Steve
Vogel, President |
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Founded
1979 |
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A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE? Just in time for the new year, an ambitious
new plan for Atlanta-area transit. For nearly two years, a 19-member panel of
government and transit officials, the Transit Planning Board, has been working
on a "wish list" for transit improvements. Now TPB has released its
proposal. The complete list is extensive, featuring both rail and bus
components, and you can find it on TPB's web site, www.tpb.ga.gov. The stylized map below
depicts the rail portion of the plan, composed of heavy-rail, light-rail and
commuter rail initiatives. MORE AND LESS. It's interesting to note that the TPB plan is both more and less ambitious than previous Atlanta-area transit proposals. While TPB foresees Atlanta's Peachtree streetcar running all the way north to the Buckhead district, a City of Atlanta panel recently recommended that the line only go as far north as Midtown. Also, TPB proposes light rail on some routes previously designated for "bus rapid transit" express buses. On the other hand, TPB's commuter rail proposal is more modest than the seven-line plan championed by the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority. TPB says nothing about extending the proposed Atlanta-Griffin line south to Macon, and it appears to be silent about whether the line through Douglasville would go as far west as Bremen. The TPB plan does not include any portion of two other proposed commuter rail lines, to Madison and Canton. That's surprising, in view of a new study by compiled by RL Banks and Associates and released last month by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. That study concludes, "Commuter rail is feasible on all seven corridors," including the lines to Madison and Canton. It also says all seven lines "could enjoy the same level of success" as similar operations in Miami, Northern Virginia, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Los Angeles. The complete study can be found on GARP's website www.garprail.org on the Press Room page. NOW FOR THE HARD PART. Unfortunately, coming up with a wish list of transit improvements was the easy part. TPB's original assignment also included proposing ways to fund those improvements. That hasn't happened yet, and until it does, these latest plans -- like so many previous ones -- will amount to little more than pipe dreams. When the Georgia General Assembly convenes later this month, it likely will encounter a number of proposals aimed at increasing transportation funding, and the highway lobby will be fighting hard to funnel that money into road projects. It will be up to transit supporters to make sure that any new transportation funding legislation includes provisions for mass transit. Now is the time to contact your state senator and state representative to express support for transit funding, both for construction and for ongoing operations. For information on who your legislators are and how you can contact them, visit the General Assembly's web site at www.legis.state.ga.us. THE 'TRAK AHEAD. After a long tug-of-war between President Bush and Congressional Democrats, the President signed legislation that provides $1.325 billion in federal funding to Amtrak this year. That's $31 million more than Amtrak received last year, but $255 million less than Amtrak requested. And while $1.325 billion should allow Amtrak to continue operations at current levels, it is not nearly the commitment needed to deal with America's burgeoning transportation needs. 97% of the readers who responded to a recent question in Parade Magazine said America should increase its investment in passenger trains. In a report going to Congress this month, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Review Study Committee declares that America needs to be spending $8.1 billion a year on intercity passenger rail. THE 'TRAK GONE BY. Amtrak is making progress in its efforts to improve the financial performance of its long-distance trains, a frequent target of critics. Preliminary figures for fiscal 2007 show that Amtrak's 16 long-distance trains required an "avoidable cost" federal subsidy of $159.4 million last year, down nearly 18% from $194.2 million in 2006. Three of the four long-distance trains serving Georgia show improvements. The New York-Atlanta-New Orleans Crescent required a subsidy of 25.1 cents per passenger mile, down from 26.9 cents per mile in 2006. On the New York-Savannah-Miami route, the Silver Star subsidy was 21.2 cents per passenger mile, down half a penny from 2006, and the Silver Meteor subsidy was 18.3 cents, down from 19.4 cents. The New York-Savannah Palmetto