Hotline #697 -- March 11, 2011

Amtrak carried more than two million passengers last month, smashing its previous ridership record for February and marking 16 months of uninterrupted growth.

“The ridership increase shows the continued popularity of rail travel and the need for continued investment in passenger rail service,” said Amtrak President & CEO Joe Boardman.  “We anticipate demand for rail travel will increase with the rise of gasoline prices, and Amtrak is prepared to be there for passengers who want to leave the car behind.”

Amtrak carried 2,099,010 million passengers in February 2011—up 7.6% or 147,000 from February 2010.  The uninterrupted run of increased ridership stretches all the way back to November, 2009.

This 16 months of growth is part of a larger trend, with annual ridership records being set in seven out of the last eight years.  It is all the more impressive for having occurred in the face of one of the worst recessions in U.S. history, and demonstrates a strong need for transportation choice in the face of rising fuel prices and congested roads.

[Click here to see Amtrak’s press release, with attached ridership charts (PDF)]


U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the Federal Railroad Administration will be reallocating Florida’s $2.4 billion in high-speed rail funds, via a competitive process, to states eager to develop high-speed rail corridors across the United States.

“The Obama Administration’s bold high-speed rail plan will create jobs, reinvigorate our manufacturing sector and spur economic development for years to come,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “States across the country have been banging down our door for the opportunity to receive additional high-speed rail dollars and to deliver all of its economic benefits to their citizens.”

Florida’s Governor Rick Scott (R) turned down the money, claiming there was the potential for cost overruns.

You can find out more about the competitive application process here.


In what is sure to be cold comfort for Floridians, Florida state transportation officials released a study March 9 that projected the Tampa to Orlando high-speed train would have made $10 million its first year, and almost $29 million by its 10th year.

The $1.3 million study was commissioned by the state, and contracted to the firms Wilbur Smith Associates and Steer Davies Gleave.  The study found that the line would have been profitable during its first year of operation in 2016, a marked improvement over a 2009 study that predicted it would take until 2021 before the line began to see a return.

“This is why we were asking the governor to take another look when the mayors were working together,” Lakeland Mayor Gow Fields (R) told reporters.  “We now have a model that makes sense—it will get its chance and occur.”

The study effectively undermines the arguments provided by the libertarian Reason Foundation and the Heritage Foundation think tanks that the line would be a burden on Florida taxpayers, which Governor Rick Scott (R) relied almost exclusively on.

“His conclusion was political, not based on economics, good business or even protecting the taxpayers,” Senator Thad Altman (R-Melbourne) told reporters. “As time passes and more information comes out, you can see the injustice that was done to the state of Florida.”


The House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials held a hearing today on ways to encourage privatization of passenger rail in the U.S.

Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) presided, though it was the full committee chairman, Representative John Mica (R-FL), who had the strongest words of condemnation for the performance of Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration.  Mica opened by saying Amtrak was part of a “Soviet-style” rail system.  He repeatedly questioned the credibility of President Barack Obama’s high-speed and intercity passenger rail plan, calling the launch of the program “an absolute disaster” said Mica.

There were several in attendance who questioned that assessment, including Ranking Member Corrine Brown (R-FL), Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA), and Edward Wytkind, President of the Transportation Trades Department at the AFL-CIO.  All spoke of the public excitement they have witnessed first hand in California.  Brown, in particular, took exception to Mica’s characterization in a heated exchange, laying the blame for the failure of the Tampa-Orlando corridor squarely on Florida Governor Rick Scott’s “lack of leadership.”

For its part, Amtrak was quick to point to its successes in modernization, highlighting improvements made on the Northeast Corridor.  They argued that while competition sometimes reduces costs, it can also increase fragmentation and reduce network efficiency, citing the fact that most of the world’s rail networks have a unified, state-directed entity.  Amtrak also pointed to the fact that even private sector companies would struggle when underfunded, or funded erratically.

