House Appropriators Declare War on Trains

This item is in today’s mail. With God’s help, I will turn 63 this August. In this lifetime, I cannot recall a time when passenger trains were up against the ropes. Around the world, rail intercity passenger service has flourished while American trains limped along at 50 mph. This is a sorry state of affairs and even more bad news for small town America, which depends on decent passenger train service to remain connected to teh nation’s cities. This network was decimated in the 60s and70s so that today there is almost no memory of a time when one could take the train. This is by no means a sentimental appeal to preserve a historic artifact, but a call to use modern technology to conveniently move large numbers of people best served by ground services.

House Appropriators released a draft bill today that slashes Amtrak’s budget by a third. NARP responded immediately with a press release denouncing the proposal as unacceptable: The National Association of Railroad Passengers announced that it will fight implementation of the House Appropriation Committee’s Fiscal Year 2014 transportation funding levels. The draft bill, which the subcommittee will consider tomorrow, slashes Amtrak’s budget by a third, threatening the very existence of Amtrak. The bill also fails to include funding for the High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Program. Not only does the bill include no new funding for the highly over-subscribed TIGER grants­a competitive, multi-modal program where rail has competed well­it rescinds $237 million in previously appropriated FY 2013 TIGER funding that is not yet obligated.

The House proposal denies state and local leaders the resources they need to develop the modern transportation network necessary for mobility and economic growth. It comes as economic experts and the International Monetary Fund criticize the U.S. for plunging ahead with austerity even as low interest rates make borrowing for projects unusually affordable, America’s unemployment rate remains unacceptably high, and the need for transportation infrastructure investment is widely acknowledged.

The House committee’s bill has just $950 million for Amtrak, a 29% cut from the final 2013 number [$1,344 million]. This includes a $350 million operating grant (21% below the FY 2013 level), and $600 million in capital (33.5% below FY 2013). <
http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=fOcum5bGSC4Xm9xXajM7ccs4i37FSIE%2F
>[Read the full press release here] NARP will be launching a campaign to rally support for Amtrak and passenger trains soon, so stay tuned for more developments. In the meantime, you can pass the word of this alarming proposal on to your local elected officials, your friends, and your family ­ help us stand up for trains!

Filed under: Amtrak, Passenger Rail Politics, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy

Amtrak’s Southwest Chief plan sparks rail passenger lobby response, Arkansas connection here!

This item appeared in my email and I am sure Mr. Evan Stair will not object to my distribution here. While I am pessimistic about the future of almost everything, the 60-year silliness over doing away with intercity passenger trains is simply beyond laughable, even as they become more necessary in an increasingly depressed economy.  This controversy concerning the Southwest Chief will have an impact on Arkansas. Read on.

Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, and Kansas rail supporters, 

While we are frequently critical of the National Association of Rail Passengers (NARP) the below NARP letter is refreshing.  Kudos go out to George Chilson, Bill Hutchison and Jim Loomis for their work on this critical statement.  We hope this means you, the rail supporter, are finally being heard in the hinterlands.

As we alerted three years ago, the Southwest Chief is the most threatened Long Distance train in the nation.  This train runs daily between Amtrak’s Chicago – Kansas City – Albuquerque – Los Angeles with many intermediate stops.  It is the spine upon which many passenger rail expansions depend.  This expansion list includes the following:

Oklahoma City – Tulsa – Joplin – Kansas City (Oklahoma City – Tulsa Regional Economic and Transportation Authority work is progressing)

Oklahoma City - Wichita (Work remains stalled in the planning stages)

Kansas City to Omaha/ Lincoln (Long term vision to create a connection between Southwest Chief (Chicago-LA) and California Zephyr (Chicago-San Francisco) routes)

Albuquerque - Pueblo – Colorado Springs - Denver (Long term Colorado Regional Transportation District goal)

Amtrak Concerns:  Our concern today is not just with Congress, but also Amtrak.  Amtrak has expressed an interest in expanding state supplemental requirements beyond the 750-mile-or-greater Long Distance definition.  Historically Long Distance trains have been funded 100% from Amtrak’s annual federal appropriation.