was the only Georgia operation to buck the trend, going from a 17.2 cent-per-passenger-mile subsidy in 2006 to 17.6 cents in 2007. The 2007 figures show the clear impact of increased sleeping car fares. The Crescent and the Silver Meteor both took in more sleeping car revenue, even though they carried fewer sleeping car passengers than in 2006. CHEW ON THIS. After cutting back dining car offerings on many of its trains to save money last year, Amtrak is reversing course. It's introducing new menus on most of its long-distance trains, including the Crescent, the Silver Star and the Silver Meteor, which all serve Georgia. Amtrak says it hopes to increase onboard sales by offering higher quality and greater selection. Premium ice cream, cooked-to-order steaks and wine by the glass are making a comeback, along with other items. Amtrak dining car patrons will be able to purchase pre-dinner appetizers for the very first time. THE TRACK TO TAMPA. Trains Magazine Editor Jim Wrinn and CSX Railroad Asst. Vice President Jay Westbrook are among the speakers scheduled for this year's National Association of Railroad Passengers regional conference at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel in Tampa, on Saturday, March 1. Meeting registration is $80 per person. You can send a check to the Florida Coalition of Railroad Passengers at PO Box 5712, Deltona, FL 32728, or you can pay on line via the FCRP web site, www.fcrprail.org. There's a special $99-a-night rate to stay at the hotel. To get it, call 813-223-1351 before Jan. 28, and ask for the NARP meeting rate. Let's get a big GARP turnout! THE INTERNATIONAL. China has jumped into the "bullet train" manufacturing business; an eight-car train capable of going faster than 180 mph has emerged from a Chinese factory; it's scheduled to go into service on the Beijing-Tianjin route in time for this year's Summer Olympics... The Central Japan Railway plans to open a maglev high-speed line between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2025... Now that regularly-scheduled freight train service has resumed between North and South Korea, officials are planning to begin passenger service sometime this year... Seoul, South Korea is experimenting with "women-only" subway cars to protect female riders from sexual harassment... 58 people were killed when a crowded express train derailed in Pakistan... An eight-hour general transport strike idled hundreds of Italian passenger trains... After a 14-year hiatus, Canada's GO Transit has reinstated commuter rail service between Toronto and Barrie, Ontario. NATIONAL LIMITED. Legislation signed by President Bush last month includes $30 million in capital funding for individual states that fund intercity passenger trains... A RAND Corporation study of terror attacks on passenger trains and subway systems concludes that few of them result in deaths, and suggests concentrating on measures targeting only the largest-scale attacks... Former Amtrak President George Warrington is dead at 55, after an eight-month battle with pancreatic cancer... President Bush has appointed a five-member emergency board to recommend a solution to the contract impasse between Amtrak and nine of its unions; if either side rejects the recommendations, Amtrak could face the first strike in its 36-year history... Amtrak has filed objections to the Canadian National Railroad's bid to abandon a 20-mile line just south of downtown Chicago; that line is used by the Chicago-New Orleans City of New Orleans and two Amtrak trains between Chicago and downstate Illinois... The Surface Transportation Board has rejected the Norfolk Southern Railroad's bid to sell part of the line Amtrak uses between Chicago and Detroit to a short line; there were concerns the sale would have an adverse impact on Amtrak's Wolverine Corridor.... There were about 60 injuries, most of them minor, when Amtrak's Pere Marquette from Grand Rapids, MI slammed into the back of a Norfolk Southern freight train on Chicago's South Side... Vermont has dropped plans to buy new equipment for Amtrak's New York-St. Albans Vermonter; the manufacturer wouldn't agree to a satisfaction-or-your-money-back guarantee... Amtrak and New York State have settled a lawsuit over Amtrak's mothballing of 1970's-era "Turboliner" trains rebuilt at state expense; as part of the agreement, Amtrak and New York each will invest $10 million in infrastructure improvements along the Amtrak route between New York City and the state capital at Albany... Leavenworth, WA is building a train station; Amtrak has agreed to stop the Chicago-Seattle Empire Builder there once it's completed... Amtrak's Oklahoma City, OK station is being remodeled to house retail shops... Osceola, IA has taken over ownership of Amtrak's Osceola depot, and