Hotline #698 -- March 18, 2011

The U.S. Department of Transportation designated the Northeast Corridor (NEC) as a high-speed rail corridor this week, bringing the total number of corridors to 11.  The decision will allow Amtrak to apply for federal high-speed rail funds to make capital improvements to the NEC, and makes it a possible destination for the $2.4 billion recently turned down by Florida’s newly-elected governor.

[See below for more on Florida’s high-speed rail rejection]

A coalition of Northeastern senators wrote a letter congratulating Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for the decision.  Signing onto the letter were Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Tom Carper (D-DE), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

“Given the Northeast Corridor’s strong track record with high-speed rail and the region’s high gross domestic product, improvements to the Corridor’s rail service would be a smart investment of Florida’s rejected high-speed rail funds,” said the letter.  “We believe that Secretary LaHood’s recent decisions are a positive step that will encourage further higher speed rail development along the Northeast Corridor [and] will continue to work with the administration to ensure that the Corridor receives its fair share of the available high-speed rail funds.”


Amtrak declined to take part in a consortium of Florida cities looking to circumvent Governor Rick Scott’s (R) decision citing a lack of time, according to an announcement made today by Senator Ben Nelson (D).

In a call made to Senator Nelson, followed up by a letter from President Joseph Boardman, Amtrak expressed a desire to work with local leaders to revive the high-speed project in the future.  The letter said that “the opportunity for funding in this current funding cycle has passed” and in another paragraph referenced the DOT’s April 4 deadline.  It seems likely that Amtrak, and perhaps the private firms that pursued this project, have concluded that attempting to proceed now in the face of Gov. Scott’s opposition would not be wise or productive.

A coalition of cities along the proposed route—Orlando, Tampa, Lakeland and Miami—had hoped to work with Amtrak to circumvent Governor Scott’s decision to kill the train.  The New York Times reported today that Scott made the decision after reading a paper by the Reason Foundation which questioned ridership estimates, and raised the specter of construction cost overruns.  The Times pointed out that the Reason Foundation gets much of its “funding from donors with ties to the oil industry, including foundations related to Koch Industries, which owns oil refineries.”

In a prepared statement, Nelson said that this “means a bullet train linking Orlando, Tampa and Miami is, for now, gone”, also lamenting the loss of the 24,000 jobs the project was predicted to bring to the state.  The Senator attempted to strike an upbeat tone, promising to “keep doing everything we can to fight for jobs and transportation improvements in Florida.”

You can read the full statement—along with Amtrak’s letter to Senator Nelson—here.


The California High-Speed Rail Authority announced yesterday that it received more than 1,100 expressions of interest prior to a March 16 deadline for a “Request for Expressions of Interest” issued by the Authority in February.

The formal expressions were submitted by businesses of all types and sizes—ranging from multinational corporations and large construction firms to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

“The size of this response sends a clear signal that the private sector sees great opportunity in California’s high-speed rail project, the first of its kind in the nation,” said Roelof van Ark, CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. “True high-speed rail systems are profitable, competitive and spur near-term job creation and long-term economic growth.”

The submissions covered the design, construction, operation, and funding of the project.  The response will shape future bid packaging and formal procurement processes.  Respondents included ALSTOM, Amtrak, and Virgin Rail Group.  CAHSRA said it will soon post the full list of applicants on its website.


Congressional leaders announced the formation of the Bi-Cameral High- Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Caucus to advance high-speed and intercity rail programs across the country at an event held in Union Station in Washington, D.C. on March 15.

“Like President Obama, we share the goal of giving 80 percent of Americans access to high speed rail within 25 years,” said Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) against the backdrop of an Acela Express train standing at the platform. “We understand that this investment will more than pay for itself with the jobs created for Americans in need of work, and opportunities it creates for future growth.”

The caucus is comprised of members from both the Senate and the House.  Other speakers were Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Dick Durbin (D-IL); Reps.  Corrine Brown (D-FL), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), David Price (D-NC), Tim Walz (D-MN) and John Olver (D-MA); North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hayes, representing the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and California Rail Division Chief Bill Bronte.


Oil prices surged yesterday over concerns about political unrest in Middle Eastern countries.

Yesterday’s oil price surge—Brent closed at $114.90, West Texas Intermediate at $101.42—resulted from concerns over the situation in Libya but also because workers at the state-owned Bahrain Petroleum Company, “an export-oriented refinery, went on strike, traders said…  Helima Croft, senior geopolitical strategist at Barclays Capital and a former analyst at the CIA, said Bahrain was ‘a flashpoint for Saudi Arabia.’…Bahrain [is] only a few kilometers away from the world’s biggest oilfields in Saudi Arabia” (Financial Times, Mar. 19). 

Troops from neighboring countries—including the UAE, and 1,000 from Saudi Arabia—are in Bahrain to help put down nonviolent protestors.


