Hotline #915

June 12, 2015

The U.S. House of Representatives June 9 voted down five anti-Amtrak amendments that were attached to the Fiscal Year 2016 Transportation, Housing & Urban Development bill, thanks to NARP members calling their congressional delegations to voice their opposition to the measures.

NARP members had already helped to turn back two amendments by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) to eliminate Amtrak’s capital and operating budget last week, a move which would’ve ended the national passenger rail network as we know it. Amendments offered by Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) that targeted the Sunset Limited, Amtrak’s national network, and All Aboard Florida were defeated Tuesday evening. We appreciate everyone who called into their legislators to voice their opposition to the amendments.

Overall, the House of Representatives passed the $55 billion FY-2016 Transportation-HUD spending bill (HR 2577) with a slim margin by a vote of 216-210 on June 9, reports Bloomberg. Thirty-one Republicans voted against the bill and only three Democrats voted for it. The bill slashes Amtrak funding by over $260 million and includes no money for state grants for the High Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Program.

NARP has advocated strongly for a predictable, dedicated source of funding for passenger trains that is robust enough to meet the needs of an aging infrastructure and ensure safety. Dedicated funding will help states and passenger rail operators to build a safer and more efficient rail system. It will also extend the planning horizon for transportation providers by improving project management and lowering overall design-build costs.

The June 10 Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee rail safety hearing included a warning from a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) official saying that most of the country’s railways will fail to meet a deadline for implementing the Positive Train Control system that NTSB investigators said would have prevented last month’s Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia, reports The Hill.

“For more than three years, FRA has been sounding the alarm that most railroads have not made sufficient progress to meet the December 2015 deadline,” FRA associate administrator for railroad safety Robert Lauby told committee members. “We have noted that the certification and installation of PTC systems are significant undertakings.”

In testimony before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security in January, NARP President and CEO Jim Mathews said that if the December 31, 2015, statutory deadline is not feasible, NARP recommended that any new law changing the deadline should do the following: 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 4.5 years after the current deadline, or June 30, 2020; explicitly require the prevention of low-speed, rear-end collisions; and change the law so that heavily traveled mainlines are not exempt because they happen to be owned by other than a Class 1.

This last provision would eliminate threats to existing passenger services resulting from a statutory loophole that allows those terminal railroads—which are not designated as Class 1s, though they are owned by Class 1s—to escape the PTC requirement, except for passenger trains. The railroads thus take the position that passenger agencies must pay for PTC installation.

"Because they're considered Class III, the PTC requirement is triggered by the operation of passenger trains," said Amtrak Vice President of Operations DJ Stadler. "These hosts have maintained that because Amtrak's trains trigger the PTC requirement, Amtrak is responsible for the cost of PTC installation, which amounts in the case of KCT to $30 million… We do not wish to cease service, but if this issue is not resolved soon, it could end in either the rerouting or termination of the Southwest Chief and the River Runner.”

Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) expressed concern at these statements, and pledged to work with Amtrak to protect threatened services.

In the continuing aftermath of last month’s Amtrak derailment, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) says that passenger trains should “ensure that all passenger train movements through [segments without Automated Train Control] be made with a second qualified crew member in the cab of the controlling locomotive, or with constant communication between the locomotive engineer and an additional qualified and designated crewmember in the body of the train.” The recommendation, released on June 9, was included in FRA’s 10-page safety advisory. The advisory also included a recommendation that passenger railroads use automatic braking where available to comply with speed limits, identify locations where the speed limit drops at least 20 mph for a curve and install additional speed limit signs along tracks.

And Reuters reports that the NTSB found that Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian was not talking or texting on his cellphone when his train derailed in Philadelphia, but it is still trying to determine whether he was using his phone in a way that would not have required a wireless connection. His lawyer said that Bostian’s cellphone was off, as required by federal regulation and Amtrak policy.

American Progress decried the neglect of Amtrak despite its status as an important part of the U.S. transportation system in a piece entitledUnderstanding Amtrak and the Importance of Passenger Rail in the United States. “Amtrak serves more than 500 destinations in 46 states. Passenger rail service supports economic development, connects rural communities to the nation, and helps reduce roadway congestion in major metropolitan regions,” it said. “In addition, Amtrak facilities and services are vital to commuter rail agencies, allowing 840,000 commuters to reach their destinations every weekday.”

