Hotline #289 - April 4, 2003

Work on reconciling the budget resolutions passed by the House and Senate has begun. The Senate version proposes $1.812 billion for Amtrak in fiscal 2004; the House version doesn't list such individual transportation programs. Conferees are Senators Nickles (R.-Okla.), Grassley (R.-Ia.), Gregg (R.-N.H.), Domenici (R.-N.Mex.), Sarbanes (D.-Md.), Conrad (D.-N.Dak.), Hollings (D.-S.C.); and Representatives Nussle (R.-Ia.), Shays (R.-Conn.), and Spratt (D.-S.C.).

If anyone listed above represents you, please contact that legislator in support of the Senate-passed $1.812 billion for Amtrak, the level Amtrak says it needs. Otherwise, ask your own Senators and Representative to urge the conferees to do the same. Remind legislators of the March 21 Senate vote in favor of amending the budget resolution to include $1.812 billion for Amtrak, and of the fact that the Administration's request ($900 million) is a reduction from the current level of $1.05 billion.

Conferees hope to finish work before their spring break (April 11), but could finish the transportation section much sooner. If you don't know your legislators' phone numbers, the Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121.  Otherwise, click here for Senate contact information, and here for House contacts. If you send a fax (or an e-mail, which is less effective) be sure to include your regular mailing address.

The Senate rejected an amendment on April 3 that would have increased assistance to transit agencies and railroads (including Amtrak) for security needs. The amendment, offered by John Breaux (D.-La.), came during consideration of S.762, an $80-billion supplemental appropriations bill for war-related expenses.

Breaux sought to take $1.135 billion in counterterrorism funds already in the bill, but which he said were not earmarked, and create a $2.65-billion counterterrorism package with more specific earmarks. Of that, Breaux proposed dedicating $1.355 billion to transportation counterterrorism, including $300 million for public transit agencies and $200 million for "railroad security grants including grants to [Amtrak] for capital expenses associated with tunnel and dispatch facility security enhancements."

Thad Cochran (R.-Miss.), who held that the existing bill language had adequate oversight of the counterterrorism funds, offered a measure to table the Breaux amendment, which was approved on a 52-46 vote (meaning the Breaux amendment was defeated). The vote was along party lines, except Miller (D.-Ga.) voted with the Republicans.  [Jeffords (I.-Vt.) voted with Democrats, and Democrats Inouye (Hawaii) and Kerry (Mass.) did not vote.]

Earlier, as part of the war-related supplemental funding process, House and Senate appropriations committees on April 1 separate war-related bills that include $3.2 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively, for airline aid. A large part of that would extend the government's program of subsidized war-risk insurance. The Bush Administration has called the aid to airlines "excessive," pointing out that not all airlines are struggling.  One Office of Management and Budget official said, "We don't need Amtrak in the air."

On the same topic, the Oregonian on April 2 wrote in an editorial, "It's rich, in a way, to watch the airlines swoop in for their second multibillion-dollar bailout from the Congress that nearly killed the nation's passenger rail system last year by insisting that it be weaned from federal funding. Only in America is an airline industry that has sought more than $15 billion in public subsidies in less than three years depicted as the free market on wings, while passenger rail is financially starved and continually attacked as government waste on wheels."

The House and Senate both passed their versions of the bill late on April 3, and it will go to conference next.

Amtrak and Michigan agreed to a three-month extension of train operations on March 31. Michigan provides support for the International and Pere Marquette. A legal funding cap set the level of Amtrak's compensation to an amount below what Amtrak requested. Amtrak ran the trains the first six months of the fiscal year at the lower rate, in the hopes of lifting the cap. The three-month extension is based on similar terms, and may give time for the legislature to lift the cap.

Last week, we wrote about some Acela Express cancellations. A later Washington Post report said that this week, only 36 of the 44 regular weekday departures would run, and that Amtrak didn't know how long that would last. The cancellations, which could last months, come after federal inspectors found problems with Bombardier maintenance practices, unrelated to the yaw-damper bracket problem that began in August 2002. The Federal Railroad Administration did not remove the trains from service, but Amtrak did it as a precaution. Amtrak blames the current maintenance problems on Bombardier's not keeping a steady flow of spare parts flowing to the maintenance bases.

The Postal Service has told Amtrak that no more mail will be handled on the Empire Builder west of St. Paul, effective April 19. While the Postal Service has reduced mail volumes on all its Amtrak routes, as well as in the air, this is the first segment to lose all mail. Amtrak mail revenues, which were about $80 million (annualized) last summer, could drop below $40 million (annualized) this month. A NARP release said, "The Empire Builder has the best on-time performance among Amtrak's transcontinental route, so the move raises concerns about what the Postal Service might do next."

The Indiana Senate on April 1 approved H.B.1489, a bill to require the state DOT to spend at least 10% of Indiana's federal planning and research money on development of high-speed rail. That would be up to $1.3 million annually. The vote, 45-1, sends the bill back to the House because the House version had the funding coming from the state Port Commission.

California's relationship with Amtrak will be the focus of a $300,000 study commissioned by that state's department of transportation (Caltrans), according to the Stockton Record. Some legislators have called for putting out bids on the three corridors and feeder-bus network right away, but Governor Davis prefers to study the matter first.

Herzog Transit Services will not pursue a contract to run Missouri's St. Louis-Kansas City service in the coming fiscal year, according to the Kansas City Star. Herzog claims that Amtrak is refusing to talk about access to Amtrak's reservations system and use of a parcel near the St. Louis station. Herzog says it can run the service at "considerably less cost" than the $6.4 million in state support that Amtrak has requested. A deadline for other private parties to submit bids to the state passed on March 31.

Wisconsin DOT has released a survey it did with Illinois DOT and Amtrak, of passengers on Amtrak's Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha service. It shows that passengers are "highly satisfied with the service." Responses to two questions showed that a majority of passengers considered the train a viable alternative to driving. A more complete analysis of the survey will be released later in the spring.

The third annual Monster Mile Express will run on June 1. Amtrak will run a special train from New York, Newark, Trenton, Philadelphia, and Wilmington to Dover for the Winston Cup Series, with connections at Wilmington to/from the south. There will be shuttle buses from the train to the Dover International Speedway. The promotion code for the train is H177. The train will run again for another race on September 21.

New SEPTA commuter routes north of Philadelphia were the topic of a meeting March 31 at the former Quakertown station between Sen. Arlen Specter (R.) and local officials. They are proposing a route from Shelly (just north of Quakerstown) south to Lansdale (connection with SEPTA's R5 Doylestown line), then southwest to Norristown (connection with R6 Norristown line and Route 100 rapid transit line to 69th St. Terminal). If developed, the new line would be SEPTA's only diesel-operated commuter line. The Quakertown-Lansdale segment last had service in 1981, as part of a former Philadelphia-Bethlehem route. The Allentown Morning Call said Specter seemed receptive to the idea of helping to get federal funding for the proposal.

The Surface Transportation Policy Project has released a national survey on public attitudes toward walking. In general, the survey found that Americans want to walk more places more often, and are willing to make the investments to allow that. Over half, 55%, when given the choice between walking more and driving more, chose walking. Such attitudes, if incorporated into public policy -- as can be done in vehicles like the pending TEA-21 reauthorization -- can lead to community design that is friendlier to transit and rail use.

The NARP Region 3 meeting, originally scheduled for April 12 in New Castle, Del., has been postponed.