Hotline #844

In a National Press Club luncheon talk today that C-Span broadcast, and likely will rebroadcast, Amtrak President & CEO Joseph Boardman said it is time to replace the highway program with a surface transportation program. He said the Highway Trust Fund is dead, not just because it is out of money but because it is built on an outmoded vision. The new program must be based on results rather than individual modes, and focus on truly national priorities. He said existing funding levels let us “Just barely keep the existing system growing.” As for Amtrak, the AEM7 electric locomotives have run almost four million miles and “the new electric locomotives can’t come soon enough, Siemens!” (A Siemens rep was present.)

Referring to the difficult weather the past week (see next section of hotline), Boardman said, “We’ve been getting tons of compliments about our conductors,” singling out Andrea, a conductor on stranded Train 6 for special praise.

Asked about the importance of the long-distance trains, Boardman said, “We serve over 500 communities. Over 300 of them have no other service than Amtrak.” He said Amtrak has “excellent relations” with the freight railroads “and they come through for us” in situations like Sandy and the recent extreme weather. He said Amtrak and the railroads have lots of agreements but that’s normal.

One of the questions for Boardman went like this: “Amtrak’s twitter feed is regarded as one of the best social media out there. Who does it?” Boardman then introduced “Julia” and said, “I love her like my own daughter.”

NARP President Ross Capon was seated at the head table today, and introduced along with the other head table guests, as is the Press Club’s custom.

Following a crippling cold snap that has frozen much of the country, Amtrak service was mostly restored to normal operations as of yesterday evening.

The Chicago Hub was particularly hard hit, experiencing severe cold and wind that brought temperatures to as low as -42 degrees. At least one Amtrak train was trapped overnight by snow drifts.

“I can't recall a series of days where we've had this much disruption in this many directions to and from Chicago," said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari, a 13-year veteran of the railroad. “I guess it’s good timing—certainly for our markets where there's heavy university traffic. The good news is that it's 2014, where registration for the spring is done mostly electronically. Imagine if this were 1994 instead of 2014 when you had to be there to register."

You can find a full list of restorations at Amtrak.com.

In a budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2015 that includes $11 billion in debt reduction, California Governor Jerry Brown still managed to carve out $300 million in funding for passenger rail modernization.

That includes $250 million for the 220 mph statewide high speed rail project, and $50 million for conventional rail, commuter rail, and light rail.

The $50 million will go towards “the further development of the statewide rail modernization program, [which] will better integrate existing passenger rail and transit service with the future high-speed rail system, and act as an additional catalyst for transit-oriented and sustainable communities’ development.” It is further evidence for NARP’s claim that building a high speed rail system will benefit conventional passenger trains. While some are tempted to settle for an either/or investment scenario, where every dollar spent on high speed rail means one less dollar for Amtrak, NARP—and Governor Brown—understand that a modern rail system requires both, and the only way for rail to be treated equally is to build something truly world-class.

The funding for high speed rail comes as good news for a project that has been suffering from negative publicity over the past few months. Though a recent ruling denied opponents’ requests to stop construction, it did require a reworking of the funding plan and complicated the bond issuance scheme. When asked about the project’s detractors at the budget’s unveiling, Governor Brown was unwavering in his commitment to high speed rail and the necessity of passenger trains for California’s future:

“No big project, whether it was the Golden Gate Bridge, Trans-Continental Railroad, or the Panama Canal, was free of very strong criticisms, skepticism, and attack. That goes with the territory. This is a big project, it was started by my predecessor, something that I proposed and talked about when I was governor the last time. There is no doubt that California will have millions more people coming to live in this state, many of them will live in Central California. To just add more freeway miles, particularly when already vehicle miles travelled last year was 331.8 billion vehicle miles traveled, we need alternatives, and transit and high-speed rail are part of that mix. And the program that I have set forth strengthens the local rail, the commuter rail between San Francisco and San Jose and in the Southern California area, it reduces greenhouse gases, it ties California together. We are divided in many respects, North and South, Coast and the center of the state. We have to pull together to form a greater community. The high-speed rail serves all of those functions and that’s why I think it’s in the public interest. And using the money from cap and trade, which is the results of deterring greenhouse gasses is very appropriate. While it’s also appropriate to spend a lot of that cap and trade money in the way that I proposed, in lower income communities and dealing with a lot of pollution and greenhouse gasses. There’s no doubt that high-speed rail is a reducer of greenhouse gasses, an enhancement of the quality of California life, and a bringing together of various regions of our state. “

“…I think California is still that generator of dreams and great initiatives, particularly in the private sector, but still also in the public sector. And I think high-speed rail is worthy of this state, which says on this building, “bring me men to match my mountains” another way to say that, “give us the dreams to match our capabilities” and I think the high-speed rail fits into that and I think the cap and trade is a very good source for that. It’s not the general fund, it’s coming right from sources of pollution and going right to reduce pollution. “

The budget identifies revenue from a cap and trade system for harmful emissions. “Transportation is the single largest contributor to GHGs in California (38 percent),” explained the Brown Administration’s 2013 budget document. “[R]educing transportation emissions should be a top priority (including mass transit, high speed rail, electrification of heavy duty and light duty vehicles, sustainable communities, and electrification and energy projects that complement high speed rail).”

