Hotline #898

Plowing out the MBTA's B Line after record snowfalls. Outrage over widespread delays led MBTA's chief to resign this week. Full story below.

The House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure passed a rail reauthorization bill that caps investment in Amtrak by unanimous consent on February 12. The bill ignores the larger investment issues that have stifled capacity growth, despite steadily growing ridership and surging demand for more choice in transportation among the American public.

The Passenger Rail Reform & Investment Act of 2015 (H.R. 749) authorizes $7 billion for passenger rail between FY2016 and FY2019, with an additional $96 million going to Amtrak’s inspector general. Over four years, that equates to $1.88 billion for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and $3.93 billion for the National Network.

Included in the $7 billion is $300 million per year for infrastructure grants, similar in structure to the Obama Administration’s High Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Program. However, 50 percent of these grants would be reserved for Northeast Corridor projects, requiring matching funds from NEC states.

This is well below the $8.5 billion per year in passenger rail investment that NARP—along with a broad coalition of transportation groups—has identified as necessary to bring the existing system into a state of good repair, provide new equipment to accommodate the increasing number of riders, and additional capacity to accommodate economic growth.

[Click here for more analysis of PRRIA 2015. NARP has also outlined our proposals for the passenger rail reauthorization.]

NARP President Jim Mathews talked about the need for a dedicated source of funding in his public statement responding to the committee markup:

“NARP and its 28,000 members appreciate the time and work the Committee has dedicated to the passenger rail reauthorization. The commitment displayed by Chairman Bill Shuster (PA) and Peter DeFazio (OR) recognizes the critical role passenger trains play in ensuring mobility for everyday Americans and supporting the U.S. economy.

“However, while Committee members talked about the need to invest more in passenger rail, this bill fails to meaningfully address the funding gap holding back the U.S. rail network. PRRIA caps investments in capacity, divides the national network from the Northeast Corridor, shortchanges the need for new equipment, and defines success in evaluating routes far too narrowly. The bill does contain some regulatory improvements—but that is no replacement for a dedicated, predictable, and robust source of funding for trains.”

Act now to make sure Members of Congress hear about the need for more investment in trains!

Fragmenting the National Network

The markup also featured an amendment by Rep. John Mica that would seek to establish a private operator on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. Mica was unclear in his description of his proposal what would happen to NEC infrastructure maintenance and National Network operations if NEC revenue was directed to a private sector company, resulting in objections from his peers.

“I think the amendment, while well intended, has some flaws and I urge you to deny it,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) told Chairman Shuster.

The Committee appeared unwilling to debate such an extreme and far-reaching proposal with no forewarning, forcing Mica to withdraw the amendment. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), chair of the subcommittee on rail, did promise to hold a hearing to examine the proposal—though he stopped short of actually endorsing the bill.

“[NARP] applauds the wisdom shown in turning back Rep. John Mica’s (FL) amendment to introduce a third-party operator onto Northeast Corridor by transferring authority from Amtrak to the Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Operations Advisory Commission,” said Mathews. “This extreme proposal could dramatically affect operations of the 2,200 trains that use the corridor each day. Stakeholder groups representing passengers, operators, and federal and state agencies deserve a chance to provide input on a proposal of this magnitude.”

Safety Left Off the Agenda

House T&I leadership declined to include a safety title in the rail bill, a move which Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) criticized. Freight rail industry representatives have been pushing back against a December 31, 2015 deadline to implement Positive Train Control (PTC), a life-saving technology that helps monitor and control train movements to increase safety. Industry reps say the December deadline isn’t feasible given the technological hurdles.

Rep. Etsy disagreed with the committee’s decision not to address these issues.

"We just have to do better as a country on incorporating the best technology to allow us to get where we want to get quickly and safely," said Etsy. Connecticut has experienced multiple deadly commuter rail crashes on the Metro-North system over the past two years, some of which would have been prevented by the presence of PTC.

At a separate hearing held February 11, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told members of the T&I Committee that the U.S. Department of Transportation is "continuing to hold the industry's feet to the fire in getting PTC done as quickly as possible," and would not be granting blanket extensions.

NARP accepts that, due to the sheer amount of track miles and locomotives that need to be equipped with PTC technology, some railroads will miss the deadline. However, we stressed in a statement submitted to the Senate this week that extensions should be granted on an individual basis, steps should be taken to prevent passengers from bearing the cost, and railroads should use the extra time to implement the safest possible system:

“NARP recommends that any new law which changes that deadline should: (1) 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 4-1/2 years after the current deadline, or June 30, 2020. (2) Change the law so that heavily traveled mainlines are not exempt because they happen to be owned by other than a Class 1. (3) Explicitly require the prevention of low-speed, rear-end collisions—of which there have been fatal ones within the past four years. The system as currently being installed does not know the length of trains and therefore cannot prevent low-speed, rear-end collisions.”

