Hotline #679

The House surface transportation bill, H.R.2950, was marked up by the Surface Transportation Subcommittee on July 23 and by the full Public Works committee yesterday. President Bush has now come out more firmly against the bill, saying he would veto anything with a gas-tax increase. H.R.2950 relies heavily on a nickel increase to pay for all the pork highway projects, which in turn were crafted to get as many Representatives to vote for the bill as possible. In any event, the gas-tax increase itself now appears to be in trouble within the House.

H.R.2950 now goes to the Ways and Means Committee through sequential referral -- the process by which a bill may be reviewed by other committees if part of the bill falls under their jurisdiction. Ways and Means oversees tax issues and so will review the gas-tax increase. However, there is considerable doubt that Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D.-Ill.) has enough votes on his committee to pass the gas-tax increase.

The Campaign for New Transportation Priorities sent Rostenkowski a letter today asking that employee transit benefits be increases and that the gas tax be raised by six cents -- three for roads, two for transit, and one for Amtrak. Of course, if Ways and Means doesn't support the Public Works nickel, it's hard to see how they will support another penny for Amtrak now, but it's worth asking their support anyway. For the moment, that should be the focus of NARP members, especially if you have representation on Ways and Means or Energy and Commerce. Public Works Chairman Roe (D.-N.J.) is touting this bill as an "intermodal" bill -- adding a penny for Amtrak is one real way for the House to make that claim a true statement.

The full House passed H.R.2942, the 1992 DOT appropriations bill, 379-47. This year, no amendments aimed at harming Amtrak were introduced. In the Senate, both the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee and the full Committee will mark up their bill on July 31 or August 1. Since the House truly dropped the ball on Boston electrification money, it is important to tell your Senators, especially if one of them is on Appropriations, to support restoring the electrification funds. Also, if you live in New England, particularly in Massachusetts, tell your state government to support electrification. It is now felt that one reason the House dropped it was indifference to the project from Massachusetts state officials -- though Rep. Barney Frank (D.-Mass.) supported it during floor debate.

The Amtrak board met July 24. They do not meet in August, but will meet again in September during a trip they are making to inspect rail facilities in Sweden and Germany. Overall, on-time performance for June was up a bit from the year before. The best railroad was Burlington Northern at 92%, the worst Delaware & Hudson at 15%. The best long-distance train was Auto Train at 83% on-time, the worst the City of New Orleans at 17%. Probably the best improved was the Empire Builder, which went from 23% on-time in June 1990 to 70% this June. On-time performance on the Empire Corridor using the new connection in Manhattan is down several points from a year ago.

The special board appointed by President Bush in the wake of the April freight strike upheld on July 18 previous wage and work rule changes recommended in January. Congress passed a law in April ending the strike and requiring the President to appoint the new board. The law also said the new board's findings would not be subject to judicial review, so labor unions, which are extremely displeased with the latest turn of events, may challenge the law itself on constitutional grounds.

Look for NARP Executive Director Ross Capon on an ABC Evening News segment on Amtrak on July 28.

Amtrak moves back into Cincinnati Union Terminal on July 29, after a 19-year absence. As a result, the Cardinal will eliminate a back-up move and shave 15 minutes off the schedule, all west of Cincinnati. The new facility will be open to the public tomorrow from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. A formal dedication will be held this fall.

Amtrak and the Transportation Communications Union last fall reached an interim agreement on wages for about 5,000 Amtrak employees. A final agreement is still being negotiated.

Amtrak's program to test new retention toilets is well under way. Vacuum systems are now being tested on some cars on the Cardinal, Empire Builder, and Desert Wind. There is a filter system on the Broadway Limited and a pressure system on the Auto Train. Fourteen cars have now been converted for study purposes. By the end of 1992, Amtrak will have chosen one or more of these systems to use on the rest of the fleet.

Ten years ago today in San Diego, the first new-generation, modern light-rail system in this country began operations. Though most detractors of rail transit predicted failure for the San Diego Trolley, it quickly became a success story. Today, over 50,000 southern Californians use the 34-mile system each weekday and the principle of light rail, while not yet being adopted in all places that it should, still has spread to many other cities. Tomorrow there will be an open house of the San Diego Trolley maintenance facility at the 12th & Imperial transfer station, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Also, the San Diego Trolley system ordered 75 more cars from DueWag, to be built at is new plant in Sacramento.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has appointed a new general manager, John Haley, who was deputy general manager of BART in San Francisco. Also, at the request of Governor Weld, MBTA will raise transit fares in September.

A ceremony was held at Carlinville, Ill., in honor of the new Amtrak shelter there, on July 24. On August 2, the Red Wing, Minn., station renovation will be dedicated at 11:00 am, with open house through 4:00 pm.