Hotline #285 - March 7, 2003

The annual House Appropriations hearing on Amtrak is March 20. The chairman of the newly reorganized Subcommittee on Transportation and Treasury is Eugene Istook (R.-Okla.). The new ranking member has a high profile -- Steny Hoyer (Md.) is Democratic Whip. Istook and Hoyer are new to transportation appropriations work, but worked together last year as chair and ranking member of the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government subcommittee. Hoyer has been supportive of Amtrak in the past.

While some on Capitol Hill seriously consider reducing transit's share of the well established highway/transit funding ratio of about 80/20, it appears the Bush Administration will support a better approach. Assistant Secretary Emil Frankel yesterday said DOT's six-year plan will call for spending $200 billion on highways and $46 billion on transit. Also, the Democratic Caucus of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this week circulated "Democratic Principles for TEA 21 Reauthorization" which says "a level playing field between highways and transit must be maintained, with both programs' funding growing at the historical 80/20 ratio."

The Administration, however, has talked in the past about requiring states to pay more than 20% of the cost of a transit project, while keeping the federal/state funding ratio of 80/20 in place for highways -- a separate issue from the federal highway/transit ratio.

"Acela Regional" trains will become "Regional" trains, effective March 17. Amtrak says this is the result of customer feedback and is intended to reduce confusion between those trains and "Acela Express." A third Acela class, which was to have been called "Acela Commuter," will retain its Keystone and Clocker designations.

Supplemental funding for Missouri trains advanced as the Senate on March 4 approved supplemental bill HB515, with $800,000 for Amtrak service, as approved by the House last week. The bill now goes to conference and then to the governor. Amtrak indicates that enactment, which is expected, would remove the threat of discontinuing one of two daily St. Louis-Kansas City round trips the rest of this fiscal year (ending June 30).

Two Amtrak services in Michigan, however, may run out of money at the end of March. The Pere Marquette (Chicago-Grand Rapids) and the International (Chicago-Port Huron) are running under a six-month agreement between the Michigan DOT and Amtrak that expires March 31. Michigan DOT has more budgeted to run the service ($8.3 million) than Amtrak is asking ($7.1 million) for an entire fiscal year, but a state law (Public Act 561, Sec. 711-4) limits spending on the services to $5.7 million.

Amtrak and Michigan DOT are trying to get the legal cap lifted, but time is short. One legislator, Rep. Lauren Hager (Port Huron) was interested and has authority to "fast-track" a bill, but has not done so, apparently because he has not heard much from others in support of the service, and read a negative editorial in the Port Huron newspaper. So it's important for all Michigan residents to tell their state legislators to save the service, by asking that they urge Rep. Hager to move his bill and save the trains.

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted on March 6 to increase the base bus and subway fare, now $1.50, by 33% to $2.00. It also voted to increase commuter rail fares on Metro North and the Long Island Rail Road by 25%. The increases take effect early in May. Bridge and tunnel tolls will go up as well, by 14% to $4.00. The Authority also voted to eliminate use of tokens, which have been used on New York subways for 50 years -- but which have largely been abandoned by passengers in favor of fare cards.

Only Philadelphia already has a $2.00 base fare (for subways). Washington Metro is considering increasing its base fare by 27% from $1.10 to $1.40. Budget constraints among state and local governments are behind the fare increases, generally, but fare increases also discourage transit use in favor of driving (assuming the passenger has a choice to drive in the first place).

A bill in the New Mexico Senate, SB640, would allocate $200,000 for a study of Denver-Albuquerque-El Paso passenger rail service. The study would be performed by the state Highway and Transportation Department and the Alliance for Transportation Research. The sponsor is Sen. Bernadette Sanchez (D.-Albuquerque). The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and is now before the Finance Committee.

The Twilight Shoreliner is annulled south of Washington, March 3-13, in order to accommodate a CSX track project between Richmond and Newport News. Amtrak did not say why the train could not be run as far as Richmond. Trains 94 and 95 will still run to and from Newport News, but Amtrak warned that the southbound train (95) would be subject to delays up to an hour.

The Sunset Limited east of New Orleans is annulled for three departures this month, to accommodate a CSX track project. Trains scheduled to leave Orlando on March 16-18-20, and leaving New Orleans (eastbound) on March 14-16-18 will not run.

The Adirondack and Ethan Allen were annulled two days this week (March 4 and 5) north of Albany due to a track geometry inspection car operating on Canadian Pacific, with no alternate transportation offered. While it's not unknown for actual track work to interrupt service (see above), it's quite unusual for track inspections to interrupt service.

Viewliner sleepers still are in short supply; with spot cancellations of the cars continuing on the Twilight Shoreliner, Boston Lake Shore Limited and Three Rivers. To help Amtrak catch up on work these cars need, the Boston Lake Shore sleeper is dropped for the entire month of March.

The Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) this week announced the appointment of Anne P. Canby as its new president. A nationally recognized transportation leader, she was Delaware's Secretary of Transportation, 1993-2000. She also has been a Deputy Assistant Secretary of U.S. DOT, New Jersey DOT Commissioner, and Treasurer of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. She starts April 1, succeeding David Burwell, who will continue on the STPP Board. [NARP Executive Director Ross B. Capon serves on  STPP's Steering and Federal Policy Committees.]

STPP unveils its platform for TEA-21 reauthorization, "Stay the Course: How to Make TEA-21 Even Better" at a news conference March 10, at 10:00 am in 538 Dirksen Senate Office Building, in Washington.

The Ohio Mobility Partners is a new coalition that plans to encourage the state legislature to provide more funding for alternative forms of transportation, including rail.  The coalition is made up of the Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers and a wide variety of other groups.

NARP Region 4 will meet on March 15 in Baltimore, Md.