Hotline #300 - June 20, 2003

The City of Chicago released a $1.5-billion plan to improve railroad infrastructure in the nation's busiest railroad hub, on June 16. The plan comes after two years' discussion among officials of the city, State of Illinois, federal government, Association of American Railroads, Amtrak, Metra, and freight railroads. The plan includes 25 highway-rail grade-separation projects, and six rail-rail separations. Those six include three on Metra's SouthWest line (to Orland Park), two on Metra's Heritage line (which also has Amtrak's St. Louis trains on it), and one at the crossing at Englewood of Metra's Rock Island line and Norfolk Southern's main line to the east (Amtrak's route to Hammond-Whiting and the east).

Another feature is the elimination of the St. Charles Air Line along the near South Side, which is used by Amtrak's City of New Orleans and Illini. A $20-million project, early in the process, provides a way for those trains to reach the Norfolk Southern line (at Grand Crossing), giving them a faster, more direct route to Union Station. However, the Cardinal is the Amtrak route with the worst freight-train interference in Chicago. For the Grand Crossing project also to benefit the Cardinal, renovation of another connection (not in the plan) would be required to enable the Cardinal to join the IC line near Harvey, eliminating the train's present, congested route through Auburn Park.

A feature article on Amtrak in the June 18 New York Times highlighted Amtrak's renewed interest in infrastructure renewal, and contrasted it with the situation of a year ago, when Amtrak faced a $200-million shutdown crisis. A concrete-tie-laying machine, now working in the Wilmington area after being idle "for the last few years," was highlighted.

The article pointed out what readers of this Hotline already know -- Amtrak's authorization and appropriations future remains murky. Among the featured quotes causing pessimism was one from House Transportation Appropriations Chairman Ernest Istook (R.-Okla.), at a hearing April 10 -- "There is a grave question whether Amtrak can continue to operate without dragging down the transportation system for the rest of the country."

BART's Colma-Millbrae extension, 8.7 miles, opens June 22. The new Millbrae station will be served both by BART and Caltrain, the first direct link between those two systems. There is also a short spur to the San Francisco Airport (international terminal), which Caltrain passengers will have to use to reach the airport.

Currently, Caltrain passengers can use a free shuttle bus to get from the existing Millbrae Caltrain station (which closes today) and all areas of the airport. But that bus will be discontinued, and Caltrain passengers then will have to use the BART spur, which costs $1.50 and serves only one airport terminal (international). Transit advocates earlier had argued, unsuccessfully, for an intermodal BART/Caltrain station closer to the airport that would be served by the airport's internal circulator system, connecting both BART and Caltrain to all parts of the airport.

Nevertheless, the direct BART link to the airport will be very useful to people headed to and from points north of the airport, including the city of San Francisco.

Weekend Caltrain service continues to be suspended during a major reconstruction project.

MetroLink, the St. Louis-area light-rail operator, opens a 3.5-mile extension from Belleville Area College (Ill.) to Shiloh-Scott, June 23.

PATH's Exchange Place station in Jersey City, N.J., reopens June 29. It has been closed since the September 2001 terror attacks. This will reestablish a link between the PATH system and NJT's Hudson-Bergen light rail system. PATH service from Exchange Place to Lower Manhattan will resume in November, after an extensive refurbishing of that route's Hudson tubes and completion of a temporary station at the World Trade Center site.

The Citizens for a Sensible Transportation Solutions, of Tucson, Ariz., are hosting a display of a full-scale mock-up of a Minneapolis light-rail car, through June 24 (except Sunday). The display is in the Main Library Plaza on Church St. The groups wants to see light rail come to Tucson as well, which will be the subject of a referendum in November.

Union Pacific has donated the former Missouri Pacific station in Poplar Bluff, Mo., to the Committee to Save and Restore the Historic Train Depot. The only current use of the building is a waiting room for Texas Eagle passengers. The room is cared for by two members of the depot committee. The next projects for the committee are repairing the roof and exterior steps.

The American Passenger Rail Coalition, which represents manufacturers and suppliers, presented its annual Rail Leadership Awards on June 17. Sen. Arlen Specter (R.-Pa.) and Rep. James Oberstar (D.-Minn.) were honored at Washington Union Station.

New Jersey Transit was expected to award a contract for a $5-million environmental impact study today, for a new Hudson tunnel, according to the New York Daily News. The tunnel, expected to cost $5 billion, would expand track capacity between Penn Station in Manhattan and New Jersey.

Amtrak has expanded the capabilities of its "Julie" automated voice response system. Julie now can process credit card transactions. Previously, the system had to send a customer to a live agent at that point in a reservations process. Julie, which was designed by SpeechWorks, has gradually been given more tasks since first introduced in April 2001. Amtrak estimates that Julie has saved the company $13 million so far.