Tackling the Headlines 96

Ford may buy Michigan Central Station
Take: While having a dedicated tenant is better than having the absentee family, I am worried if the automaker gets MCS that passenger access will be permanently cut off.

Saratoga & North Creek is going out of business
Take #1: I'll start off with this quote: "So Ellis way be right about his new outfit, but he may also be wrong, and it's worth waiting a while before hailing his new effort as a success." I have to give this person a prize because I was way too optimistic about S&NC.

Take #2: This all stems from the railroad not being able to operate freight service, which is a real shame.

SNCF opposes Texas Central's plan
1. The French operator says that the spinoff of JR Central would "doom" passenger rail in Texas
2. Texas Central hits back at SNCF

Take: On one end, SNCF has a point about TX Central's routing but on the other end, it was the feds who imposed the restrictions on where TX Central could place its Houston station. It brings up some good points, but, ultimately, it may come off as sour grapes by others.

SNCF has to worry about its own backyard
Take: Just like everywhere else in EU countries, the French operator has to prepare for competitors.

Another year of profits
Finland and Germany

Take: This is the second year in a row now. At this point, anyone in the rail community who utters "no country in the world makes money on passenger rail" will be trivialized and then ignored.

Tackling the Headlines 74

It's a tale of two proposed Miami passenger stations

The downtown location is about to begin construction while the airport hub continues to be delayed.

Take: All Aboard Florida will take much less time to complete its hub than the state of Florida will with its version. The miscommunication between "America's Railroad" and the Sunshine State and various money issues plays right into the hands of libertarians who want full-on privatization of passenger services.

New Cleveland intermodal center is on the way

This has been in the works for years but has been delayed due to cost.

Take: I'd like to wish city officials good luck since Union Terminal has only accepted electric trains throughout its history and hasn't had commuter service since 1977.

SNCF expresses interest in operating HSR in Texas

This bit of news is actually a reiteration of its plans over five years ago.

Take: If the French operator can actually launch this plan and keep the slimy lawyers at bay, then, this will provide Lone Star State passengers with alternative travel options and SNCF and Texas Central will provide their own type of matrix effect for high speed systems.

Minnesota getting serious about Zip Rail

There are some links in this story to get you going.

Take: I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this project as Gopher State officials are planning for the future--unlike some of their Midwestern neighbors.

Chinese proposing HSR in Canada?

The route would be between Toronto and Windsor.

Take: This is a long ways away--no matter who operates it--but another player has entered the game. Also, this route should be taken north along the Detroit River to link a potential Detroit-Chicago Express HSR route at a revamped Michigan Central Station so passenger can travel between T.O. and the Windy City either nonstop or with only one transfer in Motown.

Ideas for Improved Michigan Train Service

This article says that a new Detroit River tunnel could start construction next year. From what the article and the official website about the project have to say about the project, there is absolutely nothing that would preclude passenger trains from using the tunnel. If anything, the Continental Rail Gateway could actually encourage passenger service as trains to and from Buffalo and Toronto could just as easily use the existing tunnel without a hitch.

A Plan Like This Could Use Some New Players
Speaking of international service, it wouldn't be necessary for either Amtrak or Via Rail to run these trains--as a matter of fact, other companies would be tapped to run Detroit-Windsor services instead. Amtrak built a facility in the city's New Center section in 1994, which would force the carrier to back up to the Detroit River Tunnel or to skip the city altogether. As for Via, the Canadian operator has cut back service on the Toronto-Windsor corridor. A Eurostar or Thalys-like service would remedy the problem.

The State's Role
The Midwest Regional Rail Initiative plan has the Pere Marquette rerouted to serve Kalamazoo, turn west to serve Grand Rapids, and then end in Holland. Should that happen, then, the MIDOT should hand the current Chicago-Grand Rapids route over to another operator like First Group or Veolia, rename the route the Spartan Corridor in honor of the state's other big public university (think about it: Wolverines vs Spartans leaving the gridiron and hardwood for the rails with travelers winning as a result), extend the route to Detroit, and change the stations at each endpoint. There would have to be at least four or five frequencies for the rebranded Spartans in order for the trains to compete with the Amtrak trains.

LaSalle Street Station would be a perfect place for the new operator to compete against
Amtrak because it wouldn't have to deal with the congestion of Union Station. At the other end, a temporary station could be built near Michigan Central Station until the historic facility is once again ready for public use. 

