Tackling the Headlines 34

Well, it seemed important at the time...
Two stories that I won't be giving any more time to are based in California and Wisconsin.

Take: In the case of the former, it's good news-bad news. Good news in that the repeal CAHSR initiative won't be on this fall's ballot. Bad news in that enough signatures were collected for the repeal to be on the 2014 ballot! This means that the advocates for European-style high speed rail have to really step up their game so they aren't in for a rude awakening. 

When it comes to the Badger State, all I can say is: KICK WALKER OUT IN 2014! Given all of the drama surrounding the Talgo cars and the mentality from the governor and his allies that using leftover 22-year-old Horizon cars is a sound strategy, Wisconsin is bound to have second rate rail service as neighboring states upgrade their equipment and add new routes.

Santa Cruz branch line to get a new owner
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Iowa Pacific was tapped to operate the Santa Cruz Branch Line earlier this month. This comes off the shortline holding company beating out four other companies and the line's previous owner being locked in a bitter battle with Union Pacific.

Take: While this will be the reverse of the Saratoga & North Creek (freight first, passenger second out west while IP rolled out the passenger service in New York first). Provided that everything goes well, the Bay Area could be well served by a multi-rail system that carries people (Amtrak, Caltrain, CAHSR, and Iowa Pacific all serving San Jose) by 2022. 

Also, a government organization is the one responsible for tapping the emerging shortline powerhouse. As a result, Ed Ellis and company will be the ones on the hook for any profit or loss. That's vital since Caltrain and others like it were in recent years struggling to keep service at current levels.

Tackling the Headlines 33

VA: Virginia Beach Firefighters Union Opposes Light Rail
Take: This is a really petulant move.


STB OKs reopening Adirondack rail route
Take: Congratulations to Saratoga & North Creek for establishing an additional foothold in upstate New York.


Texas State Railroad sold to Iowa Pacific
Take: Iowa Pacific could become a shortline powerhouse by the end of the decade.


Eurostar eyes 10 new destinations across Europe
Take: THAT is how the EU mandates for competition should look like--international travelers having an option between Eurostar and DB by 2017.


NC Railroad reaches agreement with CATS in Charlotte
Take: Hopefully, this will lead to bigger and better things for the NCRR--like operating commuter or intercity service one day.


Shining Waters Railway
Take: This may not have anything to do with the Canadian government's efforts to sell off parts of Via Rail to private parties, but someone north of the border is seriously thinking about providing passenger service to a part of Canada that lost service in the wake of the Mulroney Cuts 22 years ago. I just wish someone could restore the Atlantic in the eastern part of the country.


Amtrak outlook: Running between Chicago and Dubuque by 2015
Take: While other states waste time with flimsy research and returning rail money to President Obama, Illinois is producing a rail system. Other states may wind up with the state's leftovers of Amfleet and Horizon Cars once the new equipment makes its way to the Land of Lincoln.

Tackling the Headlines 32

Iowa releases study on Quad Cities-Omaha route
The state decided to blend two existing routes--the ex-Rock Island route with the route that the Southwest Chief, California Zephyr and the Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg routes currently use. 


Take: Other than the Hawkeye State's blinking on providing train service right away the way their eastern neighbor plans to, the thing that irks me the most about the plan is a lack of creativity by both Des Moines and Springfield. The latter must have told the former that Amtrak would automatically be tapped to run the entire Chicago-Quad Cities-Omaha route. 


The thing about that is that if someone had shown enough creativity, the state governments could have selected another operator to run the brand new service. They should have used the ARRA provisions to produce the new Iowa service. As for Iowa's issues with the former Rock Island route not serving Union Station, it should have worked out something with its eastern neighbor to provide a guaranteed transfer between LaSalle Street Station and Union Station rather than having Illinois resort to building a new track just to move the train from one route to the other.


Moynihan Station poised to become a grand gateway
Take: Wake me up when there is real progress on this project.


