AMT: The continuing crisis.

Tonymercury · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 7:08 pm

Governor Schweitzer Pledges Action Following Special Meeting On Amtrak

March 24, 2005

Governor Schweitzer and other top administration officials met Tuesday
with over thirty representatives from cities and counties served by
Amtrak to discuss how to best protect passenger rail service in Montana.
Business owners, elected public officials, and concerned citizens from
across Montana attended the meeting. Many of the representatives were
from the Northern tier of the state, which is served by the Empire
Builder Line. The Empire Builder provides daily rail service to eleven
Montana cities—ranging from Wolf Point to Libby—and has annual Montana
reader ship of over 125,000 passengers.

In many of the towns served by Amtrak rail service is the only form of
public transportation. An issue that the Governor said he can personally
relate to, "For the past few summers my daughter, Katrina, has taken
Amtrak from our home in Whitefish to visit her cousins in Shelby. If
Montana didn’t have this service, it would have been extreme difficult
for—if not impossible—for her to make this trip. I believe a lot of
Montana families rely on Amtrak for essential transportation."

Attending from Amtrak was Ray Lang, Director of Government Affairs. Mr.
Lang briefed the audience on the status of Amtrak funding in Congress.
Currently, Amtrak is not funded in the President’s budget. Mr. Lang
noting the importance of funding The Empire Builder said: "The Empire
Builder is our most popular long distance train, and more Montanans use
Amtrak every year."

Evan Barrett, Chief Economic Development Officer for the State of
Montana, spoke about the economic impacts of Amtrak in Montana, "Amtrak
employs 57 Montanans at an average annual wage of $58,000—these are good
paying jobs that are very hard to replace." A study recently conducted
by R.L. Banks & Associates concluded that the Empire Builder Line
contributes nearly $14 million to the Montana economy annually.

Attending from Billings was James Green, President of Montana
Association of Railroad Passengers thanked Governor Schweitzer for
holding the meeting seeing it as good starting point on important
campaign to save the Empire Builder. Green, stated that his
organization’s mission was to "retain, improve, and increase" rail
passenger service for all of Montanans and not trying to get a southern
route at the expense of the northern route. He stated that Montana
should work with other states that could lose passenger service if long
distance trains were shut down. Washington and Oregon want to join us in
this fight and other states are working on the project also. We should
emphasize that "Montanans want to retain all long distance trains,
believe rail travel is a public service, should have the same rights of
help from the federal government as does the highways and airways, and a
plan be devised such as was in the Hutchinson, Lott, Snow, and Burns
proposal last year". Green pledged his organization will do what they
can do to help in the battle.

Governor Schweitzer noted the commitment of the individuals attending
the meeting, "There have been proposals to cut Amtrak before and it is
always the same group of people who step to the plate. My hat’s off to
you."

Governor Schweitzer also accepted Mr. Lang’s invitation to ride Amtrak
this spring, visiting local communities to see the impact of the Empire
Builder on their everyday lives. "Lets all take a train ride," said
Schweitzer.

Governor Schweitzer said he would want to be served the 10 oz. New York
Strip Steak after Republican Lt. Governor John Bohlinger noted the
conservative pricing on the Amtrak menu.

The meeting concluded with Lt. Governor Bohlinger and Commerce Director
Tony Preite pledging to work with local officials and concerned citizens
to set up a tour of hi-line to highlight the importance of Amtrak. For
more information contact the Office of the Lt. Governor at 444-3111.

James C Green, President
Montana Association of Railroad Passengers

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Tonymercury · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 7:10 pm

The New York Times
March 25, 2005
Amtrak Board Wary of Bush's Overhaul Plan
By MATTHEW L. WALD

WASHINGTON, March 24 - The chairman of Amtrak, David M. Laney, has
signaled for the first time that the independent board that runs the
railroad objects to significant parts of President Bush's plans to
overhaul the passenger rail system, especially the idea to reorganize the
company through bankruptcy. But the board Mr. Laney heads has still not
agreed on its own proposal.

Mr. Bush has called for the elimination of federal aid in six months,
which would kill the railroad unless it is restructured. Under his plan,
if Amtrak can be reorganized, most subsidies would be paid by states, an
idea that many state officials reject.

Mr. Bush has proposed turning over the tracks from Washington to Boston to
a new entity, made up by the states, and letting competitors offer train
service around the country. The administration has also said that if
Amtrak is forced into bankruptcy, "ultimately a more rational passenger
system would emerge."

But Mr. Laney, a Bush appointee and campaign contributor, said in a
telephone interview on Monday that while he shared Mr. Bush's
determination to overhaul the passenger railroad, the administration's
suggestion that the tracks from Washington to Boston - the Northeast
Corridor - be turned over to a compact of states was "not the position of
the board," with the exception of one of its four members, Transportation
Secretary Norman Y. Mineta.

Mr. Laney also indicated that the board, for the first time made up
entirely of Bush appointees, wanted to avoid bankruptcy, saying that it
"remains on the table as a last resort" but that "I don't think it's a
resort anybody wants to default to."

Still, as Congress steps up its work on the budget, the solution is far
from clear. The board has not put forward its own proposal, which has
stalled work in Congress to renew the railroad's subsidy. Moody's, the
debt rating service, has put Amtrak on a "watch list," contemplating a
downgrading of its credit rating, and is likely to lower the rating
"multiple notches" if the federal budget is adopted as proposed.

The states, meanwhile, have started making clear that with Amtrak saying
it needs $2.5 billion over the next five years to make upgrades on the
Northeast Corridor - Amtrak's major asset - they do not want to bear the
costs.

"I see no evidence even the Bush administration believes that the change
in the structure changes the economics," said Roy Kienitz, deputy chief of
staff to Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, a Democrat. "They just
want someone else to be left holding the bag at end of the day."

