Hotline #189 - May 4, 2001

More co-sponsors for S.250, the High Speed Rail Investment Act, are needed -- particularly Carnahan (D.-Mo.), Lugar (R.-Ind.), Murkowski (R.-Alaska). In light of a commitment by Harkin (D.-Ia.) to con-sponsor, there would remain only three Senate Democrats not already on the bill -- Bingaman (N.Mex.), Baucus (Mont.), Carnahan. Please continue to tell our two senators and your representative of the importance of the High Speed Rail Investment Act and the Bush 2002 appropriation request for Amtrak. See our web site for a complete list of bill sponsors and ways to reach legislators.

Additional service was added on the Capitol Corridor April 29. The San Jose-Oakland segment had four daily Amtrak trains; two more weekend trains have been added. The Oakland-Sacramento segment went from seven to nine daily trains.

Also April 29, Springfield-New Haven service was cut. Previously, Amtrak had seven southbound and eight northbound trips a day, about evenly split between through-trains to/from Washington and shuttles to/from New Haven. Now, there are five a day in each direction, plus a weekday-only train; a greater proportion are through-trains.

Union Pacific has renewed threats to abandon 76 miles of track west of Phoenix, the route of Amtrak's Sunset Limited until 1996. Amtrak vacated the line when former owner Southern Pacific downgraded it. Abandonment would be a big setback to chances of returning meaningful intercity passenger rail service to Arizona's largest city and capital. A May 2 Arizona Republic article outlined a stalemate by which Arizona DOT expects Amtrak to contribute toward the $25 million or so needed to reactivate the line; and Amtrak says it doesn't have the money. The Southwest Rail Corridor Coalition, a joint effort of the Arizona Rail Passenger Association, NARP, and others, is working to convince the state of the urgency of protecting this line. The coalition says state preservation today is a bargain compared to trying to rebuild it years from now when Arizona finally realizes it needs to be connected to California's expanding rail network.

Amtrak has formally announced a "Bikes-on-Board" partnership with the East Coast Greenway Alliance, a non-profit organization working to establish a network of trails from Maine to Florida. A near-term focus for the partnership is coordination of services and marketing related to carriage of unboxed bikes on trains in the Northeast; with a long-term goal of much greater expansion. Three Northeastern trains (Vermonter, Ethan Allen, Adirondack) already had this service; a fourth (Twilight Shoreliner) was added April 29. Click here for a complete list of Amtrak trains with this service. An event to publicize all four Northeastern services will be held at New York Penn Station on May 5, upon arrival of the northbound Vermonter. An advisory committee has been formed that includes the two host organizations, plus the League of American Bicyclists; Adventure Cycling Association, U.S. Department of Transportation, Pennsylvania Center for Travel, Tourism, and Film; and NARP.

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta appeared before the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee on April 25, and before the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee on April 26. The chairman of the Senate subcommittee, Richard Shelby (R.-Ala.), generally praised the Bush transportation budget as "honest," but made clear that "Congress is not interested" in yet another proposal of new taxes ($77 million) for rail safety inspections. Shelby called Amtrak "a guaranteed loser, not a viable business." He attacked the idea, advanced by "rail panacea advocates" (his words), that Amtrak is relevant to air congestion. He said airlines in 20 days carry about twice Amtrak's annual ridership. This ignores the fact that rail could make a big difference on the margin (especially on air-competitive rail routes), absorbing a big percentage of new travelers that might otherwise fly.

The rising waters of Devils Lake are threatening Amtrak Empire Builder and Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight service to Grand Forks, Devils Lake, and Rugby, N.Dak. BNSF told a task force on April 30 that it would like its rails to be four feet above water level -- yet it is less than that west of the city of Devils Lake. One option is to raise the track bed, which BNSF says it can't afford to do. Another -- controversial with Canada -- is to create an outlet for the lake, which has been rising for several years. BNSF said that absent a solution, the line could close in six months.

The Empire Builder remains out of service between St. Paul and Chicago, due to high water and slow orders along the Mississippi River. Service could resume mid-month; buses are being used until then.

An operating agreement between Florida East Coast Railway and Amtrak was announced May 3. However, before the first passenger service to East Coast communities since 1968 can begin, funding commitments and some infrastructure work need to be done. Amtrak said one section of a Silver train could operate over the line between Jacksonville and West Palm Beach about a year from now, and a second one three or four years from now. The trains would be sections of existing New York-Florida trains, which would split at Jacksonville.

NBC Nightly News, as part of its "Fleecing of America" series, on May 2 ran an almost totally negative hatchet-job on Amtrak. The only passenger interviewed was the sole rider on the Chicago-Janesville train a few months ago. Senate Commerce Chairman John McCain (R.-Ariz.) was shown, calling Amtrak "an endless siphoning of taxpayer dollars to subsidize a relatively few number of Americans." The full text -- and a chance to rate the segment -- is at the NBC web site. We recommend sending brief, positive messages.

Some NARP members read about Amtrak's 25% discount on individual rail fares through June 15, and then were told -- incorrectly -- by Amtrak agents that the discount either doesn't exist or that the customer must provide a discount code number. Should you face the same problem, the discount's official name is "Individual Traveler Spring Discount Offer," and the code number is H134. You must reserve 14 days before traveling and purchase within three days of reserving.