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Amtrak LogoWASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood May 3 announced he is providing $30.2 million to Amtrak to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy along its heavily-traveled Northeast Corridor. The funding comes from the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 and is being provided by the Federal Railroad Administration.

“Amtrak serves as a critical transportation link throughout the Northeast Corridor, and we are committed to helping it rebuild from Hurricane Sandy on behalf of the thousands of riders who rely on it each day,” said Secretary LaHood. “We continue to do all we can to help make all of our storm-damaged public transportation systems whole again.”

Today’s grant reimburses Amtrak for $20.1 million for expenses associated with pumping water from tunnels and debris removal and for immediate and on-going repairs to vital infrastructure needed to operate more than 2,000 trains along the Northeast Corridor each day. The balance of the grant money will fund repairs to the East Tunnel that connects Manhattan and Queens, the North River Tunnel that connects New Jersey and New York City, and other facilities.

Following Hurricane Sandy, four of the six tunnels between New York City and New Jersey flooded with seawater. Immense amounts of water and debris were removed from the tunnels and system-wide repairs had to be completed before service could be restored. The most critical damage was to electrical systems, particularly the Kearney substation, located in Kearney, New Jersey, plus signals, lighting, mechanical rooms, and emergency call boxes. The damage was caused by wind, heavy rains and saltwater.

“The storm’s wake demonstrates the necessity to not only rebuild, but to invest in our infrastructure so we are better prepared to withstand and recover from future natural disasters,” said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo.

Additional repairs to rail, ties, ballasts, third rail signal systems, pump stations, circuit breakers, and vital infrastructure are still on-going and are expected to continue throughout the summer months.

The appropriations measure was signed into law by President Obama on January 29, 2013. The total appropriation related to Amtrak’s recovery from Sandy was $32 million.

Amtrak LogoAmtrak marked 42 years of service on May 1 with a plea for more money from Congress.

CEO Joe Boardman said Amtrak remains a “vital part” of the nation’s transportation system, but can’t continue to fulfill its “national mission” without more money from Washington.

 Read the full story at The Hill.

 

Amtrak LogoCanadian police and intelligence agencies said Monday that they’ve thwarted an Al Qaeda-supported plot that aimed to blow up a passenger rail line, with some news accounts suggesting that the target was train service connecting Toronto and New York City.

Amtrak, which operates a train line between the two cities, issued a statement saying it was “aware” of the investigation. Amtrak President & CEO Joe Boardman said later on Facebook that the alleged plot didn’t pose an “imminent threat to Amtrak passengers, employees or the general public.”

Read the full story at Politico.

Amtrak LogoAmtrak employees represented by the SMART Transportation Division (UTU) have ratified a five-year agreement with management of the National Railroad Passenger Corp. (Amtrak).

The new pact covers approximately 2,300 members employed as conductors, assistant conductors, yardmasters and dining car stewards. 

The agreement is retroactive to 2010 and the new rates of pay should become effective within 30 to 45 days. Payment of retroactive wages will be made approximately 60 days after the wage rates take effect. 

“The membership recognized the value of the proposed contract and in ratifying the agreement have secured the wages and benefits that were hard-fought and hard-won by the negotiating team,” said SMART Transportation Division Assistant President John Previsich.

With the assistance of Previsich, the contract negotiations were conducted by Amtrak General Chairpersons Dirk Sampson (GO 769), Bill Beebe (GO 663) and Robert J. Keeley (GO 342).

“I must thank President Mike Futhey and Assistant President John Previsich, whose efforts made this agreement possible,” Sampson said. “Despite moments of uncertainty that existed, their leadership, patience and confident demeanor kept this very long and difficult round of negotiations moving forward. I would also like to recognize the efforts of General Chairperson Bill Beebe, Vice General Chairperson Charlie Yura and Local 1361 Chairperson Gary J. Hopson for their assistance in bringing these negotiations to a conclusion.”

Chairperson Robert Keeley added, “I would also like to thank the aforementioned, along with General Committee Secretary Charles Fowler, Vice General Chairperson Salvador Ruiz, Local Chairpersons Keenan Lett and James Madden, and Brother Cleophas Brickhouse,” Keeley said. “Solidarity has always been a fragile thing, fraught with complex and difficult commitments. Real solidarity is an easier statement to make than it is to keep and put into practice. We walked into negotiations together, and we found success together. I want to be sure to thank all involved for demonstrating union solidarity at its very best.”

