Hotline #212 - October 12, 2001

Senators Joseph Biden (D.-Del.) and John McCain (R.-Ariz.) reached agreement on a $1.8-billion safety/security package for Amtrak, 56% of the package Amtrak developed last month in response to a request from 16 Senators. This includes all of the money for the New York, Baltimore, and Washington tunnel upgrades. A colloquy on this came yesterday during Senate consideration of the aviation security bill. Biden agreed not to press further to get Amtrak money in that bill, which the Senate subsequently passed 100-0. The Senate Commerce Committee agreed to mark up the Amtrak security bill next week, but McCain also agreed he would not object to an appropriation for the $1.8 billion even if the Senate did not pass an authorization.

Two members of the Commerce Committee -- ranking Republican John McCain (Ariz.) and Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Subcommittee ranking Republican Gordon Smith (R.-Ore.) -- introduced a bill, S.1528, on October 10, to authorize funding for two parts of the Amtrak security funding. The McCain bill would authorize two items in Amtrak's $3.2-billion package -- $998 million for fire- and life-safety work in Amtrak tunnels in New York, Baltimore, and Washington; and $515 million for nationwide security items, for a total of $1.513 billion. The bill would require the Secretary of Transportation to approve plans for specific, authorized purposes before releasing the funding to Amtrak. S.1528 has been referred to the Commerce Committee. Both items in this bill are likely to be part of the $1.8-billion agreement mentioned above.

Another Senate rail bill, S.1530, was introduced October 11 by Commerce Chairman Ernest Hollings (D.-S.C.) and nine others. RAIL-21, the "Railroad Advancement and Infrastructure Law of the 21st Century," would end the operational self-sufficiency mandate imposed on Amtrak by the last authorizing law in 1997 and authorize $1.2 billion in capital and operating funding for fiscal 2003. It authorizes Amtrak's full request of $3.2 billion for near-term security and capacity enhancements -- thus partly overlapping with the McCain bill -- and specifies that at least 25% of any new equipment acquired with that funding be made available to corridors outside the Northeast Corridor. It authorizes $35 billion in loans and loan guarantees to railroads, similar to a section of H.R.2950 in the House, and authorizes $350 million in capital grants for short-line railroads. Finally, it reauthorizes the Swift High Speed Rail Act at $50 million a year for 2002 through 2004, with half for corridor planning and rolling stock acquisition (with preference to already designated corridors) and half to research and development for technology and security. S.1530 also has been referred to the Commerce Committee.

Neither new bill provides for capital investment for new corridors, so it is still important that the High Speed Rail Investment Act (S.250/H.R.2329) be passed in some for so that America will have more passenger rail service beyond the immediate near-term. As Senator Hollings said on October 11, "When we adjourned last year, we had everybody running around -- Republican, Democrat, leader and plebeians like myself -- saying: Oh, the first thing we are going to do next year, the first thing we are going to do is take up Amtrak. It is now October."

One vehicle for that might be an economic stimulus package. Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid (D.-Nev.), Commerce Chairman Hollings, Environment and Public Works Chairman James Jeffords (I.-Vt.), and Banking Chairman Paul Sarbanes (D.-Md.) wrote President Bush on October 9 to say any such package should include the $3.2 billion for Amtrak security/capacity needs and $12 billion for high-speed rail development over ten years (similar to HSRIA), among other things. "These investments will make our economy stronger and more secure for many years to come," they wrote.

New York Gov. George Pataki (R.) this week announced the deployment of "hundreds" of National Guard troops to help security efforts at transportation facilities in New York City, including Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. The week before, he ordered deployment of 300 troops to the city's two airports, LaGuardia and Kennedy. Governors in many other states also have done this for their airports.