Amtrak has approached the states of Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico to provide state supplemental funding for the Southwest Chief. (see the attachment for the Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico joint response to Amtrak’s request for state supplemental funding for a Long Distance train)(e-mail us for a copy if it is not included in your e-mail.)  We expect Amtrak to approach the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico next year to request state supplemental reroute costs with similar results.  We also anticipate, if non-federal funding is not identified, Amtrak will have made a discontinuance case for the Southwest Chief.

This will set equally as dangerous precedent as that offered by Representative Shuster.  State Supplemental Long Distance represents an unworkable model that will doom Amtrak’s Long Distance network.

More than Just a Long Distance Threat:  Amtrak’s caviler approach threatens more than just Long Distance trains.  For example, the state supplemental Oklahoma City – Fort Worth Heartland Flyer depends upon the federally funded Texas Eagle.  A Texas Eagle discontinuance would doom the Heartland Flyer as it daily transfers 30% of its ridership beyond Fort Worth.

Position Statement:  Our position is that Long Distance trains should remain federally funded due to the interstate nature of their service and round-the-clock operation.  Passenger Rail Oklahoma and our affiliates emphatically encourage NARP to protest the proposed Amtrak Southwest Chief state supplemental policy foray.  This policy states that the states of Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico are responsible for funding $100 million in initial capital rehabilitation of the Newton, KS – La Junta, CO – Albuquerque, NM BNSF Railway Southwest Chief route segment.  The request also includes annual state operational requirements.

NARP Letter to US Representative Bill Shuster:

June 11, 2013

The Honorable Bill Shuster

Chairman

Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure

U.S. House of Representatives

2165 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Shuster:

As reported by Politico, your June 6 comments about Amtrak’s long distance trains caused anxiety among our members for it understandably raised the concern that these popular, heavily-used trains could be in jeopardy. We appreciate that you are “not committed to” specific shut-downs. In a similar vein, we appreciated Chairman Denham’s comment at the end of his May 21 hearing that his goal is to make the long distance trains more efficient.

Millions of Americans are already facing a loss of their personal mobility. Airlines are reducing the number of flights and have reduced or discontinued service to literally hundreds of smaller cities. Many older citizens are unable or unwilling to drive their personal automobiles for more than just a few miles; this population will grow dramatically over the next few decades in the U.S., and their needs must be accounted for. An increasing number of young people don’t own automobiles, either as a personal choice or because they are unaffordable. Millions more find flying to be too expensive, too inconvenient or simply too unpleasant.

The National Association of Railroad Passengers believes that these people—and indeed all Americans—have the right to choose

how they travel. We also believe it is a fundamental right that they be able to travel.

Some 173 million Americans – more than half of our total population – live within 25 miles of an Amtrak station that is served by long distance trains. Moreover, in 23 of the lower 48 states, long-distance trains are the only intercity passenger trains. The growth in revenues (up 24.4% from FY 2008 to FY 2012) and ridership on the long-distance trains, that has come in spite of unchanged capacity and aged equipment, is one indication of strong public support for these trains.

As your committee begins its work, we urge you to seek a fresh approach, focusing on legislation that will encourage and support improvement and expansion of the long-distance network.

Most of Amtrak’s long-distance trains are currently at or near capacity—and capacity has not been expanded for decades. We are convinced that both ridership and revenues will continue to improve—if capacity is improved, by some combination of expanding existing trains, adding frequencies and adding routes.

We look forward to working with you on the ongoing passenger rail reauthorization.

Sincerely.

Robert Stewart

Chairman

Ross Capon

President and CEO

Filed under: Amtrak, Passenger Rail Politics, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy, Regional USA Passenger Rail

The death of rail advocate John Mills

Gene Poon reports the sad news on another site. I believe I met Mr. Mills once and he certainly had a wonderful mind for good transportation and passenger rail service. I am sorry to see him go and glad that he will not have to endure the slow undoing on Amtrak at the hands of political bullies whose only interest is their own small-minded power trip.

