Hotline #258 - August 30, 2002

Amtrak increased the number of Acela Express departures from 17 last weekend to 23 at midweek, as repaired equipment was gradually returned to service. That level of 23 continued into today. A normal weekday would have about 50 departures. A reduced schedule will be run through the holiday weekend -- 12 departures on August 31 and September 1; 16 on September 2. Seven train sets will be available, down from a normal level of 15 (of 18 total that Amtrak possesses). Updates are being posted on Amtrak's web site.
<http://www.amtrak.com/press/acelaupdate.html>

Repairs, and talks involving a more permanent fix to the problem, will continue between Amtrak, manufacturer Bombardier, and safety regulator Federal Railroad Administration. A stepped-up inspection program also continues.

This weekend will be the busiest travel period since the yaw damper bracket problem was first identified on August 12. And, when Labor Day is over, a more normal, busy weekday travel period will begin (as opposed to August, when business travel demand is depressed as a matter of course), so repair progress will be very important to accommodating the traveling public and keeping their confidence.

Congress' summer recess is drawing to a close; the House and Senate return on September 3. There is wide acknowledgement that the various authorization bills that have to do with Amtrak, high-speed rail, or both, have little chance of passage in the few remaining legislative days before the 107th Congress adjourns for good.

More pressing are the annual appropriations bills, on which there has been less progress than normal. Normally, appropriations bills start in the House and are sent to the Senate, but with one month to go in fiscal 2002, the House has yet to introduce a fiscal 2003 transportation appropriations bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee on July 25 approved a bill, S.2808, that included the $1.2 billion Amtrak says it needs to make it through fiscal 2003. The full Senate still has to approve that bill. It's important for both the House and Senate bills to include $1.2 billion for Amtrak, so that a stable system can be operated while Congress comes back in 2003 to renew the debate on passenger rail's long-term future.

See last week's hotline for a clarification on an August 23 Associated Press story about the National Transportation Safety Board's report on the July 29 derailment at Kensington, Md.

A bill allowing California voters to consider a high-speed rail bond proposal moved forward August 29, when the state Assembly approved bill SB 1856, by a 59-11 margin (54 was the two-thirds level required for passage). The state Senate, which already has approved the bill once, was expected to approve the amended Assembly version today, and Governor Davis is expected to sign the bill.

The proposed ballot measure, to be considered in the fall 2004 election, provides for $9.95 billion in bond revenues to go to rail projects around the state. By far, the biggest amount, $9.0 billion, would go to the proposed high-speed rail project. The total cost of the 700-mile project, stretching from Sacramento and the Bay Area to Los Angeles and San Diego, is $26 billion. The $9.0 billion would be concentrated on the Bay Area-Los Angeles trunk of the system. The measure's remaining $950 million would be divided between conventional passenger rail projects around the state ($190 million) and rail transit ($760 million).

The step forward for the ballot initiative is welcome news, indeed. But one cannot help wondering how much further along California -- and other states -- would be with their passenger rail plans if the federal government were a credible funding partner. As it is, Uncle Sam tells states to choose between highway and aviation projects by providing a ready funding share, and by providing virtually nothing to states that want to invest in passenger rail. California deserves praise for moving forward despite all that, but it is wrong that it should have to do so with no help from Washington.

The object involved in the August 21 derailment of Amtrak's Coast Starlight at Hayward, Cal., has been identified as a broken drawbar that fell off of a freight train earlier. The metal bar was 40 inches long, and was struck by the Amtrak train as it approached at 65 mph on Union Pacific tracks.

Amtrak could move into the new Albany/Rensselaer station in mid-September. The Capital District Transportation Authority, which built and owns the new station, sent Amtrak an operating agreement and lease on August 23. Amtrak's legal department has been going over the proposal this week.

There was a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Harrisburg International Airport terminal on August 27. It is expected to open in summer 2004, and will include a station on Amtrak's Keystone Corridor, replacing the current Middletown stop. The complex, parts of which are up to 700 feet apart, will be linked together with enclosed, elevated walkways and moving sidewalks in some places.

A locomotive breakdown stranded 282 Amtrak passengers and crew in the heat of coastal South Carolina on August 24. The southbound Silver Meteor, running a few hours late, came to a stop at Bonneau, halfway between Kingstree and Charleston. The locomotive had a computer problem that, among other things, knocked out the train's air-conditioning. A local Red Cross chapter coordinated with two local churches to take in passengers to provide some relief from the heat. Four passengers were taken to a hospital for examination.

A form of passenger train service will return to Galveston, Tex., this holiday weekend, with the start of a demonstration project. The project is meant to test rail service as a long-term alternative to the increasingly congested I-45 drawbridge, which is the direct road link between Galveston Island and the Houston area. The Texas Gulfliner will make two fare-free round trips from League City (halfway between Houston and Galveston) and Galveston on September 1 and 2.

Reservations are needed -- information is at 1-877-425-7245. The service uses Amtrak cars and Union Pacific tracks. A $750,000 federal grant also will provide rail service during the Dickens on the Strand Festival in December and Mardi Gras and Memorial Day in 2003 -- all times when the highway is at peak congestion. If the service works out, it could be extended to Houston. A privately operated excursion train ran between Houston and Galveston from 1989 to 1994. Another resort area with similar congestion problems, Cape May, N.J., has had a successful rail shuttle for some years now.

The first rebuilt Turbotrain made a test run from Rensselaer to New York late on August 27, and the New York State Department of Transportation said the run was successful. More testing followed during the week. If additional test are also successful, the train could enter operation in Albany service within the next few weeks.