Hotline #706 -- May 13, 2011

Amtrak continued its unprecedented surge in ridership with its best April ever, pushing the company’s streak to 18 consecutive months of year-over-year ridership growth.

Amtrak carried nearly 2.7 million passengers in April, an increase of 9.9% over April 2010.  Amtrak is on track to set yet another new annual ridership record in fiscal year 2011, with an increase of 6.5% in the first seven months compared to same period in FY2010.

The surging ridership is an urgent reminder of the need to invest in passenger train equipment to meet the mobility needs of America’s growing population—an even greater imperative given rising gasoline prices.

Regional highlights include:

• The popular Northeast Regional service set a single month record with 692,376 passengers carried, a 13.3% increase over April 2010;
• The Chicago hub saw significant gains in ridership, led by the Blue Water (Chicago–Port Huron) with a 28.4% surge; Illini/Saluki (Chicago—Carbondale) trains up 21%; and the Wolverine Service (Chicago–Detroit/Pontiac) up 14%;
• All three California state-supported routes saw a ridership increase, with the San Joaquin (Oakland/Sacramento–Bakersfield) service leading the way with an 18.3% jump;
• Amtrak’s 15 overnight, long-distance routes saw a 7.7% spike in April 2011 vs. April 2010.

Vice President Joseph Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced $2.02 billion in high-speed and intercity rail grants May 9 at an event held in New York’s Penn Station.  The money will be distributed between 15 states and Amtrak for 22 high-speed intercity passenger rail projects.

After the 10:00 AM New York ceremony, Biden and LaHood flew to Detroit, where they held a 2:00 PM conference highlighting grants for Midwestern corridors.

Regional equipment pools received $336.2 million, divvied between the Midwest and Californian corridors.  NARP pointed out that—given the record demand for intercity passenger trains—acquiring additional rail cars and locomotives is essential.  The association struck a note of caution, however.

“We are pleased with the speed and intelligence shown by the Federal Railroad Administration in redirecting Florida’s money” said NARP President & CEO Ross Capon.  “Americans should be concerned, however, that this $2 billion in high-speed rail funds represents the last money appropriated for this popular, over-subscribed program.  To meet the transportation and energy needs of our growing population, Congress needs to look ahead—and not in the rear-view mirror—when making funding decisions for next year’s budget.”

And for the first time Amtrak was the direct recipient of a high-speed rail grant, which the company will use to increase capacity and improve reliability on the Northeast Corridor.

“With this investment by the Obama administration, the Amtrak vision for high-speed rail in the Northeast is now departing the station and heading down the tracks to help take America to the next generation of passenger service,” said Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman.

Highlights include:

• Amtrak – $450 million for Northeast Corridor power, signal, track, and catenary improvements. Will boost capacity, reliability, and speed in one of the most heavily-traveled sections of the Northeast Corridor, creating a 24-mile segment of track capable of supporting train speeds up to 160-mph.
• New York – $295 million for a bypass around Harold Interlocking in Queens on the Northeast Corridor, alleviating major delays for trains coming in and out of Manhattan by separating Amtrak from Long Island Railroad traffic.
• Regional Equipment Pools – $268.2 million to purchase 48 high-performance passenger rail cars and seven quick-acceleration locomotives for eight corridors in the Midwestern States.  $68 million to acquire 15 high-performance passenger rail cars and 4 quick-acceleration locomotives for the Pacific Surfliner, San Joaquin, and Capitol Corridors in California.
• Illinois – $186.3 million to upgrade the Chicago - St. Louis Corridor, with trains operating at 110 mph for more than 220 miles of track.
• Michigan – $196.5 million to rehabilitate track and signal systems, increasing train speeds to 110 mph on a 235-mile section of the Chicago to Detroit corridor, reducing trip times by 30 minutes.
• California – $300 million more for the nation’s first 220-mph high-speed rail system, extending the already-funded 110-mile segment an additional 20 miles “to advance completion of the Central Valley project, the backbone of the [planned] Los Angeles to San Francisco corridor.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation has released updated maps and fact-sheets for the more than $10 billion in high-speed and intercity passenger rail grants.

You can find links to the site on NARP’s Info & Links section.


General Electric Transportation announced yesterday that it will open a state-of-the-art train locomotive manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas—creating 500 new skilled, good-paying jobs.  The move to meet rising global demand for rail equipment will also have positive effects in Erie, Pennsylvania, where GE Transportation will hire 250 new production workers at its main plant.

