UTU Daily News Digest
Information of interest to operating railroad and transportation employees
Thursday, March 30, 2000
TEXAS: Burlington Northern Santa Fe seeks to overturn moratorium on mergers
Ft. Worth, Texas (AP) -- Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. went to court Wednesday, March 29, 2000, seeking to overturn a federal agency's moratorium on railroad mergers.
The Fort Worth-based railroad wants to block a March 17 decision by the Surface Transportation Board to freeze all railroad mergers for 15 months. Burlington Northern announced in December it plans to combine with Canadian National Railway Co. and form the largest railroad in North America.
Burlington Northern filed a motion in U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, asking for a stay against the transportation board's action. The company said it would suffer irreparable damage if the moratorium takes effect and that potential harm to other parties wouldn't be substantial.
The railroad also asked the court to speed up the process of hearing its protest. Canadian National also is appealing the moratorium ruling in the same court.
Burlington Northern chief executive Robert Krebs said last week "this merger is finished" if the companies must wait 15 months.
The transportation board called for the moratorium after a four-day hearing earlier this year. Shippers at the hearing expressed outrage over service delays and disruptions since the 1996 Union Pacific-Southern Pacific merger and last year's takeover of Conrail by CSX and Norfolk Southern.
In trading Wednesday, Burlington Northern shares rose 6 1/4 cents to $21.31 1/4 on the New York Stock Exchange.
GEORGIA: Bus-train collision claims third victim
Tennga, Ga. -- A deadly train crash that ripped a school bus off its wheels claimed a third victim Wednesday (29 March 2000), according to Associated Press writer Chad Roedemeier.
Amber Pritchett, 9, one of seven students on board the bus when it was struck at an unprotected rural crossing early Tuesday, died Wednesday night a spokeswoman for T. C. Thompson Children's Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., said.
Kayla Silvers, 6, and Daniel Pack, 9, were killed when the CSX freight train smashed into their Murray County school bus at about 50 mph, ripped the bus from its chassis and dragged it 100 feet down the track.
Four other children and the driver were seriously injured. Two children remained in critical condition Wednesday.
Gov. Roy Barnes joined hundreds of people on the lawn at the Murray County courthouse Wednesday night in Chatsworth for a candlelight vigil.
"All I can say is to cherish them. You never know how much you'll miss them till they're gone," said David Silvers, Kayla's father.
Barnes said he planned to review Georgia laws governing stoplights and gates at railroad crossings.
School officials rerouted the buses Wednesday to avoid driving over the railroad crossing where the crash happened. At the site, eight yellow ribbons were tied to the railroad crossing signs.
The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board urged schools around the nation to investigate whether their buses use railroad crossings that lack lights or signals.
"I am very concerned and personally do not believe that any grade crossing in the United States should be crossed with a school bus of our children when that crossing does not have lights or signals," NTSB chairman Jim Hall said.
GEORGIA: Feds investigate bus-train crash
Tennga, Ga. -- The flag in front of Northwest Elementary School flew at half-staff today in memory of the two students killed when a train smashed into their bus, according to the Associated Press's Duncan Mansfield.
"Today could be a tougher day ... because the kids know about it," said Dean Donehoo, a teacher and school board attorney in north Georgia's Murray County.
Six-year-old Kayla Silvers and Daniel Pack, 9, died instantly Tuesday when a CSX freight train broadsided their school bus at 50 mph near the Georgia-Tennessee line.
The driver and five other children were injured. Three children remained in critical condition today, including the driver's 5-year-old daughter.
"I don't know how to feel. It's just so sad," said Becky Dilbeck as she dropped off her child at the school today.
At the crash site this morning, eight yellow ribbons -- one for each victim -- were tied to two railroad crossing signs.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Railroad Administration and CSX were at the scene to investigate the crash.
An engineer apparently was blowing the train's horn, but federal investigators don't know if bus driver Rhonda Cloer heard it before the train slammed into the bus. Cloer was in fair condition.
By many accounts, Cloer is a competent and conscientious school bus driver.
