Hotline #227 - January 25, 2002

The U.S. Conference of Mayors pledged its support for Amtrak on January 24, during their annual winter meeting. They urged it be built up, not broken down, and that any homeland security planning should include investment in passenger rail.

About 200 mayors met at Washington Union Station for a news conference and went to New York on a chartered Acela Express train provided by Amtrak. At the news conference, Conference of Mayors president Marc Morial, mayor of New Orleans, called proposals to liquidate Amtrak "rubbish," and called for "a strong, unequivocal commitment to building passenger rail in America." Morial said, "We support the idea of Amtrak being the primary passenger rail system in America. I don't see that any of the other alternatives would offer better service or more efficiency. Why create a system of artificial competition?" The mayors on January 23 wrote to President Bush and Congressional leaders urging they reauthorize Amtrak and develop a national rail policy.

President Bush's fiscal 2003 budget (to be released February 4) is not expected to give a definitive view of administration policy on Amtrak.

DOT Inspector General Ken Mead today released his assessment of Amtrak's fiscal 2001 performance. He wrote that Amtrak "has significantly improved passenger revenues and ridership [but] has not been successful in slowing its expense growth ... cash losses have not decreased and Amtrak is no closer to operating self-sufficiency now than ... in 1997 ... Amtrak's operating loss [including depreciation] in 2001 of $1.1 billion was $129 million higher than the 2000 loss ... Amtrak's cash losses [basis for measuring operational self-sufficiency] were $585 million in 2001 [$24 million worse than in 1998] ... [But] factors other than Amtrak's financial performance should be considered ... including the role Amtrak has played since September 11 in providing an alternative to airline travel."

As in earlier months, Amtrak in December posted strong sleeping-car increases -- ridership was up 3%, passenger-miles up 7%, and revenues up 13%.

The 11 rail unions with membership in the AFL-CIO on January 22 filed suit in federal district court, seeking an injunction to bar the Amtrak Reform Council from filing its Amtrak reorganization report to Congress on February 7. A statement released by the unions called the report "unlawful" and said that the proposed break-up of Amtrak was "in defiance of the ARC's explicit statutory mandate."

The States for Passenger Rail Coalition named a new slate of leaders on January 16. The new chairman is David King, Deputy Secretary, North Carolina DOT; vice-chairman is Ken Uznanski, Rail Office Manager, Washington State DOT; and secretary/treasurer is Randall Wade, passenger rail implementation manager, Wisconsin DOT. The departing chairman is Terry Mulcahy, who is stepping down from his post as Wisconsin DOT Secretary. The coalition is made up of 21 state DOT's who support both corridor development and long-distance services.

The National Building Museum in Washington is hosting an exhibit through October 27 called, "On Track: Transportation and the American City." Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and Federal Transit Administrator Jennifer Dorn were among the speakers at an opening lecture January 24, entitled, "Rail Transit in a New Era." The exhibit explores three phases in the history of the relationship between American cities and rail transit -- "Expanding City" (development and dominance of rail transit), "Suburban City" (decline of rail transit), and "Regional City" (rebirth of rail transit). Among the sponsors of the exhibit are the Federal Transit Administration, American Public Transportation Association, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Amtrak, Amalgamated Transit Union, and several construction and architectural firms.

The museum itself, in the spectacular former Pension Building, is well worth a visit. It is located at 401 F St., N.W., across from Judiciary Square Metro Red Line Station (one stop west of Union Station). Admission is free.

Amtrak and Yahoo! Inc. rolled out several "interactive" train cars on January 23. The cars, "wrapped" in purple and yellow, with Yahoo! logos on them, are equipped with wireless modems and Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC's, mounted in cafe cars or coaches, giving Amtrak passengers the ability to web surf free-of-charge. The cars will run on Acela Regional services in the Northeast, on Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawathas, and on the Capitol Corridor in California, for about six months.

On January 18, Amtrak formally notified CSX of Amtrak's interest in providing a Louisville-Nashville passenger service. This begins a discussion process with CSX to see what issues need to be addressed before the Kentucky Cardinal can be extended south to Nashville.

The Georgia State Senate on January 15 approved a resolution honoring John R. Martin, the late president of NARP. Among other things, the resolution notes that the "extensive knowledge, understanding, and commitment he demonstrated throughout his advocacy earned him a position of national respect and a network of train enthusiasts and supporters who valued and admired this distinguished Georgian."

Once again, Georgia Governor Roy Barnes has cut funding for Atlanta-Macon passenger rail service from his budget plan, according to the Barnesville (Ga.) Herald-Gazette, raising questions about whether it can be completed by 2005. By cutting $12 million in state funds from the budget, Barnes proposes foregoing a possible federal matching grant of $68 million in 2003. Barnes has called for borrowing $1.3 billion, through bonds, for an array of other initiatives, including rural highway projects.