Hotline #267 - November 1, 2002

Voters nationwide will elect a new Congress on November 5. With very close division in both houses between the major parties, the outcome could shape important legislation expected in 2003. That includes renewal of surface transportation laws (TEA-21), and Amtrak reauthorization. The elections may even determine who will chair key House and Senate committees.

Also, in several localities, voters will consider ballot initiatives relating to transportation:

--In Washington State, Referendum 51 would raise the gas tax by 9 cents to help transportation projects statewide (including improvements to the Cascade Corridor).

--Also in Washington State is Initiative 776, which would eliminate $700 million in local, voter-approved funding for transportation (including commuter rail).

--In Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio, voters will consider Issue 7, which would create a half-cent sales tax to be used for a light-rail system and expansion of bus transit. The tax would raise about 25% of the total cost ($2.7 billion). The state would be asked for another 25% and the federal government the other 50%.

--In California, Proposition 51 would divert 30% of tax revenues on car sales and leases that now go to the general fund to the Traffic Congestion Relief and Safe School Bus Trust Fund. In the first year (2002-03), $420 million would be spent, $910 million the next year, and increasing amounts after that. A variety of transportation improvements would benefit, including some earmarked projects that have attracted controversy for the appearance of benefiting some supporters of the initiative. The measure is supported by the Sierra Club and opposed by the League of Women Voters.

Of the Proposition 51 funds, 16% would go to the Transit Service Expansion and Enhancements Account (for rail and bus transit operations and maintenance), 4% to the Rail Grade Separations Account, 4% to the Intercity and Commuter Rail Capital and Operations Account, 4% to the Passenger Rail Improvement, Safety, and Modernization Account. Earmarks include money for light rail to the Sacramento Amtrak station and airport, BART extension to San Jose, Caltrain extensions to Salinas and Transbay Terminal, Chinatown light-rail tunnel in San Francisco, Pasadena-Claremont light rail, East Los Angeles light rail, Exposition line light rail (or bus transit), Escondido light rail, and Amtrak service from Los Angeles to Palm Springs and Indio. Various capital improvements to existing Amtrak lines also are included.

--In three California counties -- Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco -- voters will consider Measure BB, a $1.05 billion bond measure for seismic upgrades to the BART system, and other improvements. It requires a two-thirds majority to pass.

--In Northern Virginia, voters will consider a referendum to institute a half-cent, local sales tax to raise money for transportation. Forty percent of the revenues will go to transit (such as Metrorail, including to Dulles Airport, and Virginia Railway Express). However, a coalition of environmentalist/anti-sprawl and anti-tax interests are opposing the measure. The anti-sprawl side argues that too much money will go to highways in exurban Washington.

Amtrak discontinued dining-car service on the Texas Eagle south of Fort Worth, October 28, in a cost-saving move. The car will travel to San Antonio, but crews will turn around at Fort Worth. Only snack-coach service will be available (the full lounge has been missing from most trips since summer, due to the back-up of wreck-damage repairs). For now, sleeping-car passengers are allowed to get food items there at no charge. A lounge menu intended for sleeping-car passengers is expected later in November. NARP has urged Amtrak to restore amenities, particularly on higher-volume trips.

Amtrak's official test of the new positive train control (PTC) system in central Illinois was October 31. A standard Amtrak train with a PTC-equipped locomotive reached a speed of 109.6 mph, in a zone where the normal limit is 79 mph. The train carried about 120 guests, including politicians, officials, and reporters. A preliminary test was held on October 24, and reached 101 mph. The segment that has been completed is about 16 miles long, from Normal north to Lexington. The entire project runs from Springfield north to Mazonia (between Dwight and Joliet), 123 miles. State officials hope for revenue service at 110 mph on that segment a little over a year from now.

Amtrak will call back 48 workers to its shops at Bear, Del., by mid-month. They were among the 178 workers laid off at Bear and Wilmington back in February. Amtrak said it could not wait for fiscal 2003 funding to be settled before starting to address some of the backlog of damaged cars, as well as cars that need regular maintenance.

