Hotline #125 - February 11, 2000

President Clinton on February 7 unveiled a fiscal 2001 budget that would fund intercity passenger rail programs at the $989 million level authorized for Amtrak. The request divides this amount between two programs. The President's request for Amtrak is $521 million in general funds. Separately, there is another $468 million for a new "Expanded Intercity Rail Passenger Service Fund," to be available for Amtrak and/or states. This fund would draw from part of the $3 billion in gas-tax revenues the federal government now projects that it will collect in 2001 in excess of estimates used in TEA-21. [There is more information at our release.]

Unfortunately, there is big opposition to the $468 million in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which control use of gasoline tax revenues. Many legislators think that excess gas-tax revenues -- even at the $3 billion level -- should all go to highway programs, even if passenger rail starves. Please move quickly to tell your U.S. senators and representative, and your governor, that you support this part of the Clinton budget and you want them to work for it. We include governors because 26 of them endorsed $989 million for passenger rail, and it is not clear how the actual number will exceed $521 million if the above committees have their way.

The full Senate, which is not in session next week, may consider S.1144 the week of February 22. S.1144 gives states flexibility to spend federal TEA-21 dollars for passenger rail funding.

The first Congressional hearing on fiscal 2001 funding took place February 10, in the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Frank Wolf (R.-Va.). This "public witness" day included presentations by NARP Assistant Director Scott Leonard and American Passenger Rail Coalition Executive Director Harriet Parcells, both of whom urged funding of the full $989 million amount for passenger rail. They also expressed support for continued funding for the Next Generation High-Speed Rail Program, which would allow the Federal Railroad Administration to continue its efforts to develop corridors across the U.S.

The Surface Transportation Board said February 9 that it would begin a review of the takeover of Conrail by CSX and Norfolk Southern. The STB will seek comments on the implementation of the transaction, which formally took effect June 1, 1999. The STB's approval of the deal included conditions for a five-year oversight period. The STB has the power to take actions it determines necessary to address harmful effects of the transaction. Among the area STB said it would review is the impact on Amtrak passenger operations. Click here for a statement NARP sent STB on this topic in December.

The Great American Station Foundation has a new chairman, John Robert Smith, who is the mayor of Meridian, Miss., and a member of the Amtrak board. He replaces former chairman Tom Downs, who is a former president of Amtrak.

Amtrak and the American Society of Travel Agents announced a discount program February 8. It gives passengers a 10% discount on long-distance (and some short-distance trains) using a coupon redeemable only at travel agencies. These agencies then would get a 10% commission (with no caps) from Amtrak, rather than the normal 8%. This is good in that it strengthens the partnership between Amtrak and travel agents, but NARP remains concerned about the continued labeling of long-distance trains and passengers as "leisure" trains and passengers by Amtrak in its publicity material, for this promotion and others. The long-distance market is much more than "leisure" travel.

A threatened piece of the former Pioneer route has gotten a second, 90-day reprieve from the Surface Transportation Board, until early May, according to the Idaho Statesman (February 1). The City of Boise and Ada County are still trying to put together an offer to buy a line segment from Union Pacific. This segment, if abandoned, would make it impossible for through-trains from the east to serve Boise. The local governments are interested in the segment for local transit purposes.

The proposed maglev line between Berlin and Hamburg, Germany, is officially dead. As we previously reported last week, there was a meeting in Frankfurt on February 5 between government, railway, and industry officials to determine the fate of the project. The meeting determined that there were too many financial questions that could not be answered for the project to proceed. Where to go is the next big question -- the federal government wants to take the $3.1 billion it pledged to the project and use it for various smaller maglev segments. The northern regions of Germany, however, want the money invested in transportation improvements, including possibly railway improvements between Berlin and Hamburg.