In New York, where the governor, George E. Pataki, is a Republican, a
spokeswoman for the State Department of Transportation, Jennifer Post,
said, "We believe Amtrak's operations need to be reformed," adding, "We
continue to be interested in learning more about the specifics of the
plan, and the availability of federal funding to help finance it."

Ms. Post continued, "New Yorkers already pay enough to support Amtrak's
operation."

In Connecticut, H. James Boice, the chief of the policy and planning
bureau of the State Department of Transportation, pointed out that
commuter lines and Amtrak had differing needs. Connecticut already owns
the part of the Northeast Corridor from New Haven to the state line at
Greenwich. The majority of trains by far belong to Metro-North, the
commuter railroad, and the state wants to keep the line in shape to handle
traffic at those trains' top speed, 90 miles an hour, he said, but Amtrak
wants 125 miles an hour.

"There's a big incremental cost to things like that," Mr. Boice said. Of
the idea that states take over the corridor, he said, "We're evaluating
it, but on first blush it has problems."

New Jersey's commissioner of transportation, Jack Lettiere, said that New
Jersey Transit ran 10 times as many trains as Amtrak on the part of the
corridor in his state, and that he would like one aspect of ownership:
more control of the tracks. The states could work out a cost-sharing
arrangement, Mr. Lettiere said, but "only after the federal government put
the corridor back into a state of good repair."

In Boston, Transportation Secretary Mineta appeared at a news conference
on Wednesday with the Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, and promised to
submit legislation when Congress returns in April.

"If we continue down this current track, there is no hope for recovery,"
Mr. Mineta said. He said the federal government would continue to invest
in the Northeast Corridor. "But instead of handing the taxpayers' money to
a company in Washington, D.C.," he said, "we will partner with states so
that investments are made in repairing, rebuilding and improving the
nation's networks of tracks, tunnels, bridges, and stations." He said
Amtrak had neglected the corridor.

Amtrak said it planned to spend billions of dollars for improvements; as a
practical matter, railroad officials say, the money would have to come
from government.

Mr. Laney, in the telephone interview, said that eventually more money
would be needed from somewhere. "What we've got now is begging annually
for just enough to survive," he said, adding that "this is not the way to
run a business, certainly not the way to run a railroad."

Amtrak management, led by David Gunn, its president, has said that
separating the track owner from the train operator on such a busy stretch
of rail would simply not work.

Another issue waiting for board action is the fate of long-distance
trains, which run on tracks owned by the freight railroads and which do
not meet their operating costs. Trains in the Northeast do meet their
operating costs but do not generate money for track maintenance. While the
long-distance trains lose money, they are essential for generating support
in Congress.

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Tonymercury · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 7:23 pm

Press release from NARP:

At the request of Senator James M. Jeffords (I-VT), the Congressional
Research Service did the attached analysis of the potential implications
of an Amtrak bankruptcy. Jeffords is the ranking member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

The report states, in part, "A complete elimination of federal support
could leave few options other than liquidation for a bankruptcy court
and trustee."

Also: "...should the Bankruptcy Court and trustee decide to liquidate
Amtrak, much, if not all, the encumbered rolling stock could already
have been repossessed by the lessors or creditors. Other forms of
collateral, in this case mostly Amtrak real estate, would be protected
from claims according to the bankruptcy code."

--Ross B. Capon, Executive Director
National Association of Railroad Passengers

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Tonymercury · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:31 am

Dear Friends of Amtrak:

The following is a message from NARP (The National Association of
Railroad Passengers) that I think is worthwhile passing along to you.

Also please note that effective today the Friends of Amtrak website can
now be found at http://www.FriendsOfAmtrak.com The site still
exists, and will continue to exist, at it's Trainweb.org address. But
this will make it easier for people to find us.

Regards,
Craig O'Connell
Friends of Amtrak

NARP message:

To NARP Members, April 25, 2005-

With Congress on recess until around April 4, this is a good time to
express concern to your U.S. representative and your two senators about
Amtrak's fate. Some legislators are holding town meetings during this
recess.

The Senate on March 16 voted 42-56 against a "pro-Amtrak" amendment.
With five exceptions, this was a party-line vote with Democrats voting
for the Byrd (D-WV) amendment, and Republicans voting against. Those
five exceptions were:

Nelson (D-FL) voted against.
Chafee (R-RI), Collins and Snowe (R-ME) and Specter (R-PA) voted for.

Please express concern to your senators about any no votes. They may
explain that their "no" vote was not really a vote against Amtrak, and
they may be sincere in that. However, any vote that even "looks"
anti-Amtrak is damaging to our cause if it produces no complaints from
constituents.

You might tell your senators: "I support Amtrak and nationwide passenger
rail. I am very concerned about the fact-challenged statements Secretary
Mineta is making, and my concerns were raised further when I saw the
46-52 vote against the Byrd amendment, with Senator Lott the only "no"
voter bothering to make a floor statement clarifying that he does
support Amtrak. Please work hard to save Amtrak."

If your senator voted against the Byrd amendment, make clear that you
know that. But be sure to substitute your own words in where possible,
and to insert your own experiences-and be sure to say thank you to
anyone who voted for the Byrd amendment. There is a little more context
for the Senate's budget actions at the bottom of this message; other
amendments fared better than Byrd's.

The House Budget resolution assumes $1.2 billion for Amtrak, a bit short
of needs but certainly better than the President's budget.

Today's New York Times has a story based on an interview with Amtrak
Chairman David Laney. Today's hotline message (at www.narprail.org) will
have some quotes from the article, which can be viewed in its entirety
at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/25/politics/25amtrak.html

Also at www.narprail.org, our ever-expanding "Fact Check" section tries
to combat some of Secretary Mineta's most serious factual errors.

Thank you again for your support, and have a good weekend.