This man stood up to opposition from Amtrak management and the political opportunists who are always working to favor the transportation special interests. John Mills, well done!

John Mills, tireless passenger rail advocate and retired Amtrak manager
(placed in the sequence that he himself saw fit) died today in Little
Rock, AR.

To quote Marc Lowrance of Arlington, TX, in another discussion board:

> Mr. Mills joined Amtrak in the early 1970′s and was assigned to Fort
> Worth, Texas as district supervisor. He annoyed staff members in
> Fort Worth by insisting that they park their cars in the station’s
> north lot to preserve the front of the station places for paying
> customers. He met and walked through every train that passed through
> FTW, and was not afraid to deal with dirty conditions or lazy
> on-board staff.
>
> His pride was the reinstatement of service between Fort Worth and
> Laredo, that led to the full “Inter American” service from St. Louis
> to Laredo in 1974. When unreliable equipment, slow operation speeds
> over the then Missouri Pacific, combined with blisteringly hot Texas
> summers threatened the success of the train, John worked to solve
> the problem. Paying no attention to Amtrak bureaucracy, he worked
> directly with board member Charlie Luna to secure former Southern
> Pacific train sets that could handle the slower speeds without
> losing power (and air conditioning) until Amfleet equipment came to
> the route in 1977. John’s direct, opinionated style and ability to
> get things done did not go over well many Amtrak executives.
>
> John moved to Little Rock briefly as supervisor before being
> transferred to Topeka, Kansas where he became supervisor of stations
> in Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico. In the 1980′s John
> became the Senior Quality Control man for Amtrak and spent much of
> his time in Vermont. There, he was the purchasing agent for the
> entire Amfleet II car order, as well as some Horizon equipment and
> Bombardier-built second generation Superliner cars.
>
> After retirement he remained in Topeka as an outspoken proponent of
> passenger rail. John moved home to Little Rock after the death of
> his longtime wife, LaVern several years ago.

I knew John Mills in his last years with Amtrak and during an
incredibly productive retirement.

His inspiration drove passenger rail advocates to
great things, accomplished by hard work even in the face of
opposition by Amtrak. In the dark days of 1997 when Amtrak was bent
upon killing several long distance trains, John Mills’s proteges did
things that amazed many, and…face it…outfoxed Amtrak. It would
not be a stretch of the truth to say that had there not been a John
Mills, there would be no Texas Eagle today. Significantly,
Amtrak has not since tried to massacre so much of its long distance
service in one swoop.

Farewell, John. You have done very well indeed.

-GP

My friend and fellow Arkansan, Dr. Bill Pollard, gave this reaction to the terrible loss.

first met John Mills 45+ years ago, when I was still in high school and he was bitterly contesting Missouri Pacific train discontinuances at ICC train-off hearings in Little Rock.

Exactly forty two years ago to this day, April 30, 1971, John refused to even acknowledge, much less ride, the last run of Missouri Pacific passenger service in Arkansas – such was his determination that the service would return. Within days of the time that Arkansas fell into the freight-only ranks, Mills was plotting strategy with J.O. Powell, editorial page editor of the late, great Arkansas Gazette, the oldest newspaper west of the Mississippi. The Gazette’s involvement brought immense credibility to the cause, and the newspaper’s constant litany of pro-passenger train editorials helped to persuade two members of the Arkansas congressional delegation (Senator John McClellan and Congressman Wilbur Mills, collaborating with Texas Congressman Jake Pickle) to demand restoration of passenger train service between St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas and Laredo. Without the relentless involvement and the congressional testimony of John Mills, it is very doubtful that passenger service would have been restored over what was historically the most heavily traveled route between St. Louis and Texas.

