UTU News Digest - Thursday, March 11, 1999

UTU Daily News Digest

Information of interest to operating railroad and transportation employees

Thursday, March 11, 1999

Senator Warns Air Funding to Hurt Amtrak's Chances

WASHINGTON -- A plan for large increases in aviation spending pending in the U.S. House of Representatives would leave little money for the national passenger rail system, a senior Senate Republican warned Wednesday.

"Amtrak may be privatized a lot quicker than we all thought,'' said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala), who chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on transportation.

Congress has set Amtrak a target of becoming operationally self-sufficient by 2002 after costing taxpayers money every year since its creation in 1971, but the railroad says it will still need investment funding.

Amtrak is asking for $571 million in fiscal 2000, which starts on Oct. 1, 1999, as well as a flexible definition of capital allowing it to include maintenance costs.

Shelby, a frequent critic of Amtrak, said that if House Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster's (R-Pa.) aviation spending bill became law, there would be no room left under the budget limits for Amtrak.

"I hope everyone here who supports rail programs heard that warning,'' Shelby told a hearing on Amtrak's request.

Amtrak Reform Board Chairman and Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson assured Shelby's committee the railroad was on a path to achieve operational self-sufficiency.

Part of that strategy includes a high-speed rail service from Washington to New York and Boston, due to begin late this year.

Thompson tried to put Amtrak's $571 million funding request in perspective, noting $30 billion for highways and $11 billion for aviation, but he acknowledged the skepticism of many lawmakers. "I know we'll have to fight for every penny of it.''

A separate Amtrak Reform Council established by Congress in 1997 is monitoring the railroad's progress and is due to report later this year on whether Amtrak should be restructured.

Amtrak President George Warrington told the committee he was committed to make the passenger railway business more businesslike.

Warrington said higher speeds may make trains the preferred way to travel along the Northeast corridor, beating airlines on a downtown-to-downtown basis.

Meanwhile, Amtrak's new high-speed trains may bypass all New Jersey stops.

The national rail passenger service has not announced a schedule for the service set to begin in November, but according to reports, it seems likely that the 150-mile-per-hour trains will make a straight run from New York to Philadelphia.

U.S. Postal Service puts history museum on rails

TAMPA -- Plans call for a specially outfitted four-car Amtrak train bearing colorful images of U.S. postage stamps and housing multimedia exhibits to embark on an 18-month tour of the United States, stopping in more than 100 cities in over 40 states through fall 2000.

Sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service, the "Celebrate The Century Express" represents "an opportunity for many Americans to learn about, and take pride in, the growth and development of our great nation," said Postmaster General William Henderson.

The train includes an Amtrak P42 Genesis series diesel locomotive, a modern exhibit car featuring multimedia displays showcasing educational stories behind commemorative stamps, a restored Railway Post Office (RPO) car, an historic railroad business car and a baggage car. Exhibits include: "American History Through Stamps," "The RPO Car," "History In Your Own Backyard" and "Put Your Stamp on History."

The historically accurate RPO car was loaned by noted rail historian James Bistline, of Alexandria, Va. The car was fully operational and in service until the 1970s. It was restored by Northern Rail Car and will be donated to a museum after the end of the Express' nationwide tour.

The "Celebrate The Century Express" will stop at several Florida locations, including Hollywood, Lakeland, Ocala, Jacksonville and Lake City, before traveling to Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, into the Midwest, including Illinois and Missouri, and on to California.

The Express will then turn east and proceed through Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa and Chicago, followed by Indiana and Ohio, and finally south to Kentucky, North Carolina and West Virginia by fall 1999. At that time, the train will be serviced before continuing its tour to other parts of the country in 2000.

Between the Revolutionary period and the first World War, United States postal officials applied themselves to improving transportation of the mail. From those early days to the present, the U.S. Postal Service has helped develop and subsidize every new mode of transportation in the United States.

As the nation moves into the 21st century, the Postal Service incorporates the best of traditional services and new technologies in building on its mandate to bind the nation together by delivering on the promise of universal mail service to all Americans, from Alaska to the Florida Keys. Today in Tampa, families, schoolchildren and civic leaders shared in this legacy by participating in the official launch of the "Celebrate The Century Express."

"The mail and the rails have partnered to facilitate communication and transportation for more than 100 years," said Henderson, "and this history museum on rails will tell this engaging story in a fun and educational way."

Through the use of the "Celebrate The Century Express," the issuance of commemorative stamps and the development of one of the largest-ever independent, cross-curricular education projects, the "Celebrate The Century" program highlights some of the most memorable and significant people, places, events and trends of each decade of the 20th century. The "Celebrate The Century" Education Series was developed in cooperation with the U.S. Dept. of Education and 12 leading educational associations. Free education kits are distributed by request to schools across the country, involving some 300,000 classrooms of students. Teachers are encouraged to use the stamp-related educational tools to take students on a virtual field trip through the 20th century.

To learn more about "Celebrate The Century," visit its Internet Web site at http://www.usps.com/ctc, or to purchase stamps and stamp products, go to http://www.stampsonline.com.

Boys Caught Laying Debris On Track

CONWAY -- A Union Pacific Railroad hidden video camera has two boys on tape who allegedly left everything from nails to swing parts on train tracks near Conway, Ark.

