Hotline #163 - November 3, 2000

The main message on the High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIA), to the White House and to legislators, should be -- "Work out your disagreements on the tax bill; pass it and sign it this year. HSRIA, which is part of the tax bill (and thus has passed the House), is too important to put off another year." Hope for passing the tax bill before the election ended last weekend after disagreements cropped up regarding other bills. The Senate adjourned November 1, with plans to reconvene November 14. The House likely will adjourn tomorrow and return November 13. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R.-Miss.) expressed hope that the lame duck Congress will make quick work of remaining legislation, including the tax package.

NARP has posted answers to questions by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers to presidential candidates George Bush and Al Gore.

Many voters will get to decide rail-related issues November 7, including:

Florida -- (statewide) Amend the constitution to require the state to begin construction within three years of a high-speed rail (or maglev or monorail) system linking the five largest urban areas, capable of at least 120 mph.

Missouri -- (Kansas City) Question 1 to provide a 0.5-cent sales tax for 20 years for the local funding match for a cross-shaped, two-line light-rail system, supported by Citizens for Kansas City Light Rail.

New York -- (statewide) Issue $3.8 billion in transportation bonds. Intercity (non-MTA) passenger rail would only get just over 1% ($40 million plus), but this is the first state bond issue in nearly 20 years with any intercity passenger rail money. Projects include upstate stations; for more, see the Empire State Passengers Association.

Texas -- (Austin area) Capital Metro seeks voter approval for a $919-million light-rail system. For more, see Light Rail Now!

Utah -- (Davis, Salt Lake, and Weber counties) Add a quarter-cent-per-dollar sales tax for transit expansion, including Ogden-Salt Lake City commuter rail, light-rail extensions south to Draper and west to the airport, and more service on existing rail and bus lines.

Washington -- (statewide) Initiative 745 would divert 90% of the sales tax revenue now dedicated to local transit systems to highways. This terrible proposal would cripple local transit agencies and also quite likely the Pacific Northwest High Speed Rail Corridor. For more, see Washington Association of Railroad Passengers.

Two freight collisions on the BNSF ex-Santa Fe mainline in the Southwest disrupted passenger-train service on Amtrak's Southwest Chief route this week. On the evening of October 29, a freight train partially derailed and collided with another freight train stopped on a passing siding, near Thoreau, N.Mex. (between Albuquerque and Gallup). It took about 24 hours to reopen both tracks, and Amtrak trains passing through the area had delays up to six hours. Then on the evening of October 31 -- before the congestion from the Thoreau accident had dissipated -- two freight trains collided west of Flagstaff, Ariz., blocking all tracks and causing a local evacuation due to hazardous materials concerns. That caused at least two nights' worth of Amtrak passengers to be bussed between Los Angeles and New Mexico.

Maine Department of Transportation awarded a contract for $22.6 million for rebuilding 56 miles of the state-owned, ex-Maine Central Brunswick-Rockland line. The winning bidder, Atlas Railroad Construction of Pennsylvania, was the low bid (the high bid was Guilford Rail Systems at $44.6 million). A spokesman for Governor King said the award was "more good news for efforts to restore passenger rail service north of Portland." Work is expected to begin in spring 2001 and end in fall 2002.

The Citizen Advisory Council for the North Station-South Station Rail Link in Boston on October 25 had its first meeting in almost two years. Part of their job is to review progress on the long-overdue Major Investment Study; Environmental Impact Study; and (Massachusetts) Environmental Impact Review. For the first time, a high-ranking Amtrak official was present, John Bennett, Vice President, Northeast Corridor Transportation Planning and Policy. He emphasized the need to get those reports out for public comment as soon as possible. There was much discussion about the need to protect the alignment from construction projects that would hinder building the Rail Link. The alignment will be easier to protect once those reports are final. Amtrak President George Warrington has said the earliest this could happen likely is next April. This probably depends on full cooperation from the Federal Transit Administration.

In a related matter, the October 26 Boston Globe carried an important editorial, "Saving South Station," about a 47-story skyscraper planned atop the station. The editorial endorses concerns of Federal Railroad Administrator Jolene Molitoris about the impact of this high-rise and its construction would have on South Station. The Globe praises Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation and Construction Kevin Sullivan for "resisting pressure to precipitously approve the project," but says the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the state legislature (by waiving some regulatory requirements) are pressing for quick approval. The Hines development group promises "a temporary 'commuter enclosure' that would provide an 'aesthetically pleasing and comfortable' environment." Responds the Globe, "That is like saying it would be enjoyable to wait for a train in the middle of the Big Dig ... The work would produce a dreadful environment for everyone inside the station ... This is no time to threaten a building that is one of the major transportation hubs of New England."