Hotline #799 - November 12, 1993

The Senate Commerce Committee approved S.839, the Clinton high-speed corridor program, on November 9. The revised bill requires high-speed operators to have $500 million in insurance to relieve freight railroads from accident liability. It includes labor protection language and places new services under existing rail labor statutes. It directs DOT to establish a national standard for grade crossing safety devices. This is a response to freight railroad concerns about grade crossing accident liability after an unfavorable Supreme Court ruling in the "Easterwood" case earlier this year. S.839 and H.R.1919 both are awaiting floor action now, with the House action awaiting indications of more support from Republican members.

Amtrak has announced six "pre-qualified" manufacturing consortia for building the 26 high-speed electric train sets for future Metroliner service on the Northeast Corridor. They are led by ABB, Bombardier, Breda, Morrison-Knudsen, Siemens, and Talgo. All but Talgo have other partners within their consortia. Amtrak will develop final performance specifications, then solicit bids from the six groups and award a contract, perhaps in mid-1994.

New York Gov. Mario Cuomo announced on November 9 a two-part passenger-rail plan. The first part would introduce high-speed rail from New York to Albany and Buffalo, including improvements on the Adirondack route, with exclusive tracks for passenger trains on Conrail's Albany-Buffalo right-of-way, between 1995 and 1999. The second part is for a maglev line on the west side of the Hudson River between New York and Albany to be built between 2003 and 2005. The high-speed line would cost $1 billion, at $2.3 million per mile, with 75% funded by the federal government. The maglev would cost $6.7 billion, at $43 million per miles (including a tunnel under the Hudson), would use Interstate-highway right-of-way, and be funded 67% by the federal government.

The high-speed rail plan seems like good news, but assumes federal funding equal to three-quarters of the entire five-year amount authorized by S.839.

Wisconsin DOT has released a study prepared with Illinois DOT for Chicago-Milwaukee high-speed rail.

Warrier and Gulf Navigation Company has refiled a lawsuit blaming Amtrak for the September 22 Sunset Limited wreck in Alabama. The suit asks for a jury trial to determine who is at fault. Of course, the National Transportation Safety Board investigation has a similar goal.

Guilford does not want VIA Rail's Atlantic service if Guilford takes over the east end of the cross-Maine line that Canadian Pacific wants to abandon, according to the Journal of Commerce. The governments of Maine, New Brunswick, and Saint John have not dropped their appeals since the Guilford offer was made public, partly because of the passenger train. The ICC is expected to rule on the case on November 22.

Amtrak will not run the ICE on November 25 (Thanksgiving) or November 26, but will do so on November 27, as train 1206, leaving Washington at 8:30 am and as train 215 leaving New York at 2:30 pm; and November 28 as train 1208 leaving Washington at 12:20 pm and as train 1223 leaving New York at 5:00 pm.

House Public Works Chairman Norman Mineta (D.-Cal.) and House Rules Chairman Joe Moakley (D.-Mass.) toured the Central Artery project on November 8, and both said favorable things about including the rail link as part of the massive highway project.

ISTEA hearings referred to last week continue. New York will be November 17 in World Trade Center 1. Philadelphia is November 18.

The Clinton Administration has assured the railroads that a statement of administrative intent on NAFTA will make clear that the President will not seek bigger or heavier trucks. Yesterday's Washington Post had a pro-NAFTA column by Jessica Matthews, the environmental columnist now with the Council on Foreign Relations.