The Next Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee announced the approval of new specifications for diesel-electric locomotives on March 16, another step in a process they say will make it easier, faster, and cheaper to build and purchase cars, locomotives and trainsets for the accelerating development of America’s high-speed and intercity passenger train network.

The committee was created by a provision of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008.  By standardizing specifications, PRIIA hopes to introduce economies of scale into the domestic passenger rail equipment market.

“Rail cars and locomotives that can be used by all the states will reduce costs while increasing the efficiency of procurement and manufacturing,” said Bill Bronte, chairman of committee’s Executive Board, and rail director for the California Department of Transportation. “Standard specs will also enable states to pool their equipment purchases and therefore generate more demand for manufacturers. This is fundamental to building and sustaining our own American-based manufacturing capability for passenger rail, and will generate investment and create jobs here in the U.S.”

Amtrak said recently they plan to use the committee specs, as applicable, to purchase new cars and locomotives for Amtrak’s national system.  Amtrak Vice President Stephen Gardner said the railroad’s involvement would help “create as big a buy as you can to get economies of scale.”

Specifications can be found on the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ website.


Passenger rail operators called on Congress to push back the deadline for the installment of anti-collision technology, warning that the current mandate could lead to reductions in service and cuts in other vital safety programs.

The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 requires the installation of Positive Train Control (PTC) systems on track segments that carry passengers and toxic-by-inhalation (TIH) chemicals by the end of 2015.  PTC is designed, among other things, to automatically stop at train before a collision occurs.

A representative of the American Public Transportation Association urged Congress to delay implementation by three years, and complained that the federal government is not providing enough funding assistance to cover the cost of installation, estimated at $2 billion for commuter railroads alone.


Orbitz for Business announced a partnership this week with SilverRail Technologies, a British firm, that will allow customers to seamlessly plan and book rail travel through the Orbitz for Business tool—the first major online travel company to announce integrated, online rail capabilities for U.S. business travelers.

Orbitz for Business, the corporate travel imprint for Orbitz, will offer the service using the familiar interface that tens of millions of people use every year to book airplanes, rental cars, and hotels. Orbitz for Business customers will be able to use the service to make Amtrak reservations for all trains in the national network.

“Many of our customers in regions like the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. have a preference for rail over short distance flights,” said Frank Petito, president, Orbitz for Business.  “In order to better serve these customers, the SilverRail partnership allows Orbitz for Business to deliver a more comprehensive set of travel products with the scale and flexibility to expand our rail offerings in the future.” 

SilverRail is the worldwide leader in online search and booking for passenger trains, with the first global distribution platform that allows rail operators and travel sellers to easily connect with each other.

“Online connectivity among rail operators, passengers and travel distributors has traditionally lagged behind other travel services,” said Aaron Gowell, CEO and founder, SilverRail Technologies.  “SilverRail’s technology platform is bringing rail distribution back on par with air travel and other modes of transportation.  We are excited to work with Orbitz for Business to deliver integrated, online rail content to their corporate customers.”


With Congress in recess next week, elected officials will be returning home to hear from constituents in their districts and states.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be in Oregon on March 21 to tour United Streetcar, joining Oregon Democratic Representatives Peter A. DeFazio, Earl Blumenauer, and Kurt Schrader.  The manufacturing company, just outside Portland, builds the first streetcars made in the U.S. in almost 60 years.

Be alert for events and Town Halls in your area; our leaders need to hear that passenger trains matter to the people they represent.


Traveler’s Advisory:

• On Saturday, March 19, from noon until 3 p.m., local groups will be celebrating the reopening and dedication of the historic Wilmington, Delaware Station. Representatives from the State of Delaware, City of Wilmington, the Delaware Congressional Delegation, the Friends of Furness Railroad District and Amtrak will host an open house to the dedication of the Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station.  Click here for more details.[PDF]
• As of March 15, access to and parking availability at Amtrak’s Atlanta station will be restricted.  The parking area in front of the station will be closed to vehicles.  See Amtrak’s release for more details [PDF].
• Travelers passing through Washington, D.C.’s historic Union Station will notice a big upgrade.  A partnership between Amtrak, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), and Union Station stakeholders has resulted in a new LED train information board in the station’s Main Hall.  The new sign is 9’6” tall, 15’5” wide, and fully ADA compliant.
• The board marks the culmination two years or work to upgrade signage around the station, resulting in more than 60 electronic displays.
Empire Builder reroute possible in the near future.  Water is already above the bottom of the railroad bridge pictured in last year’s October 2010 newsletter.  The Associated Press today reported “about a 40 percent chance of Devils Lake, ND, topping 1,455 feet, which could partially inundate…possibly a small section of the Amtrak train line.”  The “Surrey cutoff,” which Amtrak would use instead of serving Rugby, Devils Lake and Grand Forks, is actually shorter.