NARP Praises Partial Restoration of Amtrak’s Coast Starlight; Presses full restoration in March

Release #08-04—February 13, 2008

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Washington, D.C., February 13, 2008—In an open letter to Amtrak released today, the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) praised Amtrak’s decision to reinstate its “Coast Starlight” train between Los Angeles and Sacramento. The Association also urged the railroad to restore the entire run to Seattle by March 4, using buses for the Klamath Falls-Eugene segment if tracks closed by a January mud slide remain impassable.

NARP’s letter expressed concern “about the impact of no service for an indefinite period north of Sacramento. A prolonged Starlight service outage

• inconveniences passengers-—likely working a severe hardship on many;
• means continued loss of nearly 90% of the Starlight’s normal revenues;
• depresses revenues on the rest of the system, since so many Starlight passengers connect with other Amtrak trains; and
• harms the Thruway business partners that let the Starlight serve Vancouver, British Columbia, via bus to and from Seattle, and a number of Oregon communities via connections at Klamath Falls, Chemult and Eugene.”

For a few days after the mud slide closed Union Pacific’s main line near Frazier, Oregon, Amtrak maintained service by running Los Angeles-Klamath Falls and Portland-Seattle trains and Klamath Falls-Portland buses. After that, Amtrak suspended the entire “Coast Starlight” service.

In its letter, NARP urged Amtrak to immediately resume selling Starlight travel for March 4 and later dates. The letter said, “With the limited service that Amtrak is currently providing, the only route between the Pacific Northwest and California is via Chicago, which is unacceptable.  Amtrak, as the nation’s only interstate passenger rail operator, has a responsibility to serve as much of this important rail route as possible.”

NARP’s letter further noted that the “Starlight” serves a large number of universities and colleges, and spring break is fast approaching.  An announcement about restored service and resumed ticket sales will be important to those looking to make travel plans soon.

On its fortieth anniversary last year, NARP proposed a grid-and-gateway networked train system that would connect cities and communities across America and would provide for alternative service when emergencies such as this arise. That vision for America, and a map illustrating possible routes, are at www.narprail.org/vision. NARP’s proposal influenced the recommendations of a blue-ribbon federal commission in January, which fleshed out this vision with financing and legislative proposals, and called for more comprehensive and rational transportation investment decisions.

“The Coast Starlight situation reiterates the importance of a comprehensive national train network,” said Capon. “Amtrak needs to recognize the huge damage of lost revenues, plan carefully, resume serving customers and earning that revenue, and stop being paralyzed by the fear that something might go wrong.”

The Coast Starlight is widely acknowledged as one of Amtrak’s most important overnight routes. It is the only north-south route west of the Mississippi River and it is used by passengers connecting with other Amtrak routes. The routes which directly connect with the Starlight are the Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, and California’s San Joaquins and Pacific Surfliners.

About NARP

NARP is the largest citizen-based organization advocating for train and rail transit passengers. We have worked since 1967 to expand the quality and quantity of passenger rail in the U.S. Our mission is to work towards a modern, customer-focused national passenger train network that provides a travel choice Americans want. Our work is supported by over 23,000 individual members.