Virginia’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Norfolk Southern Corporation to upgrade the rail corridor between Lynchburg and Roanoke, allowing passenger trains to once again serve the Roanoke Region.

“Intercity passenger rail service is central to the Commonwealth's economic growth, vitality and competitiveness in the region,” said Bob Governor McDonnell (R). “Now the major population centers will have intercity passenger rail service.”

The agreement will fund upgrades to signal and communication systems, track additions and realignments, and build a platform and train servicing facility in downtown Roanoke. Governor McDonnell's 2013 transportation funding plan, which relies on sales taxes, is a major source of funding for this project.

“During this administration, new train service to Norfolk, and funding for the continuation of six state regional trains occurred," said Thelma Drake, director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT). "With the signing of this agreement, the State will be able to extend Amtrak Virginia daily intercity passenger train service to Roanoke within four years with direct same seat service to as far north as Boston.”

Virginia’s surge in rail service has benefited dozens of local communities, who are seeing more transportation choices, better mobility, and increased economic development flowing from the passenger rail investment.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment for the Commonwealth, the Roanoke Valley region, and our city, and with this signed agreement we can accelerate the return of passenger rail to the valley,” said Roanoke City Mayor David A. Bowers.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Board of Directors made a unanimous decision to contract with Keolis for the operations of the MBTA’s Commuter Rail system. The French company will take over operations from the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail (MBCR) company on July 1.

The contract will run eight years, costing the MBTA around $2.6 billion. The contract has an option to extend for an additional 4 years, bringing the total cost to $4.28 billion.

Current employees of the MBCR will be hired on by Keolis in order of seniority, and existing collective bargains will remain in effect. Significantly, MBTA will no longer have to make incentive payments when the trains are on-time. Instead, the new contract will use performance penalties to ensure performance.

“Keolis’ proposal presents the best combination of technical quality and price, and is more advantageous to the MBTA,” said MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott. “Any delay in initiating mobilization activities could adversely impact the provisions of commuter rail services… The new contract sets a ‘no excuses’ expectation that the operator will run the trains on time,”

MBCR and labor representatives have criticized the move, warning that going with the lowest bidder may well result in an inferior quality of service for passengers.

“It takes money to provide the best service…and you aren’t going to get the lowest bidder to build your commuter rail. If you underbid someone millions of dollars, pretty much you need to find a place to cut that cost,” said Mike Bobulis of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. “You cannot take the lowest bidder and not expect to provide the lowest service.”

A New Mexican State Legislator has revealed plans to introduce legislation that would provide rail funds to make critical infrastructure improvements to allow the Southwest Chief to maintain its current route.

The bill will be introduced by Representative Roberto Gonzales (D-Taos), chair of the state House Transportation Infrastructure Revenue Subcommittee. Gonzales will look to secure $4 million in general funds for track upgrades. He will seek to move a second bill later in the month to secure an additional $4 million from the state’s capital outlay fund.

The segment of the route in question is owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and sees little to no freight traffic. As a result, Amtrak and the affected states are expected to pay most of the cost of maintaining the segment to permit safe operation of passenger trains at marketable speeds.

"The key date for the Southwest Chief is Jan. 20, 2016, because that is the day that the contract between BNSF and Amtrak expires," said NARP Chairman Bob Stewart at a meeting in Garden City, Kansas in September 2013. "BNSF is proposing that they'll need $200 million over 10 years for upgrading the line and maintenance over three states — Colorado, New Mexico and Kansas, each of which would have to put up $4 million per year for 10 years.”

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez (R) has expressed support for maintaining the route, but has stated she believes it is a federal funding responsibility.

The Missouri Illinois Rail Passenger Association (MIRPA) is holding its first meeting Saturday, January 11, at the Kirkwood train station in Missouri.

MIRPA’s organizational meeting will be held tomorrow at 2:00 PM. More than 135 individuals have already joined and many are coming from the Chicago and Kansas City areas to attend.

Rich Eichorst, President of the American Association of Railroaders, will meet Amtrak Train No. 301 in St. Louis and provide transportation to and from the Kirkwood station (the treturn should be booked on Train No. 306)). Missouri rail riders can arrive on Train No. 314.

Residents of the Pacific Northwest had a chance to experience the new Talgo Series 8 trains this week after the train sets were introduced into service on the Amtrak Cascades corridor.

“Amtrak is still trying to get the schedule updated, so people will need to check online to see when trains run,” said Kathy Holmes of the Oregon Department of Transportation. “A lot of people are interested in riding these trains.”

Amtrak Cascades connects Eugene and Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Travelers Advisory

—Amtrak announced that track work being performed by BNSF Railway will affect Southwest Chief Train 3 and Pacific Surfliner service on Saturday and Sunday, January 11 and 12. More Details Here.

—Amtrak and Caltrans have teamed up to allow Pacific Surfliner passengers to make bicycle reservations at any Quik-Trak ticket kiosk or online at AmtrakCalifornia.com. Bike reservations can still be obtained through Amtrak ticket agents or by calling 800-USA-RAIL.