Hotline #259 - September 6, 2002

Congress returned from summer recess this week. The biggest outstanding issue is the lack of a House version of a fiscal 2003 transportation appropriations bill (which would include funding for Amtrak). It is possible that the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee will consider such a bill late in the coming week (that is, around September 12).

If you haven't done so already, urge your Representative to urge appropriators to support at least $1.2 billion for Amtrak in 2003. That is the same level as the Senate bill. Click here for ways to make contact.

Yesterday, a Senate Commerce subcommittee chaired by John Breaux (D.-La.) held confirmation hearings for two nominations President Bush has made -- David M. Laney to the Amtrak Board, and Roger Nober to the Surface Transportation Board. Bush has indicated that Nober, if confirmed, would become chairman of the STB. Nober is counsel to Deputy DOT Secretary Michael Jackson and previously was general counsel at the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, first to the surface transportation subcommittee and then to the full committee. The hearing was a "love-in," with nothing but praise for both candidates, from Democrats and Republicans alike.

Laney is chairman of Jenkens & Gilchrist in Dallas and served as a gubernatorial appointee in Texas for 12 years, first on the Texas Finance Commission and later on the Texas Transportation Commission. Laney called the appointment of David Gunn "a very positive step by the board" which has significantly improved Amtrak's credibility in recent months. Asked if he felt free to disagree with the Administration on such issues as Amtrak funding, Laney said, "I view this as an independent position and I think" the Administration does also. "If I disagree, I'm sure [the Administration] will hear me. Oftentimes, I can be quite persuasive."

Breaux closed the hearing by noting that one of his staffers recently rode Amtrak coast to coast and was impressed with the heavy use of long-distance trains by senior citizens. Saying that the "senior population is the fastest growing segment of our population," Breaux suggested that Amtrak marketing should reflect that.

Congress held a ceremonial session today in New York, at Federal Hall, one of the few times that Congress has met outside of Washington since it became the capital. About 300 members (out of 539 possible) were expected to attend. Though Vice President Cheney flew to New York and back, most took a special Amtrak train from Washington to New York this morning.

The California Senate approved the final version of the high-speed rail bond voter initiative bill on August 30. The vote was 27 to 6, with 27 votes required for passage. Governor Davis has until September 30 to sign the bill, which he is expected to do, paving the way for a vote in November 2004.

Amtrak ran 23 Acela Express departures over Labor Day weekend; this increased to 27 departures on Tuesday, September 3. On September 5 and 6, that was increased to 35. The normal amount for a weekday is 50.

Over this coming weekend, Amtrak will run a regular Saturday schedule for Acela Express for the first time in a month (on September 7). Sunday will have 23 departures. On Monday and Tuesday, 40 departures are expected. Updates are being posted on Amtrak's web site.

Amtrak and the Capital District Transportation Authority reached an agreement on September 4 on the terms under which Amtrak would occupy the new Albany/Rensselaer station. A move to the new station, adjacent to the old one, is still possible late in the month.

The north/eastbound Texas Eagle has a significant schedule change effective September 5. All times for train 22 from San Antonio through Chicago are 90 minutes later than published in the April 29 timetable, in order to provide even more cushion at San Antonio from a usually late eastbound Sunset Limited. That means train 22 will leave San Antonio at 9:00 am, Dallas at 5:40 pm, Little Rock at 1:25 am, St. Louis at 10:10 am, and arrive at Chicago at 3:50 pm.

Amtrak will offer free movies, TV programs, and Internet access on seat-back screens on Keystone Corridor trains this fall. The first car will get the service on October 15, with gradual expansion after that. The project is a partnership between Amtrak, Pennsylvania DOT, and NRoute Communications of Philadelphia. The service will be available to passengers on a first-come, first-served basis. Passengers will be able to use their own headphones, or borrow some on the train. The NRoute service uses high-speed wireless digital technology to send signals to the moving train. The service will be advertiser-supported.

Groundbreaking for an intermodal station in Pittsfield, Mass., was August 26. The site is off Columbus Ave. on the north side of CSX's Boston-Albany line, across from the shelter on Depot St. now served by Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited. The station will be operated by the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, and will serve Amtrak, intercity and local buses, taxis, and include some form of food service and a police office. It should be completed in November 2003. Pittsfield's ornate Union Station was razed in 1968.

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez will come to Washington this month to talk to Amtrak about moving into a second phase of the Alvarado Transit Center. Chavez met with Greyhound officials in Dallas on the same topic this week. The first phase of the transit center, mostly for local bus service, opened in June, adjacent to the current Amtrak station. Chavez hopes to break ground on phase two within a year, and it would take two more years to complete. Since the old, main station building burned in 1993, Amtrak has been operating out of a side building.

A joint-ticketing program took effect in Southern California on September 5, launched by Amtrak, Metrolink, and Caltrans. Under the new "Rail 2 Rail" program, Metrolink monthly pass holders on the Ventura and Orange County lines who previously bought "Step-Up" coupons to ride on Amtrak Pacific Surfliners may now simply use their Metrolink pass. They can also do the same on parallel Amtrak buses, within the limits of their pass, and ride on Amtrak weekend trains (which are the only trains on those routes on weekends). Passengers with Amtrak tickets can ride Metrolink trains, within the limits of their tickets.

Metrolink and Amtrak will also cross-honor tickets for travel between Los Angeles Union Station and Burbank Airport. To promote that service, Southwest Airlines is offering its passengers free Amtrak or Metrolink travel between those two stations for the next 90 days.

The first of Tacoma's new streetcars arrived by ship on September 3. The fleet of three cars will be similar to those in Portland, Ore., built by Skoda of the Czech Republic. Service is expected to begin in September 2003 on a 1.6-mile line.