Hotline #282 - February 14, 2003

Work on fiscal 2003 appropriations finally has ended -- over a third of the way into the fiscal year.  The House and Senate voted to approve an omnibus package (H.J.Res.2) on February 13, and President Bush is expected to sign it next week.

Amtrak will get $1.05 billion and a deferral (for fiscal 2003 at least) of repaying the $100 million loan it got in June 2002. That, in effect, puts Amtrak within $50 million of the $1.2 billion that Amtrak requested way back in February 2002 -- before the arrival of Amtrak President David Gunn, who has said his pre-loan request would have been higher than $1.2 billion. While this figure represents yet another year of "limp-along" funding, it should forestall a shutdown/cash crisis for the rest of the fiscal year.

Amtrak plans to ask for $1.812 billion in 2004 (vs. the Administration's request of $900 million). The increase is intended to further stabilize nationwide service, repair rolling stock, and begin addressing the massive backlog of capital work needed to maintain commercially viable speeds on the Northeast Corridor over the next few years.

The bill includes several measures designed to increase oversight over Amtrak. One measure requires Amtrak to continue abiding by the terms of the June 2002 loan agreement between it and the DOT.

Another measure requires the Secretary of Transportation to "approve funding to cover operating losses" of each long-distance route "only after receiving and reviewing a grant request for each specific train route," provided that the financial analysis in each request justifies funding for that route "to the Secretary's satisfaction." In theory, that gives the Bush Administration veto power over each long-distance route, but in practice, it's questionable that power will be used. This passage can be viewed as a political game of "hot potato," as this power is not one the Administration sought or wants.  Rather, it is a way for some Congressional opponents of long-distance trains to shift such responsibility elsewhere.

Amtrak must step up the number of financial reports it gives the Administration and Congressional committees, and cannot spend any of its appropriations on items that are not in those plans and were not approved by the Secretary of Transportation, except that changes for under $10 million can be made without formal request.

The bill also retains House language requiring Amtrak to submit a report with, for each route, per-passenger operating loss and net operating loss. This fixation with per-passenger losses makes for good sound bites for those predisposed to oppose long-distance trains, but has no relationship to a route's financial performance. Per-passenger-mile loss or operating ratio would come closer. Conferees did reject language approved by a House committee last year limiting funding for long-distance trains to $150 million.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said, "This budget will help ensure that Amtrak continues to operate for another year as a national railroad system. We must also continue to pursue long-term reform and better service" (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 14).

Deputy Transportation Secretary Michael Jackson appeared before House and Senate Budget Committees this week. Addressing the Bush Administrations fiscal 2004 request of $900 million for 2004, he said $671 million of that is for operations, including "implementing restructuring and management reforms." He added that "passenger rail is an important component of our nation's transportation infrastructure. We stand ready to work with Congress and the states in the upcoming reauthorization to create an intercity passenger rail system that is driven by sound economics, fosters competition, and establishes a long-term partnership between states and the Federal Government to sustain an economically viable system."

Amtrak President David Gunn appeared on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" program on February 10.  It is viewable at C-SPAN's web site -- the program is three hours, but the Gunn segment begins 45 minutes into the program.

The Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission said on February 7 that it would solicit proposals from possible passenger-train operators for the St. Louis-Kansas City service. The service has been in trouble since the legislature, in 2002, granted only $5.0 million of Amtrak's $6.2 million request for the twice-daily operation. Supplemental funding was approved by the House Appropriations Committee today, but it's unclear if the Amtrak funding will survive a House-Senate conference. So it's possible that one of the round-trips (the Mules) could be eliminated at the end of this month -- at least for the rest of Missouri's fiscal year.

Declining and unpredictable federal operating grants has led Amtrak to ask states for more funding. At the state level, however, that federal factor is often left out of the equation, and there are sporadic expressions of concern over "escalating" Amtrak charges.

One private party, Herzog Transit Services, informally has expressed interest in operating the service.  Herzog, headquartered in St. Joseph, Mo., operates several commuter rail systems, but it is quite possible that Herzog's lack of right of access to the Union Pacific route will put it at a cost disadvantage. It's also unclear how such a service would mesh with Amtrak's operations in terms of reservations, ticketing, and use of Amtrak facilities at St. Louis and Kansas City. One of the trains in question, the Ann Rutledge, now runs as a through Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City service.

A barge struck Amtrak's bridge at Spuyten Duyvil -- between Manhattan and the Bronx, N.Y. -- on February 7, disrupting train traffic for several days while repairs were made. Some Amtrak trains ran to Grand Central (rather than Penn Station), some terminated at Croton-Harmon (with connections to Grand Central on Metro North trains), and some were cancelled. Other trains -- the Maple Leaf, Adirondack, and Lake Shore Limited -- ran to Penn Station on a roundabout detour via the Hell Gate Bridge, subject to delay. Amtrak ran shuttle buses between Grand Central and Penn to accommodate passengers making connections.

Service returned to normal February 12. Another barge strike at the same bridge disrupted Amtrak service on March 2, 2002.

Along with the February 10 timetable changes, Amtrak and Greyhound are running a new Thruway service from Cleveland (bus station) to Pittsburgh, connecting with train 40 (eastbound Three Rivers) and from train 43 (westbound Pennsylvanian). NARP has notified Amtrak that this cannot yet be booked on-line.

A Norfolk Southern freight derailment west of Sandusky, O., late on February 11 led to a couple days of detours for the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited around there (on CSX), and at least one instance of extra cars added to the Capitol Limited to ferry Lake Shore passengers between Chicago and Cleveland. The derailment occurred on the Sandusky Bay causeway and appeared to be caused by heavy winds there. On February 12, the Capitol Limited reached Washington at 10 pm, over six hours late.

An Illinois Central freight derailment at Tamaroa, Ill., on February 9 caused at least one day's Illini to be terminated at Champaign (with bus substitution). The City of New Orleans was detoured via East St. Louis, subject to extensive delay. One southbound detoured train (that left Chicago February 9) had its last car, a mail car, derail on the detour route at Pinckneyville, Ill.

The Chicago-St. Louis high-speed rail Final Environmental Impact Statement was completed in January.  It is available at the web site of the Illinois Department of Transportation. Comments on the statement are due by March 10.

Amtrak has embargoed (temporarily removed from service) its "MHC" mail handling cars, as of February 11.  CSX and Norfolk Southern had imposed 60-mph speed limits on them, with Burlington Northern Santa Fe following suit on February 10.

The Texas GulfLiner train will operate during two periods this month -- February 21-23 and February 28-March 2 -- for Mardi Gras.  The train runs from League City to Galveston, Tex.  See the service's web site for more information.

NARP Region 2 will meet on March 1 in Schenectady, N.Y.; Region 9 will meet in Fort Worth, Tex.