July 1, 2011: Hotline #713

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a $562.9 million loan to Amtrak on June 29 for the purchase of 70 high-performance, electric locomotives from the train manufacturer Siemens.

“President Obama has a bold vision to provide Americans with a world-class, passenger rail network, while giving American manufacturers and suppliers nationwide an opportunity to get into the rail business,” said Secretary LaHood.  “The Obama Administration is committed to making strategic, long-term investments that create jobs and boost the economy now, and this financing plan is already putting Americans back to work at assembly plants and supply companies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia.”

The loan comes from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program, a loan guarantee program primarily used by freight railroads.  However, these new locomotives—which will be used on Amtrak’s Northeast and Keystone Corridors—are more energy-efficient than the existing equipment, enabling Amtrak to improve frequency, performance and reliability.  Federal officials can count on revenues from ticket sales—with steadily rising ridership underpinning that revenue—as a source of repayment on the low-interest loan.

Siemens Industry USA won the bid, and is adding 250 new manufacturing jobs in order to complete design and build work.  The jobs will be added at existing manufacturing plants in Norwood, OH; Alpharetta, GA; and Sacramento, CA.

The job creation won’t stop there, however, with private manufacturing and supply companies benefitting all along the supply chain.  PHW, Inc., a company based in East Pittsburgh, PA, will be subcontracting on the locomotive’s Positive Train Control safety systems.

“The RRIF program is a model of how we can leverage federal dollars to spur private investment and build up the economy,” said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo. “It provides steady, affordable financing for major rail construction and expansion projects, and best of all, it comes at zero cost to the taxpayer.”


Supporters of the planned Chicago-Quad Cities-Iowa City have scored a victory by retaining funds for the train in Iowa’s fiscal 2012 state budget.  But the victory sets the stage for a battle in the coming year if the state wants to secure $280 million in federal high-speed and intercity funding, and lawmakers are looking to train advocates to help make the train a reality.

A House-Senate conference committee was able to preserve $5 million in funding for the project from state House Republican attacks, although Iowa’s GOP was able to block $6.5 million in fiscal year 2012 funding.  The train would connect Iowa City, the Quad Cities, and Chicago, and requires a $20 million state match to secure the federal funds. It represents the best current opportunity to add a new route to the Amtrak network.

State Democrats are calling it a victory, but say the train “is hanging by a thread.”  In order to ensure victory for the coming fiscal year, they say they’ll need the help of the public.

“[Passenger rail advocates] need to convince the Legislature, the governor and the public that this is a marketable asset for the state,” Sen. Matt McCoy (D-Des Moines) told reporters. “There’s a lot at stake.”

[For readers in Iowa: find your state Senator and Representative, and tell them you want their support for trains!]


NBC Nightly News devoted two segments to high-speed rail on last night’s broadcast, looking at China’s recently inaugurated Beijing to Shanghai bullet train, and California’s Los Angles to California high-speed rail project.

The first segment covered China’s infrastructure boom, looking at the country’s recent openings for two mega-projects: the world’s longest bridge over a body of water (eclipsing the former record-holder, the bridge over Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana) and the 824-mile high-speed rail line between Beijing to Shanghai.

The $34 billion line, which will connect the nation’s political capital to its financial capital, was built in three years—nearly a year under schedule.  Looking at how this feat was accomplished so quickly, CLSA China analyst Andy Rothman pointed to a lack of public input and transparency, an absence of environmental protections, and a swelling government surplus of cash.  The segment did, however, raise concerns about the impact rising ticket fares could have on the average train passenger.

Turning to California’s high-speed rail system, which will begin construction next year, Nightly News pointed to the 150,000 jobs the project would create and the billions in economic development it would spur.  But reporters tried to look at what is hindering development, pointing to political struggles that have risen around the initiative.

“When it comes to trains, why is America—home of the Iron Horse and the Golden Spike—still on the slow track?” asked NBC Anchor Brian Williams.

U.S. Transportation Secretary compared the groundbreaking vision for rail to the decades of obstacles that had to be surmounted in connecting the U.S. through Eisenhower’s interstate highway system, expressing confidence that America is still capable of accomplishing big things.

China:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

California:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Federal Transit Administration announced $1.58 billion in grants for 27 transit projects around America for projects that will improve access for millions, reduce air pollution, and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

“Our investments in expanding America’s transit networks will not only improve reliable transportation access for communities across the country, they will support construction jobs and economic development,” said FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff.  “And, a more efficient and reliable transit network means new opportunities for Americans to keep more of their paychecks in their wallets and spend less at the gas pump.”

