Hotline # 750 - March 16, 2012

Hotline #750
March 16, 2012

The Senate passed a two-year, $109 billion surface transportation authorization this week by a vote of 74 to 22, putting the onus on House leadership to move their own version of the bill before the March 31 expiration date of current law.

The Senate bill essentially continues current funding levels for another two years.  While shorter than the six-year span that state transportation agencies prefer—for the purposes of long-term planning—the hope is that by pushing a long-term reauthorization past the coming elections, and maintaining existing spending levels, Congress can readdress the thorny questions of how to pay for America’s crumbling infrastructure in a political atmosphere more congenial to compromise.

This increases pressure on the House to act.  The House was in recess this week but returns next week.  There, H.R. 7 was not brought up earlier in March due to lack of votes.  Democrats were unanimous in opposition and Republicans were split, with opposition both to the removal of mass transit from the Highway Trust Fund and to the bill’s overall price tag (hard-line fiscal conservatives thought it too high).  House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has hinted he might move on the Senate proposal or something like it unless House GOP members can coalesce around a proposal.  However, there are rumblings that the House may insist on yet another short-term extension, possibly for eight weeks.

“It’s [the House’s] job to get this done. They should come back from their break, turn to the bill, amend it if they don’t like certain things in it—that’s what democracy’s about,” Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) told reporters. “And let’s get to conference.  Or just pass the bill.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood released a statement of support for the bill’s passage in the Senate.  The former Republican Congressman from Illinois spoke of the legislation as a model of bipartisanship.

“Today’s passage of the Senate transportation bill shows what Congress is capable of when they work together in a bipartisan manner,” said LaHood.  The secretary went on to argue that, like the President’s transportation budget request, this “bill would relieve congestion on our roads, expand our transit and rails systems, and provide Americans with safe, affordable ways to reach their destinations when gas prices are high.  I hope that the House will follow their lead in passing a bipartisan transportation bill.”

While the bill doesn’t include any funding for the High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Program, it does include a number of important rail provisions, including:

• Requires U.S. DOT to develop a long-range national rail plan, as well as regional rail plans that address how the national rail plan will be implemented;
• Requires the Next Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee to establish an equipment pooling entity to lease or acquire equipment to be used in State-supported services;
• Creates a transition fund to help states adversely affected by Section 209 of PRIIA, which requires that states support the operating costs of short-distance services;
• Creates a grant program—at 100% Federal cost—for Amtrak and the states to improve or preserve long-distance service;
• Allows U.S. DOT to extend the PTC deadline in 1-year increments—up until December 31, 2018;
• Creates new licensing and insurance requirements for passenger rail carriers where all carriers would be required to carry insurance of at least $200 million.  (Under current law, such requirement only applies to Amtrak.)

Norfolk Southern this week imposed permanent speed reductions on approximately 49 miles of its part of the Chicago-Detroit line due to deteriorating tie conditions.  This comes as an unwelcome offset to the 110 mph speeds just implemented on the Amtrak-owned part of the line. In general, passenger train speed limits were lowered from 60 mph to 30 mph.

NS told NARP that these track segments are different from the ones that Michigan DOT paid to upgrade last year.  NS insists that it is applying the same standards here that it applies everywhere else on its network.  

An Amtrak spokesman told NARP that, while Amtrak agrees that work must be done, Amtrak does not agree that existing conditions justify such the sharp reductions that NS imposed. 

NS and Michigan are nearing conclusion of a deal in which Michigan will acquire the line.  After that happens, it’s expected that Michigan would engage Amtrak to run the line and Amtrak would be responsible for determining speed limits.  Conclusion of the transaction is 60-90 days off because the parties must finish their agreements and the Surface Transportation Board must approve the transaction [see Amtrak’s March 15 release at http://www.amtrak.com by clicking on News & Media].  Meanwhile, NS and Amtrak are talking, and NS says that, upon receiving assurance that Amtrak or the state will pay the expenses, NS would immediately begin the process of diverting forces to the line and would begin corrective work within three weeks.