Union Pacific officials called Conway police, who took the boys into custody and charged them with criminal trespassing and criminal mischief. The eleven- and 12-year-old boys will be sent before a juvenile judge who will decide their punishment.

A Union Pacific spokesman said the boys would have been killed if the train had derailed.

Metrolink installs cameras at railroad crossing

LOS ANGELES -- Some motorists who risk death by gunning their vehicles across railroad tracks before the train arrives will get a reward for making it across alive -- a $104 moving-violation ticket in the mail.

In an effort to reduce railroad track deaths, Metrolink has introduced, for the first time in Orange County, California, its photo enforcement system that automatically snaps pictures of motorists zipping under or around crossing gates.

The Santa Ana project, at Chestnut Ave. near Grand Ave., will move into the penalty phase on April 1, after a one-month warning phase.

"So far in this calendar year, four pedestrians or motorists have been killed on Metrolink tracks because they weren't supposed to be there," said Sarah L. Catz, Metrolink Board Member and OCTA representative. "We're trying to convince people that they run a serious risk of dying when they cross railroad tracks after the bells are activated and the crossing gates start to drop. We hope that a $104 ticket will help deliver that message."

The Metrolink demonstration project began with the installation of equipment at Chestnut Ave. in early February. Once installed, the equipment was used to collect data for three weeks (Feb. 12 - Mar. 5). Beginning March 1, warning notices were issued. After just 21 days, Metrolink officials were shocked by the numbers.

"We counted 145 violations at Chestnut St. The numbers blew us away," said David Solow, Metrolink's Executive Director. "Most were blatant violations, with drivers dodging the gates to get through the crossing just seconds before a train blasted through."

Signs are posted at the intersection that say, "photo enforcement in use." For the past month, registered owners of vehicles photographed violating the state's grade crossing law have been receiving mailed warnings. On April 1, those warnings become tickets.

Metrolink began a demonstration program at two Los Angeles County railroad crossings in June of 1998 -- one at Van Nuys Blvd. in Pacoima and the other at Goodwin Ave. in Glendale -- to test the effectiveness of photo enforcement in reducing the number of people who risk their lives zipping around crossing gates. Four months after the project began, violations were down 54 percent at Goodwin Ave. and 36 percent at Van Nuys Blvd.

The TRAXGUARD(TM) system in use at these crossing includes an enforcement unit -- containing a computer, high-speed camera, flash and digital loop signal processor -- mounted on a pole at the crossing. Detection loops and wiring are installed in the street pavement. The system is triggered when a vehicle is detected entering the railroad crossing after the flashing lights and ringing bells have activated and the crossing arms have begun to descend.

An Orange County Sheriff's Deputy reviews violation photos to ensure they show the vehicle's license plate and driver's face. A citation is issued when the photo shows the gate had dropped at least a quarter of the way when the vehicle crossed the tracks.

The $150,000 six-month demonstration project in Orange County will examine whether violation rates drop as a result of citations. The Metrolink Board of Directors will evaluate the photo enforcement project and its effectiveness at the project's conclusion this fall.

Ministers seek reform of Canadian grain handling

WINNIPEG -- Transport ministers from western Canada agree that the next stage in the review of Canada's grain handling and transportation system is to work with the industry to implement reforms, according to Manitoba's Minister of Highways and Transportation, Darren Praznik.

The four transport ministers from western Canada met with federal transport minister David Collenette Tuesday (March 9) in Ottawa, to discuss retired Supreme Court Justice Willard Estey's report on the future of the grain handling and transportation system in Canada.

The Estey report was based on submissions from the western provinces and other stakeholders. His report includes recommendations that call for measures that would withdraw the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) from its prominent role in the transportation system, remove a long-standing system that caps grain freight rates, and allow the railways to quickly advance their process of rationalization and branch line abandonment.

Praznik said there was acceptance of Estey's report in principal among the ministers, and that the next step is to determine with representatives of the grain industry, including producers, what reforms need to be implemented. The three Canadian prairie ministers in particular wanted to ensure not only a more efficient grain handling and transportation system, but also "ensure a substantial part of the benefits of efficiency be returned to the farmers," he stressed.

"We did not want to see the transportation system made more efficient to only benefit the railroads and the grain companies," Praznik said.

No date for another meeting with all the stakeholders was set, he added. The ministers involved will keep in touch by telephone unless another meeting is warranted, Praznik said.

Some of the details of issues the western provinces want to raise were included in a joint news release sent to Collenette in early Feb. The provinces suggested Estey's report does not go far enough to recognize the advantages of marketing on a delivered to customer basis. The provinces "strongly support" the recommendation for "broad and comprehensive studies" directed at optimizing the Port of Prince Rupert's role as a Pacific Coast export facility.

They added that Estey's proposal to cap total railway grain freight revenues require further analysis and consultations "with all stakeholders, particularly producers."

On the proposals to the CWB, Estey outlines a new role for the elevator companies and the CWB. In an auction conducted by the CWB, the elevator companies would bid for the right to deliver grain to meet CWB contract commitments. At the appropriate time, the successful bidders (i.e., grain companies) would give notice to the CWB to call in the grain. As a general policy, the provinces said the CWB should adopt a tendering process and use tendering or commercial contracts.

On car allocation, the provinces said the federal government needs to ensure the industry has a process in place to deal with unexpected car shortages.