The $96 million, 900,000 square-foot facility will manufacture some of the most fuel-efficient locomotives in the world.  It will also produce a variety of rail and transportation related products.

“GE Transportation is experiencing strong U.S. and global growth because of its technical leadership and we need to increase our manufacturing capacity and flexibility,” said GE Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt. “This new state-of-the-art plant in Fort Worth, Texas will produce the world’s most advanced locomotives and transportation products, expand our service and repair capability, and create hundreds of new high-tech manufacturing jobs.”

GE Transportation will create more than 500 new high-tech manufacturing jobs in the Texas community by the end of 2012, hiring production workers include welders, assemblers, painters later this year.  There is the potential of up to 275 additional jobs in later years, if the U.S. continues to provide much needed investment for the nation’s lagging transportation infrastructure.

“Texas continues to attract employers of all sizes that are looking to create jobs and grow their business thanks to our low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulatory climate, fair legal system and skilled workforce,” said Texas Governor Rick Perry of the rail and transportation manufacturing facility. “This investment in Fort Worth will continue to strengthen the economy in North Texas and in our state, creating jobs and prosperity for hundreds of Texans.”


A prominent New York Senator called for Amtrak to institute a “no-ride” list for passengers this week, responding to intelligence acquired from Osama bin Laden’s compound that identified .

Transportation security officials have determined the Al Qaeda planned to target the U.S. rail network, but was too early in the planning stages to pose a significant threat.  However, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) responded by pushing for more funding for intercity and commuter passenger rail security, which would go towards more screening of passengers, monitoring of stations, and track inspection.

“Circumstances demand we make adjustments by increasing funding to enhance rail safety and monitoring on commuter rail transit and screening who gets on Amtrak passenger trains, so that we can provide a greater level of security to the public,” said Schumer at a press conference held on May 8.

The idea does not seem to be getting a lot of traction so far.  Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood pointed out that there are already security measures in place, emphasizing that “Amtrak has some pretty good safety measures in place right now.”

“There is a manifest with every person’s name who boards the train,” LaHood told reporters. “Amtrak checks that to make sure that these people are legit people. They look at the list and then they check to see if somebody’s name looks peculiar. They have that manifest there and they can check it out if they want to. They know who is boarding trains.”

Others have pointed out that around 60% of Amtrak’s almost 500 train stations are unstaffed.  Passengers often aren’t identified until an Amtrak conductor checks their ticket once on board.  Given the concerns over the budget, more money for train security is likely to be a heavy lift.


Amtrak Detective Jay Christopher Glass of Palm Desert, California was named the 2010 Amtrak Police Officer of the Year today, for exemplary service for the passenger rail community.

“I am proud to congratulate Detective Glass on this well-deserved achievement,” said Amtrak Chief of Police John O’Connor. “His law enforcement experience, strong partnerships with local agencies and dedication to duty all make Detective Glass worthy of the Amtrak Police Department’s Officer of the Year Award.”

Glass has been with the Amtrak Police Department since 1993.  The award coincides with National Police Week, which honors officers who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.


Traveler’s Advisory

• The City of New Orleans will continue to be operating on a restricted route at least through the weekend, due to flooding.  The train—which runs between Chicago and New Orleans—has been canceled south of Cairo, Illinois, and north of Memphis, Tennessee, due to flooding. Amtrak will be providing passengers with full refunds
• Commuters heading into New York City are finally getting relief today, after crews completed repair work that allowed the Long Island Rail Road to begin operating trains again. An empty five-car Amtrak train derailed in an East River tunnel on Sunday, causing damage to 1,400 feet of track.  Amtrak crews have been working to restore the line all week, causing delays and cancelations on significant portions of the LIRR network.  As of this morning, LIRR is running at full capacity.
• Washington, D.C.’s Metro riders will finally have the ability to access bus and rail transit info using Google Maps. Google provides comprehensive scheduling of transit systems for most large metropolitan areas, but D.C.’s Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority has been one of the largest holdouts.  Google Maps users in the national capital region will now have the ability to chart a trip that includes bus and rail routes servicing their destinations, with the seamless inclusion of scheduling data for certain Amtrak intercity and all MARC commuter trains.