“The decision by Norfolk Southern to reduce train speeds on the track shared with the Amtrak Wolverine and Blue Water services will have a serious impact on passenger service, and could cause delays for freight shippers, too,” said Tim Hoeffner, director of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Office of Rail.  “Last year, MDOT invested millions of dollars to upgrade this line at the state’s expense, and we hope Norfolk Southern will bear that in mind and work to minimize slow-downs that inconvenience businesses and travelers.”

Amtrak is warning passengers to expect delays of 45 to 90 minutes on Wolverine Service trains traveling between Chicago and Detroit/Pontiac (including Jackson and Dearborn).  Passengers on Amtrak’s Blue Water traveling between Chicago and Port Huron (via East Lansing and Flint) will be subject to lesser delays. 

Amtrak says it will issue a detailed alert when NS makes more details available.  The railroad is providing passengers affected by these disruptions with the following advice:

[Customers] can use the Amtrak Blue Water trains at East Lansing and Flint or Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches as a substitute means to reach Central, Southern and Eastern Michigan.  Amtrak Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited trains in Toledo and at Waterloo, Elkhart and South Bend, Ind., are another alternate choice.  The Amtrak Pere Marquette trains to and from Grand Rapids via Holland and St. Joseph-Benton Harbor are not affected by the NS action and can also be an option for some passengers.

The U.S. Department of Transportation released a report today that identifies a significant gap between current spending levels and the projected investment needed to maintain the nation’s highway and transit systems.

The report, titled 2010 Status of the Nation’s Highways, Bridges and Transit: Conditions and Performance, identifies $101 billion (not including the increases necessary to keep track with inflation) in annual federal, state, and local spending needs, between now and 2030, to merely keep the highway system in its current state.

The Obama Administration requested only $74 billion in total transportation spending for Fiscal Year 2013, but ramps that up considerably to$476 billion for highways, transit, and rail infrastructure across six years.

“President Obama is committed to building the transportation infrastructure we need for tomorrow by putting people to work today,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This report shows how important it is important to get started now rebuilding America’s roads, bridges and transit systems.”

The issue will continue to rise in prominence and congestion and fuel prices rise.  The average American family spends an extra $400 every year on car maintenance fees due to the poor condition of our transportation network.

“Today, more and more Americans are looking for greater choices in transportation,” said FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff. “With gas prices on the rise, we need to heed President Obama’s call to invest in America’s infrastructure, in order to ensure that transit remains a reliable and desirable choice.”


Amtrak and Union Pacific this week reached agreement on an improved schedule for the Sunset Limited.

This includes changing the Friday westbound New Orleans departure to Saturday, which reportedly will save one set of equipment assigned to the route. It also involves significant schedule changes and improved times for Houston and Tucson.

NARP has been discussing with Amtrak the importance of good customer service in light of the planned 5:35 AM arrival in Los Angeles and the possibility that the train could arrive even earlier. Amtrak thus far has said sleeping-car passengers will be allowed to remain on board until 6:30 and, if the train is early, coach passengers will be allowed to remain on board until 5:30.

Amtrak also agreed not to press Union Pacific regarding daily operation of the Sunset Limited for the next two years.  That “cease and desist” agreement does not apply to state-supported corridor services along the route, including a possible Los Angeles-Palm Springs service.


Elected officials in Tallahassee are lending their efforts to a grassroots movement to restore the Sunset Limited connection to Florida, calling on Amtrak to partner with them to bring back the train.

“Reestablishing Amtrak passenger service through North Florida will strengthen our local economies and offer new opportunities for our citizens,” said Tallahassee Mayor John Marks. “North Florida communities have waited nearly seven years for the restoration of passenger rail, and we respectfully urge Congress and the legislature to resume this service.”

Train service was knocked offline by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and even though freight trains have long since resumed operations on the track, Amtrak has yet to reinstate the service.

