Hotline #726 - September 30, 2011

Federal Fiscal Year 2012 begins tomorrow with funding that expires Tuesday. Amtrak gets $1,461 million, which is $23 million below the already-inadequate 2011 level. The 1,461 is consistent with the debt ceiling law enacted in August. Though there will be complaints from Tea Partiers, it is likely that the same funding level will be included in a continuing resolution early next week that will run through November 18. It is unclear whether the same funding level can be sustained for the rest of the fiscal year, even though this would be consistent with the bipartisan August deal to raise the debt ceiling. Militant House Republicans are disappointed that the lower spending levels in the House-passed budget resolution are not being enacted.


The U.S Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration delivered $225 million in High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Program funds to five states this week, part of the Obama Administration’s ongoing effort to upgrade passenger train service across the U.S. As the NARP blog reported on Wednesday, that brings the Septmber-total for FRA HSIPR grants up to around $415 million.

The projects announced this week will go to upgrade tracks and stations across the U.S., and include:

• $149.3 million for the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to improve the Empire Corridor, including double-tracking the Albany-Schenectady segment, add a long-awaited fourth station track at Albany/Rensselaer and bury signal wires south of that station for greater reliability.
• $13.3 million grant for the Delaware Department of Transportation to add a third track immediately south of the Wilmington, DE station;
• $48.3 million for North Carolina and Virginia to advance the development of the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor, which will link Raleigh, NC, Richmond, VA, and Washington, D.C.;
• $13.6 million for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to modernize the Portland Union Station, upgrade passenger rail service along Amtrak’s Cascades route, and continue further development of an integrated, statewide rail network.

There is more information in our June and October-November newsletters; the latter is now available on-line for NARP members.

The projects will certainly create good paying jobs. The FRA received a lot of harsh criticism from opponents of the Recovery Act who believed they weren’t getting the money out the door fast enough. But with the chances of an additional stimulus bill slim-to-none and even regular transportation budgeting caught up in partisan wrangling over the debt, these projects are hitting at just the right time. With economists warning of the increasing prospects of a double dip recession, projects that employ skilled American workers to build public infrastructure with lasting value are at a premium.

And the “lasting value” of these projects can’t be overstressed here. Rail has received enough partisan heat without being the subject of controversy, such as the dispute that has overtaken government renewable energy programs, sparked by bankruptcy of solar panel manufacturer Solyndra. Indeed, the care devoted to rail grants would seem to favorably with reported efforts to rush the loan to Solyndra.

That value, however, adds a bitter flavor to the fiscal year 2012 budgeting going on in Congress at this very moment. Just as this program is finally hitting its stride, House leaders are doing their best to kill it. The best-case scenario for HSIPR funding is the Senate’s propose $100 million—less than a quarter of what the FRA moved out the door in this month alone. It’s up to transportation advocates to broadcast the HSIPR successes far and wide to discredit the “train to nowhere” fallacy wherever it rears its head.


Denora Gagaza became Amtrak California’s San Joaquin corridor’s millionth passenger yesterday, part of a banner year that has seen the train break or equal three records.

“The success of this corridor is a result of Amtrak’s strong partnership with state of California,” said Emmett Fremaux, Amtrak Vice President of Marketing & Product Development. “Working with Caltrans, Amtrak has implemented the improvements to the service that have helped boost ridership throughout the region.”

With service between Oakland, Sacramento, and Bakersfield (and Thruway bus links with Los Angeles and many other cities), the San Joaquin is the fifth busiest intercity passenger train corridor in the U.S. The route has seen a 6.7 percent ridership jump over the previous year, and broke the single-month ridership record in July with 103,933 passengers.

Gagaza exemplifies the growing confidence Californians are placing in the service, using the San Joaquin to travel between her Riverbank home and Modesto around 30 times a year to visit friends and family. The frequent Amtrak traveler will receive complimentary tickets on Amtrak’s California Zephyr for the role she played in reaching the one million mark.

“She is a perfect ambassador for this route,” said Acting Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “We are delighted more passengers are experiencing the benefits of Amtrak California trains.”


News coming out of Atlanta this week indicates the city is getting serious about establishing a higher-speed rail connection to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

While the idea for the Atlanta-Chattanooga train has been around since at least 1998, there hasn’t been significant movement on the project. However, this week the City of Atlanta committed to providing a $250,000 match for a study that would determine potential alignments, environmental impacts, ridership, construction costs, and economic benefits.

The money would match $13 million in federal funds provided by the High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Program. In addition to Atlanta’s contribution, the Georgia Department of Transportation is chipping in $1.5 million, and the City of Chattanooga is in for $1.7 million.

City transportation planners are keen on the idea of establishing Atlanta as a passenger rail hub for the Southeast, and see the Chattanooga line as a good start. But while the study is a necessary first step, its future would depend heavily on federal involvement. That means Congressional support of the HSIPR program in future budgets.

Although future funding is out of the hands of city leaders in Atlanta and Chattanooga, transportation planners haven’t been shy in praising the foresight shown by city officials.

“They’re finally having some vision,” said Joe Ferguson, the high-speed rail project coordinator for Chattanooga’s Enterprise Center. “Planners and leadership see high-speed or conventional passenger rail could be something Atlanta can be a key player for.”


The Tide, Norfolk Virginia’s brand new light rail line, is adding a number of innovative features to improve the passenger experience, including Wi-Fi capabilities.

The Tide spent $30,000 to equip all nine trains with internet capability, allowing commuters and travelers to work in transit. Transit officials have also invested in online ticketing, allowing customers to purchase e-tickets to print at home or carry on their mobile devices.

Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) is also developing ridership programs with employers as part of its GoPass 365 program, where employers and institutions pay an annual fee to give their employees unlimited access to the line.

“It’s really about what’s the best service for our customers,” Philip Shucet, HRT president and CEO, told the Virginian-Pilot. Shucet added that the new features will not push the cost for the line above the established $318.5 million price tag.


Travelers Advisory

Beginning tomorrow, Amtrak crews will begin weekend track work in all four of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) East River tunnels.

The tunnel work will result in single and double tunnel outages between 10 p.m. on Fridays and 5 a.m. on Mondays for the duration of the work, scheduled to be completed by the middle of 2015. Crews will also be working during weekday overnight periods, resulting in tunnel outages.

While the work will cause some inconvenience to passengers in the short term, the work is necessary to keep this busy line running smoothly. In May of this year, a derailment in the East River tunnel resulted in a week long disruption of LIRR service. The work will feature a complete overhaul of the track surface and the drainage system will get a significant upgrade.

“I would like to thank Amtrak for their quick response and cooperation in taking on this critical work to improve the reliability of LIRR service for our customers,” said LIRR President Helena Williams. “I would also like to recognize elected officials for urging Amtrak to make these necessary track and drainage improvements to the East River Tunnels.”

Problems with Amtrak’s signal feeds and switches on September 27 caused delays throughout the Mid Atlantic region and stymied New Jersey commuters.

While Amtrak crews were able to repair the signaling systems by the evening, thousands of people trying to leave New York City were delayed for hours while operators manually directed train traffic.

Amtrak is hosting a sweepstakes for passengers on its Facebook page in anticipation of reaching 30 million passengers in fiscal year 2011.

Everyday between now and October 15, Amtrak will randomly select one participating passenger to receive two round-trip tickets to any of the more than 500 Amtrak destinations across the continental United States. Simply go to Amtrak’s Facebook page to sign up.