Hotline #260 - September 13, 2002

The appropriations process is further behind schedule than most people can remember. The House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee did not introduce a 2003 transportation funding bill this week, but they might next week. Chairman Bill Young (R.-Fla.) may move funding bills that use the Administration's numbers, in hopes of proving to the Administration that the votes needed to pass such low spending levels are not there. For Amtrak, of course, the Administration's $521 million is a non-starter if Amtrak is to make it all the way through 2003. Amtrak's finances will be tight even with the $1.2 billion that was passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

There is danger that a House-Senate conference committee would "split the difference" between the two figures and approve a figure that would cause Amtrak another cash crisis sometime in the new fiscal year. Another danger is Congress' failure to pass a spending bill by September 30. Amtrak then would be one of many programs to get temporary funding through a continuing resolution, but at the old fiscal year's level -- in Amtrak's case, $521 million, prorated down to the length of time the continuing resolution is in effect. A "lame duck" session of Congress would have to move rapidly to avoid inflicting yet another cash crisis on Amtrak.

Meanwhile, Amtrak has reported that the Acela Express crack problems in August cost it 76,000 riders (August 12-31) and $9 million in lost ticket revenue.

This past week (September 9-13), Amtrak ran 40 weekday Acela Express departures, where 50 is normal. That level of 50 counts all weekday Acela Express departures from Washington and Boston, plus New York departures in both directions. Since some trains run through New York, the actual number of trains is lower, both in terms of the "normal" schedule and what's being run now. There are now 12 sets in service, instead of the normal 15.

For this weekend, Amtrak will run a normal Acela Express schedule Saturday and 23 on Sunday (same as last week). Service updates are on Amtrak's web site.

The nation now finds itself one year removed from the terror attacks of 2001. That's also true of our transportation system.

To coincide with a moment of silence held in New York City on September 11, at the same hour that the first plane hit the World Trade Center a year ago, Amtrak planned a moment of silence of its own -- 8:46 am (Eastern). Passengers on trains and visitors in stations were encouraged to participate. Locomotive horns were sounded just before that.

Three paragraphs from the Hotline of a year ago bear repeating now, not only to remind advocates of what needs to be done, but to measure what progress -- or lack of it -- our government leaders have made since then:

"How this will impact passenger rail remains to be seen, both in terms of public policy and in terms of train-travel demand. While we can imagine that airline services will return to some level that is more like normal than it was this week, a return to the pre-September 11 status quo seems unlikely. We can also imagine that demand for all passenger rail services will remain higher than normal -- even for the long-distance and corridor services of less than 125 mph that rail critics profess to find no use for.

"To truly meet the nation's travel needs, now more than ever, the government must abandon policies that have weakened the financial health of passenger rail and that have prevented its expansion into new markets. Specifically, these include the Congressional mandate of operational self-sufficiency for Amtrak by fiscal 2003; and features of the TEA-21 and AIR-21 laws that deny that passenger rail is a form of surface transportation worthy of investment, that shut highway and aviation funding into tight, budgetary lockboxes, and that deny rail the resources it needs to play a meaningful alternative to congested (and now partially crippled) highway and aviation modes.

"Because of flawed transportation policy in the past, we could only imagine -- not witness -- a far-reaching passenger-rail network that could act as a more effective travel alternative this week -- and, no doubt, for the foreseeable future. Congress and the Administration will be right if they act to make the aviation system safer, but they must also look at the benefits of a better passenger-rail system, and begin to make serious, public investments in that system."

Amtrak made some changes to its security policy, effective September 10. One is a change NARP worked very hard for and welcomes -- once again, individuals at a ticket window who want to buy tickets for a party of two or more may do so, even if the other party members are not present to show photo identification to the ticket agent. Such tickets will be stamped in a way to let conductors know identification was not presented at the time of purchase, so that conductors can check identification themselves.

A second policy change was announced, and then quickly withdrawn and postponed. That change would have allowed random identification checks of passengers on-board trains, with people under 18 or over 64 exempted. "An unbiased method, which will vary daily, will be used to determine which passengers will be asked for this identification," read an Amtrak bulletin. In any event, passengers traveling on a senior discount must, as before, carry identification to show eligibility for the discount.

Finally, also September 10, Amtrak adopted the federal government's "Homeland Security Advisory System," whose five "threat conditions" are Green (Low), Blue (Guarded), Yellow (Elevated), Orange (High), and Red (Severe). More about the system is at the White House web site. Attorney General John Ashcroft said on September 10, "The recommendation has been made to increase the national threat level, currently classified at Elevated Risk, to High Risk. The President has accepted this recommendation."

One result of going to Code Orange is that Amtrak tightened baggage policies at New York Penn Station. Amtrak suspended parcel check services ("day check" -- important in a big-city station with no lockers), and allows checked baggage only on day of travel, and for those holding tickets for the train departing the same day. The federal government's threat status normally applies to Amtrak, but Amtrak could go to a different level at times, depending on any location- or industry-specific threat.

New York City Transit is restoring subway service on the route most disrupted by the terror attacks. The 1-9 line will reopen to South Ferry on September 15, except that the Cortlandt St. station will remain closed, pending plans to redevelop the World Trade Center site. The Cortlandt St. station on the N-R line also reopens September 15.

