Hotline #701 -- April 8, 2011

In light of the likely federal government shutdown, Amtrak announced that it will continue normal operations.

In a statement issued shortly after 1 PM, Amtrak said, “Amtrak will continue normal operation of its national intercity and high-speed passenger rail network in the event of a short-term federal government shutdown.  Passengers planning to travel on Amtrak trains in the Northeast Corridor and across the country in the coming days and weeks can be assured that Amtrak will remain open for business.”

At a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing yesterday, Amtrak President & CEO Joseph Boardman said the railroad would be able to operate normally in the event of a one-month federal shutdown.  That’s because Amtrak gets 75% of its operating revenues from passengers and another 10% from various sources including leases at New York’s Penn Station and Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. Boardman added, “I don’t have a plan for month two.”


More states, along with Amtrak, announced this week that they are joining the race for a slice of the $2.4 billion in High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) grant money originally intended for Tampa-Orlando HSR but rejected by Florida Gov. Rick Scott.

In an April 6 statement, Secretary LaHood said he had received more than 90 applications from 24 states, the District of Columbia and Amtrak in advance of the April 4th deadline. The total amount requested comes to “nearly $10 billion.”

Here is what NARP knows about the applications that were announced this week. See Hotline 700 (http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/hotline/more/hotline_700) for others announced last week:

• Amtrak - $1.3 billion To enhance Northeast Corridor service. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that this includes $720 million to replace the century-old Portal Bridge between Newark and New York City with a new high-level fixed bridge instead of a movable one.  It also includes $188 million for preliminary engineering and environmental work for two new Hudson River tunnels that would connect to New York Penn Station, and $50 million to expand Penn Station’s tracks and platforms to the south. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s recent designation of the Northeast Corridor as a federal high-speed rail corridor made Amtrak eligible to apply for HSIPR funds.
• North Carolina – $624 million –  North Carolina DOT will use the money to make further rail improvements between Charlotte and Raleigh, construct new stations in Charlotte, Raleigh, Hillsborough and Lexington, and do advance work on restoring 35 miles of the ex-Seaboard Air Line link between Raleigh and Richmond to 110-mph top speed standards, the Charlotte Observer reports. At the same time, N.C. State Representative Ric Killian (R-Mecklenburg) continues to press his bill that would prevent DOT from using further federal rail funds without explicit approval from the General Assembly.  In response, the Charlotte City Council passed a resolution supporting continued public rail investment. Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx testified before the state House Transportation Committee on Tuesday in opposition to the bill.
• Connecticut - $227 million - To further improve the Amtrak-owned New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (MA) line. The third phase of this project would put in a second main track between Hartford and Springfield, the Stamford Advocate reports.  The state has already committed $259.3 million towards the $880 million project, which would result in more frequent (potentially commuter-style) service at top speeds up to 110 mph.  The line sees six daily Amtrak round-trips, including Northeast Regionals, Shuttles that meet other Regionals, and the Washington-St. Albans Vermonter “New train service will connect communities, generate sustainable growth, help build energy independence and provide links to travel corridors and markets beyond our region,” said James Redeker, the acting commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
• Maryland - $415 million $299 million would go towards replacing the Amtrak/MARC station at BWI Thurgood Marshall International Airport, adding a fourth track in the station area and building a new pedestrian bridge to serve all tracks and creating 1,830 jobs in the process, the Baltimore Sun reports. $116 million would go to preliminary engineering and environmental work for the replacement and expansion of three century-old bridges on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, also used by MARC Penn Line trains.
• Massachusetts - $98 million Would help replace the 92-year-old Merrimack River bridge just south of the Haverhill station that carries Amtrak Boston-Portland Downeaster trains and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) commuter trains.

A timely report released this week presents “The Case for Business Investment in High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail.”

The document, commissioned by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) – a trade group representing the nation’s transit agencies and suppliers – details the ways in which intercity passenger train improvement projects generate billions of dollars in private business sales, create jobs, and rebuild the domestic manufacturing sector.  APTA says the report is catered to private investors who are considering firms that serve the growing passenger rail market.

The report says sustained investments towards a 21st-century rail system will mean long-term growth of new manufacturing and service jobs across the country. It predicts that each $1 billion invested in high-speed rail will support 24,000 new jobs.

“It is evident that investing in high-speed and intercity rail projects presents one of the clearest and fastest ways to create green, American jobs and spur long-term economic growth,” said APTA President William Millar. “Investing in high-speed rail is essential for America as we work to build a sustainable, modern transportation system that meets the environmental and energy challenges of the future.”

“Federal high-speed rail investment is a strong driver in getting private companies to invest,” said Kevin McFall, Senior Vice President at Stacy and Witbeck Inc., a leading public transit construction firm. “This program can be a shot in the arm for the manufacturing industry.  These high-speed rail projects will give us the opportunity to put people to work building the rail infrastructure this country desperately needs.”