--Ross B. Capon, Executive Director
National Association of Railroad Passengers

From March 18, 2005, Washington Post news story:

Ultimately, seven Republicans -- Smith, Lincoln D. Chafee (R.I.),
Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins (Maine), Norm Coleman (Minn.), Mike
DeWine (Ohio), and Arlen Specter (Pa.) -- joined all 45 Senate Democrats
to block the Medicaid cuts.

The Senate then approved amendments to add $5.4 billion for education,
$2 billion for health research, $2 billion for community development,
$855 million for law enforcement and other first responders, $500
million to combat AIDS worldwide, and $78 million for small-business
development.

After pulling back from spending cuts, the GOP voted to increase the
size of the budget's tax cuts from $70 billion over five years to $134
billion. The additional $64 billion is intended to repeal a 1993 tax
increase on Social Security benefits claimed by relatively wealthy
seniors, but under budget rules the tax authority could be used for
other purposes and would not be subject to a filibuster.

Tony Bailey
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Tonymercury · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2005 6:20 am

Often-Attacked Amtrak Could Run Out of Steam
Source: The Press-Enterprise
Publication date: 2005-03-26
Arrival time: 2005-03-25

Mar. 26--Cost-conscious federal officials have targeted Amtrak for 20 years, but proponents of the nation's passenger rail system fear the latest budget proposal could end the program.
Amtrak, the sole provider of passenger rail service in all 48 contiguous states, has been a fully-subsidized operation since it was created in 1971. But President Bush last month proposed reducing Amtrak's budget from $1.2 billion this year to zero in the fiscal year that starts in October.

The Bush administration's plan includes handing over funding to states and offering to match the money the states pay. It would also allow competition from other companies that might want to run rail systems.

The plan has been criticized by rail advocates and passenger groups and by many of Amtrak's 20,000 employees, including 650 in Riverside.

Many of those workers live in Inland Southern California. Amtrak operates a station in San Bernardino that serves between 11,000 and 12,000 passengers a year.

The job security of those workers would be a concern if another company took over operations, said Mike Davis, chairman of the division of the Transportation Communications International Union, which represents Inland Amtrak workers. Davis said he recognizes many call centers have been shifted overseas in recent years.

"I don't see outsourcing on the horizon by Amtrak," Davis said by phone. "But any other operator would."

The Riverside call center, one of only two in the country, pays between $12 and $20 an hour, although about half of the jobs are part time, Davis said. Most Amtrak workers belong to unions.

Amtrak was created by President Richard Nixon because the private rail companies that were carrying passengers were not making money and wanted to get out of the business. Davis said at the time many observers did not expect Amtrak to survive as long as it has.

"We're low-hanging fruit. It's an easy target politically," Davis said. "But without an integrated system, we'll lose the national rail system and never get it back."

When Congress reconvenes next month, Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta plans to introduce the Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act, a bill to end what he calls Amtrak's "monopoly." Also, he said Amtrak's total control over passenger rail is more than the agency can handle and led to declines in service and ridership.

"Today, Amtrak is a dispatching company, a real-estate business, a track-repair firm, and a reservation system." Mineta said in a speech at a Detroit train station Thursday. "If Amtrak were in the aviation business ... it would be assuming the role of airline, travel agency, airport and the FAA all rolled into one."

Mineta and other critics point to declining use, especially among cross-country riders. Trains are often late and the network needs upgrades.

But Amtrak boosters said the trains carried 25 million passengers in 2004, an all-time high, and are late not because of infrastructure failure, but because Amtrak usually shares track with freight trains.

And, rail supporters counter claims that Amtrak does not financially support itself by pointing out that this is true for all forms of transportation, including the freeway system.

"The airlines wouldn't make any money if they had to provide their own infrastructure, like airports and runways," Davis said.

The trains that link the major Northeast cities are the closest to being self-supporting.

The second busiest corridor is San Diego-to-San Luis Obispo, and California already subsidizes that, said Ross Capon, spokesman for the National Association of Rail Passengers.

"But if Amtrak went belly-up, the total cost to states would go up because they'd have to absorb liability issues, station maintenance and parking lots," Capon said by phone.

Rep Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, said the number of rail riders would have to be weighed against other transportation modes, but he acknowledged Amtrak has a lot of supporters from both parties, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

"I'd be surprised if the administration's position is sustained in the final budget," Lewis, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said by phone. "There's a lot of pressure across the board, and my guess is some kind of compromise."

-----

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Tonymercury · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2005 6:23 am

Amtrak Funding: Saved Again
Embattled Railroad Ready To Ride Out Latest Budget Battle
By DAVID LIGHTMAN
Washington Bureau Chief

March 22 2005

WASHINGTON -- The bad guys keep trying to stop the train, take away its money and cut the lines.

But the story, at least for Amtrak supporters, always has a happy ending: Amtrak is rescued. And even though 2005 is barely 3 months old, the same tale is unfolding again, and the same finish is likely.

So far, the drama this year is a rerun from the 1980s and '90s: President threatens to take away Amtrak's operating money, Connecticut and other Northeastern lawmakers pledge they're going to stop this outrage, and then they claim a great victory when they keep the trains running.

Thanks to congressional action last week, even skeptics now concede that Amtrak could get enough to keep chugging along for a while, perhaps winding up with a federal check for as much as one-third of its $3 billion operating budget.

"Amtrak will probably get most everything they're asking for," said an annoyed Wendell Cox, senior fellow at the Chicago-based Heartland Institute and a longtime Amtrak critic.

There is one possible twist in this year's chapter. Lawmakers do expect more serious talk about reforming the heavily subsidized railroad company to make its services and finances more efficient. Key supporter Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, has a list of ideas that he intends to have considered, and others will follow.

What's sparked this latest round of celebration by Amtrak aficionados is that the House budget, passed last week, has a sentence of hope. It's a convoluted set of words that ends by saying that the budget "was increased to accommodate for the continued funding of passenger rail services."

