Hotline #843

A massive winter storm slammed into the Midwest and Northeast last night, snarling transportation networks from Chicago to Boston. Airports throughout New England ground to a halt. Amtrak, however, was able to operate a modified snow schedule along the entire Northeast Corridor.

The storm, which dumped up to 21 inches of snow in some regions, was severe enough to Governors Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie to declare states of emergency for New York and New Jersey, respectively. The extreme conditions, which includes extreme cold and high winds, is creating dangerous travel conditions.

Amtrak has activated its severe weather command center, located in Wilmington, Delaware. The railroad is positioning additional locomotives and maintenance equipment all along the Northeast corridor, which will help deal with the severe cold and downed tree limbs. Amtrak announced it will be able to continue operations throughout the blizzard, though it would be forced to reduce frequencies:

Acela Express and Northeast Regional service will operate between Boston and Washington. Passengers should expect reduced frequencies, particularly in New England.

Corridor services, including the Keystone Service (New York - Harrisburg, Pa.), Empire Service (New York - Albany, N.Y.), Amtrak Downeaster (Brunswick, Maine - Boston) and most of the Springfield Shuttle(New Haven, Ct. - Springfield, Mass.), are not affected and are expected to operate a normal schedule.

Passengers holding reservations that require modification are being accommodated on other trains and proactively notified by Amtrak Customer Service. A range of tools - including Amtrak.com, smartphone apps and 1-800-USA-RAIL - are available to assist in travel planning. Passengers who have paid but choose not to travel due to this service disruption can receive a refund or a voucher for future travel. Some reservations booked online can be modified or canceled on Amtrak.com or by using the free Amtrak mobile app.

Metro North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road also reduced frequencies by 60 percent on their commuter services. New Jersey Transit announced it will be running an enhanced schedule to cope with the extreme weather, and will offer systemwide cross-honoring for all tickets throughout Friday. Boston’s MBTA is also up and running, though certain lines are experiencing delays.

Airports were not so lucky. FlightAware put Friday’s airline cancellations and delays at 1,700 nationwide; that comes on top of the 2,100 airline cancellations and 6,000 delays tallied Thursday.

Following a massive swell of popular support, Cincinnati’s street car project overcame political opposition, with construction resuming December 26.

Pro-streetcar advocates traveled to the construction site to greet the returning construction workers with coffee, breakfast snacks, and words of congratulation. A promise by the then-Mayor-elect John Cranley to kill the project upon taking office sparked a six week grassroots campaign that overwhelmed opposition to the project.

"It was so well organized, well executed and well populated," Gene Beaupre, a Xavier University professor, told reporters. "I've never seen (a campaign) that effective in terms of every aspect."

In addition to securing the political support of Cincinnati’s City Council, the Save the Streetcar campaign also galvanized private sector support. Unnamed private sources pledged $990,000 of the roughly $3.5 million in operating costs projected for the first 10 years of operations.

The campaign was spearheaded by Believe in Cincinnati, which sees the streetcar line as a critical part of the effort to revitalize the city’s downtown and create livable neighborhoods to help attract residents.

"We decided we had two choices — spend the rest of our lives frustrated that the streetcar went the way of the subway or organize what we believed to be a large group of Cincinnatians who were sympathetic to our passion for the streetcar," said Ryan Messer, a spokesman for Believe in Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati subway, a 2.2 mile network of tunnels, was a project that was initiated in 1920, but eventually abandoned before operations could begin. The tunnels are currently abandoned.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded an $18.5 million grant to Amtrak’s Empire Corridor, for the purposes of reducing congestion on passenger and freight lines.

The grant, to be administered by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), will fund the design and construction of track reconfiguration and replacement at the Syracuse train station, along with upgrades to signaling systems:

The project includes the upgrade of two sidings or passing tracks, one of which passenger trains use to access the Syracuse station, the other used by freight trains to access the nearby freight yard. Once complete, the enhancements will remove the current 30 mph speed restrictions on the sidings.

The grant, which comes from U.S. DOT’s High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Program, will be matched by $4.6 million in state funds. Construction is scheduled to start in 2015.

The state of Indiana announced December 27 week that it will ask passenger rail operators to create proposals for a stronger HoosierState service that better serves the needs of the public.

The state has hired R.L. Banks & Associates to draft a request for proposals for the operation, improvement, or marketing of the once-daily service that connects Indianapolis, Crawfordsville, Lafayette, Rensselaer, Dyer, and Chicago.

“We are looking to see if competition improves the options for taxpayers and riders on the Hoosier State,” Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) spokesman Will Wingfield told Journal Constitution.

As part of implementing Section 209 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, which required states to take over the lion’s share of operating costs for routes under 750 miles long, the state partnered with communities along the route to cover $2.7 million in annual costs. Part of that agreement authorized INDOT to look to subcontractors to lower costs or upgrade service, an arrangement Amtrak says is common with services across the U.S.

“[I]n some states we operate the trains but don’t provide the cars,” said Marc Magliari, a spokesman for Amtrak. “Sometimes we provide the cars, and others provide the food service or the maintenance.”

State officials promise that Amtrak will continue to play an important role in running trains in Indiana, whatever response the request for proposals gets.

“Amtrak will still be a key part of the service, even if other contractors provide some services,” said Wingfield. “There will be no disruption in service.”

New York City’s newly sworn-in Mayor Bill DeBlasio appointed Polly Trottenberg to be the head of the New York Department of Transportation. Trottenberg has served as Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy since January 2013.

Under former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Trottenberg played an active role in implementing President Barack Obama’s High Performance Passenger Rail Program. She focused on the surface transportation reauthorization, livability, high-speed rail, the TIGER program, and freight policy development.

It remains to be seen to what extent Trottenberg will be allowed to import rail friendly policies. So far, DeBlasio and Trottenberg have placed their primary focus on safety.

"As the mayor mentioned, we’re going to be working to realize the zero vision, which is working towards zero roadway fatalities and injuries," Trottenberg said. "Number two, as the mayor-elect mentioned, connecting underserved communities throughout the five boroughs with improved bus service and better infrastructure so they can better access jobs, education and opportunities. ... Finally, making sure that this city’s remarkable transportation system stays strong, resilient, efficient and sustainable for all users throughout the city—for pedestrians, for cyclists, for drivers, and that also serves the businesses of New York."

Travelers Advisory:

—Amtrak announced that trains running between Atlanta and New Orleans will be canceled Mondays through Thursdays from January 6 to February 6, 2014. This service disruption, which will affect Trains 19 and 20, will allow Norfolk Southern Railway to perform necessary track work. This means that Train 19 departures from New York Sundays through Wednesdays will run only as far as Atlanta.

—Amtrak is expanding capacity on the Auto Train to meet rising demand, adding up to 60 additional seats on trains traveling from January 1 through March 31, 2014.

This Week on the NARP Blog:

—It's the externalities, stupid!: While millions of Americans are busy heading home for the holidays, opponents of passenger rail are hard at work rehashing tired attacks. One such attack appeared in this morning’s edition of the Detroit News. Michigan taxpayers, the newspaper contended, “should not be dinged” to keep Amtrak services in the state running. At a time of tight budgets and limited transportation dollars, the state should instead invest the $40 million operating subsidy of “lightly used” service into highway repair and maintenance. Highways are, according to the editorial, in greatest need of increased investment and should be prioritized. [Read More]

—2013: Holding the Line While Building for the Future: For rail advocates, 2013 began under a cloud of uncertainty. However, thanks to the tireless work of NARP members across the country, 2013 witnessed many key victories that will serve as a basis for expansion and growth in 2014. [Read More]