Hotline #58 - October 30, 1998

The Amtrak board approved a four-year business plan last week. Its twin goals were to create what it called a more vibrant, modern, national rail system; and to achieve operational self-sufficiency. The plan calls for keeping a national system, whose operations would be supported by passenger revenue and other commercial revenues such as mail and express. These revenues include the projected $180 million in net annual revenue expected from the Northeast Corridor high-speed project by the end of 2002.

The plan is predicated on a national network of high-speed and commuter corridors, plus medium- and long-distance routes with a profitable mix of services on them and that can be sustained by other revenue sources, such as state support and mail and express. Except for corridors, specific routes are not named, but the plan discusses a market-based analysis now being conducted to evaluate which services and amenities are important to passengers. Also, a service standards program now being worked on is referenced.

The Amtrak station at St. Louis is 20 years old this week. Dubbed by some the "St. Louis Union Trailers," the facility was put together in great haste when Amtrak had to leave a badly deteriorated Union Station. It was supposed to be temporary, but efforts to move Amtrak back into a refurbished Union Station in the 1980's failed. However, a long-planned multimodal terminal near the current Amtrak station will begin construction this spring and take about two years to complete.

Oklahoma and Kansas lawmakers announced October 21 that they would introduce legislation creating a joint passenger rail task force for service linking Chicago and Texas. While there are already plans between Amtrak and Oklahoma for some sort of service next year, the task force would presumably work to improve that service and expand it, especially if the first phase of the service runs only between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority extended its commuter rail service on October 26, nine miles from Ipswich to Newburyport. The last passenger service on that segment was in 1976.

Among the items in the recently passed 1999 funding bill was $840,000 for a follow-up study of extending Metra commuter train service from Kenosha to Racine and Milwaukee. The Johnson Wax company in Racine is said to be a supporter of the project. The Wisconsin DOT has also said it plans to use other federal funds to build a new Amtrak station at Sturtevant.

Voters in four Bay Area cities in California -- San Francisco, Oakland, Emeryville, and Berkeley -- will be asked on the November 3 ballot whether plans to rebuild the eastern portion of the Bay Bridge should include leaving room for electric trains. Such service ran on the Bay Bridge for 20 years until 1958, when it was abandoned to make way for more car lanes. Despite the fact that the BART tunnel was built nearly 25 years ago, approving the measure would be a good idea. It would leave open future options for flexible, electric rail service that could tie into an electrified Caltrain and serve many endpoints not served by BART.

According to Trains magazine, the State of New York is making $500,000 available for a study of passenger service between New York City and Binghamton. Presumably, such service would dovetail with proposed service to Scranton that received TEA-21 funding.

Trains also reported that Transport Canada and VIA Rail will work on a long-term business plan on all aspects of VIA's operations -- including network structure -- perhaps to include franchising some routes to the private sector.

After October 24, VIA Rail's Ocean and Chaleur no longer stop at the Levis station, with its ferry connections to Quebec City. The Levis line is being downgraded and the trains rerouted to a somewhat shorter route. Their only Quebec City area stop now is Charny, which is also a stop for one of the Montreal corridor trains.