Further buoying House Amtrak supporters is that their nemesis, Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., lost the chairmanship of the key transportation money subcommittee last month. Republican leaders booted him largely because of his hard line on holding down the system's costs.

Istook tried to punish 21 members of the House, including Simmons, by denying them highway projects last year because of their staunch support of Amtrak. He had warned them in a letter: "Every dollar for Amtrak is a dollar less for other transportation funding, including projects for your state and your district."

Replacing Istook is Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Michigan, a state whose Rust Belt interests tend to coincide more with those of New Englanders such as Simmons. The railroad subcommittee, which includes Simmons, is led by Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Ohio.

Critics such as Cox are aghast at these turns; he called the Istook ouster "one of the low points of American democracy."

The Senate also has provided reasons for optimism, although theirs come with yellow lights. Senators last week turned down an effort by Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., to add $1.04 billion in federal money to Amtrak's budget next year, although Byrd did get 46 votes for his plan.

That showed a strong constituency for Amtrak, more than enough to filibuster should opponents try to make severe cuts.

More encouraging to rail supporters is that during last week's debate, opponents stressed that they were not out to get rid of Amtrak, just to make it better.

"I agree absolutely that rail passenger service in highly congested areas such as the Northeast corridor from Washington to Boston is not only important, it is essential," said Sen. Robert F. Bennett, R-Utah.

As rosy as all this sounds, Amtrak still faces an uncertain fiscal future.

The worst-case scenario - President Bush's proposal in last month's budget to cut Amtrak's operating subsidy altogether - appears unlikely.

But before he will sign any transportation bill or, for that matter, before Congress will approve any Amtrak money, they are all going to have to be convinced that the system is willing to change.

The administration is not planning to let up in its demands that Amtrak become more efficient. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta regularly mentions Amtrak as he travels the country and Capitol Hill pushing the White House agenda.

"Deteriorating infrastructure and declining service further the case that continued subsidies cannot be justified," he told the transportation subcommittee last week.

No one is committing to any ideas yet, and reforms will be tough to argue, said John Spychalski, a professor of supply chain management at Pennsylvania State University.

He noted that the Amtrak debate is historically guided by "extremes - those who want to do something and those who want to do almost nothing."

At the core of these arguments is whether Amtrak should survive as a national system. Is it enough to run trains through Connecticut that can take passengers from Canada to Florida? Or should they be able to travel all over the United States.?

Bennett wants the route system more focused and efficient.

"Let's get over the nostalgia of the old national railway system," he said, "and let's focus on the need to have an intelligent passenger railway system in the corridors where it contributes to cutting down on congestion, pollution and delay."

Ronald D. Utt, senior research fellow at Washington's Heritage Foundation, has studied Amtrak extensively.

The issue, he said, should revolve around modernizing the route system. "Amtrak has been frozen in time for so long, particularly with [its] routing system," he said. "Is there really a market for a 17-hour train trip from Washington to Chicago?"

But some rural senators noted that the train, whatever its problems, is the only way to get to and from many places in their regions.

"We don't have a subway in Bismarck or Fargo, or light rail," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.

The chief hope of analysts who study Amtrak is that the system will reform itself. Most give high marks to David M. Laney, chairman of the system's board of directors, and David L. Gunn, president and chief executive officer, for trying to effect change.

In a report to Congress last month, Laney detailed a series of reforms in the past three years, since Gunn joined the company.

Among them were eliminating or reducing three of 19 long-distance routes, reducing employment by 5,000 to about 19,700, increasing ridership by about 10 percent to 25.1 million, and ending the system's mail operations.

Cox is skeptical about such claims of progress, saying that the company is unwilling to take truly painful steps, such as wage cuts or bankruptcy, which could make it more financially viable.

But he conceded that for now, the train will just keep rolling on.

"You have every two-bit mayor who has service coming through town at 3 in the morning, saying their town will die if that train doesn't run anymore," he said.

The other side puts the debate in loftier terms. "We have always had people who want to disband [Amtrak], take it apart, get rid of it," said Dorgan. "Why? Because they know the cost of everything and the value of nothing."

A discussion of this story with Courant Staff Writer David Lightman is scheduled to be shown on New England Cable News each hour today between 9 a.m. and noon.
Copyright 2005, Hartford Courant

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Tonymercury · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2005 6:24 am

Federal Plan for Amtrak Sticks State With the Bill
Source: Boston Herald
Publication date: 2005-03-24

A Bush administration plan to eliminate Amtrak subsidies and turn over passenger rail to the states could leave Massachusetts paying millions of dollars a year for service currently funded by the federal government.
The plan, detailed yesterday by U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, pledges to rebuild the beleaguered Northeast corridor while ending Amtrak's decades-long monopoly over inter-city rail service.

"Amtrak urgently needs reform. It is dying," Mineta said after meeting with Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday. "If we continue down the present track . . . there is no hope for recovery."

The Bush administration's Amtrak reform bill, the Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act, will be submitted next month to a Congress that remains bitterly divided over the future of passenger rail. Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry are both opposed to the Bush plan.

While agreeing with the need for reform yesterday, Romney said plans to turn over maintenance of rail infrastructure to the states by 2011 could leave Massachusetts facing a hefty economic burden.

"Clearly, the federal government will want the states to take up a larger share than they want to pick up," Romney said.

Passenger rail advocates say Bush's plan will dismantle Amtrak and imperil service by putting maintenance in the hands of state agencies that are not equipped to handle it. "Connecticut has (maintained) its right-of-way for many years and it is the single worst section in the Northeast," said Jim RePass, president of the National Corridors Initiative.

Mineta said the plan actually attempts to save Amtrak by removing its maintenance responsibilities so it can focus on operating faster, more reliable service. He also said the federal government will rebuild the badly damaged Northeast corridor and offer grants for continued upkeep after it's turned over to the states.