The Inter-American, predecessor of today’s Texas Eagle, began service on March 13, 1974. I was the ticket clerk on duty when the first train arrived in Little Rock. John hadn’t conducted my employment interview, but I have no doubt that he helped influence that decision. By that time, John was an Amtrak manager in Fort Worth, but that didn’t stop him from publicly lambasting Mopac for operating the Inter-American at 60mph maximum on track that was easily good for 79mph. Long after retiring from Amtrak, John continued to produce a barrage of letters promoting passenger rail and, when necessary, chastising Amtrak for what he viewed as various shortcomings.

We have lost another tireless advocate for the cause, but along the way, John Mills did influence a lot of other people across the country to get involved. The battle for more and better intercity passenger rail service will continue.

Bill Pollard

Filed under: Amtrak, Passenger Rail Politics, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy

Wisconsin Talgo train story: a political disgrace

Disgrace for Wisconsin, nice job Oregon and Washington State. This is the “why” part of the fact that not one mile of true high speed rail will be built in the United States. It goes against the powerful corporate interests that oppose it and have all the political power.

Filed under: Amtrak, Passenger Rail Politics, United States High Speed Rail

5 top issues between Amtrak and House GOP – Burgess Everett – POLITICO.com

In other words, things have changed not one little bit since Amtrak was formed as a centerpiece of Nixon’s corporate welfare. Good outline.

Former House transportation committee Chairman John Mica is putting everything on the table for Amtrak reform. That includes a cup of coffee and a hamburger.

Mica’s long-standing complaints about losses on the railroad’s food service produced a tense exchange between him and Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman during a subcommittee hearing Thursday. And it provided an example of the host of issues Congress must haggle over as transportation leaders work toward passing a new passenger rail bill.

In addition to Mica’s objections to the cost of a cup of joe and his push for private-sector competition, the list of contentious issues includes stemming losses on coast-to-coast routes, getting states to share Amtrak’s cost burden and deciding the future of high-speed rail. But even with that litany of controversies underway, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and railroads subcommittee Chairman Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) exude nothing but confidence that they can get a bill done by the end of September.

Denham told POLITICO after the hearing that he wasn’t dissuaded by some of his subcommittee members’ entrenched positions — and the work is really just beginning.

“I would say it’s what we expected,” he said.

Boardman said he’s encouraged by Denham and Shuster’s approach. “They’re trying to be thoughtful,” he said.

Here’s a quick glance at the items members are expected to concentrate on:

Read more:
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/transportation-trains-amtrak-house-gop-90047.html#ixzz2QYTIo5c3

Filed under: Amtrak, Passenger Rail Politics, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy

In ‘Keeping Them Honest,’ truth not necessary to ‘report’ on rail – From the Editor’s – METRO Magazine

For your consideration, follow the link below for the entire story.

April 12, 2013

In ‘Keeping Them Honest,’ truth not necessary to ‘report’ on rail

By  Nicole Schlosser

While the typical griping continues in California over its plans for high-speed rail, projects across the U.S. were subject to a recent hatchet job, ironically, by CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360◦” in the segment, “Keeping Them Honest.”

The story, “High-speed rail Boondoggle,” claims to be about how $800 million in federal funds was spent only to take 10 minutes off a rail trip between Portland, Ore. and Seattle, while promising high-speed rail. However, it was really just making out the concept of bullet trains in the U.S. as a waste of money for something nobody wants without sharing any facts.

“Investigative Correspondent” Drew Griffin begins spinning his colorful yarn about how the public is supposedly being cheated with a really premature statement: “The dream, shared by those who stand to make money from high-speed rail, is turning into a pipe dream.”

He goes on to oversimplify the situation with this generalization: “Four years and $12 billion later, scattered projects across the country that slow trains moved just a little faster.” Griffin also implied that there was no other work being done to complete the projects nationwide.

Throughout the story, Griffin gave the false impression that building an entire high-speed rail program, basically from scratch, would or should only take four years, as the U.S. High-Speed Rail Authority pointed out in a release responding to the show.

In ‘Keeping Them Honest,’ truth not necessary to ‘report’ on rail – From the Editor’s – METRO Magazine.

Filed under: Passenger Rail Politics, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy, Regional USA Passenger Rail, United States High Speed Rail