The Spartan trains would then use the Detroit River Tunnels to go east to Buffalo or northeast to Toronto as a way for the new operator to produce more revenue and ridership. In the future, SNCF would use the tunnels for Express service between Chicago and Toronto.

What About Other Cities in the Wolverine State?
When it comes to Detroit-Wynadotte-Monroe-Toledo service, it is a natural, but, it would require a backup move at a wye just west of MCS. Would Amtrak want to operate a glorified commuter route that is only 58-miles long--two miles longer than the Lake Cities route that ran two decades ago--and would also require a backup move near the New Center Station? I think not. Even a Port Huron-Toledo route that serves either Detroit station would be too short. Maybe, the airport would be an alternative for Amtrak or a northwestern stop for the Spartan Corridor operator.

As for other cities in Michigan, the MIDOT should turn to the state's various regional and shortline railroads to operate services. These trains would easily connect to Amtrak and Spartan Corridor trains in the same way that the Saratoga & North Creek trains do with the Adirondack and Ethan Allen Express at Saratoga Springs.

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Despite evidence to the contrary, Keolis loses MD bid based on lie

Governor Martin O'Malley caved in to money hungry lawyers. Bombardier will operate the MARC diesel CSX is giving up.
Take: Sad to see that another state was too chicken to call the lawyers on their b.s. It is also worth noting that when CSX first wanted out two years ago, only Amtrak and Keolis submitted bids but Amtrak withdrew its bid on liability grounds (the Class I was forced to operate the trains after the Holocaust issue first came up). This time around, Amtrak pulled out after losing the Caltrain contract, and the number of competitors was down to three as Veolia joined Keolis and Bombardier.

Cocoa wants FEC station

The city of Cocoa wants a station but the Class II railroad deems the area too small.
Take: Hey Cocoa, there's always the proposed Amtrak service. Just be glad that you guys will have two passenger entities passing through by the end of the decade. Other municipalities are desperate for just one operator to stop in their towns.

Tackling the Headlines 39

Virgin loses vital West Coast route to rival
Last week, a shock was sent across the UK as Virgin Trains lost the London-Glasgow/Edinburgh contract to rival First Group. The route also serves Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham. The transition from Virgin to First Group will take place on December 9 and will last until 2026. 

Sir Richard Branson has threatened to pull Virgin Trains out of the UK rail scene, and there is real fear among Britons that the quality of the West Coast Main Line may deteriorate (rising prices, lost jobs, First Group possibly spending too much for the franchise). The West Coast Main Line is Virgin's only route in Britain, and the company is credited for repairing the battered line so much is at stake if First Group messes up the route.

Take: If Branson leaves the UK market, he should come to the U.S. pronto to help rebuild our country's passenger rail system. Even though Rick Scott railroaded (no pun intended by the way) him in Florida, Branson should recommit to building a Los Angeles-Las Vegas HSR route and operate slower train routes as well (coming to think of it, Sir Richard should develop corridor service in a state like Florida or even provide seasonal Florida-Midwest service). The only thing is that Branson wouldn't join the Association of Independent Passenger Rail Operators since--you guessed it--First Group became a member earlier this year.

Ontario government pulls plug on ONR service
The government of Ontario is canceling intercity service between Toronto and Cochrane on September 28. Ontario Northland passengers will be forced to ride...buses while freight service is also going away. The only silver lining is that the winter excursion train will continue to run. Mind you, the province is run by the Liberal Party, not the federal Conservative government whose Cabinet will be responsible for slashing Via Rail service.

Take: Canada is shaping up to be a tale of contrasts with the United States. In the 1970s, both countries gave up on private passenger service but the Great White North's executive branch has funded trains rather than the legislative one. As this country turns back to passenger trains, Canada's leaders are heading in the opposite direction. If passenger train travel is to survive north of the border, then it makes sense to hand intercity service back to the private railroads and subsidize the companies to run the trains.

Meeting to restore Gulf Coast service
There was a meeting in Mobile last week to discuss the future of train service on the Gulf Coast. The mayors of Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile (the last of whom who cited the controversial 2009 Sunset Limited study) are clamoring for a return of train service.  Much of the focus was on re-implementing the Birmingham-Mobile Gulf Breeze. 

