Hotline #231 - February 22, 2002

As of this morning, 25 Senators have signed a letter to the Senate Budget Committee, asking that the fiscal 2003 budget resolution include Amtrak's full request of $1.2 billion. This is what Amtrak says it needs to continue running its entire train network, while Congress makes longer term decisions on passenger rail policy. The 25 are Hollings (D.-S.C.), Schumer (D.-N.Y.), Dorgan (D.-N.Dak.), Reid (D.-Nev.), Cleland (D.-Ga.), Durbin (D.-Ill.), Mikulski (D.-Md.), Biden (D.-Del.), Kennedy (D.-Mass.), Kerry (D.-Mass.), Clinton (D.-N.Y.), Leahy (D.-Vt.), Sarbanes (D.-Md.), Carper (D.-Del.), Jeffords (I.-Vt.), Rockefeller (D.-W.Va.), Torricelli (D.-N.J.), Feinstein (D.-Cal.), Boxer (D.-Cal.), Corzine (D.-N.J.), Feingold (D.-Wis.), Specter (R.-Pa.), Snowe (R.-Me.), Dodd (D.-Conn.), Breaux (D.-La.). The letter is intended to be sent sometime this week, and Senate offices wishing to sign on should contact the Senate Commerce majority staff at 202/224-9000.

Amtrak began the process this week of laying off some station agents. This is in connection with Amtrak's announcement of February 1 that in order to make it through the end of fiscal 2002 (to September 30), it would -- among other things -- seek to cut $110 million in operating costs. Included in that is a plan to lay off about 140 station workers at the 73 "lowest-performing" stations. The Amtrak board directed that no station be de-staffed entirely, so it appears that more than 50 stations will be staffed only five days a week and thus lose checked baggage service. NARP has asked the board to consider preserving daily staffing and baggage service at more stations by completely unstaffing other stations. Normally, a "half-staffed" station is locked whenever staff is not present, whereas some unstaffed stations have caretakers that open waiting rooms for all trains.

Among the criteria used by Amtrak to select the "lowest performing" stations was a high ratio of labor costs to revenues generated at a station, and the number of trains serving that station. Reducing staff at stations that have a comparatively lower ratio of labor costs to revenues generated -- to serve the interest of regional balance -- would reduce the savings to Amtrak in this round of lay-offs, and presumably would lead to even more station staff laid off in total.

Clearly, Amtrak is facing some very painful decisions -- painful to workers and to passengers -- in its attempt to live within its limited means in 2002. But, unlike past attempts to survive budget crises that involved cutting long-distance services, this time Amtrak seems committed to a national network. Of course, that can change in fiscal 2003, if Congress has not by then addressed the fundamental mismatch between Amtrak's mission of nationwide service and its usual funding level.

Arizona Senator John McCain (R.) on February 15 introduced S.1958, a bill to split up Amtrak into several pieces. These would include an operations unit, a maintenance unit, and a reservations unit, all to be privatized within four years.  The Federal Railroad Administration would be directed to franchise out individual routes. States would be given greater financial responsibility, and any route that needed operating funding after October 1, but did not get it from a state, would be dropped (including long-distance routes). But states would have flexibility to use their federal surface transportation funding for passenger rail (a good concept endorsed by the Senate three times in the 1990's, but killed each time by the House).

The U.S. Customs and Immigration agents at Port Huron, Mich., are again inspecting passengers on board Amtrak trains. For much of the period after the September 11 attacks, through February 18, those agents stayed at the Port Huron border crossing at all times, meaning that passengers entering the U.S. (westbound on Amtrak's International) were put on buses at Sarnia, Ont., to cross the border and then reboard their same train at Port Huron.

Amtrak is introducing "quiet cars" on the Sacramento-Oakland-San Jose Capitol Corridor trains. As is now common practice on most Northeast Corridor trains, one car per train set on the Capitols will be designated as the quiet car, where cell phones may not be used and where sound devices on beepers and laptop computers must be turned down.

A water heater explosion injured four passengers and one conductor on the Southwest Chief on February 17. The westbound train was just arriving at Raton, N.Mex. The coach where the explosion occurred was heavily damaged and set out of the train, which was delayed over three hours. Amtrak is investigating the cause of the unusual event, including examining maintenance records and inspecting water heaters on other cars.

Amtrak will offer a 30% discount on the "best available regular adult rail fares," to be called "Miles of Smiles." It can be booked from February 28 to May 19, for travel from March 7 to June 15 (except March 28-April 2 and May 24-28). Tickets are non-refundable and must be booked at least seven days before travel.

California Gov. Gray Davis (D.), after a few years of tepid support, is now supporting the full funding amount for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. In 2000-01, Davis approved $5 million of the agency's $10-million request; in 2001-02 it was $1 million out of $14 million; but for 2002-03, he is proposing $8.5 million. That comes despite worsening state budget problems. The agency says that will be enough to produce a draft environmental impact statement, by June 2003, for a high-speed rail system from San Diego north to Sacramento and the Bay Area, with some running above 200 mph.

The district attorney in Queens, N.Y., has charged 18 Amtrak maintenance workers from Sunnyside Yard with criminal possession of stolen property and other charges. The workers are alleged to have made $100,000 in calls from on-board phones, including 47,000 minutes in long-distance and international calls, from 1997 to 2000, using credit cards they found on the trains that apparently were lost by passengers. Some of the workers would face up to 15 years in prison.