The U.S. Postal Service told state officials in New York this week that it would suspend its activities relating to the project to open an intercity passenger rail terminal in the Farley Post Office in Manhattan. An agreement had been reached in 1999 between the USPS, city, state, federal government, Amtrak, and private developers. But since the attacks of September 11, operations had to be shifted from the damaged Church Street Station in lower Manhattan to Farley, which is across Eighth Ave. from Penn Station (and above part of Penn's platforms). It is not clear how long a delay is involved, but the USPS said it would continue discussions with the other parties.

The next general timetable change for the Northeast Corridor and the rest of the Amtrak system will likely be December 9 -- not with the October 28 change to standard time. However, the schedule of the Texas Eagle is planned to change on October 28.  This is due to a degradation of track conditions in Missouri that require slower travel, and to reflect that the southbound train runs against the flow of freight rains in northeast Texas. For part of 2000 and 2001, that train used an awkward, alternate routing that missed two stops.

As for the changes, the southbound train will add 2:45 hours to its running time, almost all between St. Louis and Fort Worth -- including an additional 58 minutes just between Longview and Dallas. It will still leave Chicago at 3:30 pm, but arrive at San Antonio at 11:45 pm. The northbound train will add 1:10 hours to its overall running time, leaving San Antonio a half-hour later (7:30 am) and arriving Chicago at 2:20 pm -- thus breaking the connection with the Empire Builder in both directions. All of the increase is between Fort Worth and St. Louis, including an additional 45 minutes north of Little Rock.

An Empire Builder detour in North Dakota will result from track work near the Devils Lake area, October 15-20. Burlington Northern Santa Fe will raise the tracks adjacent to the lake, whose waters have been rising and menacing the rail line in recent years. Missed stops at Grand Forks, Devils Lake, and Rugby will have a replacement bus.

Some Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawathas will experience some disruption beginning November 6, due to a bridge repair project. Trains 331 and 334 will be annulled on select Tuesdays for a couple of months; consult Amtrak if you are planning to travel on these two trains on a Tuesday.

The National Park Service has released an Environmental Assessment of whether to allow the Union Pacific to proceed with a 22-mile second track in the Mojave Desert in California. That is a precondition for restoration of Amtrak service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, which has been delayed while the Park Service studied the track's impact on the local habitat of desert tortoises. A final decision will come after a 30-day public comment period and a related report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public comments to the Park Service are due November 9 and may be sent to Superintendent, Mojave National Preserve, 222 E. Main St., Suite 202, Barstow, CA 92311.

Two weeks ago, we reported that the Sunset Limited will begin serving Maricopa, Ariz., with the eastbound train passing there October 28. The plan now is for the trains that originate in Orlando and Los Angeles on October 28 to begin serving Maricopa. We also reported that bus connections to Phoenix would be shifted to Maricopa from Tucson. This is not the case. Even though Maricopa will be staffed, the bus connections will be discontinued, and the staffed Amtrak office at Phoenix will be closed. This represents a further, ultimate degradation in service to Phoenix. Although Maricopa is much closer to Phoenix than Tucson -- 30 vs. 117 miles -- Maricopa's lack of public transportation makes it useless to arriving passengers who are not being met by someone. For such passengers, the longer bus ride from Tucson at least served to get them where they were headed.

The British government has placed that country's privately held railroad infrastructure company, Railtrack, under public control through a court-appointed administrator. Railtrack had asked the government to cover a $3 billion shortfall stemming from the need to upgrade infrastructure after several serious accidents; but the government refused. Railtrack is likely to be restructured into a new, private company that has no stockholders, but that reinvests any proceeds into itself. Directors may be chosen by the regulatory body, the Strategic Rail Authority. Government investment in infrastructure, and payments by private rail operators, will continue. The British experiment of placing rail infrastructure into private hands was unique among European countries that have pursued various levels of privatization (or agency separation) in the last ten years.

The NARP Board of Directors will be meeting in Dallas, October 18-20. Every attempt will be made to post the next hotline (#213) at its usual time, Friday, October 19, at 5:00 pm (Eastern). But a delay may be possible, so we ask our readers to be patient if the hotline is posted a little late.