The agreement was passed by nearly 60 percent of eligible train-service members that voted and by 86 percent of eligible yardmasters that voted.

The Federal Railroad Administration is currently managing a comprehensive planning effort to define, evaluate and prioritize future levels of investment in the Northeast Corridor (NEC) through 2040.

This effort, launched in February 2012 and called NEC FUTURE, will produce a Service Development Plan that articulates the overall scope, alternatives and approach for proposed improvements, and a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement that evaluates and identifies ways to address broad, corridor-wide environmental impacts due to these improvements.

This process is a federally-required step before major construction to overhaul the corridor’s aging, unreliable, and congested infrastructure can begin.

 View the FRA’s NEC FUTURE Preliminary Alternatives Report.

 

The Obama Administration yesterday released its budget request for fiscal year 2014 and the President has once again put forth a plan for transforming and expanding train service in the United States.

The president is requesting $40 billion in passenger rail investment over the next five years, allocating $6.6 billion to the Federal Rail Administration for fiscal 2014, with increasing amounts each subsequent year through 2019.

“A well-functioning transportation system is critical to America’s economic future. Whether it is by road, transit, air, rail, pipeline, or waterway, Americans rely on our transportation system to move people and goods safely, facilitate commerce, attract and retain businesses, and support jobs,” the administration said in the budget request.

The request for $40 billion over five will fund the development of high-speed rail and other passenger rail programs as part of an integrated national transportation strategy.

This system will provide 80 percent of Americans with convenient access to a passenger rail system, featuring high-speed service, within 25 years.

The proposal also benefits freight rail and significantly restructures Federal support for Amtrak, to increase transparency, accountability, and performance.

The request will be a boost for Amtrak, coming a day before the House Committee on Transportation holds a hearing on the railroad’s FY 2014 budget.

The hearing, Amtrak’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget: The Starting Point for Reauthorization [which will be streamed live], will address Amtrak’s funding needs, as well as the coming rail reauthorization (the current law will expire at the end of this September).

Amtrak announced April 9 it had set a new ridership record during the first half of this fiscal year, and will be looking to translate its steady increase in popularity into an increase its funding for badly needed equipment purchases and infrastructure upgrades. 



Passage of a reauthorization bill this year is uncertain, but the appropriations committees will determine how much federal funding each program gets.

Secretary LaHood is scheduled to appear before the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee on April 16.

President Obama’s $6.6 billion request breaks down in the following ways:

• $2.7 billion for “Current Passenger Rail Service,” including $800 million for Amtrak’s long-distance routes, $300 million for state corridors, $675 million for the Northeast Corridor and $925 million for “national assets” (defined as positive train control for passenger rail, rail stations, and “backbone rail facilities).”

• $3.7 billion for “Rail Service Improvement Program.” The budget request defines goals for the program as “Creating or improving passenger corridors, mitigating congestion bottlenecks in the rail system, improving intermodal freight rail capacity and comprehensive future planning.”

President Obama has put forth similar proposals in the past, and the biggest obstacle to implementing the program remains identifying new sources of funding.

The Administration identifies the “peace dividend” — money saved from drawing down the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — as a major source of funding. However, House Republicans have rejected this proposal in its previous iterations. 



The Administration is proposing that rail funding become part of the Highway Trust Fund (it would be repurposed into a “Transportation Trust Fund”). This would eliminate Amtrak’s dependence on the annual appropriations cycle, moving it a grant structure similar to highways and transit.

Amtrak LogoWASHINGTON — Amtrak ridership increased in the first half of fiscal year 2013 (Oct. 2012 – March 2013) and March set a record as the single best month ever in the history of America’s Railroad®. In addition, October, December, and January each set individual monthly records.

Rebounding strongly from service disruptions caused by Superstorm Sandy and other severe weather, Amtrak ridership grew 0.9 percent in the first six months of fiscal year 2013 as compared to the same period the prior year. In all, 26 of 45 routes posted ridership increases and Amtrak expects to end the fiscal year at or above last year’s record of 31.2 million passengers.

