Hotline #165 - November 17, 2000

Amtrak formally launched its Acela Express service yesterday. The event got positive coverage nationwide, especially on television. After a gala send-off at Washington Union Station, the train (filled with dignitaries) ran non-stop to New York in 2:26 hours; then non-stop to Boston in 3:14 hours. There were more celebrations at New York and Boston. The passenger list included the entire Amtrak Board of Directors, several Amtrak Reform Council members, Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D.-N.J.), Rep. Robert Borski (D.-Pa.), and Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater. In New York, noted sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer pronounced the train "very sexy."

This is the most visible step of a ten-year program to electrify the New Haven-Boston segment and improve the entire corridor. This larger program benefits all passenger trains using the corridor, not just Acela Express. Still, much more work remains to realize Acela Express' full potential -- mainly updating electric catenary in portions of the Corridor's South End to allow the top speed there to be raised from 135 to 150 mph (as will already be the case on parts of the North End), and addressing speed and capacity issues on the Metro North-controlled portion of the North End between New Rochelle and New Haven (where the highest possible speed is 75 mph for a nearly 50-mile stretch). Also, the Boston Rail Link is needed to replace today's "dead end" at South Station with access to many markets in Northern New England.

From November 18 to December 8, there will be other events involving the Acela Express train. These include "surprise" substitutions for Metroliners and Thanskgiving-weekend trains, station displays, and travel industry previews. Amtrak has not announced an exact schedule for those events. Revenue service begins December 11 with one daily round-trip, departing Washington at 5:00 am and Boston at 5:12 pm. After that, the next planned service addition (expected in February) will be a non-stop, South-End round-trip departing Washington at 6:50 am and New York at 3:55 pm, and a North-End round-trip departing Boston at 6:15 am and New York at 6:02 pm.

The Amtrak Reform Council met in New York yesterday. They discussed the staff working paper that advocates separating Amtrak from the infrastructure that it owns. Staff was authorized to develop the paper further, but also was told to include comments from other parties, including Amtrak. Click here for the comments NARP filed on October 6. NARP's Ross Capon reiterated parts of that document during yesterday's public comments session. He noted that Amtrak, even in its present structure, has some innovative contracts and agreements with individual states and with the Midwest states.

Chances of enacting the High Speed Rail Investment Act (HSRIA) this year hang on the lame duck session scheduled to start December 5. Although Senate Finance Chairman Bill Roth of Delaware was defeated, he remains determined to do what he can -- and Congressional leaders, if they hear enough support for the bill, just might pass it as a farewell tribute to Roth. Ask your legislators to tell their leaders this bill (part of the House-passed tax bill) is important to you and the nation. Tell the White House the same thing. See our web site for details on how to contact political leaders -- and consider using regular mail if you can get it out more than a week before Congress reconvenes. Tell everyone how unfortunate it would be if Amtrak met (or nearly met) its statutory self-sufficiency target -- and then fell apart for lack of further capital investment.

Thanksgiving is the busiest travel period of the year, and Amtrak is no exception. Trains will be added in the Northeast, Pacific Northwest, and Pacific Surfliner corridors. If you are traveling, you can make your trip easier by avoiding Wednesday evening (if possible), arriving at the station early, and booking a reserved seat (if possible) to ensure having a seat.

New Jersey Transit's Hudson-Bergen light rail line tomorrow will be extended north from Exchange Place in Jersey City to Newport. A further extension north into Hoboken is expected for spring 2002.

The Penn Station/Farley project in Manhattan will benefit from a $140-million loan agreement signed by Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater on November 14. The agreement, made with the Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment Corporation, falls under the terms of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA), which was part of the 1998 TEA-21 law. TIFIA allows for federal credit assistance to major transportation projects, while leveraging private co-investment.

Denver Union Station may be the object of a condemnation proceeding, after a vote November 14 by the Regional Transit District. The RTD wants to use the historic building as an intermodal terminal, but despite the vote, wants to continue negotiating with the owners.

The MBTA seems determined to use "dual-mode" buses for the South Boston Piers Transitway and some type of 60-foot articulated CNG bus as a replacement for the former Washington Street (Orange Line) elevated rail line to Dudley Station in Roxbury. The diesel/electric buses will now be electric only in the underground Transitway segments, between South Station and the South Boston Waterfront, as opposed to MBTA's original proposal to use articulated electric trolley buses for the entire service (both above and below ground). The MBTA now refuses to even discuss the community's desire for light rail for all-electric buses.

As a result, talks between the community, some environmentalists, and MBTA broke down, and Massachusetts Environmental Affairs Secretary Robert Durand must decide November 24 whether the MBTA's proposed $38-million bus purchase meets clean-air standards. On November 9, the South Boston Environmental Health Watch, a grassroots organization, wrote to Durand calling the Transitway buses a threat to the air quality of those living on the route. The November 10 Boston Globe reported that the breakdown of talks "has opened up a chasm between community groups and the Conservation Law Foundation," over who is really speaking for the neighborhoods involved.