight trains in advance; and traditionally trains run through to their destinations if a strike occurs. Given past experience, passengers without train connections could have their Amtrak tickets honored by some airlines and Greyhound. At the request of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes, the AFL-CIO last week resolved to give financial support to rail unions who strike against Amtrak.

Congress has passed a continuing resolution extending federal funding at current levels for many federal programs for the first 23 days of the new fiscal year. The continuing resolution includes Amtrak and all other transportation programs covered by bill H.R.2169.

The full House of Representatives on a voice vote on October 1 approved H.R.2516, the bill to extend current ISTEA for another six months. A planned Senate vote on the multi-year renewal bill S.1173 on October 7 may be put off until the week of October 26.

The Surface Transportation Board said on September 30 that it would take up a September 15 request by Amtrak to determine whether Amtrak's carriage of express traffic is necessary to carry out the purposes of the Amtrak Act. Amtrak maintains that the Act allows a broad definition of "express;" Union Pacific will argue that it does not. Resolution of the matter could be a big factor in determining the future of long-distance trains. Amtrak would like to increase its mail and express revenues from $67 million to perhaps $400 million -- a big boost, considering that the operating grant Congress and the Administration want to eliminate by 2002 now stands around $200 million.

The Board also issued an interim decision that met Amtrak's request that it be allowed to carry up to nine carloads of express per train on UP lines. Amtrak and UP mutually agreed to extend their operating contract, which expired September 30, to October 31. It is likely that the parties will finalize a new agreement before then.

In the wake of several fatal accidents and severe service problems, Union Pacific announced a new executive vice president for operations last week.

The first batch of ten car shells for the new Pacific Northwest Talgo trains arrived by ship from Spain yesterday at Long Beach, Cal. The shells will be taken to Seattle, where final assembly will take place. The shells arriving yesterday were all for coaches. Other shells will arrive gradually through next spring. A total of five complete Talgo train sets will be built in Seattle -- three for corridor service in the Northwest starting in late 1998, and the other two for demonstration services elsewhere.

The Talgos have tilting capability and are designed to run up to 125 mph, but will be held to 79 in the Northwest for the foreseeable future. The two Talgo sets now on loan to the Northwest have never used that tilting capability while operating in the U.S., but that will change if regulatory approval comes through this fall.

BBC Radio reported that yesterday a prototype maglev in Japan set a speed record for a maglev with occupants aboard, 280 mph on a test track. The railroad record still stands at 320 mph, set by a TGV in France in 1990.