Hotline # 739, December 30, 2011

Dec 30, 2011: Hotline #739

The Connecticut Department of Transportation announced that commuter train riders will be looking at a fare increase of 5¼ percent in the next month, the first step in a muli-year fare program that will see costs rise by 19 percent of the next seven years.

“After seven years of holding the line on fares, we believe this series of modest increases is completely justified,” said Conn-DOT spokesman Judd Everhart. “During the past seven years, Connecticut has made significant investments in its rail infrastructure. New M-8 rail cars are being delivered every month. New equipment means better and more reliable service. That, in our view, justifies the increase.”

While many riders considered the increases reasonable—the increase, the first since 2005, means an extra 75 cents for a peak hour trip or around $13 to $21 for a monthly ticket—some expressed dissatisfaction.

“I had no idea the fares were going up,” Joseph Escoto told the Connecticut Post. “People are so busy working these days they probably didn’t realize this fall it was going to happen.”

Elected officials in Hartford are taking note of the increase.  State Representative Gail Lavielle (R-143rd District) is looking closely at the hike.  While she did recognize the problems created by the budget contraction, Lavielle argued that the New Haven Line’s $37 million budget should be maintained rather than decreased.  The Republican representative warned that she would introduce legislation preventing the siphoning of funds away from the commuter railroad’s budget.

“If the intention is to use the additional revenue to improve rail service than nobody should have a problem with the bill,” Lavielle told the Connecticut Post. “I want to prevent the state from reducing the subsidy to Metro-North to use the money for something else.”


Two members of Congress requested this week that the U.S. Department of Transportation undertake an audit of the entity that manages Washington Union Station to assess its financial stability.

1910s postcard of Washington Union Station [Image: riptheskull on Flickr.com]

Representative Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) sent their letter to the US DOT’s Inspector General, highlighting concerns that plans to develop the station for commercial purposes could undermine the station’s ability to handle intercity traffic, affecting traffic throughout the East Coast:

"We write now because Union Station is undergoing a major transformation that will have significant effects on the national capital region and the Northeast corridor, and because a new mixed-use community is planned for above the rail tracks… Considering the unprecedented plans under way, some to occur simultaneously, assessing the financial condition of this asset is necessary to protect the significant federal investment and to avoid another cycle of the disrepair that once led to the shutdown of the facility. Particularly today, when there are no federal funds to assist Union Station as Congress did before, it is essential that the Congress have a definitive audit of the financial viability and management of USRC.”

Union Station is situated just a few blocks north of the capitol building, a valuable real estate location in D.C.  As a hub for Amtrak, Metrorail, commuter rail, and intercity bus, it is the busiest station in the entire metropolitan region.  Yet in many ways it has been underdeveloped until recently.  The station, built in 1907, experienced a decline in the mid 1900s that wasn’t reversed until a 1980s restoration campaign led by Congress.  The nonprofit Union Station Redevelopment Corporation was created to administer the station as a self-sustaining entity. 

Many locals, however, argue that the station is performing far under its potential.  Rahall and Norton, for instance, are questioning whether the USRC’s decision to enter into an 84-year, $160 million lease of the station’s commercial facilities will provide enough funds to keep the station operating.  Over at the Urban Spaces and Places blog, Richard Layman says a solution could lie in more public input, pointing to the outreach the City of Chicago undertook when drafting the development plan for Chicago’s Union Station.


The Connecticut Rail Commuter Council introduced a new Metro-North Railroad passenger bill of rights this month.

Topping the list is a safe trip, accurate and timely information about train’s operations, and courteous treatment by Metro-North employments.

You can read the full Metro-North Railroad passenger bill of rights here [PDF]. 


China’s chief administrative authority issued a statement December 28 placing the blame for a fatal high-speed rail crash in July on design flaws and poor management, condemning the Chinese Rail Ministry in a highly critical—and notably public—rebuke.

“The Ministry of Railways did not properly handle rescue efforts, did not issue information quickly, and failed to address public concerns in the proper fashion,” said a statement from China’s State Council.  “The China Railway Signal and Communication Corp, the main signalling equipment contractor, did not fulfill its full responsibility, which resulted in serious design flaws and security risks in the equipment it supplied.”

The Rail Ministry initially stated the cause of the deadly accident—which killed 40, and injured more than 200—was an errant lightning strike.  The public reversal by the State Council is likely in response to the massive outcry from the Chinese people, many of whom stated that the crash was a microcosm for the GDP-before-people mentality that they say has come to define modern China.  The Council identified 54 people who would be punished as a result of the inquest, among them former railway minister Liu Zhijun and former deputy chief engineer, Zhang Shuguang.

However, while this mea culpa was issued, China’s government quietly been resuming the aggressive expansion of its passenger rail network.  While the government is putting less money into expanding the rail network than in years past—an astonishing $110.8 billion last year and $74.2 billion this year—the Rail Ministry will still have a sizable $63.3 billion at its disposal next year.

China also unveiled a new test version of a domestically designed and manufactured high-speed train this week, which it says is capable of 310 mph.  Some local news outlets reporting that the train is even capable of reaching 370 mph, which would displace the world record set by France’s TGV .


Train operators made the fist run on Afghanistan’s new railroad last week—the country’s first major rail corridor.

While there have been many plans to construct a rail network in Afghanistan since the 1800s, the war torn region has never been stable enough to allow for completion, with many projects initiated then abandoned.  The first 47-mile run between the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif and the Uzbekistan border began what many hope is the first phase in a project to connect the land-locked nation to the rail networks of neighboring countries.

U.S military forces plan on using the rail corridor to ease the import of supplies, and eventually move out cargo when the withdrawal gets underway—scheduled to begin in 2012.

“We do not have numbers yet, (but) we anticipate that the rail line will be able to speed the transit of cargo into Afghanistan and out of it,” Commander Bill Speaks of the Office of the Secretary of Defense told the Washington Post.

Beyond the U.S. military’s use of the line, many Afghanis are hoping that Mazar-i-Sharif becomes a new hub for trade in the region, providing a much needed economic stimulus.  The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation project is working to develop a 1,250 miles railway network connecting China, India and the Middle East to Europe, and Afghan has long been considered the weak link.

“It’s actually a big deal,” Fred Starr, chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins University, told the Washington Post.  “It’s very significant both practically and symbolically.”