"Every time that lady has come through there, that bus has stopped at that road," resident Edward Watson said. "If you have children on the bus, even if the train had blowed its horn, she may not have even heard it."
A "black box" aboard the 33-car train and a student-monitoring video camera on the bus may provide clues to the early morning accident, said Kenneth Suydam, lead investigator for the NTSB.
"We have initial, preliminary information from the event recorder on the engine which indicates that the horn was sounding and the bells were continuously sounding as the train approached the crossing," Suydam said.
Traveling under the allowed speed of 60 mph through this 600-member community on the Tennessee-Georgia line, the train hit the bus broadside, spun it around and ripped the body off the chassis.
"It is unknown at this time in the investigation if this school bus came to a stop," Suydam said.
In Tennessee and Georgia, school buses are required to stop at all rail crossings. The bus had gone into Tennessee to turn around and was about to go back into Georgia.
Kate Pannell, personnel director for Murray County schools, said she knew of no previous accidents on Cloer's record.
Cloer, 34, who has worked as a county school bus driver for three years, had picked up seven students early in her route to the school near Chatsworth.
Dana Keeton, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol said it was "way too early" to decide about criminal charges in the accident.
The fatalities were the first aboard a Georgia public school bus in 15 years.
The crossing, which is maintained by Tennessee, appears to meet all legal requirements, said Luanne Grandinetti, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. She said some sort of warning system would be installed.
PENNSYLVANIA: Transit tabloid on SEPTA spurs controversy
Philadelphia, Pa. -- Metro, the city's newest daily newspaper, continues to speed down the tracks despite a protracted legal battle that threatens to stop the publication aimed at commuters, according to Michael Rubinkam of the Associated Press.
More than two months after its controversial debut, the European import that's distributed free at bus, train and subway stops has snagged some national advertisers and attracted readers who had previously shunned newspapers.
"We have come across to our readers as independent and objective and fair, and that's exactly what we're looking to do," said Jack Roberts, Metro's managing director. "We're here to stay."
Not if its uptown rivals have anything to say about it.
Metro's contract with the region's public transit agency, SEPTA, is the subject of a federal lawsuit by the owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, USA Today and The New York Times.
In exchange for distribution rights, SEPTA gets $30,000 a month in ad revenue and one page in each paper to communicate with its ridership.
The plaintiffs argue the deal is unconstitutional because it allows the tabloid to be distributed free on buses and subway platforms where other publications cannot be sold.
They also object to SEPTA's Metro page, saying the transit agency should not be in the newspaper business.
"The problem in this case is that SEPTA is the government. The government shouldn't be able to auction off or sponsor a single newspaper to the exclusion of all others," said Michael A. Schwartz, an attorney for Philadelphia Newspapers Inc., owner of the Inquirer and Daily News.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month rejected the plaintiffs' request for an injunction to block distribution of Metro. It has not yet heard arguments on the merits of the case.
University of Virginia law professor Robert O'Neil, a First Amendment expert, said the plaintiffs raise some valid issues.
The Metro-SEPTA pact "certainly raises the possibility that you could get a pro-SEPTA viewpoint distributed through Metro and there would be no vehicle for opposing viewpoints," O'Neil said. "I think all of those arguments are substantial and troubling."
SEPTA was battered by a 1998 transit strike and last year's $51 million jury award to a boy whose foot was torn off in an aging SEPTA escalator.
SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said the agency uses the page to communicate news about its services -- no more, no less.
"If we were to use that page to proselytize, we know full well our readers would pick up on it in a second and the regional media would pick up on it and we would get negative reaction," Maloney said.
The publication is Metro International's first attempt to import the successful European concept to the United States. Launched six years ago in Stockholm, Sweden, the company now publishes free daily transit system newspapers in 13 European cities, including Budapest, Hungary; Prague, Czech Republic; and Helsinki, Finland. The papers rely on advertising to make money.
At a West Philadelphia train station this week, commuters said the paper is easy to read and gives them a quick summary of the news on their way to work.
"It's short and sweet and that's why I read it," said gene researcher Amanda Darrah, 22, clutching a copy.
