Hotline #803 -- March 22, 2013

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Amtrak announced yesterday that they have reached an agreement to continue the Pennsylvanian, maintaining rail passenger service between Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia.

“I applaud Amtrak for its willingness to work with my administration on a funding plan that makes sense for Pennsylvania in these difficult economic times and maintains this passenger rail service that provides important connections for many towns in western  Pennsylvania,” said Governor Tom Corbett. “I am committed to finding sensible solutions that recognize the constraints we in government face, but at the same time provide needed services.”

A provision in the federal rail reauthorization required the transfer of a certain amount of operating costs for routes less than 750 miles to the state, with a deadline of September 30, 2013 to implement the new funding structure.  According to the Governor’s press release, the Commonwealth will pay Amtrak $3.8 million per year to continue operations of the Pennsylvanian.  It is believed that the existing Keystone service will also remain unchanged.  The successful conclusion to negotiations owes a great deal to grassroots work done by passenger train advocates, who have rallied in support of the service.

“I'd like to read the find print before I celebrate too much, but this certainly sounds like very good news,” Michael C. Alexander, president of Western Pennsylvanians for Passenger Rail, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “This service is important to a lot of communities.”

The service provides an important economic link for communities in western Pennsylvania, which have seen sharp reductions in air service in recent years. By continuing the train, travelers in Pittsburgh, Lewistown, Huntingdon, Altoona, Johnstown, and Greensburg will have access to cities on the east coast.

“Amtrak is pleased to have reached an agreement with our partners in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to preserve the Pennsylvanian, servicing communities between Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia with connections to New York,” said Amtrak President & CEO Joseph Boardman.  “This is an exciting day for the people of Pennsylvania, and I want to thank Governor Corbett and Secretary Schoch for working with us to continue this important service.”

After two decades of perseverance, the town of Hope, Arkansas will be getting passenger train service starting in April.

Amtrak announced that the Texas Eagle will make its inaugural stop at the Hope train station on the morning of April 4.

“The westbound Texas Eagle, Train 21, is scheduled to depart Hope at 5:09 every morning, with arrivals that morning in Dallas, that afternoon in Fort Worth and that evening in Austin and San Antonio,” said Amtrak’s Marc Magliari, as reported by the Hope Star. “The eastbound Texas Eagle, Train 22, is scheduled to depart Hope at 9:18 every evening, with arrivals in Little Rock that night, St. Louis the following morning and Chicago that afternoon.”

Amtrak added Hope to the timetable brochure for the Texas Eagle back in 2009, but delays in station renovations—most recently, bringing the station’s platform within specifications—pushed back the start date.

[Watch a news report about work being down to the Hope station from summer 2012]

“They say good things come to those who wait; and, we waited 20 years,” Hope Mayor Dennis Ramsey joked to the Star. “It's been a long time coming, and a few people have really persevered to make this happen, including [Hope City Manager] Catherine [Cook], Paul Henley, Dolly Henley and John Watkins.”

Cook told the Star that the town is planning a May 18 event to celebrate the return of trains to Hope.

“Ticketing and reservations can be done using Amtrak eTicketing and boarding documents can be self-printed, as the Hope station is unstaffed,” said Magliari, outlining service levels at the station. “Passengers using a smartphone or other mobile device can present the eTicket to the conductor by opening a document in their e-mail.”

The Star’s story includes a list of sample fares.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve Senate spending levels for the bill setting transportation funding for the remainder of fiscal year 2013.

The Senate had amended a House proposal that slashed transportation funding, reinstating the funding levels to those approved in the 2012 surface transportation bill passed this fall.  The House voted to pass the Senate-amended bill by a vote of 318-109.

With the passage of the bill, highways will receive roughly $39.7 billion, with transit receiving around $8.48 billion. The House proposal had slashed $780 million from highway and transit funding. 

Amtrak gets $1.347 billion for FY 2013. This is the FY 2012 level ($1.418 billion) minus 5% from sequestration.

NARP, the US High Speed Rail Association, Californians for High Speed Rail, and the Midwest High Speed Rail Association wrote a letter urging the U.S. Department of Transportation to give full consideration to the many benefits of passenger trains when reviewing a loan application of XpressWest, the first segment of a new Los Angeles – Las Vegas high-speed line

The joint-letter was written in response to a letter from Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL)—respectively, House Budget Committee Chairman and ranking member of Senate Budget Committee—attacking the private sector firm’s application for a $5.5 billion Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan. The Ryan-Sessions letter heavily cited a white paper from the anti-rail group the Reason Foundation—the same group that helped kill Florida’s Tampa-Orlando high-speed rail project in 2009.

The coalition of rail advocates cited these factors as worthy of consideration:

• Los Angeles-Las Vegas is the second busiest end-point pair in the United States—trailing only Los Angeles-San Diego. The completion of XpressWest will be a critical step toward meeting the President’s goal of connecting 80 percent of the American public to modern intercity passenger trains within 25 years.
• XpressWest will be a convenient, energy-efficient alternative to the heavily traveled Interstate-15, a congested and dangerous highway. Mid-desert traffic back-ups are fairly common. The initial 185-mile segment would have the capacity to divert more than two million annual automobile trips, saving an estimated 440,000 barrels of oil each year. The train would also provide a safer travel alternative: the Las Vegas-Los Angeles segment of Interstate 15 has been found to be one of the most dangerous highways in America, and a 2010 study found that 1,069 people died in 834 automobile accidents on the road over a 15 year period.
• It will help speed up and enhance the California high speed rail project with extensions to Palmdale (70 miles from Los Angeles; currently served by Metrolink commuter trains) where the two systems will seamlessly integrate, significantly increasing ridership on both systems, and increasing private sector interest in the California system to help fund further extensions.
• It will expand the market for American high-speed rail manufacturing.
• It is consistent with the desire of Americans for good train travel. This is reflected in the fact that Amtrak has set ridership records in nine of the last ten years. Moreover, as a recent Brookings Institution report noted, Amtrak ridership from 1997 to 2012 at 55% grew faster than domestic aviation ridership (20%), highway vehicle-miles traveled (16.5%), U.S. population (17%) and real gross domestic product (37%).