Take #1: Regarding the regional aspect of the service, here's some advice for the three mayors: 
1) the revived Gulf Breeze service should be extended to New Orleans
2) there should be a branch route that follows the old Atlanta & West Point/Western Railway of Alabama route to Atlanta
3) this effort and the aforementioned two items sure as heck beat any unrealistic high speed rail corridors that never stood a chance of being funded by the feds

Take #2: It was interesting that representatives for Amtrak and SNCF were there. While the French operator's American mouthpiece didn't speak, this could be a foreshadowing for the future of Gulf Coast service. Think about it, the American operator should be put on notice for its inaction. Ever since CSX repaired the old Louisville & Nashville line in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in 2006, Amtrak's management has dragged its feet on restoring any type of service between New Orleans and Orlando.

After all, that '09 study was pessimistic even though two logical alternatives were offered in extending the City of New Orleans or a standalone Gulf Wind (the real logical option is to make the Sunset Limited daily at least east of New Orleans until Union Pacific cleans up its act). 

The bottom line is that if Amtrak is unwilling to unsuspend the missing link, it is time for someone else to operate the service between New Orleans and Orlando! What better way for SNCF/Keolis to make a splash in the U.S. to provide connections to not only the national system but to regional systems as well? 

CAHSR survives Assembly scare

Two weeks ago, the California Assembly narrowly gave the green light for construction to start on the HSR route. Like I previously said, this was the real hurdle--not some referendum to repeal CAHSR in 2014. In order to alleviate all controversies surrounding the I-5 vs Tehachapi alignments, the route should be split up in a way that I-5 is preserved to be a future Express route while the Tehachapi can eventually become a 125-220 mph expressway for passenger trains.

Discussions on Private Operators and Competition

Check out these two websites because they each represent interesting viewpoints that could shape the future of rail travel in America : Cascadia Prospectus on controlled competition and the Transport Politic on private involvement in intercity rail as Reps. Mica and Shuster weigh in on the latter topic via a hearing. My comments can be found in both articles. Enjoy!

Tackling the Headlines 6

High speed rail is dead in Florida (at least I think it is this time)
Last Friday, the Florida Supreme Court dealt the fatal blow to the 84-mile project when it ruled that Governor Rick Scott was allowed to return the $2.4 billion of stimulus money to the feds. Two state senators had argued that Scott made an unconstitutional move in unilaterally rejecting the money.

The ruling means that the Sunshine State is now 0-for-4 in its attempt to launch high speed rail. In 1984, the Florida HSR Commission was launched, but the state was later forced to sell development rights to raise capital. In 1995, the Florida HSR Authority was launched with the Florida Overland eXpress proposed. Upon taking office 12 years ago, Jeb Bush killed FOX. Voters passed a constitutional amendment the following year but it was overturned four years after that when Bush persuaded voters that it was too costly to operate the fast train. Now, this.


As a Transport Politic poster pointed out last month, the unintended consequence of Scott's decision actually benefits Amtrak because it had no chance of winning the contract to operate the Tampa-Orlando route even with its partnership with SNCF and the French carrier's apology in late January (never mind that there was some controversy about the controversy) because it was going up against heavyweights like Virgin and JR Central. As for the other Express HSR route, Amtrak also has no chance of winning the California contract because it is outmanned by the Asians who are clawing over each other to pay for the whole project--100%. So, by killing the FL project, Rick Scott may have inadvertently helped preserve Amtrak's near monopoly in the U.S!


My take is that while I'm miffed that the foreign firms weren't given the chance to fully fund the FL project, I'd rather see the route scuttled than it being built without providing any real access to other transportation modes. Tampa proposed a multimodal center that was supposed to connect HSR with local transportation and Greyhound, but even that was flawed due to the lack of connection or coordination with Amtrak. Second, the route's eastern terminus was Orlando International Airport, which is at least 30 minutes south of downtown--not exactly providing locals the best access. What's even worse was the lack of connections that HSR would have had with Amtrak, Sunrail, and local transportation in the area. Third, as I've said before, the lack of a decent conventional rail system should have prevented it from receiving funding (I've also said that the FEC reroute of a Silver Service train should have been given priority by the Obama Administration grantwise). Finally, if the route was so important to Florida, it should have been a Miami-Orlando segment and then Orlando-St. Petersburg, and I would have developed a triangle to allow certain trains to only serve the Airport and Disney area stations while other trains terminated in Orlando proper. It was only politics that allowed the Tampa-Orlando segment to be first. Getting a route right takes precedence over just getting a train out.