Moody's Investors Service announced on October 29 that it had confirmed Amtrak's credit ratings ("A3"). Moody's had been reviewing Amtrak's finances after they were put on "Watchlist" status in the wake of the November 2001 Amtrak Reform Council findings and subsequent "liquidity pressures." However, Moody's now says that following the FRA loan and Congressional supplemental appropriations this summer, "these two measures demonstrate continued federal support for Amtrak, given the strategically vital role it plays as the national passenger railroad, but more significantly as the service provider and owner of the right-of-way between Boston and Washington, as well as operator of contract commuter services in the Northeast Corridor." Moody's goes on to list challenges still facing Amtrak, such as uncertainty over fiscal 2003 funding, but notes that "new senior management is focused on streamlining operations and getting back to core Amtrak businesses through reorganization and a zero-based budget."

Amtrak's October 27 national timetable has errors in a few places. Check with Amtrak before relying on published times for train 98 (Silver Meteor) between Washington and New York, and train 448 (Lake Shore Limited) between Worcester and Boston.

The four West Coast corridors -- Cascade, Capitol, San Joaquin, and Pacific Surfliner -- have a 30% discount valid for sale through November 11. If booked on-line, the discount is 35%, but in any event, the discount is calculated from the best available fare. It includes Thruway buses associated with these corridors. Travel must be done by December 13, and November 26-December 3 are "black-out" dates when the discount does not apply. Tickets must be booked at least two days before travel and are non-refundable. The promotion code to use is H254.

Another "late fall" discount is available nationwide on Amtrak, offering 30% off the best available fare. It will be for sale from November 4 to December 13, for travel from November 7 to February 28; with black-outs November 26-December 3, December 19-January 5, February 14-17. Tickets must be booked at least three days before travel and are non-refundable. The promotion code is H233 -- but if you book on-line and use promotion code H234, the discount is 35%.

A groundbreaking ceremony at Stockton, Cal., on October 21, was held to begin a $4.6-million project to renovate the former Southern Pacific station on Aurora St. The station, built in 1930, has been boarded up since the end of SP passenger service in 1971 (the eve of Amtrak's creation). More recently, passenger service has been restored to an adjacent location -- first by Altamont Commuter Express in 1998, then by the start of Amtrak San Joaquin service to Sacramento in 1999. The remaining San Joaquins (Oakland line) use the former Santa Fe station on San Joaquin St. The former SP station will be a multimodal station, funded by a county sales tax, and should be open in a year.

The city of Escalon, Cal., is suing Caltrans over plans to double track the BNSF main line between there and Stockton. Escalon is on the San Joaquin route, but is not an Amtrak stop. The city charges that the project, in which Caltrans is investing $60 million, will jeopardize the public by increasing train traffic. Caltrans says that the project won't increase traffic in itself -- traffic already is increasing -- but will reduce the amount of time that public crossings are blocked by trains waiting to pass each other.

Trains will run through Auburn, Wash., faster beginning November 4. Along a five-mile stretch of the BNSF main line between Seattle and Tacoma, passenger speeds (for Sounder and Amtrak) will rise from 40 mph to 79 mph in one section, and from 75 mph to 79 mph in another. Freight speeds also will increase to 50 mph. There has been a community outreach program to tell people that trains will be faster than in the past.

Tampa's historic streetcar line, the TECO line, opened October 19, on a 2.3-mile route from 8th Ave. & 20th St. in Ybor City to Channelside (convention center and Florida Aquarium), and Water & Franklin on the south edge of downtown. A future 0.6-mile extension north on Franklin to Whiting is planned. The daily service is managed by the non-profit Tampa Historic Streetcar, Inc., and run by the local transit agency, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority. The first phase cost $32 million, from federal, state, and city sources. The opening follows an 18-year effort by the Tampa & Ybor City Street Railway Society to return streetcars to Tampa (where streetcar service had ended in 1946).