Despite record ridership, says the article, Amtrak is still plagued by a lack of funding for needed infrastructure and upgrade projects. NARP continues to advocate for the need to properly fund rail, transit and mobility projects that will provide Americans with safe, efficient intermodal service.

In state news, New Mexico’s Department of Transportation has said it does not have the $50 million to pay to install Positive Train Control on the Rail Runner Line by the Dec. 31, 2015, deadline, reports the Beaumont Enterprise. Officials have asked for an extension. The Albuquerque Journal, citing state records, said the DOT will need to start spending $25 million for “midlife” refurbishing of locomotives, coach and cab cars between 2016 and 2020.

The director of strategic planning for Pennsylvania’s SEPTA hopes that when the I-95 Turnpike interchange opens in a few years, his agency can work with PennDOT to lessen the negative effects of congestion on local communities, reports Pennsylvania Wire News. A big part of that will be to upgrade Regional Rail capabilities and improve conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists to reach stations along the Northeast Corridor. Plans were outlined during a recent transportation conference that covered how to alleviate current and potential congestion along the corridors. The interchange, expected to be completed in 2017, is the last step to making I-95 an uninterrupted roadway from Maine to Florida.

The U.S. is failing to invest in infrastructure at sufficient levels. Rebuilding our country’s infrastructure for the 21st century is a project that is so big that it must be a national priority. While our country’s infrastructure is crumbling, it’s clear that we do not have enough government money at any level to build and operate the type of 21st century network the U.S. economy needs. NARP will partner with everyone who can benefit from our shared vision of a connected, interconnected, and competitive nation.

A story on NJ.com asks the question that NARP members should be asking their local transit officials: How many NJ Transit board members ride the train or bus? The question came up after transit advocate David Peter Alan, president of the Lackawanna Commuter Coalition, publicly challenged board members at a recent meeting to ride with him and see the system through the eyes of its commuters. The legislature is considering two bills that would add commuters to the NJ Transit Board of Directors.

High-speed rail projects continued to be in the spotlight this week. An alliance of California communities are fighting to stop the state’s long-planned, $68 billion bullet train from being routed through the heart of the San Fernando Valley, saying it would bring irreparable harm, reports the Los Angeles Times. On the other side of the country, a Martin County, Florida, resident filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit to stop All Aboard Florida from getting $1.75 billion in tax-exempt bonds, claiming the project will hurt the value of his home, reports the Palm Beach Post. Indian River and Martin counties lost lawsuits filed to block All Aboard Florida from being able to use tax exempt bonds just this week, in a positive sign for the company’s plan to develop fast, frequent service between Miami and Orlando.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) was so impressed with his ride on a Japanese maglev train during an official visit to that country that he wants to bring similar technology to run between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., reports the Baltimore Sun. The price tag for the project, which was also touted as a possibility in the 1990s and the 2000s, is $10 billion. But the Greater Greater Washington blog thinks the money would be better spent on building the Purple Line as part of the existing D.C. Metro subway system. The proposed $2.4 billion, 16-mile light rail line would connect Bethesda, Maryland, in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George's County.

A Philly.com op-ed urged the region to give strong consideration to building a high-speed rail project as part of the Northeast Corridor Future project. “A high-speed rail system to rival those of Europe and Asia may be the most ambitious of the plans under consideration, but it's the strategy that could help the region fully realize its brimming economic potential and be of particular benefit to those who live and work in and around Philadelphia,” it said.

High-speed rail is part of NARP’s focus to bring like-minded partners together to advocate for A Connected America. This effort links states and regions together with a high-quality, balanced intermodal and multimodal transportation system that serves all U.S. citizens, not just those in the high-density Northeast.

Finally, Amtrak, without fanfare, has reportedly reinstated a dedicated lounge car for sleeping car passengers on the Autotrain, a member has informed us. Recent trips have included a slightly modified full-table Superliner Diner operating for this purpose, with a new service bar added in place of one table on the upper level. Staffed by a LSA, the newly configured bar area offers beverages and snacks for sale to all sleeping car passengers. It is unknown what has become of the lounge cars previously used on the Autotrain for this purpose.