Hotline #17 - January 16, 1998

Six Northeastern Senators wrote to President Clinton yesterday in strong opposition to the current draft of his Budget Request. The letter says, in part, that such a budget request "would backtrack on the Administration's commitment to submit a request that is consistent with the five-year operating plan agreed to by Amtrak, the Department of Transportation, the Amtrak/Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes labor agreement and Congress ... We believe that it is vital for the Administration to reject the strategy of diverting $2.3 billion in capital funding for operating needs ... Despite your recent pledge of support for Amtrak, the proposed budget request creates yet another crisis for Amtrak ... We urge you to revise your Budget Request and fully fund Amtrak for" 1999.

The six Senators were Lautenberg (D.-N.J.), Moynihan (D.-N.Y.), Biden (D.-Del.), Kerry (D.-Mass.), Roth (R.-Del.), and Chafee (R.-R.I.). NARP wrote a similar letter last week.

Service on the northbound Carolinian will be interrupted through February 12 between Charlotte and Raleigh. On Mondays through Thursdays, passengers will be bussed to Raleigh, because of track work between there and Greensboro. Other trains -- the Piedmont and southbound Carolinian -- will be subject to delay.

Amtrak is offering five free first-class round-trip tickets (for two) for new express shippers through March 31. Shippers must be using Amtrak's express service for the first time, and must be shipping carload or trailer-load shipments. Amtrak Intercity mail and express vice president Ed Ellis said that riding on the same train as a shipment will help new shippers see the advantages of Amtrak.

The proposed state budget released by California Governor Wilson (R.) on January 9 included requests for $4.3 million for a fifth San Joaquin running from Sacramento to Bakersfield, $5 million for fifth and sixth Capitol round-trips, and $3 million for cost increases on existing services. The fiscal year starts July 1, though the increase in Capitol service could be delayed to October when a $70-million track improvement project is done.

Amtrak West plans on January 26 to extend Capitol trains 723, 726, and 736 east to Rocklin, Auburn, and Colfax, in the Sierra Nevada foothills. These are the trains that currently terminate in Roseville. However, the date may slip since recent wet weather has delayed pouring concrete for platforms at Rocklin and Auburn, and installing lighting at all three stations. Colfax is a stop for the California Zephyr, but during daylight hours.

The Great American Station Foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation are looking for candidates for a list they are compiling for the "Top Ten Most Endangered Stations" in the U.S. They want to raise public awareness for the need to save old train stations. If you have a station you want to request, call the Foundation at 202/906-3518 and they will send you a form to fill out.

A new San Francisco Muni car line was opened January 10. It is called the E/Embarcadero line, and runs as a shuttle from the Caltrain station to the Embarcadero, where transfers can be made to other Muni lines, BART, or ferries. This is the first local rail transit connection to commuter trains in San Francisco in many years. Eventually, E line service will run through into the Muni Metro under Market Street.

ISTEA renewal in the Senate may not come as early as Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R.-Miss.) promised. There is now some sentiment to delay a vote until basic budget issues have been resolved.

The American Trucking Associations has released a study that -- to no one's surprise -- says that if taxes on trucks were increased, the reduced cost to society from pollution and congestion would be less than the increased cost of higher trucking rates and lost productivity for trucking customers. The ATA no doubt will use this study to fight any effort to increase truck taxes this year as part of ISTEA renewal.