Hotline #47 - August 14, 1998

A sudden strike by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes against Conrail that began at 6:00 am Eastern Time today has disrupted Amtrak and commuter train services in many parts of the country. A restraining order against the union was issued by a court at 3:25 pm. The MBTA, Metro North, and VRE all use some Conrail facilities.

Some Amtrak trains were canceled or terminated today, with delays possible for some others, though Amtrak hoped to be back to normal by 7:00 pm. Amtrak trains that use Conrail include the Lake Shore Limited, Capitol Limited (west of Pittsburgh), Three Rivers (east of Youngstown), Pennsylvanian, the Empire and Detroit corridors, all trains entering Chicago from the direction of Gary, and all trains using the Potomac River bridge at Washington, D.C.

A simmering dispute between Amtrak and the freight industry appears to have been resolved amicably. This week, the Association of American Railroads said it would withdraw a lawsuit against the Surface Transportation Board in the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals. The suit aimed to reverse the Board's May 28 decision confirming Amtrak's legal right to carry express business on its trains. The AAR, which has nine members including Amtrak, filed the suit July 21 -- even though Union Pacific, the lead freight railroad in the dispute, had already said it was engaged in talks with Amtrak.

According to the Journal of Commerce (August 12), legal executives filed the AAR suit when the new president of the AAR, Edward Hamberger, had been on the job only a few days. The paper quoted Hamberger, saying, "If two of my members are working something out privately in a negotiated fashion, the [AAR] has no business to come between them. It seems more logical to have Amtrak and UP work it out."

The derailment of the Southwest Chief at a flood-weakened bridge near Kingman, Ariz., occurred one year ago this past August 9. Just before expiration of the one-year statute of limitations, Amtrak filed claims for $13 million against the City of Kingman, Mojave County, and the State of Arizona. Hydrologists hired by Amtrak and BNSF have concluded independently that the bridge-damaging build-up of water resulted form a downstream culvert that was too small and some ponds upstream that are mostly on public land. Any money Amtrak might recover would go towards equipment damage and claims by passengers and employees. The filing has lead to unflattering publicity with local officials noting that they did not bill Amtrak for the cost of emergency services and school shelters. BNSF has filed similar claims.

Tomorrow is the first date that the Canadian Auto Workers may strike against the Canadian National Railway. However, the union, which represents shop-craft and clerical workers, has said it would not take any job action until October. It is not know how this could affect Amtrak operations over CN and its affiliate in Michigan, Grand Trunk Western.

Empire Corridor schedules will change August 24 to accommodate track work on Metro North. Another change will follow September 21 as the location of the track work changes.

Effective September 1, the interline connection between Lamy and Santa Fe, N.Mex., will become a full-fledged Amtrak Thruway service. However the Greyhound interline connection between Albuquerque and Amarillo will be dropped. Travelers now must arrange that connection on their own.

The Australian government recommended on August 4 awarding a $2.1-billion contract to a consortium of Alstom, Leighton Holdings, and Qantas Airlines to build and run a high-speed rail service between Sydney and Canberra. The consortium's bid must still get final approval from federal and state governments. However, Prime Minister John Howard said his government would look at extending the line to Melbourne.