WASHINGTON: Federal Railroad Administration schedules hearings on locomotive whistles
Washington, D.C.-- On January 13, 2000, FRA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the use of locomotive horns at highway-rail grade crossings (Docket No. FRA-1999-6439). On the same date FRA released a Draft Environmental Assessment (DEIS)(Docket No. FRA-1999-6440) pertaining to the proposals contained in the NPRM. In both documents, FRA stated that public hearings would be held in a number of locations throughout the country.
On February 15, 2000 (65 FR 7483), and March 22, 2000 (65 FR 15298) FRA published in the Federal Register documents regarding the locations of combined hearings on the NPRM and DEIS to be held in various cities.
FRA stated that a further document will be published and posted on FRA's web site (http://fra.dot.gov) regarding specific times and locations of hearings to be held in the remaining locations listed in the NPRM: Berea, Ohio; South Bend, Indiana; and Chicago, Illinois. This document provides information pertaining to those hearing sites as well as repeating the information contained in the earlier hearing documents.
DATES: Public Hearings:
1. Washington, D.C. on March 6, 2000, beginning at 9 a.m.
2. Los Angeles, California, area on March 15, 2000, beginning at 9 a.m.
3. Pendleton, Oregon, on March 17, 2000, beginning at 9 a.m.
4. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on March 28, 2000, beginning at 9 a.m.
5. Salem, Massachusetts on April 3, 2000, beginning at 9 a.m.
6. South Bend, Indiana on April 10, 2000, beginning at 9 a.m.
7. Chicago, Illinois area on April 25, 2000, beginning at 12 noon; April 26, 2000, beginning at 9 a.m.; April 27, 2000; beginning at 9 a.m.
8. Berea, Ohio on May 1, 2000, beginning at 6 p.m.
MASSACHUSETTS: Providence and Worcester Railroad Company announces financial results
Worcester, Mass.-- Providence and Worcester Railroad Company (AMEX:PWX) today announced its results of operations for the year ended December 31,1999. Net income for the year decreased by 20.0% to $3.0 million in 1999 from $3.8 million in 1998. Diluted income per share decreased to $.70 in 1999 from $1.10 in 1998.
Operating revenues for the year were $21.9 million compared to $22.8 million in 1998, a decrease of $867,000, or 3.8%. The Company's operating revenues were adversely affected by delays and other service problems resulting from the split-up of the rail lines and operations of Consolidated Rail Corporation between CSX Transportation, Inc. ("CSXT") and Norfolk Southern Railroad which took place on June 1, 1999. Most of this lost revenue represents freight shipments temporarily diverted to truck. Improvements in service have been experienced during the third and fourth quarters of the year and the Company expects that substantially all of the temporary truck traffic will eventually return to rail. In addition, the Company experienced losses in freight traffic from two of its customers who substantially phased out their rail freight served operations during the year. These losses in freight traffic were partially offset by increased freight traffic from several new customers and from certain existing customers.
The Company's net revenues from container traffic increased by 11.8%, primarily from an increase in the volume of containers handled from 53, 823 in 1998 to 59,921 in 1999. This increase is attributable to a rise in imported consumer products, successful marketing efforts and the growth of the rail shuttle operated by CSXT and the Company between the Port of New York/New Jersey and the Company's intermodal facilities in Worcester. Anticipating continued growth in container volumes, the Company and its operating partner, Intransit Container, Inc., are aggressively pursuing opportunities to expand the existing intermodal facilities through lease or acquisition of adjacent property.
Operating expenses for 1999 were $21.1 million, an increase of $1.1 million, or 5.5% from the $20.0 million in operating expenses incurred in 1998. The increase in operating expenses is attributable to a number of factors, including higher labor costs, maintenance expenses and diesel fuel costs, and higher levels of depreciation and amortization. As a result of the decrease in operating revenues and increase in operating expenses, income from operations fell to $742,000 in 1999 from $2.7 million in 1998. Other income in 1999, principally generated from real estate asset management, decreased slightly to $4.0 million from $4.2 million in 1998.
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