Hotline #806 - December 30, 1993

An article about Amtrak in the New York Times (December 26) included an interview with the new president, Thomas Downs and focused on Amtrak's need for more capital funds. However, NARP is writing the editor to discuss some factual errors in the piece. For example, there was a false statement that over half of Amtrak's passenger cars are over 40 years old. In fact, only 26% of the fleet is that old and that ratio will decline as pending car orders are delivered.

A proposal by Wall Street investment banker Felix Rohatyn was referred to in a Washington Post column today by Jim Hoagland. Citing the problem of structure unemployment in the U.S., Rohatyn said we need a federally funded public works program to be paid for with bonds secured by higher gas taxes. His program would cost $250 billion, last ten years, help defense industry conversion, and, among other things, be spent on high-speed rail and transit.

Federal Railroad Administrator Jolene Molitoris is to meet with the board of the Association of American Railroads on January 14 to discuss speeding up the effort for developing automatic train control technology. This topic has gotten renewed interest since the recent freight collision at Kelso, Wash., and last winter's collision on the South Shore Railroad.

The Air-Rail Travel Program, operated jointly by Amtrak and United Airlines, effective December 8 was expanded to 86 more cities, served by the five airlines in the United Express feeder network.

Provo, Utah, will lose its Thruway bus service after January 4. There will still be two round trips between Salt Lake City and Ogden that connect with the Pioneer.

Tonight on CBS television, the news program "Eye-to-Eye with Connie Chung" will examine grade-crossing safety. We understand it deals with freight railroads, but we have not yet much idea what the tone of the piece will be.

The American Public Transit Association is asking Congress to pass a law to give commuter rail operators the power to take disputes with freight railroads to the Interstate Commerce Commission. Amtrak already enjoys this privilege under the Amtrak Act and it has proven to be greatly in the interest of intercity rail passengers. This move by APTA was motivated in part by the rocky start last fall to contract renewal negotiations between CSX and Virginia, regarding VRE service.

The largest restructuring of the Canadian railway system since World War I could be announced next month, according to a Journal of Commerce interview with Canadian National president Paul Tellier. Under the plan, CN and Canadian Pacific would merge their eastern networks, possibly as far west as Winnipeg. It is not clear how that affects CN and CP's U.S. subsidiaries, or VIA Rail's passenger operations. As it is, VIA's Atlantic across Maine is threatened by a CP abandonment application pending with the ICC.

Two short lines, the Providence & Worcester and the Massachusetts Central, are bidding on the Central Vermont Railway, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. This is the route of Amtrak's Montrealer and is being sold by parent Canadian National.

The government of Sweden is to decide this week whether to go ahead with the proposed 10.5-mile rail and highway bridge-tunnel across the Oresund, the strait that divides Sweden from Denmark. This project was described in some detail in the August 1991 newsletter. If the link is built, it and another link now under construction in Denmark will provide the first all-rail link from Norway and Sweden into Denmark, Germany, and the rest of Europe.

Earlier this month, Bombardier was awarded a contract to supply 93 light-rail vehicles to a new line being built in Mexico City. The new line is to be 13 miles long and privately financed.