Hotline #257 - August 23, 2002

Reduced service on the Northeast Corridor continues, as most Acela Express sets and HHP-8 locomotives remain out of service. Amtrak and Bombardier had made great progress repairing Acela Express equipment last weekend, working together under federal oversight. That allowed Amtrak to run nine of its 18 Acela Express train sets on August 19. But the discovery on August 20 of new cracks caused some of those sets to be removed from service, and only two sets ran August 21. Five sets ran August 22 and 23.

Additional, fine cracks were found in the power cars' side sills earlier this week, very near the spot where the yaw damper brackets are bolted to them. More than 100 engineers have been assigned to repairing brackets and sills.

The 15 HHP-8 electric locomotives, part of the overall Acela Express order, also have had yaw damper bracket problems. One ran in service on August 22.

As of today, Amtrak has no prediction as to when service will return to normal, though repair work and inspections continue. Amtrak has a list of Acela Express trains running through the weekend at its web site.

The National Transportation Safety Board on August 22 issued an investigation update on the derailment of Amtrak's Capitol Limited at Kensington, Md., on CSX tracks on July 29. The statement said that signal and mechanical (rolling stock) systems seemed to be in proper condition, and said that a majority of injured passengers who were interviewed reported no problems evacuating the train through emergency exits.

The NTSB statement did, however, elaborate on track condition, as a heat-related kinking of the rail is a suspected factor in the accident. Referring to track work performed at the scene on July 22, the statement said, "About half way through the work, the tamping machine broke and the work was temporarily finished using a pneumatic hand tamper. A 25-mph slow order was then placed on the track until the work [could be finished with the repaired mechanical tamper]. The track work remained incomplete at the time of the accident due to delays from weather and other work. Several days after the start of the track maintenance, a track supervisor, who thought the repair work had been completed, lifted the slow order, and the maximum allowable speed of 60 mph was in effect for the accident train." Investigation continues.

An August 23 Associated Press story on the NTSB statement managed to mangle what the NTSB actually said -- "Report: Amtrak Train Was Speeding -- An Amtrak train was going more than twice as fast as it should have been when it derailed last month because a speed restriction had been prematurely lifted ..." Only later in the story does it become apparent that the Amtrak train was going as fast as CSX said it could. "It was a procedural error. The slow order should not have been lifted," said a CSX spokesman in the AP story.

Amtrak and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation have begun their $140-million partnership to modernize the Keystone Corridor (Philadelphia-Harrisburg), according to an August 21 statement from Rep. George Gekas (R.). Work has already begun on signal upgrades and catenary renewal; tie replacement and installation of welded rail start next month, east of Middletown.

Albany's Capital District Transportation Authority said on August 17 that it had reached a tentative agreement on a station lease with Amtrak. The new, $53-million station, adjacent to the current Amtrak station in Rensselaer, is largely completed, but vacant. Rensselaer is Amtrak's tenth-busiest station. After a final agreement is reached, it could still take three weeks for the actual move to take place. The station project has been delayed by cost overruns, and by Amtrak's financial situation.

Amtrak's Boston-Portland Downeaster had a record month in July in terms of ridership and revenue. The revenue projection for the first year, $3.3 million by December 15, should be surpassed during August. Ridership is about on goal for the year. The more rapid progress in revenues, compared to ridership, appears to be due to more people than expected riding the full length of the route, and more people than expected using business class.

Amtrak's northbound Coast Starlight struck an unidentified object on Union Pacific tracks at Hayward, Cal. (between San Jose and Oakland), on August 21, derailing the locomotive. Five cars also derailed, all remaining upright and in line. There were seven minor passenger injuries. Passengers were bussed to Sacramento to board the southbound train, which was terminated there and turned north. Southbound passengers were to transfer to various buses, a San Joaquin, and a Capitol Corridor train. Capitol Corridor service, which uses a different line through the area, was not affected.

Union Pacific problems led to cancellation of all Amtrak trains between St. Louis and Kansas City on August 21. UP was experiencing excessive freight-train congestion on the line, with some trains stopped and awaiting new crews.

A rally was held in Atlanta on August 21 to push for high-speed rail service between that city and Washington. It was sponsored by a coalition of 14 chambers of commerce stretching from Birmingham to Richmond, and was attended by Members of Congress, business executives, and transportation workers from six states.

The Surface Transportation Board on August 21 made a ruling affecting the Pacific Surfliner route north of San Diego. The STB said that the City of Encinitas (just south of Oceanside) can't require the track owner, North County Transit District, to obtain a local or state permit before building a 1.7-mile second track. The mayor said an appeal was likely, with city officials saying that the STB ruling was a "serious blow" to California's "fragile and precious coastline" and that the second track serves "no appreciable service level benefit." The second track, to be built with state funds, is needed to accommodate more efficiently the several services on the line -- Amtrak, Coaster commuter trains, and BNSF freight trains. The city wanted the railroad to put both tracks into a trench, which increases the project's cost from $6.2 million to $237 million.

The STB cited a 1994 Interstate Commerce Commission ruling stating that the Transit District's ownership of the former Santa Fe line meant that it controlled interstate freight operations over that line, meaning that local and state agencies have no jurisdiction over it.

A commuter rail line is being considered for Las Vegas, according to an August 16 Associated Press story. A route being looked at by the Regional Transportation Commission would run from a bus transfer station on the south end of the Strip, and run 11 miles south and east to Henderson, on Union Pacific tracks.

Construction will begin this fall on a light-rail branch in St. Louis. The new Metrolink route, to open late in 2005, will run from the existing line at Forest Park west to Clayton, then south to Shrewsbury, 8.2 miles. The line will cost $550 million, made more expensive by demands for noise mitigation in an affluent Forest Park neighborhood. A 3.5-mile extension east from Belleville, Ill., will open about a year from now.

State officials in Georgia want to try to buy rail lines, rather than lease them, as they plan for future Atlanta-Macon passenger service, according to the August 16 Macon Telegraph. That will cost a lot more up front -- Norfolk Southern has said it wants $360 million -- but would give the state more control in the long run. Talks between Norfolk Southern and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority continue.