“The continued ridership growth on routes across the country reinforces the need for dedicated, multi-year federal operating and capital funding to support existing intercity passenger rail services and the development of new ones,” said Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman.

Northeast Corridor ridership, which took a significant hit from Superstorm Sandy, is seeing a solid recovery and is predicted to show gains for the full fiscal year, despite being down 1.2 percent for this six-month period. Ridership on state-supported and other short distance routes is up 2.7 percent and long-distance ridership grew 0.5 percent.

Routes with notable ridership growth in the first six months of fiscal year 2013 include: Palmetto (+10.5 percent), Coast Starlight (+10 percent), Illini/Saluki (+9.8 percent), San Joaquin (+8.9 percent), Piedmont (+8.6 percent), Wolverine (+8.2 percent), Vermonter (+6.7 percent), Carolinian (+6.3 percent), Keystone Service (+5.2 percent), Springfield Shuttles (+5.2 percent), Downeaster (+4.8 percent), Pacific Surfliner (+4.3 percent), and Pennsylvanian (+4.3 percent).

Amtrak LogoA public opinion survey done for the United Transportation Union found strong support for Amtrak in three conservative, Republican-dominated districts where service exists. Less than a quarter of respondents favored eliminating Amtrak funding.

The survey focused on three districts in Illinois, Missouri, and North Dakota. Even in these traditionally conservative districts – all currently represented by Republicans in the House of Representatives – 65 percent said that Amtrak funding “should continue at current levels or increase” when told eliminating federal assistance would lead to elimination of the service, with only 21 percent of respondents saying they believe funding for Amtrak should be eliminated.

Read the complete article at National Association of Railroad Passengers.

 

The following message was sent to the UTU National Legislative Office from Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo:

Whenever one is discussing an ambitious, long-term program, like our high speed and intercity passenger rail program, it is helpful to remind ourselves – and others – about the original vision we committed to in 2009.

Since the very beginning, we have been executing a clearly laid out plan for a passenger rail network that includes high-speed trains, upgraded regional service, and improved connections for emerging markets. All three are interdependent and fundamental components of passenger rail operations in countries around the globe where high speed rail service is successful. This vision was announced by the president when we released our April 2009 strategic plan Vision for High Speed Rail in America. 

I often make the analogy to our modern highway system. In the same way you would not take an interstate highway directly to your neighborhood, one would not use a high speed train for every passenger rail trip. Our interstate system works because we have a robust network of state, county, and local roads that feed into the Interstate system. This same tiered-service concept applies to passenger rail.

With investments focused extensively in five mega-regions, we are moving forward with 152 passenger rail projects in 32 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 50 percent of our investments are producing world-class high speed rail, some 45 percent higher-quality regional service, and the balance higher-performing feeder service. All improve the customer experience by reducing trip times, improving reliability, adding additional frequencies, or improving passenger amenities, and help build a high-performing passenger rail network. And we are doing all of this while preserving or enhancing our thriving freight rail network.

Four years ago we made a promise to deliver on a vision for a more comprehensive passenger rail network and we’re keeping that promise. By executing good project fundamentals, with the leadership of our state partners, we’ll continue to bring projects in on time and budget and advance this next generation of transportation.

WASHINGTON – On Saturday, May 11, 2013, Amtrak will join communities across America to celebrate the importance of trains to their town at the sixth annual National Train Day.

More than 200 communities are expected to host events at local train stations, railroad museums and other locations commemorating this year’s theme “trains matter.”

“National Train Day invites communities big and small to share the importance of trains as a vital transportation option and engine of economic development and employment,” said Amtrak Chief Marketing & Sales Officer Matt Hardison.

In addition to events in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles, Amtrak is expanding its efforts to support events in many local markets across the country served by America’s Railroad®. Event offerings will vary to include train equipment displays, family-friendly activities and local dignitaries.

Details on National Train Day events and information on how to host a National Train Day event is available at NationalTrainDay.com. Additional events and information will be added to the website frequently. In addition, rail passengers and enthusiasts are invited to share why trains matter to them via Facebook or @natltrainday.