You can read the full letter on NARPrail.org.  The Midwest High Speed Rail Association has more on the story.

The Federal Railroad Administration confirmed on March 18 that All Aboard Florida has submitted an application to secure a federal loan to help finance development of the $1.5 billion passenger rail link between Miami and Orlando.

Karen Hedlund, the Deputy Administrator of the FRA, confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel that All Aboard Florida submitted their application for a Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan, although she wouldn’t reveal any details of the application.

The All Aboard Florida service will travel the distance Orlando and Miami in around three hours, reaching tops speeds of 125 mph.  The railroad will run 16 round trips per day, with stations currently planned for downtown Miami, downtown Fort Lauderdale, downtown West Palm Beach, and Orlando.  The current development scheme calls for operations to begin in 2015, a year later than originally envisioned. The project relies heavily on 200 miles of track owned by a sister company that currently uses the corridor for freight; both railroads are owned by Florida East Coast Inc.

“The two-city pair Miami-Orlando is just like the best city pair that you could ask for,” Husein Cumber, FECI’s executive vice president for corporate development told the Miami Herald. “Orlando is the most-visited city in the country and Miami has its airport and ports and many other attractions.”

“All Aboard Florida is in the process of determining the infrastructure needs for the system and we recognize that public agencies may want to explore opportunities to coordinate the construction of other improvements,” Cumber added. “We are willing to explore these ideas while we are still in the initial design phase.”

The project is an excellent example of the Public Private Partnership that conservative members of Congress point to as one solution to the nation’s infrastructure investment needs. However, that even a relatively cheap project such as this relies on a long-term loan underwritten by the government points to the need for a strong federal involvement in transportation funding.

The American Society of Civil Engineers has released its 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, giving infrastructure in the U.S. a grade of “D+.”

The ASCE issues its report card every four years, evaluating the condition and investment needs of roads, rails, bridges, mass transit, drinking water systems, the electric grid, and more.

Rail jumped from a C to a C+ in the 2013 evaluation, with ASCE highlighting the High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail program’s focus on tangible, near-term improvements to the rail network, and a thriving freight rail sector:

Railroads are experiencing a competitive resurgence as both an energy-efficient freight transportation option and a viable city-to-city passenger service. In 2012, Amtrak recorded its highest year of ridership with 31.2 million passengers, almost doubling ridership since 2000, with growth anticipated to continue. Both freight and passenger rail have been investing heavily in their tracks, bridges, and tunnels as well as adding new capacity for freight and passengers. In 2010 alone, freight railroads renewed the rails on more than 3,100 miles of railroad track, equivalent to going coast to coast. Since 2009, capital investment from both freight and passenger railroads has exceeded $75 billion, actually increasing investment during the recession when materials prices were lower and trains ran less frequently. With high ridership and greater investment in the system, the grade for rail saw the largest improvement, moving up to a C+ in 2013.

The U.S. transit system earned a “D” from ASCE, which praised increasing ridership and a renewed focus on investment, while recognizing that funding levels are far from sufficient to maintain and expand these economically crucial networks:

America’s public transit infrastructure plays a vital role in our economy, connecting millions of people with jobs, medical facilities, schools, shopping, and recreation, and it is critical to the one-third of Americans who do not drive cars. Unlike many U.S. infrastructure systems, the transit system is not comprehensive, as 45% of American households lack any access to transit, and millions more have inadequate service levels. Americans who do have access have increased their ridership 9.1% in the past decade, and that trend is expected to continue. Although investment in transit has also increased, deficient and deteriorating transit systems cost the U.S. economy $90 billion in 2010, as many transit agencies are struggling to maintain aging and obsolete fleets and facilities amid an economic downturn that has reduced their funding, forcing service cuts and fare increases.

Both aviation and roads received a “D,” while bridges received a “C+”.

In bringing attention to the state of U.S. infrastructure, the ASCE is trying to raise awareness about the critical need for investment in the structures that form the foundation of America’s economic activity.  The group is also interested in pointing to concrete examples of how investment pays off when done well.

The Association of American Railroads has hit back at two actions this week which AAR says will be harmful to the railroad industry. The Surface Transportation Board denied AAR’s request to “consider reintroducing indirect competition as a factor in determining the reasonableness of rail rates for coal transportation.” 

AAR CEO Ed Hamberger said, “We simply do not understand how the STB can refuse to acknowledge that the way Americans are getting their electricity is changing. The electric generating marketplace is undergoing a powerful transformation that the STB decision doesn’t take into account."

Also, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and David Vitter (R-LA) introduced the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act.  The bill aims to repeal antitrust exemptions.  AAR says the bill “actually singles out railroads for policies that could undermine the industry's ability to build, maintain, and continuously upgrade the nation's rail infrastructure without taxpayer assistance," according to AAR.  Railwayage.com has more on both this story and the STB decision.