Hotline #754

Alabama Governor Hunt will meet with members of his staff on January 8 to discuss funding of Amtrak's Gulf Breeze -- just two days before Amtrak's planned discontinuance of the train. Amtrak announced last week that it would end the Birmingham-Mobile service because the state had not paid any 403(b) money since its old contract with Amtrak ended in October. Amtrak said that it would bus people with previous Gulf Breeze reservations, January 10-31, but there remains hope that the state can act next week in time to save the train.

There is still no firm indication of what the Clinton Administration will do with transportation. The latest Washington folk wisdom is that because of higher federal deficit estimates for 1993 and somewhat improved signs of life in the economy, there may be less incentive for Clinton to push a large infrastructure program aimed at creating jobs fast. More attention may be turned simply to trying to get ISTEA fully funded for 1994. That may be difficult because of a combination of pressure to reduce the deficit and pressure to increase all sorts of domestic programs. And, of course, ISTEA does very little for Amtrak.

Amtrak train 370, the Pere Marquette, derailed on CSX tracks near Stevensville, Mich., on December 30, about seven miles south of St. Joseph. Fourteen passengers had minor injuries. Speculation centered on track damage from an earlier freight train that dragged an automobile near the accident scene. The site had no curves, switches, or grade crossings. The allowable speed is 65 mph, but the train's actual speed is unknown. This accident was covered by NBC's Today Show, causing one to wonder what is it about minor Amtrak accidents that makes them so newsworthy. If this were a highway accident, would the fact that nine people were slightly injured -- as NBC described the Amtrak accident -- make the national news?

Federal Railroad Administrator Gil Carmichael, in a December 18 interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, called on the Virginia DOT to make plans to electrify the Washington-Richmond line and better integrate it into Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. He also called on the City of Richmond to pursue plans for a downtown intermodal terminal.

A man was murdered in Washington Union Station at about 9:00 pm on December 29, in the lower level area between the food court and the Metro entrance. One 17-year-old suspect allegedly pulled a gun and shot another man in the head when they and their friends got into an argument. The Washington Post said there was some panic in the station when the gun was fired, but that station security and police responded quickly. The suspect was caught shortly thereafter a block from the NARP office northeast of the station.

The ICC postponed for 30 days further action on sale of the Green Bay & Western and the Fox River Valley to the Wisconsin Central. Rail labor sought the delay because it wants labor protection agreements finalized before the ICC approves the sales. The Fox River Valley is a non-union short line vital to the extension of passenger rail service to Green Bay. Wisconsin Central wants to combine the two lines and operate them as the Fox Valley & Western.

A bill in the British Parliament to privatize British Rail is in trouble, according to the Journal of Commerce. The bill was to have been passed this summer, but won't be published until January. In some ways, the British Department of Transport's plan is similar to privatization schemes in other countries, but on a much faster timetable. Now many, including British Rail chairman Sir Bob Reid, say the fast schedule would greatly disrupt transport in Britain for many years and yield little or no tangible benefits.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Peter Stangl was quoted in Newsday last week saying, "I'm not sure I want to cooperate" with Amtrak's request to test the X2000 on Metro North tracks. The MTA is made at the manufacturer of the X2000, ABB Traction, because of delays in ABB's delivery of 10 dual-mode locomotives that would allow operation of through-service between Port Jefferson and Penn Station.