Hotline #213 - October 19, 2001

Maine Gov. Angus King announced that regular Boston-Portland service will begin Saturday, December 15. On December 14, an invitation-only inaugural special will run from Boston to Portland. Amtrak said it will run four round-trips per day, with Boston-Portland fares of $21 one-way and $35 round-trip.

Track owner Guilford Transportation Industries is still arguing with Amtrak over whether the top speed will be 60 or 79 mph. Tests on the rails to determine desirable track speed have been conducted and the results are due this week.

Demand for Amtrak sleeping-car services continues well above seasonal norms, with routine sell-outs on many long-distance trains, including the Capitol Limited and Cardinal. This may be due in part to diversion of business air travel to Amtrak. On the other hand, ridership currently is nearly flat (compared with a year ago) on many short-distance routes outside the Northeast Corridor, apparently reflecting the nationwide downturn in travel.

On October 17, the Senate Commerce Committee approved S.1550, the Rail Security Act of 2001. The bill is sponsored by Chairman Hollings (D.-S.C.) and Ranking Member McCain (R.-Ariz.) and embodies the $1.77 billion deal that Joseph Biden (D.-Del.) and McCain discussed on the Senate floor October 11 (Congressional Record pages S10526-7, available on-line). This bill covers mostly the same ground as S.1528 and some of the ground in S.1530, both discussed here last week.

At the October 17 committee meeting, Hollings and McCain resisted 19 amendments that were offered. There was an angry exchange between McCain and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.-Tex.), who was upset at McCain's role in cutting from Amtrak's request most of the benefits to services outside the Northeast. As Biden has said on the Senate floor October 11, McCain "is all for safety but not so much for Amtrak."

The bill could come to the floor as early as October 25, but if broad agreement cannot be reached on amendments, the next step might instead be a Commerce Committee hearing on the amendments the week of October 29.

Among the Senators' amendments were -- Dorgan (D.-N.Dak.) and Kerry (D.-Mass.) to repeal the operational self-sufficiency requirement (another Senator proposed postponing it by a year); Hutchison to add $241 million to fix equipment used outside the Northeast Corridor; Boxer (D.-Cal.) to impose a $1.50 tax on each Amtrak ticket to pay for additional security; Cleland (D.-Ga.) to augment security for intercity buses (Atlanta was the destination of the recent Greyhound bus that was "hijacked" with fatal results); Fitzgerald (R.-Ill.) to study railroad freight-train movement of hazardous materials through Chicago.

Senators and Representatives need to hear strong support for the largest package possible, including money for new rolling stock, as well as for enactment this year of the High Speed Rail Investment Act. Click here for ways to contact your legislators.

The NARP Board of Directors is meeting in Dallas. The new Federal Railroad Administrator, Allan Rutter, spoke today. Earlier came Joy Smith, Amtrak's Southwestern Business Group General Manager. She said the Texas Eagle is performing well in terms of ridership and revenue, despite ongoing lateness problems. She also said Amtrak is working on ways to connect Phoenix with the new station in Maricopa, where Sunset Limited service begins October 28.

The National Park Service's Environmental Assessment of the track improvement project aimed at restoring Los Angeles-Las Vegas Amtrak service (mentioned in our last hotline) is available on-line. Passenger rail advocates are encouraged to comment positively on the project by writing to the Park Service before November 9.

Ottawa's Bayview-Greenboro diesel-light-rail service, the O-Train, began service October 15, free until January 1. OC Transpo says, "The pilot project is the first step toward city-wide light rail transit." There are 20-minute headways seven days a week. Click here for schedules and other information.

Canadian Transport Minister David Collenette was scheduled to meet today with U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta "to discuss transportation issues of mutual interest arising from the attacks of September 11."

VIA Rail Canada and GO Transit, the commuter-rail provider in the Toronto region, have agreed to an arrangement to honor each other's tickets between stations that both systems serve. This will begin October 28.