Hotline #749

No company benefits from extended uncertainty about its future leadership, but that's just what Amtrak seems to be facing. It still looks like President Bush may make his four appointments to the Amtrak Board. That means the new Congress and President Clinton possibly could retaliate early next year by restructuring the board. That, in effect, would shorten the tenure of the new appointments and possibly that of any new president the board might have picked.

We reported on November 20 that New York State Thruway Authority chairman Peter Tufo had been shown around Washington by Clinton people and might be a DOT secretary candidate. One of his stops that week was before the Infrastructure Investment Commission, which was set up by the ISTEA law. We have read Tufo's statement. It does not mention rail, but does praise efforts to put maglev on the New York State Thruway. That just happens to be one of Senate Public Works Chairman Moynihan's (D.-N.Y.) pet projects. The Thruway apparently is Tufo's only transportation background.

Amtrak is in the midst of the busiest travel weekend of the year. On the morning of November 25, Cliff Black of Amtrak public relations was interviewed live on NBC's Today Show. As usual, Amtrak has added many trains on the Northeast Corridor and added as many coaches as possible there and on other corridors. On November 25, Amtrak extended the Orange County commuter train all the way to San Diego to provide more service on that line.

Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar this week formally proposed another version of the third Chicago airport -- this one 35 miles south at Peotone. The airport would cost $1.8 billion, which seems low to us, considering the aborted Lake Calumet airport was $11 billion. Edgar's proposal also calls for a $400-million high-speed rail line into Chicago. That's a good start, but more is needed. At a bare minimum, Edgar's high-speed line should be extended beyond downtown Chicago to O'Hare Airport and Milwaukee.

The National Association of Counties, at its most recent meeting, passed a resolution favoring the H.R.4414 Amtrak gas-tax penny. The resolution was sponsored by Supervisor Ron Diridon of San Mateo County, Cal. This may help develop support for the Amtrak penny among rural Members of Congress.

The Pennsylvania legislature was to vote this week on two rail bills. The first, SB1642, would pay for raising clearances on some Conrail and Canadian Pacific lines in the state to allow for double-stack service. This bill has brought sharp protests from the Teamsters Union, who represent truck drivers, but is supported by rail labor. The second bill, SB1793, was to provide money for the second Pennsylvanian, meaning additional daylight Amtrak service across the state.

In the Senate run-off election in Georgia on November 24, Paul Coverdell (R.) defeated Wyche Fowler (D.). Senator Fowler had been very sympathetic to our causes, especially in the late 1970's when he and Al Gore, who was then in the House of Representatives, tried to prevent the Carter cuts of Amtrak routes; and, more recently, for a new Chicago-Atlanta-Florida service.

A Metrolink commuter train in Los Angeles, on the morning of November 25, was involved in the first serious grade-crossing accident since service began last month. A city-owned dump truck at an unprotected crossing in the Sylmar area was hit by an inbound Santa Clarita train operating in the "push" mode. The truck driver was killed. The train's cab car derailed and was scorched by a flash fire, but remained upright and attached to the rest of the train. There were 75 passengers on board -- 12 were injured and two hospitalized.

William H. Moore, a member of the Amtrak board from 1972 to 1976, died November 23 at the age of 77. Moore served on the board in one of the shareholders' slots, representing the interests of the Penn Central Railroad, of which he was president and chief executive officer from 1970 to 1974. During the 1970's, the three railroads that opted to become shareholders in Amtrak -- the Penn Central, Burlington Northern, and Milwaukee Road -- were represented on the Amtrak board. Today, there are two shareholder slots on the board representing the DOT, which now has all the Amtrak stock.

Greyhound has decided to cancel most of its subscriptions to the monthly Russell's Official Bus Guide and withdrew all of its advertising. It is hard to tell what the final effect will be, but it certainly puts the only national bus timetable guide in jeopardy.