"This does not mean the federal government will stop investing in passenger rail," he said.

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Tonymercury · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2005 6:39 am

GARP blasts senators over Amtrak vote
By Ken Stanford

ATLANTA - The Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers (GARP) is
lashing out at Georgia's two U.S. Senators for their recent votes
against continued funding of Amtrak - which serves Gainesville twice
daily - at its present level.

Saying it is "deeply disappointed" in the position taken by Saxby
Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, the association notes that the Bush
Administration has proposed cutting off federal funding for Amtrak
October first.

That move, it says, would force the passenger railroad into bankruptcy
and shut it down.

In addition to Gainesville, four other Georgia cities are served by
Amtrak: Toccoa, Atlanta, Jesup and Savannah.

While noting that there will other votes this year on the future of
Amtrak, GARP president, Steve Vogel, said the two senators have "started
out on the wrong side of the issue."

"Make no mistake about it," Vogel said, "the Chambliss and Isakson votes
were votes to end passenger train service - probably forever - to five
Georgia cities."

Related Links:
GARP <http://trainweb.org/garp>

Story link:

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/hall/newfullstory.asp?ID=90769

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Tonymercury · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2005 6:45 am

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-0503270443mar27,1,1108292.column?coll=chi-news-col&ctrack=1&cset=true

<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-0503270443mar27,1,1108292.column?coll=chi-news-col&ctrack=1&cset=true>

Wondering how Amtrak succeeds through failure?

Congress keeps giving it eternal life

Steve Chapman

March 27, 2005

If the federal government had supplied stagecoach service in the 19th
Century, we'd still have stagecoaches in operation. Luckily, Washington
was wise enough to stay out of that business. It was not wise enough to
stay out of the passenger rail business, which is why we still have Amtrak.

President Bush is finding it hard to overhaul Social Security, which may
not be surprising: It's a huge program that plays a large role in the
life of virtually every American. But he may find it equally frustrating
to shift federal policy on Amtrak, even though it's a small program that
affects hardly anyone.

This is one of those programs which demonstrate that eternal life is not
just a religious hope for the next world but a fact of life in this one.
It was launched in 1971 with the hope that, in the words of President
Richard Nixon's transportation secretary, it "could be profitable within
perhaps three years."

That forecast proved, well, premature. In 1998, though, Amtrak boasted
that it would be "operationally self-sufficient" by the end of 2002.
Wrong again. It's still deep in the red. Since its creation, it has
swallowed $29 billion in taxpayer funds.

By now it's clear to everyone that Amtrak will never come close to
covering its operating costs. Rail buffs say it shouldn't have to, and
argue that it deserves more generous federal assistance.

The Bush administration has reached a more logical conclusion: that the
experiment, being a failure, should end. In a bracing rejection of
Washington's business-as-usual, the president proposes to reduce
Amtrak's share of the budget to zero.

But that doesn't mean he'll get his way. It's easy to make the economic
case for abandoning Amtrak. But the political case, even in a Congress
dominated by Republicans, is a different story altogether. The other
day, the House of Representatives approved a 2006 budget resolution that
provides Amtrak with the same $1.2 billion it got last year.

What does the money pay for? A railroad that lacks riders. Amtrak makes
much of the fact that last year, it attracted a record 24 million
passengers. But outside of a few densely populated areas (like the
Northeast corridor) where it can compete with cars and airlines, its
role is microscopic.

When you multiply the number of passengers by the number of miles they
traveled, reports the Congressional Budget Office, airlines have 93
times as much traffic. Intercity bus operators like Greyhound account
for seven times as much of the nation's commercial travel as passenger
trains. And that's saying nothing about all the people who drive.

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks grounded the airlines and gave
Americans a powerful new reason to consider riding Amtrak. And that's
exactly what Americans did: They considered it. Then they made other plans.

After a brief surge, ridership dropped back to its normal low level. As
Joseph Vranich notes in his 2004 book "End of the Line," Amtrak carried
fewer passengers in 2002 than it did in 2001.

Rail aficionados say the reason it can't compete with highways and
airlines is that they get far bigger federal subsidies. But that picture
is cockeyed. Most of the federal aid to these other modes is repaid by
users. Washington actually gets more back in taxes on highway users than
it spends on their behalf.

On a passenger-mile basis--how much of a subsidy is involved in moving
one person a given distance--the federal aid to Amtrak is huge. In 2001,
according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, commercial
airlines got a net subsidy of $3 per 1,000 passenger-miles. Amtrak got
$106, or 35 times more.

Why does Congress keep shoveling money down this chute? One reason is
that Amtrak runs through 46 states, which means a lot of members of
Congress have a stake in its survival.

But the chief reason is that as a share of the federal budget, the money
that would be saved by eliminating Amtrak is tiny--$1.2 billion, next to
total spending of nearly $2.6 trillion. The average taxpayer would never
notice the savings. Die-hard fans of passenger rail, however, would
notice the deprivation and make their unhappiness known to their elected
representatives.

Democracy is supposed to let the majority decide what it wants. But
Amtrak supporters have a different formula: They're such a tiny minority
that it's hardly worth anyone's time to resist them. Next to the mammoth
task of revamping Social Security, tackling Amtrak should be easy. But
President Bush may find it harder to swat a fly than to corral an elephant.

Tony Bailey
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Tonymercury · Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 5:49 am

From The Herald News (Joliet, Illinois) -- March 6, 2005

"President's Amtrak plan is Bush league"

President Bush and his administration have once again
shown how willing they are to turn their backs on average
Americans. Recently, he delivered the message to the
American people of his intentions to destroy Amtrak.
For many people in rural America, Amtrak is the only
intercity transportation available to them. There are also
many Americans who choose not to fly and prefer to
travel by rail.

