Hotline #830 - June 17, 1994

The House approved H.R.4556, the 1995 transportation appropriations bill, yesterday. Amtrak figures were not changed. An amendment to cut all Amtrak funding by 10% failed on a vote of 326-101. Only the sponsor, Joel Hefley (R.-Colo.), spoke for the amendment. Amtrak was defended by Representatives Swift, Dingell, Wolf, Carr, Foglietta, Oxley, and Bentley.

An amendment by John Kasich (R.-Ohio) was adopted, cutting all funding to the Interstate Commerce Commission and transferring its functions to the DOT. Disputes between Amtrak and freight railroads are decided by the ICC. The Senate is likely to reject this measure in conference.

The Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Frank Lautenberg (D.-N.J.), is expected to approve a funding bill by the end of June. An Amtrak authorization bill may be released next week by the Senate Commerce Transportation Subcommittee, chaired by James Exon (D.-Neb.).

The United Transportation Union struck the Long Island Rail Road this morning just after midnight. Amtrak operations are unaffected. The strike may last until midweek.

DOT Secretary Federico Pena, at a news conference on June 13, unveiled the new DOT Grade Crossing Action Plan and accompanying legislation. This is the most sweeping look yet at grade crossing safety by the DOT. The bill would set aside $15 million a year in ISTEA Surface Transportation Funds for grade crossings and give states incentives to eliminate crossings, rather than just improve them. The Action Plan calls for more education and research, eliminating all crossings where main lines cross National Highway System roads, and consideration of penalties for commercial truck drivers who violate crossing warnings. S.2127, the Danforth crossing bill, goes one step further on that last point and mandates increased penalties for such violations, which are the most frequent cause of passenger train derailments and passenger injuries.

An FRA safety officer is quoted in the Journal of Commerce as saying that having train crew members inspect their own trains may be a problem, because they may not have adequate inspection training. The CSX piggyback train that Amtrak's Silver Meteor hit in North Carolina last month had been inspected by the train crew prior to departure from Orlando. CSX says it trains its crews adequately and that accidents with mechanical causes have declined 80% in the last five years.

The United Transportation Union may strike the Soo Line portion of Canadian Pacific on July 14. The Soo Line has been in mediation since 1988 and was not involved in the strikes of 1991 and 1992. Amtrak's Empire Builder and Milwaukee trains use the Soo Line, but may be able to continue operating if there is a strike.

The Lambert Airport extension of the St. Louis MetroLink light rail line will open on June 25. It was supposed to open with the rest of the line last summer, but was delayed when legal problems associated with passing through an old cemetery arose.

A study of Denver-El Paso Amtrak service done for the State of New Mexico found that $79 million would be needed for track and station work and $2.7 million a year would be needed for operating support. New Mexico has been most interested -- it is not known what level of interest Colorado has, or what the chances are of getting Texas interested. The route would barely enter Texas, a state that has never spent anything on passenger rail.

The National Transportation Safety Board will release its final report on the Sunset Limited accident in Alabama on June 21.