U.S. pressures legislators on bullet train funds
Take: This is more of a threat than some movement to put this back on the ballot as part of an effort to repeal CAHSR.

ADOT studies 6 rail routes for Tucson-to-Phoenix line

Take: It is a bit of a start. I just hope the state gets around to implementing the service soon.


Comparing and contrasting

First up, the Class II and III railroads' mouthpiece:

At the ASLRRA dinner gathering itself, I shared some time with Vermont Rail System's Ed Fitzgerald and Brent Brewer, and while we recapped numerous freight-related topics, the talk turned once more to passenger rail on short lines and regionals, which in Ed and Brent's view was one more business facet, since Vermont Railway hosts Amtrak's Ethan Allen, linking Rutland, Vt., and New York via Albany, N.Y. The business angle? Hopes and plans to extend the Ethan Allen to Burlington, Vermont Rail System's headquarters city.
I don't claim such interest or discussion began only this year. Last year, Reading & Northern President Wayne Michel made it clear "passenger rail" were not dirty words to him or his staff when it came to future business prospects; indeed, the Railway Age 2011 Regional Railroad of the Year operates its own passenger excursions as a marketing tool, and as a goodwill gesture, to its clientele and surrounding communities. It was more than willing to host a regional ("commuter") or intercity rail service, if the opportunity arose and the fiscal numbers fit.
And maybe that's the key. Passenger rail is, at long last, once again a business option, a business proposition, for the rail industry—as my colleague Editor-in-Chief Bill Vantuono likes to say, we are one industry

Next, the face of the Class I railroads:

He also repeated the official stance of the railroads that the accepted operator of intercity passenger trains is Amtrak. He neither explained nor elaborated on this.
Many will take solace in the notion that the AAR has given its seeming endorsement to Amtrak as the sole operator of non-commuter trains in the country. As the conference wore on, however, it was clear that not all shared this opinion. 

Take: There has been a lot of talk about private operation and the Class Is' willingness--or lack thereof--to reenter the game. The regional and shortline railroads get it while the bulk of the major railroads are still stuck on the status quo like the Luddites they are slowly revealing themselves to be. We are supposed to see competitive bidding, but all we get is the AAR stalling to keep things the way they are without even recognizing the business aspects of even running one or two routes in regards to Section 214 of PRIIA. 


If the Forbes article from March has any merit to it, the Big Seven have to realize that they'll be on the hook for all of Amtrak's routes should they play a role in Amtrak's demise and then turn around and keep Virgin and AIPRO members off U.S. tracks.

Random thoughts #5

1. Some of the ideas Noel Braymer raised in this article were similar to the California Networked Transit concept. The most important thing is CLOSING THE BAKERSFIELD-L.A. GAP! Anything that fails to accomplish this end will undermine a true California rail network.
2. If Portland & Western ever operates passenger service on the Oregon Electric Line, then it would have to find a new station because the old OE Station is currently a restaurant. My suggestion is for the railroad, the state, and the University of Oregon to extend the route to UO's North Campus.
3. In states with multiple Class II and Class III railroads--I'm specifically looking at you, Maine--it may be beneficial for these DOTs to partner with them to produce intercity service. Such an arrangement would resemble METRA's commuter deal with the Class I railroads.

Transportation bills and competition

Recent news has centered around a couple of transportation bills--HR7 and MAP-21. The best description is that sausage-making has never been uglier.


The House was up first
For much of the last quarter, there was a lot of outcry over what the House bill planned to do with transportation. In other words, a completely anti-transit bill that would have made a mockery of any mode of transit not related to highway spending. The bill proved to be so unpopular that a handful of House Republicans rebelled against Speaker Boehner.


Then, the Senate 
The upper chamber countered with a bill that would have been much more favorable to transit and would have implemented a new transportation bill since the last one expired 2 1/2 years ago. The end result is that the Senate was countered by the House passing yet another extension.