President Bush is continually asking congress and
Americans for billions of dollars for Iraq. Many of the
dollars for Iraq are being used to rebuild and develop
their infrastructure "roads and rails". This year, Amtrak
will ask the federal government for somewhere in the
range of $1.7 billion ... $1.7 billion will allow Amtrak
to run a nationwide passenger rail system for fiscal
year 2006.

Shouldn't we be investing American tax dollars in
America's infrastructure first? Three years ago when
Amtrak hit a financial low point in their 30-year history
Congress demanded Amtrak make reforms and Amtrak
responded. Under the leadership of Amtrak's new
president, David Gunn, Amtrak reorganized its leader-
ship and eliminated many layers of middle managers.
Mr. Gunn also implemented a multitude of cost cutting
measures, workforce reductions and increased productivity
to help bring costs under control.

Amtrak also adopted a zero-based budget process,
straightened out the books and opened them up for all to
see. In a time when many govern-ment agencies have
grown fatter and fatter, Amtrak answered the call and
became lean. Amtrak has positioned itself to become
a viable piece of America's transportation network.

The skies over America are becoming more and more
crowded with air traffic. Protecting our air traffic system
will also become more and more costly every year. The
proposed expansion of O'Hare airport will cost the tax
payers between $15 billion and $20 billion alone. In this
region, we cannot build highways or add lanes fast enough.
Federal subsidies for highways and airlines are staggering.

In the scheme of things, $1 billion or $2 billion for Amtrak
is a minute fraction of America's transportation dollars.
There is not an industrialized country in the world that
does not subsidize their inter-city passenger rail systems.
These countries see value in rail transportation and the
Bush administration needs to do the same. Amtrak has
20,000 employees across the country; these jobs are
all good paying jobs with benefits and a good stable
pension plan. Amtrak also serves 500 cities daily
across the country. Amtrak brings transportation to
areas that other carriers wouldn't think of serving because
of lack of profitability.

The private sector abandoned intercity passenger rail
services in the early seventies because it was not
profitable nor is it any where else in the world. The
Bush administration's demands for Amtrak to cover
its operating costs or become profitable will never
happen. President Bush has also suggested that the
states should cover more of Amtrak's costs; do you
really think states like Illinois are in the position to do
that? Then there is the old privatization theory; who
is going to bid to take over a company or portion of
a company that hasn't turned a profit in 34 years?

Last year Amtrak came close to setting its all time
ridership record by carrying over 25 million passengers.
The only solution is to fully fund Amtrak and take
advantage of the potential Amtrak has to become a
viable piece of America's transportation infrastructure.

by John Falaris, Joliet resident

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Tonymercury · Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 6:32 am

S&P revises Amtrak's outlook to negative
Tue Mar 29, 2005 12:39 PM ET

NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's on Tuesday revised
Amtrak's debt rating outlook to negative from stable, citing increased
uncertainty about the railroad's future funding.

U.S. President George W. Bush's proposed 2006 budget calls for much lower
funding for Amtrak, and the Secretary of Transportation has said that
Amtrak's funding should be overhauled. It's not clear how much support the
railroad will have as it goes through the Congressional budget
appropriations process, S&P said.

A negative outlook indicates that S&P is more likely to cut the company's
debt ratings over the next 24 months. Debt ratings cuts can raise a
company's borrowing costs. S&P rates Amtrak's corporate credit at "BBB,"
or two steps above junk status.

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Tonymercury · Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 6:33 am

National Association of Railroad Passengers
March 28, 2005
The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta
Secretary of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation
400 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590

Dear Secretary Mineta:

The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) welcomes an
intelligent discussion aimed at developing an intercity rail network that
will serve the travel needs of our fellow citizens. The time for a genuine
federal/state partnership for intercity rail passenger service is long
overdue. This partnership, however, must be an addition to - not a
replacement for - current funding and service.

Amtrak is a product of its environment. That environment reflects the
actions of previous Congresses and Administrations over more than three
decades. If this Administration is truly serious about improving intercity
passenger train service, it will achieve far better results by "reforming"
the environment in which Amtrak operates rather than by dismantling
Amtrak. It is not necessary to burn the village to save it. A modern rail
passenger network will not emerge from the ashes of Amtrak.

Without Amtrak, we lose the ability to operate over the nation's rail
network at reasonable cost. We also risk losing infrastructure, rolling
stock, equipment, facilities and a skilled workforce that will cost
billions to replace - if it can be replaced at all. Amtrak, whatever its
imperfections, still represents the most practical platform upon which to
build a better system. The Administration's actions, however, threaten
Amtrak's continued existence.
Examples:
. No funding for Amtrak in the President's budget request;
. Statements suggesting bankruptcy as an option;
. Failure of Amtrak's Board (all appointed by President Bush) to submit a
timely budget
request to Congress;
. Unwillingness to acknowledge the significant and long needed management
reforms that
David Gunn has implemented at Amtrak;
. Repeated attempts to portray Amtrak's current performance in the worst
possible light.

You have invited people to read your plan before criticizing it, but you
have not made copies available nor can we find it published on the USDOT
website. We can only infer its content from the bill the Administration
submitted to Congress in 2003 and from your recent public statements. Any
plan that will succeed in improving America's intercity passenger rail
service requires strong leadership and significant funding at the federal
level. The available evidence, however, suggests that the Administration
is headed in the opposite direction. As we interpret it, the
Administration's plan:
. Eliminates all federal funding for operations even though the federal
government routinely funds many operating costs of other modes;
. Fails to define the ultimate network it seeks to achieve;
. Transfers all planning responsibility to the states even though most
travel crosses state lines and interstate commerce is a constitutionally
mandated federal responsibility;
. Offers a substantially smaller federal match for rail than that provided
for other modes;
. Lacks an adequate long term funding source that provides multi-year
"contract authority";
. Does not define procedures to ensure equitable allocation of federal
funds to states.

