Hotline #269 - November 15, 2002

Congress was back in Washington this week for a very brief, lame-duck session. Rather than attempting work on any of the remaining, unpassed appropriations bills for fiscal 2003, it looks like the 107th Congress will punt the issue to the new 108th Congress that was elected last week. The House approved another continuing resolution for programs covered by the incomplete appropriations bills (including Amtrak) that runs until January 11. The Senate was expected to do the same by today.

The continuing resolution funds Amtrak at an annual level (pro-rated) of $1.039 billion. That's less than the $1.2 billion Amtrak says it needs for the entire fiscal year, but more than the House figure ($762 million) or the Administration figure ($521 million).

Since January 11 is very soon after the new Congress arrives, and since January tends to get filled up with organizational matters and pro forma business, there's a good chance that there will be another continuing resolution at that point. Still, there is indication that Republican leadership -- the Congressional appropriations chairs and Administration budget officials -- are moving toward an omnibus appropriations bill for consideration in January. If that bill stays close to House committee levels, that would be bad news for passenger rail.

Amtrak funding came up during Senate discussion on November 14 of the conference report of the Maritime Transportation Safety Act. Joe Biden (D.-Del.) remarked that port security (properly) was being addressed, rail security was not. Biden has been a consistent advocate of rail security, particularly as regards the busy, but old, tunnels on the Northeast Corridor.

That led John McCain (R.-Ariz.), who will be Commerce chairman next year, to claim that a rail security bill did not pass this year because Biden "wanted to add on billions of dollars for all kinds of assistance to railroads," passenger-rail development funding that McCain called "pork." He then incorrectly claimed that Amtrak has gotten "about $20 billion to $30 billion in the last few years" and claimed that "we are still subsidizing rail routes to the tune of $200 to $300 per passenger." Of course, the reality is that "subsidy-per-passenger" is no valid measure of a train's financial performance, and, even so, such a "subsidy" range is not true of passenger rail in general. McCain also said the General Accounting Office could outline "the incredible subsidization of Amtrak which costs American taxpayers billions and billions of dollars per passenger," which, of course, is a mathematical impossibility.

McCain later clarified himself by pointing out that he supported S.1550 (Rail Security Act), but opposed S.1991 (National Defense Rail Act), which includes provisions from S.1550, "because it authorizes as much as $4 billion annually" for passenger rail in general. S.1550 was approved by the Commerce Committee on October 17, 2001, but never considered by the full Senate. McCain explained yesterday that "holds were put on" S.1550. Of the $1.767 billion authorized by S.1550, $100 million was funded in the 2002 defense appropriations bill.

Finally, McCain had some praise: "I am pleased with some of the actions that have been taken by the new regime over at Amtrak. The new chairman is doing a much better job in making some very tough decisions."

The Senate on November 14 confirmed the nomination of David M. Laney to the Amtrak Board of Directors, for a five-year term. Laney is a lawyer who chaired the Texas Transportation Commission for five years. His confirmation hearing was September 5 and was reported on in NARP's September newsletter. Also confirmed (with a hearing the same date as Laney's) was Roger P. Nober as one of three members of the Surface Transportation Board, through December 31, 2005.

Amtrak is restructuring its commission rate structure for travel agents, effective today. Amtrak is putting greater emphasis on commissions it pays for long-distance-train tickets, rather than on corridor trains. In fact, Amtrak will no longer be paying commission to travel agents for any corridor trains after today. Amtrak says that is due, in part, to the fact that corridor passengers are increasingly likely to buy their corridor tickets on-line, at machines, or from agents who charge a processing fee.

As regards long-distance tickets, Amtrak is increasing commissions for Amtrak Vacations packages from 10% to 12%, keeping commission on individual long-distance tickets at 8% (with no caps), keeping commission on group long-distance trips at 10% (with no caps), and increasing group discounts from 5% to 20% (effective November 13). Agents working through certain large firms that have pre-existing agreements with Amtrak (like AAA) still will earn commissions fixed in those agreements (including for corridor traffic).

Amtrak passengers starting a trip at stations that are never staffed, but who are using a reservation made three days or less ahead of time, now have more time to pick up their tickets. The hold limit for such reservations has been changed to the actual departure of the train, giving passengers more time to get tickets from travel agents or Amtrak agents in other locations. However, passengers planning to purchase their tickets on the train need to tell that to the reservations agent and ask for the reservation to be "protected," meaning, in effect, no hold limit at all. Otherwise, the reservation will be canceled automatically upon the train's departure. This change, effective November 13, is in response to NARP's longstanding complaint that Amtrak's current hold limits are too aggressive.

Thanksgiving soon will be upon us. Amtrak says it will add 50,000 seats to trains across the country, for the whole week of Tuesday, November 26 through Monday, December 2. Amtrak also encourages people to make reservations soon. Amtrak is increasing, for the week, reserved services. This includes more reserved trains on the Northeast Corridor; and all-reserved service on the Empire Corridor, Pacific Surfliner route, and Chicago-hub routes (except Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawathas). Amtrak also will add 58 trains during the week on the Northeast Corridor, and will add capacity on Chicago trains and West Coast trains. Amtrak recommends arriving at the station at least an hour before departure, especially on the two busiest days, Wednesday and Sunday (or avoid those two days, if possible).

Amtrak's western trains have a "free companion" offer that is available with a coupon (being distributed through "various outlets"). The offer allows a free companion coach fare with the purchase of a regular senior or disabled rail fare, for the Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, and Sunset Limited. Up to two children (age 2-15) can accompany each adult (paying one-half the regular adult fare). Reservations and travel must occur by May 3, with holiday black-out periods. Reservations must be made at least three days before travel.

Work began on a new Amtrak maintenance facility in West Oakland, Cal., on November 14. The $65-million project is being funded by Amtrak and Caltrans, and will be used to service Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin trains, and the California Zephyr, in two years. That will let Amtrak move out of a part of a Union Pacific yard, and end the practice of sending some locomotives to Los Angeles for maintenance.

To accommodate a Union Pacific track project, some Amtrak service will be replaced by a bus between Kansas City and Jefferson City, Mo., temporarily. Eastbound train 304 and westbound train 301 are affected during two periods -- November 16-21, and December 1-8. Trains 303 and 306 are not affected.

A local sales tax for transit was extended by voters in Riverside County, Cal., on November 5. Among other things, it will allow a Metrolink commuter-rail extension from Riverside to Perris.

A rally at Steamtown in Scranton, in support of Scranton-New York rail service, on November 8 included Sen. Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.), Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D.-Pa.), Rep. Don Sherwood (R.-Pa.), and some Pennsylvania state legislators and local officials. Specter said that during 2003, he would lobby for federal approval of the last $3 million needed to complete preliminary engineering (with $2.3 million already in place). Total project cost is now about $200 million, much of it to replace track abandoned in New Jersey in the 1970's. The officials also hoped for inclusion of the project in TEA-21 renewal next year.