Hotline #796 - October 22, 1993

Both the House and Senate approved the conference report on H.R.2750, the 1994 DOT appropriations bill, yesterday.

The Amtrak numbers came out near the Senate numbers reported here earlier and outlined in the September 29 letter to all NARP members. Amtrak operations got $351.7 million, with $700,000 going to the second 403(b) train for North Carolina. Rep. David Price (R.-N.C.) is a member of the House transportation appropriations subcommittee and was a conferee.

Service cuts are expected at that level. On November 4, cuts previously reported here regarding the Texas Eagle, Pioneer, and River Cities will take place. Amtrak offices will close on or after October 26 -- but trains and Thruway buses will continue to serve -- the following stations: Amsterdam, N.Y., Southern Pines, N.C., Delray Beach, Fla., Youngstown, O., Hattiesburg, Miss., McComb, Miss., Fort Wayne, Ind., Centralia, Ill., Mattoon, Ill., Chillicothe, Ill., Malta, Mont., Cheyenne, Wyo., Pocatello, Ida., Temple, Tex. Devils Lake, N.Dak., will be postponed while local financing is negotiated.

Amtrak capital got $195 million and the Northeast Corridor got $225 million -- again, close to the good Senate numbers. The Clinton high-speed rail corridor program, which did well in the Senate but still is not authorized by law, got $20 million for maglev research and only $3.5 million for high-speed rail -- the latter a big disappointment for the Clinton DOT. The DOT is writing their 1995 budget now and we hope they will recognize that high-speed rail in 1994 was a victim of the big highway spending increase proposed by the Administration.

Boston-Portland rail service took a step forward, with $9.5 million appropriated from the FTA budget for track work.

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on October 19 on a nomination to the Amtrak board. This is the four-year labor slot last held by Charlie Luna, who died a year ago. The Clinton nominee is Daniel Collins, who served as an officer of the United Transportation Union and a predecessor union for switchmen, for 40 years through 1992. His railroad career began at the New York Central Buffalo passenger terminal as a brakeman in 1942. Collins told the Senate panel that Amtrak must get the operating and capital support it needs from the government and that a good place to start would be the gas-tax penny. He still must be approved by the Committee and full Senate.

The other vacant Amtrak board slot is for the business community. Earlier this summer there was a Clinton nominee, who subsequently withdrew her name from consideration.

The Warrior and Gulf Navigation Company went to federal district court in Mobile this week to try to limit its liability in the September 22 derailment of the Sunset Limited, which killed 47. It is seeking protection under an 1851 law that would cap liability at the value of the vessel and cargo, in this case, about $432,000. But claims are expected to go over $20 million. Some survivors of the crash victims have filed countersuits to prevent such a cap from being implemented.

Comments are due October 30 on the Amtrak proposals to alter Harrisburg service. The address is Amtrak Harrisburg Service, P.O. Box 2709, Washington, DC 20013. Call the NARP office to get a more detailed version of the Amtrak proposal than has been posted locally.