“[I]ncreased private sector involvement is not a substitute for adequate, consistent and assured federal funding,” argued Amtrak Vice President for Policy and Development Stephen Gardner, explaining that “federal funding for intercity passenger rail service is the only way to attract—and maintain—private sector participation and financing.”

Labor leader Wytkind was openly hostile to the idea, saying that the breakup of Amtrak was a recipe for eroding passenger train service for most Americans.  He also pointed to the fact that the private host railroads—which collectively own most of the track passenger rail is operated on—have said they are not in favor of transferring Amtrak’s operating access to private companies.

“Amtrak is not afraid of competing to operate high speed and intercity passenger rail services,” said Gardner in closing.  “Other companies that wish to operate passenger rail service must be subject to all of the laws and regulations that apply to Amtrak,” including labor, liability and insurance requirements.


As hundreds of train riders crowded into San Mateo transit headquarters last week to support service, Caltrain’s board of directors declared a state of fiscal emergency and considered cuts.

The March 3 vote will let the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board—the governing body of Caltrain—consider “radical” changes to close the $30 million budget deficit the agency faces in the coming year.  The deficit is largely due to significant reductions in funding from the three contributing transportation agencies: San Mateo County’s SamTrans, Santa Clara County’s Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), and San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency.

Caltrain’s board will have until April 7 to decide how to bridge the gap.  Proposals include terminating service south of San Jose’s Diridon Station; closure of up to seven stations between San Jose and San Francisco; slashing weekday trains from 86 to 48; and running only at peak commuter times, ending all daytime, evening, weekend, and special-event service.

“This is an economic- and social-justice issue,” Pacifica City Council member Sue Digretold told reporters. “These are folks who have no recourse. They are people who need service seven days a week. For them, [Caltrain] is it.”


Japan’s transportation network ground to a halt Friday after a enormous 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit the northeast coast of Japan.

Over 1,000 in Northeast Japan are feared dead in the wake of today’s earthquake and tsunami.  While the affected communities dealt with the tragedy, residents of Tokyo were faced with a more prosaic concern: how to get home.

Commuters depending on trains to get them back to where they live crowded stations Friday evening, where they learned that Japan Railways East had canceled all service.  Tokyo Metro Subway had also been canceled.

People crowded station restaurants and convenience stores to supply themselves for long treks or, if the distance was too great, a night in the office.


Travelers Advisory

• A downed wire across the Portal Bridge in New Jersey caused delays throughout much of the Northeast Corridor this morning. Amtrak was able to repair the wire, which had restricted traffic to one of the bridge’s two tracks.  Delays of up to 30 minutes were experienced by morning commuters.  The bottleneck was easing by mid-afternoon, but residual delays were still being seen.
• A freight train derailment in Montana on March 9 halted Amtrak’s Empire Builder service until early this morning.  Nineteen cars of a 115-car train derailed near Glacier National Park on Wednesday, due to causes yet to be determined.  Crews from Burlington Northern Sante Fe, which owns the tracks, were busy through Thursday night clearing the tracks. Amtrak customers were bused around the blockage.
• Yet another mudslide halted train service in Washington State.  A mudslide yesterday north of Seattle closed the tracks at 4:30 p.m., BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas told reporters.  Amtrak and Sounder commuter train passenger were rerouted by bus.  Northline Sounder service was halted throughout the morning.
Yesterday’s Marketplace Morning Report included a very positive piece on high speed rail from their economics correspondent, Chris Farrell.  After citing the positive Florida DOT study referenced above, he observed, “I think that high-speed rail is important in the short run because it will provide a lot of construction jobs. And in the long run, I think it’s very important in a region because we have an aging infrastructure, we have increasing congestion, and Jeremy, I don’t know if you noticed, but we also have a high price of oil. So high-speed rail will help move people cheaper, faster and easier.”  Click here to read the full report or listen to the segment. You can also read comments of other listeners and post your own comments.  Marketplace Morning Report, produced by American Public Media, airs nationally on public radio stations.