“We’re more and more looking for alternatives that are not as expensive and don’t really require bulging more and more cars,” Tallahassee City Commissioner Nancy Miller said. “There are going to be an additional 100 million people to our country before 2050 and there has to be a lot of thought given today as to how we are going to move all of those people around.”

Tallahassee still has the Amtrak station, although with no service the building sits empty and unused.  When pressed by NARP on reasons why they’ve ret to resume service, Amtrak has cited a 2009, Congressionally-mandated restoration study which puts an steep price on the cost on restoration.  Much of the cost comes through the renovation and upgrades to station facilities that NARP argues is not strictly necessary, and certainly shouldn’t act as an obstacle to passenger train service to an entire region of the U.S.

“I think [Amtrak is] just leaving it in the hands of Congress, and that Congress itself has to be the one to stipulate that yes, we have to reinstate that line,” said Stephen Sayles, president of the Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers and a board member of NARP.


A key committee in the Wisconsin State Legislature has taken a step towards eliminating a planned train maintenance base, threatening the state’s two brand-new trains—and the $71.8 million in public funds already invested in them.

In a 12 to 4, party line vote, the State Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee decided not to borrow $2.5 million towards the construction of a permanent maintenance base in Milwaukee.  The project’s total cost is estimated $55 and $63 million.  In an ironic twist, the vote took place over the objections of Governor Scott Walker (R), who gained notoriety on the national stage for rejecting an $810 million federal grant to extend passenger rail service between Madison and Milwaukee.  The federal grant would have covered the full costs of the maintenance base.

“Today’s decision to not provide funding for the permanent rail maintenance facility means that the state will be unable to put the Talgo trains into revenue service,” wrote Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb in an official statement.  “We hope to work cooperatively with [train manufacturers] Talgo to resolve any outstanding contractual issues in a mutually satisfactory way. Existing rail service on the Hiawatha route, using Amtrak equipment, will continue without interruption.”

Nora Friend, a senior executive at Talgo, responded that they could use the manufacturing plant in Milwaukee as a temporary maintenance site, while saying the company could only give the state until 2014 to come up with a permanent solution.  In fact, the Talgo/Wisconsin contract says maintenance can be done in the existing Talgo facility in Milwaukee indefinitely.  This week’s vote was to deny funds for the new, permanent facility, but not to deny maintenance.  Under the contract, if the state says it does not have funds to maintain Talgo equipment, it may not maintain other equipment. 

“We need a pragmatic solution to this problem,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters at a news conference promoting his proposal to turn the Talgo manufacturing plant into a permanent maintenance base, lambasting the move to terminate the contract as an “ideological war” against trains.

Citing WisDOT figures, Republican legislators say the state can save $10 million a year by mothballing the trains and continuing to use the 20- and 30-year old Amtrak cars currently in service.

Friend says the comparative figures presented by WisDOT are wrong.  They don’t take into account the $600,000 a year [$300,000 per train set] the state would save by using the lighter, more efficient Talgo equipment; the $740,000 a year the state would have to pay to store the new trains; or the inevitable of eventually replacing Amtrak’s aging equipment.  In addition, Friend told NARP that the substantial ridership increase resulting from the attractiveness of the new trains would produce significant additional revenues not reflected in the above figures.

Of possible relevance: Republican State Senator Pam Galloway resigned effective March 17, setting up a 16-16 tie in the Wisconsin Senate.  She faced a recall vote June 5.


It appears that regional transportation authorities in Southern California are nearing an agreement to secure $1 billion for upgrades to local passenger rail lines as part of the state’s high-speed rail program.

This “blended” approach to investment—where a $6 billion expenditure on a Central Valley expanse of track designed for 220 mph operations is paired with investment to commuter rail infrastructure in the Los Angeles and San Francisco region—has gained traction in the past months as a response to critics who argued that the eventual benefits of the project were too far-removed.

“This would be very, very important in accelerating investments in that region that not only can improve transportation systems today, but lay the foundation for laying high speed rail tomorrow,” California High-Speed Rail Authority Chairman Dan Richard told reporters.