Former NARP director F. Travers ("Trav") Burgess, of Kirkwood, Mo., died September 7 at the age of 82. He served as a director-at-large on the NARP board from 1977 to 1986, and represented Region 9 on the board from 1994 to 1998. Burgess earned a law degree from Washington University ('41) in St. Louis, then served in the Army during World War II, attaining the rank of captain. He later worked as a patent attorney at a rail supply company, with expertise in underframes and trucks, knowledge that helped NARP when he served on its board. Also, he was active in the unsuccessful fight to save St. Louis' streetcar network (which was gone by 1966), in the later, successful effort to introduce light-rail service, and in the ongoing effort to get a permanent rail station.

The Boston-Portland Downeaster had a schedule change September 7. Previously, all four trips in each direction ran daily. Now, two southbound trains, 680 and 686, run Monday-Friday only, with a new Saturday-Sunday train 678 (leaving Portland at 6:30 am) and new train 688 (leaving Portland at 7:00 pm). Northbound, train 685 is Monday-Friday only, and new Saturday-Sunday train 689 leaves Boston at 7:45 pm. The idea is to encourage weekend day trips to Maine. Old Orchard Beach "summer" service ends October 31.

The official ribbon-cutting for the new Multimodal Transportation Center in Portland, Me., was today.

Amtrak's Rail Sale offers steep discounts on-line for coach travel September 20 through November 21 for all city-pairs on some short-distance and these long-distance trains -- Coast Starlight, the four transcontinental routes, Capitol Limited, Pennsylvanian, Lake Shore Limited (Boston-Chicago), City of New Orleans, Auto Train. You can upgrade on board after travel has begun, if space is available. Sample one-way, non-refundable fares include Boston-Albany $8.80; Harrisburg-Cleveland, train 43, $10.00; Raleigh-Charlotte, train 73, $3.40; Chicago-St. Louis, train 303, $5.90; Chicago-Denver $38.20. Some dates and city-pairs may already be sold out for these fares. Amtrak's "main Rail Sale page" shows endpoint stations only; for intermediate-point fares, select route, click on "save my selection," and use "Departure Station" and/or "Arrival Station" drop-down menus to show station(s) you want.

Last day of service for three New Jersey Transit stations -- Arlington (Kearny), Rowe St. (Bloomfield), Benson St. (Glen Ridge) -- will be September 20. These stations, located on a former Erie branch, are all served by weekday-only, Boonton Line diesel trains. Starting September 23, the Boonton Line trains will use the new Montclair connection, running to Hoboken via Newark Broad Street. Starting September 30, Midtown Direct electric service will provide 19 weekday round-trips between Montclair Heights (on the current Boonton Line) and New York Penn Station, via the Montclair Connection and Newark. Current Montclair Branch trains are also extended to Montclair Heights then.

Amtrak will move into the new Albany-Rensselaer station on September 22. The announcement came after a meeting of the board of the Capital District Transportation, Authority, which built and owns the station. There will be no grand opening for now. The board also approved building a new station at Saratoga Springs, to replace the 1956 building now used by Amtrak, with the hope of having it ready by the 2003 racing season.

Greyhound has moved its East Lansing stop to the Amtrak station. Indian Trails has moved there as well (previously, only Indian Trails Thruway buses went there). Greyhound said it was its 100th location in an intermodal facility.

A truck that crossed in front of Amtrak's northbound Vermonter on September 11 derailed it, injuring only the truck driver. The incident occurred at an industrial part in Sharon, Vt., just north of White River Junction. The locomotive, lounge, and two coaches derailed but remained upright, except for the lounge that leaned to one side. Train service was expected to be interrupted through September 12.

The East Coast Greenway Alliance has gotten a $1,500 grant to help publicize its "Bikes on Board" project, which is a partnership with Amtrak. The goal of the program is not only to make roll-on bike access more widespread on Amtrak, but also to make the public aware of the service where Amtrak already offers it. The grant came from the Kodak American Greenway Awards program, which is administered by the Conservation Fund.

Fannie Mae, the Federal National Mortgage Association, is expanding its program to provide bigger mortgages to transit users, according to a September 6 Associated Press story. The program allows borrowers to qualify for bigger mortgages if they agree to limit the number of automobiles in their household to one per adult driver, and if they buy a house within a quarter-mile of a bus stop or half-mile of a rail transit station. That split between bus and rail reflects the fact that people are more willing to walk a longer distance to use rail transit than to use bus. The program uses studies showing that people who use transit instead of driving can save $200-250 a month, which represents a form of income that can be used on a higher home mortgage instead.

Fannie Mae had a similar pilot project two years ago in San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle; and added Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and Salt Lake City last year. The current form of the program is now being expanded to Philadelphia, and may come soon to Washington, Atlanta, Baltimore, Louisville, and State College, Pa.

Canadian Transport Minister David Collenette has asked VIA Rail for a report on what is needed to increase speeds and ridership in the central Quebec-Windsor corridor. Collenette sees improved rail service as a way to reduce overall pollution emissions, in keeping with Kyoto agreement goals, and to serve a new market that has emerged since the 2001 terror attacks. He is a regular user of VIA trains in the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto triangle, according to a recent Canadian Press story. However, Harry Gow of Transport 2000 said in the same story that investment should not be made in one corridor alone, and pointed out the irony of B.C. Rail being set to abandon its North Vancouver-Whistler passenger service, just as Vancouver is pushing for the 2010 Winter Olympics (in which Whistler would be a venue).