Following widespread transit delays in the face of a historic winter snowfall, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) general manager publicly announced her resignation on February 11.

Public outrage over delays has mounted, with some residents reportedly forced to wait in line for two hours to simply board a train. Scott, who took over the job in December 2012, will continue in her position through April 11 to allow for a smooth transition.

"During this period, I will place priority attention on working with our team to: return T services to normalcy following these unprecedented weather conditions; develop the first cut of an emergency enhancement and resiliency plan, including a peer ‘best’ practices assessment to be conducted in coordination with the American Public Transportation Association; and finalize the FY2016 budget proposal," said Scott in her letter of resignation to the head of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

While she offered few excuses in her resignation, previous statements had pointed to historically severe snowfall and an aging, sprawling system that has received insufficient levels of capital investment and maintenance. The MBTA system includes the T, the oldest subway system in the U.S.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s administration was allegedly surprised by the resignation and refrained from laying blame for the delays on Scott in its response to the news.

“They thank her for her contribution to the commonwealth and are grateful for her offer of assistance as the MTBA transitions to a new general manager,” said a spokesman for Baker. “The governor looks forward to meeting with MTBA officials, working with them to assess the issues that have plagued the agency in recent weeks and developing operational and maintenance plans moving forward.”

George E. McCallum, PhD, a former member of NARP’s Board, passed away on February 5 at the age of 83.

McCallum was a long-time advocate for passenger rail in the U.S., helping launch NARP as part of the original board led by founding-President Tony Haswell. He was incredibly generous in his support of the NARP, both financially and through the donation of his time and passion.

The Erie Times carried an obituary detailing some of the highlights of McCallum’s richly-led life:

“He was born in Erie, Pa. on February 17, 1931, son of the late Herschel and Irma Josephine Posch McCallum. George graduated from Millcreek High School class of 1948 and served in the United States Army during the Korean Conflict. Following his service, he obtained his PhD from the University of California at Berkley. He was employed as Professor of Economics at Gannon University for eight years and previous to that taught at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin from 1967-1991. An avid music lover, George was a member of three bands; the Concert Band of Northwest Pennsylvania, Millcreek Area Community Band, and The Gem City Band. He also was on the Board of National Association of Railroad Passengers and was an active member of St. Julia Catholic Church. George was also an avid world traveler by train and ship.”

McCallum’s funeral was held February 10 at St. Julia Roman Catholic Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Erie Chamber Orchestra, 109 University Square, Erie, PA 16541.

Amtrak announced that it has revamped National Train Day as Amtrak Train Days (ATD), and will seek to replace hundreds of events on a single day with a rolling series of events across the country taking place throughout the spring, summer, and fall of 2015.

“ATD will officially kick off on May 9, 2015 at Chicago Union Station and then will travel across the country during the summer and fall,” stated an Amtrak press release. “ATD celebrations will feature a combination of outreach tools, including a dedicated tour of the Amtrak Exhibit Train in select markets, interactive displays of the Amtrak experience at events sponsored by community organizations, Amtrak employee guest speakers, media and event promotions, and an ATD toolkit to support local community activities.”

While the additional focus on local events will be welcome—and will help organizers better allocate limited resources—it remains to be seen whether a dispersed series of events can generate the same level of excitement as a national event. More information can be found at Amtraktraindays.com.

News in Brief

—Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced February 5 that the MBTA Late Night Pilot Program will be extended through June 19, 2015. MBTA will use the time to solicit public input on the value of the program, which has resulted in 1.1 million additional boardings so far.

—The Virginia Railway Express has proposed a four percent fare hike for commuters, along with a $2 increase for Amtrak “step-up” passengers. The increase would account for inflation, enable VRE to implement PTC safety technology, and allow the railroad to plan for future expansions to Gainesville and Haymarket.

—The Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority’s board tabled a decision to increase fares and cut service in the face of public dissent. The D.C. Metro board is faced with closing a $140 million operating deficit after the eight member districts that make up WMATA balked at increased contributions needed to cover rising costs. Complicating the timing of the decision, D.C. Metro is still coming to grips with the fallout from a deadly tunnel fire that led to the death of one passenger.

--Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with Amtrak President Joe Boardman and Board Chairman Anthony Coscia this week to discuss strategies for facilitating passenger rail growth.

“This year, Congress faces a deadline on the future of our national transportation and infrastructure network, including Amtrak,” said Durbin. “As passenger rail continues to grow, Congress must also do its part by providing Amtrak with the resources it needs to upgrade aging infrastructure like Chicago’s Union Station and improve passenger rail service and on-time-performance. A strong reauthorization bill that improves the safety and reliability of our freight rail system while modernizing and expanding our passenger rail system is important for creating good-paying Illinois jobs and strengthening our state’s economy.