Hotline #159 - October 6, 2000

Senate Finance Chairman William Roth (R.-Del.) on October 3 introduced bill S.3152, which is similar to he version of the Community Renewal and New Markets Act discharged by the Finance Committee last week. S.3152 includes S.1900, the High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIA), which Roth and Committee Ranking Member Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D.-N.Y.) called the most important provisions in S.3152. The new bill also includes language sought by committee member Max Baucus (D.-Mont.) barring other intercity passenger rail funding from the Highway Trust Fund while this legislation is in effect.

Though S.1900 is now part of S.3152 in the Senate, it has attracted another co-sponsor this week -- Conrad Burns (R.-Mont.) -- bringing the total to 57. Additionally, there are six sponsors of S.3152 who aren't already sponsors of S.1900 (Roth; Grassley, R.-Ia.; Murkowski, R.-Alaska; Thompson, R.-Tenn.; Hatch, R.-Utah). In the House, H.R.3700 is still at 162, though we have heard of several new sponsors in the wings. See our web site for the full list.

Three key people must act to make HSRIA a reality -- (1) President Clinton (whose Treasury Department seems opposed to HSRIA though Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater and White House Chief of Staff John Podesta apparently support it); (2) House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R.-Ill.); (3) Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R.-Miss.). Clinton and Hastert are strong supporters of the "New Markets" concept and had worked out an agreement on the House version of the bill (which does not include HSRIA).

Conferees completed their work on H.R.4475, the fiscal 2001 transportation appropriations bill, on October 3. It contains $521 million for Amtrak, continuing the pattern of recent years of providing Amtrak with only about half of what was authorized in the last Amtrak reauthorization act in 1997. The conference version of H.R.4475 was approved by both the House and Senate today and sent to the President for signature. A continuing resolution for programs falling under appropriations bills not yet enacted was to expire today; however, Congress yesterday passed a new one that is good through October 14.

Amtrak announced it is reorganizing its mail and express management in an October 2 release. The President of a Mail and Express unit, separate from the Intercity business unit, will be Lee H. Sargrad. He has spent 15 years in the rail freight industry, most recently as sales and marketing vice president for Triple Crown Services of Fort Wayne, Ind., and also has prior Conrail experience. Sargrad will undertake a 90-day review of the mail and express effort, which we hope will include impact on passenger operations. Amtrak Vice President Ed Ellis, who had been in charge of Mail and Express, is now Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Mail and Express, reporting to Sargrad.

There is still no contract between Amtrak and the State of Michigan to operate the Chicago-Toronto International on its current route. A six-month notice for the train's discontinuation expired October 2. The state is expected to notify Amtrak of its plans by October 16 (not October 10 as we reported last week.

The Kentucky Cardinal will get back its sleeping car effective with the timetable change, October 29. Amtrak also announced in a release October 5 that it is contributing $150,000 toward renovations to Union Station in downtown Louisville. Amtrak is planning an extension there from Jeffersonville, Ind., as well as an intermediate stop at Columbus, Ind. The sleeping car had been diverted away to the California Zephyr to handle greater summer demand there.

A high-speed rail ballot initiative in Florida can go forward for November 7, the state supreme court ruled October 3. The November 7 ballot will now feature an amendment to the state constitution requiring the state to begin construction within three years of a system linking the five largest urban areas. The amendment says rail, maglev, or monorail could be used, but must be capable of 120 mph. The initiative is being promoted by Lakeland businessman C. C. Dockery, who has put $1.5 million of his own money into the signature collection process. Dockery was a member of the former state High Speed Rail Commission.

Kansas City voters on November 7 will consider a light rail ballot initiative. Question 1 would provide a 0.5-cent sales tax for 20 years for the local funding match for a cross-shaped, two-line system. The initiative is being supported by a group called Citizens for Kansas City Light Rail. At the same time, the city and another group it is guiding, the Central Business Corridor Transit Plan, are working on their own ballot initiative for spring 2001, for a more modest system that could also include options for express bus or monorail instead of light rail. The latter group's plans should be released before Election Day.

An architect involved in the recent restoration of Grand Central Terminal in New York found ceiling fixtures that disappeared in 1997 for sale on the auction web site eBay. The discovery led to a search of the vendor's home, where more missing fixtures and architectural elements were found. The vendor, who is an electrical contractor, was arraigned October 5 and is free on $2500 bail. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the terminal, estimates that the replacement value of the missing elements at $73,000. Replicas were made for the missing pieces, but the MTA will re-install as many of the recovered originals as possible.