More Florida silliness
Fresh off killing high speed rail, Scott selectively looked at profitability and losses as the measuring point for whether a rail project is feasible after the Palm asked him about the possibility of Amtrak running trains along the state's east coast.


Given his holdup of SunRail and his anti-Tri-Rail comments, anybody who cares enough about producing intercity rail travel in Florida has to pretty much wait until 2015. Given that the state needs a practical alternative to crowded interstates, toll roads, and sky high gas prices, Floridians are all but doomed for a while.

Tackling the Headlines 4

No gray areas (Part 1)
Transportation policy was the last refuge for bipartisanship until recently. Now, the GOP is showing how embedded to oil and highway interests it is. In the House, it recently proposed the elimination of Amtrak and high speed rail funding. Three governors have returned or will return stimulus money to the president as they cite everything from wanting to spend money on roads to having no faith in the private sector. While I don't expect the anti-rail measures to go anywhere in D.C., I do find it very disturbing that politicians like Rick Scott purport to want private involvement in rail and then turn around and prevent other rail companies from even participating in HSR bidding after some of them had promised to pay for the entire cost of the FLHSR system.

Three months ago, I said that if the GOP wanted to prove that it had a better plan for rail that it would invite private and foreign operators to operate statewide trains at Amtrak's peril. The recent developments tell me that the elephants are not interested in doing that or even doing public-private partnerships, making Representatives John Mica and Bill Shuster glaring exceptions.

A new way to fund Amtrak?
Last week, Bloomberg reported that Amtrak subsidies may become a part of transportation funding in the future. The gist is that President Obama wants railroad money to go into a new transportation trust fund, which would end direct operating subsidies to Amtrak.

The perception is that the Administration's move could lead to competitive bidding for federally funded corridors (e.g., RENFE winning the rights to run the Hiawathas). Personally, that is how competition should have been done under PRIIA passage and ARRA funding in the first place! The Administration dropped the ball by reducing private competitors to California and Florida since those two corridors had the only planned Express HSR corridors in the country. If bidding were opened up to corridors outside of the Northeast (and maybe the Wolverine and Empire Service routes), we could have seen the Spanish rail operator upgrade Hiawatha service on its own to the point where it was understood that extensions to Madison and the Twin Cities were only natural rather than what we saw in the Badger State. No one can tell me that if Virgin or SNCF were in charge of 79 MPH Cleveland service that the line wouldn't have seen speeds increase to the point where a separate right of way would have been created to handle 150-200 MPH service, and extensions into Detroit and Pittsburgh. That more than what's going on now, would and should have been the way to create high speed rail in America because corridor and long-distance spines are needed instead of just what almost happened in Florida where an 84-mile route would have been created out of thin air, providing little or no connections.

The latest on the DesertXpress
As it turns out, the DesertXpress is going to seek federal assistance after all. Wow, just wow.

Amtrak to O'Hare?
Illinois governor Pat Quinn has asked Amtrak to study the feasibility of stopping at O'Hare Airport. Can someone tell the gov that he's about a year-and-a-half late and a million dollars short? Where was he at when the French carrier first brought it up? Even more, where the heck was the Tribune when SNCF proposed its vision for the Midwestern system?

A possible new player in the Northeast
Housatonic Railroad is continuing a study that could see the shortline railroad operate passenger service between Pittsfield, MA and Danbury, CT with an extension to Grand Central Terminal. If it gets to New York, Metro North crews would have to relieve Housatonic crews at Danbury. The articles also mentioned stations having to be renovated as well as the possibility of partial electrification vs full electrification. Who says that American ingenuity is dead?

On the possibility of GCT extension, a Housatonic train pulling into one of the Northeast's most fabled train stations might lead to some luster being restored there as it would be the first intercity operator to stop there in over two decades. Why do I bring it up? It only takes one operator to begin a revival. As I mentioned last spring, unconventional train travel could be a part of Grand Central Terminal's future. International travel and specially themed trains to popular destinations could be a long-term strategy.

