Hotline #901

The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly against an amendment that sought to end passenger rail service in America on March 4. Rep. Tom McClintock’s (R-CA) amendment to eliminate funding to Amtrak – including Capitol Corridor and California Zephyr service in his own district – was voted down 272 to 147, nearly a two-to-one margin.

“This is a big victory for trains in America, and we couldn’t have done it without your hard work and support,” said NARP President Jim Mathews in a special message to members. “Your emails and phone calls in the past 24 hours helped to move the needle, and wavering House members got the message loud and clear: there is an overwhelming consensus that A Connected America needs a modern, 21st century intermodal transportation network and rail is a vital part of that equation.”

The house also passed two amendments targeted at rail-crossing safety, and an amendment that will require Amtrak to study implementation of a super-express Acela service with fewer stops.

The underlying authorizing legislation, H.R. 749, was approved by a vote of 316 to 101: a strong mandate and an encouraging sign of a GOP House that agrees in principle with the White House that America needs trains. Now, the fight for a bill that will truly transform the way rail passengers travel moves to the Senate.

“The overwhelming bipartisan support shown in fighting back this ill-considered amendment demonstrates broad support for a national rail network—among both politicians and the public. Thousands of passengers rallied in support of Amtrak, with phone calls, emails and visits, and Congress listened,” said Mathews in a press release. “As the Senate takes up the bill, NARP will continue to work with coalition partners and likeminded allies to help craft a truly transformational piece of legislation to bring frequent, reliable, and safe rail service to all Americans. Investing in a modern transportation infrastructure that improves safety, reliability and efficiency of all modes is the only way to get America’s economy moving at full-speed again.”

The Midwest High-Speed Rail Association (MHSRA) is reporting that the Illinois State Senate Majority Leader Clayborne (D-Belleville) and Representative Ammons (D-Champaign) jointly introduced partner legislation to provide $15 million for a Tier I Environmental Impact Study for a Chicago-East St. Louis/Indianapolis high-speed line.

“[We’ve] been organizing supporters to advocate for this service over the past few years. The Tier I EIS is a critical piece of planning work that is needed to design a route, demonstrate a project’s viability and attract federal or private funding,” reported MHSRA. “Finding funding for a Tier I EIS for a 220mph demonstration project is the single most important next step in promoting high-speed rail in the region. It is also the logical next step after IDOT released a feasibility study for the corridor in 2013.”

Read more at http://www.midwesthsr.org.

After a special Colorado ski train sold out in 10 hours, Amtrak and Winter Park Resort announced March 3 that they will team up to run another Winter Park Express excursion train on March 15. Amtrak says the second train sold out as well, this time in four hours.

The train will take passengers and their ski gear from Denver Union Station to the resort in the morning, with the return trip in the evening. The train trip is celebrating Winter Park Resort’s 75th anniversary.

“Amtrak adding another train on Sunday is a clear response to the incredible enthusiasm people have for direct train service from Denver to Winter Park Resort,” said Gary DeFrange, Winter Park Resort President and COO. “Most of all, it’s an exciting illustration of the momentum this excursion has generated in such a short period of time. We share the public’s passion for this train as well as its hope for regular rail service in the future.”

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is warning that the Second Avenue subway project will be shortened if additional funding to close a a $15 billion deficit in the capital budget is not found.

The Second Avenue subway extension currently has three stations, stretching to 96th, that are scheduled to be operational by December 2016. The next phase would stretch to 125th Street in Harlem—but that segment is in jeopardy due to funding problems.

Prendergast said he must prioritize the $22 billion capital maintenance program that undergirds existing rail services.

"It may not be that interesting to somebody if they don't see a (power) substation or they don't see cables going to a third rail, but if we don't maintain that, and that's a safety and reliability issue, then we could have a safety and reliability problem,” MTA chief Tom Prendergast said. "And so we have to protect that core of $22 billion.”

The Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance is reporting several positive developments in the fight to save the Hoosier State in Indiana’s state legislature.

IPRA included a synopsis of recent action in their newsletter, All Aboard Indiana:

“All those interested in seeing a modern passenger rail system in our state are smiling a bit more, after learning that the Indiana House of Representatives has included an annual appropriation, which can be used for the Hoosier State, in House Bill 1001, the budget bill. Many people, including Governor Mike Pence and members of the House Ways and Means Committee, can be thanked for this encouraging development.

“House Bill 1001 now moves to the Indiana Senate where it will be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee. ―If this committee holds to form, it will invite budget presentations from various state agencies, including the Indiana Department of Transportation, before it adopts its own version of the budget, says Tim Maloney, a board member of the Indiana Passenger Rail Alliance.”

U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Bill Nelson (D-FL) and John Thune (R-SD) introduced a legislation yesterday to extend the federal deadline for implementation of the life-saving positive train control (PTC) technology by five years, to December 31, 2020.

PTC relies on automated communication systems to monitor and control train movements, acting as a safeguard against human error. The current deadline required full implementation on rail lines carrying passengers and certain chemicals by the end of 2015. Freight railroads have insisted that the deadline was infeasible due to technological obstacles that are currently being worked out.

"America's freight-rail industry … appreciates the senators' recognition that the existing mandate to have a fully interoperable, nationwide PTC system tested and safely operating by the end of 2015 is simply not possible and must be changed," said Association of American Railroads President Ed Hamberger. "AAR believe the new deadline set by the legislation is a reasonable and responsible extension, and provides the freight- and passenger-rail industries the time needed to fully install, test and approve PTC."

Accepting that compliance with the December 31, 2015 statutory deadline is not feasible, NARPrecommended to the Senate that any new law which changes that deadline should:

(1) Grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation, on an individual company basis, to give up to three, consecutive 18-month extensions, bringing the latest possible date of compliance 4-1/2 years after the current deadline, or June 30, 2020.

(2) Change the law so that heavily traveled mainlines are not exempt because they happen to be owned by other than a Class 1;

(3) Explicitly require the prevention of low-speed, rear-end collisions -- of which there have been fatal ones within the past four years [see below]. The system as currently being installed does not know the length of trains and therefore cannot prevent low-speed, rear-end collisions.

News in Brief

—The Chicago Transportation Authority began construction on a $203 million project to reconstruct the Wilson Station platform and adjoining track.

The work, which is scheduled to finish up in late 2017, will speed operations and improve reliability on the CTA’s Purple Line.

—The City of Miami Beach is moving closer to a light rail-link between the beach and downtown Miami, with local officials lining up the funds for the project's developmental and environmental study.

“We know that [off-wire electrified light-rail vehicles are] the preferred technology. We have the preferred alignment,” said José González, transportation director at the City of Miami Beach. “However, these issues have to be further defined, which would be through the PD&E study. It would define any environmental and social impacts to the surrounding environment and it would identify ways of avoiding or mitigating those impacts.… And then the outcome of that effort is a preferred alignment, which has now been refined.”

Passenger Advisory

—Amtrak has moved its San Francisco Thruway operations to a temporary terminal outside the downtown Transbay Transit Center.

"The Transbay Transit Center project creates a safe, seamless and sustainable transportation network for Bay Area residents and travelers statewide," said Transbay Joint Powers Authority Executive Director Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan.

The Thruway bus service connects passengers to Amtrak’s San Joaquin, Capitol Corridor, Coast Starlight and California Zephyr trains. The temporary terminal will serve riders until the Transit Center opens in late 2017. Eventually, the terminal will also connect to California’s high-speed rail system.