Hotline #144 - June 23, 2000

H.R.3700, the High Speed Rail Investment Act, is up to 115 sponsors, with the newest five -- including Weller (R.-Ill.) and Metcalf (R.-Wash.) -- not yet posted on the Thomas web site. A heavy schedule forced postponement -- probably to July -- of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight hearing that was to have occurred June 21. S. 1900 is still at 47 sponsors. Some key Senators whose states have major stake here but who are not sponsors include Fitzgerald (R.-Ill.), Santorum (R.-Pa.), and Abraham (R.-Mich.).

At the Atlantic Coast High Speed Rail Conference in Richmond, Va., June 22, David Carol of Amtrak said, "I doubt high-speed rail can succeed without a presence at airports." He noted the importance of fixing slow-speed segments.  To run one mile, you save two minutes by increasing the speed from 10 mph to 30 mph, but just 16 seconds by increasing from 90 mph to 150 mph. He said Washington-Wilmington ridership (110 miles) is 160,000 a year with a running time of 1:23 hours, while Washington Richmond (109 miles) is 65,000 with a running time of 2:10 hours (and less frequent service). Carol suggested the benefits of electrifying the Washington-Richmond line were not significant.

Earlier, Virginia Railway Express officials said daily ridership rose by 1,000 in 1999 and again this year. Average ridership is nearing 9,000, and on individual days has exceeded that.

Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater on June 21 at Chicago Union Station announced the award of a $34-million contract to a team led by Lockheed Martin Corporation for the development and deployment of a Positive Train Control (PTC) system on a 120-mile segment of the Chicago-St. Louis high-speed rail corridor. Slater also announced a $6.5-million grant to the Illinois Department of Transportation as part of the federal government's contribution toward the program.

A release from the Federal Railroad Administration said, "The contract award is being made through the North American Joint Positive Train Control Program (NAJPTC), a partnership between the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Illinois Department of Transportation and the Association of American Railroads (AAR). The primary objective of NAJPTC is to demonstrate a cost-effective PTC system, which is one of the technologies that will further improve railroad safety and enable the development of high-speed rail in the Midwest and elsewhere in the United States. Approximately half the funding for the project comes from the federal government."

The U.S. General Accounting Office on June 19 released its latest report on Amtrak finances at the request of House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bud Shuster (R.-Pa.), "Amtrak Will Continue to Have Difficulty Controlling Its Costs and Meeting Capital Needs." GAO says despite Amtrak's having "developed and implemented a series of strategic business plans designed to increase revenues and control costs ... Amtrak's losses have remained high. In 1999, its net loss -- revenues minus expenses -- was about $900 million." The GAO finds increased operating costs mainly in labor, interest on commercial debt, and payments to freight railroads.

GAO says Amtrak will need $9.1 billion in capital support through 2015, which should not be surprising. That's an average $607 million a year -- 16% more than Amtrak is set to get in 2001 (and 6% more than what it got in 2000). Significant capital investment is a "given" if we want to have a national passenger railroad system that is viable and growing.

Amtrak halted tests of Acela Express train sets the weekend of June 17, according to a Washington Post report on June 20, delaying commercial service at least until mid-August. In a June 21 notice to employees, Stan Bagley of Amtrak said, "We found that the vertical bolt that clamps the gear box to the seat in the frame of the truck [wheel assembly] was broken or missing at one point of attachment. In a few other locations on the [new, high horsepower] locomotives and [train set] power cars, the bolts were found to be loose. We think the solution will be to lengthen the bolt to extend it down through the frame, where it can be secured with a washer. But we will take the next couple of days to consider the options."

Several Amtrak fare increases took effect June 20. Lowest-level fares on most Intercity services rose 2%; Coast Starlight sleeper fares rose 4%; Business class on Metroliner, NortheastDirect, and Acela Regional rose $2.00; Auto Train fares rose 2% (except for the highest fare level). Explore America fares were increased to the following -- Florida Zone is $129 peak/$109 off-peak; One Zone $299/$279; Two Zones $399/$359; and Three Zones $499/$429.

The New York-Montreal Adirondack will be the first train in the Northeast to benefit from the joint Amtrak-National Park Service Trains and Rails program of interpretive guides, starting July 1. Guides will ride between Saratoga and Westport, N.Y., focusing on the area's role in the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War. Consideration is being given to the Hudson River route of the train south of Albany, as well.

About 90 were injured when a New York subway train derailed in Brooklyn June 20. The first three cars of a southbound B train derailed late in the evening as it was leaving the DeKalb Avenue station. Three of the injuries were serious, but none life-threatening.

Los Angeles Metro's Red Line extension into the San Fernando Valley opens June 24. The line extends from the current terminus at Hollywood & Vine to new stations at Hollywood & Highland, Universal City, and North Hollywood (the last two in the Valley).