Iowa Pacific Holdings has several subsidiaries that provide passenger service out West. One can only wonder how long it'll take before this positive attitude trickles up from the Class III level to the Class Is because if it ever does, then Joseph Boardman had better watch his back.

Tackling the Headlines 3

SNCF's mea culpa
After months of ducking the press, SNCF was finally forced to apologize for its role in the Holocaust last month. Various people on this side of the Atlantic had sued the operator for shipping Jews to Nazi death camps. The move now allows SNCF to bid on HSR routes in Florida and California, even though some groups are still pushing for full-scale reparations.

On the high speed rail front, this means that Amtrak is back in the running for the Tampa-Orlando route since it and the French carrier are part of the same group with Becthel and the operating rights are anybody's to win. Out west, the company is still in the running for the San Francisco-Los Angeles route but may find itself greatly outmanned by the likes of the Chinese and Japan's JR East, who have promised to throw money at the state in order to operate the 800-mile route. As a result, SNCF may have to build Express routes in other areas of the country like the Midwest or Texas--areas that either got stimulus money for Regional HSR or didn't get money at all.

Congress
Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, the GOP is doing its best to keep America addicted to oil. The less said, the better.

Florida quandary
Down in the Sunshine State's capital, Governor Rick Scott has put both Sunrail, the commuter rail line that will serve Orlando and the surrounding area, and the state's high speed rail project on hold. It now seems that the new governor may be in the pockets of the highway lobby.

He wants for the private companies to pay for the entire HSR route even though Florida is supposed to pay for 10 percent of it. As for Sunrail, it's anybody's guess as to why the governor is putting that project on hold. Sunrail has been delayed long enough, and it's time for that train to get rolling. After all, Sunrail could be the kind of thing that leads to conventional corridor service that will someday feed into the Amtrak and HSR networks.

Intercity Rail Competition Part 1

When it proposed the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, Congress could have drafted the competition portion a bit better than it actually did. It seems that the process that Congress approved leaves it up to the states. I would have started the bidding process for all corridors next April and mandated that the states hand their HSR corridors over to their operator of choice by October 2013. This would also apply to Conventional routes that would be subject to speed upgrades. The move would make any transition from Amtrak to a new operator should a state or states decide to move in a different direction as smooth as possible.

As for long-distance routes, Amtrak would have been mandated to submit an evaluation of its top third, middle tier, and worst performing routes to Congress 18 months after the passage of PRIIA. Bidding for these routes would have taken place in October 2013 with the host railroads operating them a year later. Congress should give a subsidy and/or grant to the hosts running overnight routes in place of Amtrak. In return, the host would operate the route for five years. After the five-year period, the host railroad would have the option to either operate the route permanently if the entire route is on its rails or lease the route to another operator like Keolis for a decade. If the route is on multiple rails, then the Class Is would come together and select a new operator to run the entire route a part of a consortium.

Now, it seems that January's big winners scheduled to operate Emerging and Regional HSR as well as additional Conventional frequencies will select Amtrak as the operator. While, it seems to be a deterrent, other companies should follow SNCF's lead and begin developing their own alternatives--whether those include Express HSR, Regional HSR, or just a direct alternative to Amtrak that could possibly lead to an Express corridor.

I look at the Midwest, where the French rail operator has provided some interesting alternatives--all of them Express routes--since Amtrak will upgrade many of its existing Conventional lines to Regional status. First, a Chicago-Detroit route via Fort Wayne could compete with the Wolverine route. Second, its proposed Chicago-St. Louis route would be parallel to Amtrak's current Lincoln service. In the end, travelers between the two cities could end up choosing from three different rail companies since MWHSR has also proposed another Express route that would utilize Champaign and Decatur. The thing is that some companies could target specific travelers while others could cater to everyone.

Furthermore, there are openings in Wisconsin and Minnesota as there are some uncertainties over where the Madison-Twin Cities portion of MWHSR will stop. Hypothetically, a rival organization can fill in whatever gaps that aren't covered by either the U.S. or French carriers. Amtrak may be tapped to operate the Hiawatha extension in 2013, but there is an opening to provide a Madison-Chicago alternative by way of Rockford that companies like Deutsche Bahn, RENFE, Virgin Trains, and others could take advantage of. Also, one of these companies could negotiate with NEWRails to run trains between Milwaukee and Green Bay.