For these and other reasons, we are gravely concerned that in its zeal to
achieve "Amtrak reform," the Administration has rushed to embrace a plan
that is not grounded in reality, ignores critical issues, addresses the
wrong problems and proposes "solutions" that, if implemented, would lead
not to the improvement but to the demise of all intercity passenger train
service in the United States. Phase out of all federal operating support
jeopardizes not only interstate services but many so called "state
supported" intrastate routes that currently receive federal support. Loss
of reasonably priced liability insurance and indemnification arrangements
as well as affordable access to the privately owned rail network,
stations, platforms and parking lots is also a very real possibility.
Because the consequences of wrong decisions are so serious - and
potentially irreversible - it is essential that the Administration proceed
with great caution and prudence.

The press conferences you are holding to sell "Amtrak reform" to the
American people raise serious doubts about the soundness of the
Administration's plan. As a member of the Amtrak Board, you are in a
position to have an accurate grasp of the facts and have a fiduciary duty
to understand them. We are bewildered that a public official of your
stature is not only taking facts out of context to create false
impressions, but also making statements that are factually incorrect. We
continue to correct the public record by updating the "Fact Check" section
of our web site <http://www.narprail.org/factcheck.pdf>. It should be a
source of embarrassment to you and to your staff that this list grows
longer with each press conference you hold.

We encourage the Administration to engage in a constructive dialogue with
stakeholders, including ourselves, who have years of experience in dealing
with passenger rail issues. The fact that you have not reached out to such
groups suggests that the Administration is more interested in pursuing a
preordained political agenda than in improving the nation's rail passenger
system.

NARP can contribute new and creative ideas that will help craft meaningful
improvements in the federal government's program for intercity passenger
rail. Three years ago, NARP published recommendations that identified and
addressed fundamental issues confronting federal policy on the rail
industry. Those recommendations are as relevant today as they were when we
first proposed them. We are a non-profit educational organization
primarily funded by dues and contributions from individuals across the
nation. For 38 years, we have represented the interests of millions of
passenger rail and transit users and were instrumental in Amtrak's
creation.

I am willing to travel to Washington to discuss these issues face to face
with you and your staff.

Sincerely,

(SIGNED)

George Chilson
President
National Association of Railroad Passengers

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Tonymercury · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 6:14 am

Loss of Amtrak would derail some travelers' only ride
By Terry Ganey
Jefferson City Bureau Chief

Below is the link to the story.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/5FB74310B4B331B686256FD400171DC5?OpenDocument

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Here is the story.

JEFFERSON CITY - If Amtrak gets no funding from Missouri lawmakers and Gov.
Matt Blunt this year, Bill Breese will have a tougher time getting to
Kuwait.

Breese lives in Jefferson City and works for a private contractor who
maintains e-mail systems for the U.S. military in Kuwait. The Jefferson
City-to-St. Louis Amtrak link is part of the route Breese takes for his
assignments. He makes a connection at a downtown MetroLink stop to get to
Lambert, where he catches the flights that will eventually deliver him to
Kuwait.

One of 170,000 passengers who use the Missouri Amtrak run each year, Breese
may have to find another way if Blunt and the Legislature go forward with
plans to cut the state's $6.4 million Amtrak subsidy.

"It would really be inconvenient if Amtrak wasn't here," Breese said Monday
afternoon as he and his wife, Clarita, rode the train from St. Louis to
Jefferson City. Breese was returning home after a five-month stint in
Kuwait.

Most of the other 81 passengers who boarded the train at the 16th Street
station in the shadow of Highway 40 had less exotic travel destinations but
endorsed the need for the rail service nevertheless.

James Wyatt, 16, who lives with his father in Washington, Mo., was
returning home after visiting his mother in St. Louis. Lori Forcheimer and
her daughter, Mackenzie, 6, were en route from their home in St. Louis to
visit relatives in Jefferson City.

"Without the train, there would be no other way for me to get down here,"
said Wyatt, who added that he does not have a car. He said he takes the
train two to three times a month.

Forcheimer said she rides the train once a year, but she added that her
relatives used it more often.

"It's relaxing," Forcheimer said. "I'd rather do this than drive any day."

Greyhound recently cut bus routes that stopped in several rural Missouri
towns. Bus service is available in Columbia, Mo.

A reporter who rode one-way from St. Louis to Jefferson City on Monday
afternoon paid $38 for a ticket purchased at the St. Louis Amtrak station.
The price was the result of poor timing and high demand. If the ticket
reservation had been made earlier, it could have qualified for discounted
seats that cost as little as $17.

But Monday was a particularly busy day, since many people were traveling in
the wake of the Easter holiday. An Amtrak conductor said the 162 people
riding the train represented twice the passenger load of a usual Monday.

Ticket revenue is not enough to support Amtrak. The state kicks in $6.4
million to support two daily trains crossing Missouri, one from Kansas City
to St. Louis and another in the opposite direction. They stop at eight
cities along the way: Kirkwood, Washington, Hermann, Jefferson City,
Sedalia, Warrensburg, Lee's Summit and Independence.

Without the state's support, the trains would cease to run, according to
Jeff Briggs, a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Transportation.

That appears to be the plan this year. The state House Transportation
Budget Committee has voted to cut Amtrak funding. Similar recommendations
have been made before, but usually the money gets restored.

But now the governor has agreed with the need to cut Amtrak funding as
well. Blunt needs to balance the budget. He also wants to appropriate $170
million more for public schools. To do that, he has to cut general revenue
spending elsewhere.

If the decision goes through, it would mean the trains would stop running
July 1. (Unaffected by the decision would be other federally funded Amtrak
trains traveling through St. Louis en route to San Antonio and Los
Angeles.)

"We got the directive that cuts have got to be made somewhere," Briggs
said. "Ultimately, this was the place where there was quite a bit of state
funding going in, and we had to make some recommendations somewhere. It's
an area where there are no good options."

