Hotline #856 - December 16, 1994

Because so many of you already have called the hotline this week to get the list of Amtrak route cuts, the whole list will not be repeated here. However, we will send it to you if you send us a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Earlier, Amtrak announced that the Silver Star would run three times a week and the Silver Meteor four times, with a daily Palmetto. But the only real decision made was to cut the number of New York-Florida trains from 21 per week to 14. Amtrak is figuring out what makes sense and NARP is urging a daily Silver Meteor as a top priority.

Part of Amtrak's plans relate to the earliest possible retirement of Heritage cars, other than diners and lounges. We are vigorously opposing an apparent Amtrak interest in parking all coaches and sleepers even before the 50 Viewliner sleepers arrive.

Amtrak also plans to concentrate more on productivity improvements, something NARP has tried to stress with them all fall. Amtrak will negotiate such improvements with the unions with the hope of saving $37 million this year and $86 million a year after that.

Amtrak and state DOT's will meet to discuss whether the states will pay more to keep some of the threatened trains, particularly the 403(b) ones. Some of the projected savings are modest, increasing their chances of being picked up by the states, including just $2.1 million for the Capitol Corridor in California and $2 million for the Pontiac and Toledo segments of the Detroit service.

Meanwhile, Amtrak appears to have gotten a commitment this week from the White House not to zero Amtrak out in the Administration's 1996 budget proposal. However, the White House is still hinting that Amtrak could be cut further in 1996, which is alarming when one considers that Amtrak is having such trouble surviving on its 1995 funding level.

Reaction to the cuts has been intense, especially where entire corridors are in jeopardy. Wisconsin had always been told its busy Milwaukee line was very successful and was totally caught off guard. Californians are labeling Amtrak's actions as "extortion" for more state money.

On the other hand, it seems clear that if Amtrak had not engaged in what President Tom Downs called "dramatic self-help," both the White House and the new Republican leaders would have abandoned Amtrak. They know about Amtrak's budget gap and testimony by the General Accounting Office that current funding is not adequate to maintain all service. Increasing funding in the present environment is not realistic.

Incoming House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bud Shuster (R.-Pa.) has indicated he would like to take highway and aviation trust fund programs off-budget in order to protect them from budget cuts. This would leave Amtrak behind in domestic discretionary programs and very vulnerable. It would also give highways and aviation in general an even greater advantage over rail.

MARC began serving a new station at Muirkirk, Md., on the Camden line, December 12. On December 19, Virginia Railway Express will begin feeder bus service going into its stations at Woodbridge and Rippon. VRE will open a station at Lorton on January 3.

VIA Rail ended service on its Atlantic route yesterday. Now there is six-day-a-week service on the Ocean instead. Ironically, an agreement to keep short lines running the whole line from New Brunswick, through Maine to Sherbrooke, Quebec, was ironed out this week.

The Interstate Commerce Commission has approved Union Pacific's request for control of the Chicago and North Western. Almost all requests for conditions made by other railroads were denied. The ICC also approved the sale of the Central Vermont to a rail holding company. The name will be changed to New England Central.

BBC Radio reported this week that British Rail is facing huge financial difficulties, which it blames directly on excessive costs from the privatization effort. The report said that perhaps half of Britain's passenger-train route-miles would have to be cut back. Also blamed were this summer's strikes on Railtrack, which is the infrastructure holding company created by the government in April.