What wasn't being reported
The two bills presented a paradox that no one seemed to notice: A horrible bill with language that encouraged competition versus a great bill that would have been detrimental to intercity rail as a whole (Source #1)


HR7 would have reduced regulatory burdens and streamlined the delivery process for rail projects while MAP-21 would have disproportionately tilted the field in favor of Amtrak that to the point of restoring a statutory monopoly in both the intercity and commuter rail industries (Sources #2, #3 & #4). That action showed me that some True Believers are upset over Amtrak's recent losses of commuter rail contracts and used the Senate to get back at agencies that may one day replace Amtrak as the operator of state corridors. This whole thing was a matter of the cure being no better than the disease.


What needs to be done
For starters, cut out the anti-competitive language and amend the liability burdens so that it doesn't cost an arm and a leg for a newcomer to launch operations. Second, get the FRA on the case and tell them to impose common sense equipment requirements instead of forcing everyone to produce bulky cars. Finally, pass a real transportation bill that resembles MAP-21 instead of passing these rinky-dink extensions.

FEC plans its return to passenger service

A day and a half ago, FEC announced that it was getting back into the people carrying business.


Sources: 
1
2
3


I'm no longer speechless, but I'm still pleasantly surprised that the Class II railroad has done this. Previously, I suggested that FEC would eventually tire of Amtrak and the Florida DOT dragging their feet--the former still demanding no-fault liability and the state continuing to slack off--and implement passenger service themselves.


Who knows what will become of the proposed Amtrak FEC service? Perhaps, the people in D.C. will be more motivated to implement that route since FEC is planning to serve Orlando before Jacksonville since the Class II will take a westward detour. How about the state? Maybe, this private venture will force Tallahassee officials to seriously consider corridor service.

Connecticut update

New England Central is interested in operating service (check out pages 2 & 3) between New London, CT and Brattleboro, VT on the Central Corridor. I talked about this a bit last spring, but what I didn't discuss is that the leaders who wanted New London's mayor to be quiet were more interested in securing money for the Knowledge Corridor between Springfield, MA and Brattleboro to reroute the Vermonter. 


Amherst
As MA and VT get ready to reroute the Vermonter, residents in the college town are up in arms over the pending loss of Amtrak service. The NECR move makes sense because residents and students from five colleges and universities would see passenger service continued, albeit with a different operator. 


NECR's possible path
The Class II railroad will be free to add frequencies and staff stations like Amherst and Brattleboro because it wouldn't be subject to the same limitations as Amtrak. Also, NECR is very likely to use refurbished Budd Cars so there'd be no issues with equipment.


NECR's motives
Some have raised the possibility that NECR could be using passenger service as a way to improve its infrastructure between New London and Amherst. In my humble opinion, the move justifies my point that railroads are businesses first, and if it's a business decision that leads to the Central Corridor having restored rail service, so be it (old time riders of the now-defunct Montrealer often complained about bumpy tracks by NECR's predecessor when the train used that routing). 


An important segment of riders won't be left behind once Amtrak's stimulus improvements are in place. It is also worth pointing out that the University of Connecticut and the Mohegan Sun Casino are also along the route, so having passenger service restored is no small deal.


Transitions
Knowledge Corridor improvements are expected to be done by late 2013. Theoretically, Amtrak would shift the Vermonter to serve Northampton and Greenfield in MA in the spring of the following year unless the operator says otherwise. Perhaps, a six-month overlap could take place--both Amtrak and NECR run trains between Amherst and Brattleboro, then the regional railroad takes over once Amtrak shifts westward.


Sharing stations
Of all the stops that would host both Amtrak and NECR trains, only New London is currently staffed by Amtrak. No problem, the Class II railroad would staff the facilities with its own employees or contract such duties to volunteers who would be able to sell tickets and check baggage. Palmer, MA is a place where the NECR and CSX lines--the Lake Shore Limited--intersect. The city's Union Station is currently a restaurant but the tracks of both railroads are right at the station. So, the end result is that MADOT building a platform on the south side for NECR and a platform on the north side for Amtrak.