Sen. John Griesheimer, R-Washington, vowed Tuesday to fight the cuts.

"We're going to get the money put back in the Senate one way or the other,"
Griesheimer predicted. "It's too important to many of the communities along
the line.

"The real problem we have is that elementary and secondary education is the
sacred cow," he added. "While education is a constitutional priority, we
shouldn't fund one department while taking a chainsaw to everything else."

Tony Bailey
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Tonymercury · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 6:20 am

DOT 54-05
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Contact: Brian Turmail
Tel.: (202) 366-4570

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mineta Says Caltrain's Baby Bullet Service
Shows That Amtrak Reforms Will Improve Passenger Rail Travel

An innovative commuter train between San Francisco and San Jose known as
the Baby Bullet shows how passenger rail service can improve under the Bush
Administration's proposal to reform Amtrak, U.S. Transportation Secretary
Norman Y. Mineta said during a news conference at the San Francisco
Caltrain station.

Mineta was in the Bay Area to ride the Baby Bullet and see first hand how
local transit officials developed the innovative new service and learn why
it has been successful. The visit was part of a nationwide campaign to
reaffirm President Bush's commitment to intercity passenger rail weeks
after the Administration unveiled a budget that proposed withholding
taxpayer subsidies for Amtrak until "desperately needed" reforms are made.

"If anyone doubts that the President's and my intercity passenger rail
reform plan can work, they should take a closer look at the Baby Bullet
service," Mineta said after riding the train from Millbrae, CA to San
Francisco. "Our Amtrak reform plan will give local officials nationwide the
ability to follow the Caltrain model to breathe new life into passenger
rail travel."

Since the Baby Bullets were launched in July 2004, ridership, revenue and
on-time performance have improved while travel times have been cut
significantly, Mineta said. He noted that Caltrain officials have the
ability to choose the rail operator - in this case Amtrak - just as the
Administration wants to give states the ability to select their intercity
passenger rail providers.

Caltrain officials also were able to depend on federal help to pay for
needed track and station repairs because as a commuter rail service, and
not an intercity passenger line, Caltrain qualifies for federal transit
assistance, Mineta noted. He added that the Administration's Amtrak reform
plan would follow the successful transit model by establishing a 50-50
federal matching grants to help pay for state investments in intercity
passenger rail infrastructure, like stations, trains and tracks.

Mineta also commended local officials for being able to "inspire innovation
by looking at the best way to schedule trains, lure passengers and improve
travel time." He said that the Amtrak reform plan would give local
officials nationwide the same freedom and flexibility to find new solutions
to making train service popular.

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Tonymercury · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 6:21 am

MASS. MARKET; Amtrak 'Team' Gaining Steam; Business Leaders to Fight for Funding
Source: Patriot Ledger, The; Quincy, Mass.
Publication date: 2005-03-26
Arrival time: 2005-03-30

Jon Chesto
President Bush and his transportation honchos have already received an earful from federal lawmakers eager to put the brakes on a budget plan that would zero out funding for Amtrak.

Get ready, George W. A coalition of regional business groups will be next.

Scott Eckel, the representative in Washington for the New England Council, says a loosely knit alliance of chambers of commerce and tourism bureaus plans to fire off a letter to the Bush administration urging it to rethink its stark position on funding for the nation's intercity rail system.

Eckel says he hopes the letter can be sent in the next two weeks. He expects the region's business representatives then will visit top administration officials and key congressional leaders to lobby for Amtrak.

Eckel says the alliance also envisions a series of press conferences in cities such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington before the end of June to draw attention to Amtrak's cause.

The battle to keep Amtrak on track has become almost an annual ritual.

But this time around, the administration's budget proposal offers no money for Amtrak whatsoever. In place of $1.2 billion in Amtrak subsidies, Bush would spend $360 million in the next fiscal year for regional rail services. Given Amtrak's debt, the loss of federal subsidies would likely throw it into bankruptcy.

Eckel says his one-year-old group now goes by the name Business Coalition for East Coast Rail - a change from its former moniker, Amtrak Business Coalition, that he says reflects the group's geographic focus. He says the group plans to push hard for Amtrak's federal funding. But the name change sure does make it seem like the group is prepared to soldier on even if the Amtrak name eventually disappears.

A loss of federal subsidies to Amtrak would be a major blow to New England's economy. Businesses here rely heavily on access to Amtrak as well as the area's interstate highways and airports - which, of course, are also propped up by copious federal contributions. Norman Mineta, Bush's transportation chief, came to Boston on Wednesday to make a case for his proposal to revamp the rail system. He plans to file a bill to give the federal highway department temporary control of the infrastructure in Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. He says the plan would give Amtrak the freedom to focus on running trains and allow the government to make sorely needed upgrades to the tracks. The administration also wants to establish matching grants to help states pay for their sections of the rail corridor. Mineta says the plan "will breathe new life" into passenger rail. A spokesman says the administration is willing to submit a separate funding request for the system if Congress enacts meaningful Amtrak reforms.

If you think this plan sounds like another scheme to shift costs from Washington onto already-burdened state budgets, you wouldn't be alone - that's for sure. Even Gov. Mitt Romney, a stalwart Bush supporter, seems reluctant to swallow the bitter medicine that Bush and Mineta want to hand out.

Joining Mineta at a State House press conference, Romney said he was working from the same book as Mineta - but they were "probably on different pages." That sounds like Romney-style diplomacy for "Reform may be well and good, but don't dump your responsibilities on us."

Mineta is right about one thing when it comes to the Northeast Corridor: It's a jewel in the Amtrak system that could use some serious polishing. Sections of the tracks - particularly three river crossings in Connecticut - badly need repairs. But something tells me that leaving no money in the budget for Amtrak may not be the quickest way to rebuild bridges.

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