Projects include:

• Denver’s 13-station Eagle Commuter Rail project, to add almost 23 miles of service to Denver’s transit system.  The expansion will connect downtown Denver and Denver International Airport, with numerous communities served in between.
• The Central Corridor light rail project, connecting Minneapolis and Saint Paul— Minnesota’s two most populous cities—via light rail.  The line will carry 40,000 riders along a busy 11-mile corridor with 18 new stations and 31 new rail cars, scheduled to open in 2014.

The FTA’s website has a full list of the 27 projects receiving New Starts funding.


Details are beginning to emerge about last week’s tragic accident in Nevada where a gravel-hauling truck smashed into the side of Amtrak’s California Zephyr at a busy highway crossing, killing six and wounding dozens.

Around 11:20 a.m. local time on Friday, June 24, a semi-trailer truck traveling on U.S. 95 approached a grade crossing “at considerable speed,” federal National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener told USA Today.  Though the crossing gates were engaged and the flashing lights activated, the truck braked too late to prevent an accident, skidding 320-feet to slam into the middle of the train.

The Zephyr, en route from Chicago to Emeryville, California, was carrying 195 passengers.  Six people were killed, including the truck driver and 68-year old Amtrak Conductor Laurette Lee.  The identities of three of the dead passengers have been confirmed.  The identity of a fourth victim is still under investigation.  As of this afternoon, a week after the accident, two passengers remain hospitalized.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told reporters “As of 4 p.m. Sunday, we have been able to make contact with all but five passengers or their families.”  An official Amtrak statement revealed that “most passengers continued their travel west on chartered motorcoaches obtained by Amtrak or chose to make their own arrangements” once cleared by hospital.

The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched an accident response team to the site.  The initial findings could be weeks away, however.

Lawsuits in the works

News reports have revealed that Lawrence Valli, an employee of John Davis Trucking, had been issued multiple speeding tickets and moving violations, and had previously been cited for rear-ending a sedan stopped on the side of a highway, hospitalizing a family of three (the company settled in the resulting lawsuit for an undisclosed amount).

Amtrak filed a suit on June 29 in the U.S. District Court in Reno, claiming property damage in excess of $10 million, not including related businesses and accident-related losses.

John Davis Trucking, based in Battle Mountain, Nevada, “negligently entrusted the vehicle to Valli, who it knew or should have known was incompetent and/or unqualified to operate the Peterbilt tractor-trailer combination,” alleged Amtrak’s suit.

The trucking company has been cited 17 times for violating safety regulations, faulty equipment, and two crashes in the past two years, the Federal Motor Vehicle Carrier Safety Administration said.  John Davis Trucking has so far declined to comment.

Amtrak train attendant Alexandra Curtis also filed a personal suit against John Davis Trucking, citing negligence.  More lawsuits are likely.

Acts of heroism coming to light

It is becoming clear that the tragedy in the desert provided a stage for several acts of heroism, with Amtrak employees and passengers risking their own safety to help their fellow passengers escape the wreckage.

Assistant conductor Richard d’Alessandro and off-duty conductor Loxie Sanders, in particular, overcame injuries sustained during the impact to help lead passengers to safey.

Amtrak President Boardman with UTU member Sanders

A United Transportation Union release stated, “In utter disregard of their own safety, these UTU conductor heroes braved intense flames and choking smoke, repeatedly returning inside two burning Amtrak passenger cars to save the lives of dozens of disoriented, injured and frightened passengers — passengers who otherwise would have been hopelessly trapped in the burning wreckage hit by a tractor-trailer combination at a highway-rail grade crossing.”

“That was the greatest act of heroism I’ve seen in my [15 years] as an [accident] investigator,” testified NTSB investigator Ted Turpin.

Amtrak employees were joined by passengers in their efforts to save the lives of those on board.  Alex Graham, an 18-year old from Fort Wayne, Indiana, joined in the search and rescue efforts.

“I helped get people out of the windows of the second story of the train car that got hit by the semi,” Graham told reporters. “They put their feet out the window and dangled and dropped and I tried to guide them to the ground. I also saw a lady try three times to get her legs out of the window, and I was yelling for her, but her legs went back in the window and I didn’t see them come out again. I’m hoping she got out some other way.”