Click here to read the full report (PDF).


Amtrak senior officials testified at two House hearings on Thursday.

Amtrak President & CEO Joseph Boardman appeared before the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.  Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) was an outspoken supporter of Amtrak and passenger rail, noting that—in 37 years since Amtrak’s creation—over $1 trillion federal dollars have gone into highways, $421 billion to aviation, and $36 billion to Amtrak.  LaTourette said he had faith in Amtrak President Boardman, and that “the proof is in the pudding from Amtrak’s strong ridership…We waste a billion on a lot of stuff around here that is not as effective [as Amtrak].” 

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) pressed Boardman on his vision for the Great Lakes area and how it fits in with VIA Rail Canada.

Pressed on Amtrak’s barebones capital investment needs, Boardman outlined eight items totaling about $900 million, including $250 million for mechanical (equipment) overhauls and $63 million to continue Amtrak’s order for new cars.

On the same morning, Amtrak Vice President for Government Affairs Joseph McHugh testified before a House Transportation & Infrastructure Railroads Subcommittee hearing on reducing regulatory burdens on the railroad industry.

Read Boardman’s written testimony and McHugh’s (PDFs).


The agency that runs Washington, DC’s Metrorail system has hired a consulting firm to present a “business case” for Metro, including the economic impacts of development around Metro stations.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is paying Aecom/Economic Research Associates of Los Angeles $200,000 to prepare a document that goes “beyond the rides the agency provides each day.”  Along with the amount of development stations have generated, Aecom will be asked to measure “how many new roads and parking lots won’t need to be built” and what amount of carbon emissions is being saved by people taking Metro instead of driving.

“We have not in the past measured benefits that go along with [the expenditures put into Metro],” says WMATA Assistant General Manager for Planning Nat Bottigheimer. “You could say the rail line costs $1 billion, but it creates $2 billion in value.” He says his agency wants a “back of the envelope” evaluation that is “doable in a couple months’ time frame.”

The study will be useful to WMATA as it defends the $150 million annual federal contribution to the system, which Congress is threatening to cut. If the federal government doesn’t provide its share, the three jurisdictions (the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia) that fund the rest of WMATA’s budget may be pressured to trim their shares also.

WMATA faces a $72 million gap in its Fiscal 2012 budget. Filling it will likely mean more service reductions.


North Americans wishing to travel by train in Great Britain can now use the same fares available to Britons thanks to a change announced by Rail Europe, Inc.

All British point-to-point tickets can be purchased at www.agent.raileurope.com. For the first 2,500 bookings processed through Rail Europe through April 19, travelers using promotion code BRIT10 can get a $10 discount for any British point-to-point ticket worth at least $25. 

Rail Europe represents more than 35 railroads and provides train travel in most European countries, offering the widest range of point-to-point rail tickets. Rail Europe encourages travelers to make train travel a part of their European travel experience.


An Amtrak marketing partnership with Major League Baseball will award prizes to contestants who most closely predict the scores of 2011 season matchups between Major League teams along the Northeast Corridor.

It is free to sign up and play the game online. The grand prize is an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2011 World Series, including game tickets, travel and hotel accommodations. Six First Prize winners will get game tickets and round-trip Acela travel to one of their home team’s away games.

Click here to sign up and play


Travelers Advisory

• Capitol Limited eastbound schedule change: Beginning May 9, train 30 will depart all stations 30 minutes earlier than it currently does (leaving Chicago at 6:10 PM Central, arriving Washington at 12:40 PM Eastern next day). Westbound train 29’s schedule will not change. The adjustment, expected to last a year, is due to CSX’s work to raise height limits on tunnels between Pittsburgh and Cumberland as part of its Gateway Corridor project. Amtrak cautions passengers that, due to CSX track curfews, train 30 will not be held to allow passengers to connect from other trains arriving late into Chicago. Misconnecting passengers will either be given overnight accommodations or rebooked onto Lake Shore Limited train 48 if space is available.
• Passenger train service on Canada’s Victoria Island was suspended March 19.  A subsequent track inspection led to a decision to discontinue service on the iconic Esquimalt & Nanaimo line for now.  Graham Bruce, executive director of the Island Corridor Foundation, said Wednesday that another 104,000 railway ties need to be replaced before the passenger service can resume. A joint federal-provincial application for a $15-million infrastructure grant is stalled and the decision was made to stop service until that money comes through. News reports said freight service continues between Cowichan and Courtenay but the trains have to slow down over poor sections of track, which is not practical for a passenger service.  The passenger schedule already requires five hours to reach Courtenay from Victoria (225 km).