plans to spend more than half a million dollars on renovations... County officials in Lancaster, PA will spend $5 million to renovate the Lancaster Amtrak station... Traveler's Aid has returned to Philadelphia's 30th Street Station after a 15-year absence... Seattle has opened its new 1.3-mile South Lake Union Streetcar line; it was supposed to be called the South Lake Union Trolley line; the name was changed because of an unfortunate acronym.... The Phoenix area, which is slated to get streetcar service along a "starter line" in December, has already launched studies on extending it... The Utah Transit Authority says construction of its new Front Runner commuter rail line is on schedule, and service should begin in April... Westmoreland County, PA will spend $500 thousand to study possible commuter rail service to Pittsburgh... MARC will beef up evening service on its Baltimore-Washington commuter rail line starting in February, adding three additional departures... New Jersey Transit has added a stop at Mount Arlington, along its Montclair-Boonton and Morriston lines... NJT has agreed to pay $244 million for additional electric locomotives... Boston's MBTA will buy 94 new subway cars to replace 70 aging cars... To cope with growing ridership, DC's Metrorail is rolling out renovated subway cars that offer more standing room... New Year's fare increases: New York's MTA will keep its base subway fare at $2 a ride, but it's increasing prices for multi-ride passes; Rush-hour fares on Washington's Metrorail subway will rise between 30 and 60 cents, depending on the distance traveled; Pittsburgh light-rail fares will rise 25 cents, to $2 a ride, and Chicago-area commuter rail fares will rise 10%... As a holiday treat, New York's subway system brought a 1930's-era subway train out of retirement for one day. DIXIE FLYER. In Virginia, ground has been broken for Norfolk's $232 million "Tide" light-rail line; the nearby City of Virginia Beach is trying to acquire a soon-to-be-abandoned Norfolk Southern freight line for a possible Tide extension.... Another portion of New Orleans' hurricane-devastated St. Charles streetcar line is back in service; after being extended through the Garden District in November, service was extended along the rest of St. Charles Avenue last month; service will be restored to the rest of the line, along South Carrollton Avenue, this spring.... Birmingham, AL is considering possible downtown streetcar service as early as 2010... Paving the way for Orlando-area commuter rail service in 2010, CSX has announced plans to divert 7 or 8 daily freights to an alternate line running through Ocala... Tampa plans to add more retail tenants to its city-owned Amtrak station... An Amtrak spokesman told the Pensacola, FL News-Journal that any resumption of service to Pensacola along the long-suspended Orlando-New Orleans Sunset route "will depend on our best use of our trains and equipment." THE GEORGIAN. At a transportation forum sponsored by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, a corporate site-selection specialist warned that his clients are beginning to shy away from the Atlanta area because of its national reputation for traffic congestion... In an Atlanta Journal-Constitution @issue essay, Citizens for Progressive Transit President Lee Biola warned that Charlotte, with its popular new light-rail line, is challenging Atlanta for leadership of the Southeast... A newly-released poll suggests that after years of opposition, Gwinnett County residents now favor rail transit service for their county, but only about one-third would be willing to pay new taxes to fund it... In DeKalb County, Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd says the State of Georgia should take over MARTA, and fund it through sales taxes... A new Central Atlanta Progress proposal for downtown redevelopment includes the construction of a new multimodal passenger terminal to serve commuter trains, replacing the above-ground portion of MARTA's Five Points Station with a plaza, and constructing a new MARTA headquarters building nearby... The MARTA Board of Directors has elected Ed Walls, a former MARTA Chairman, to serve another term in that post... 11 people were hurt when an escalator at MARTA's Five Points Station stopped suddenly, just before the Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome... MARTA has a new "My Commute" trip planner on its web site, www.itsmarta.com; Citizens for Progressive Transit recently launched a similar service at www.trip.atltransit.com... The City of Atlanta is holding public hearings this month on the proposed Peachtree/Downtown streetcar line; hearings will be held from 6 to 8 PM Jan. 16 at the AT&T Midtown 2 Building at 725 W. Peachtree St., and from 6 to 8 PM Jan. 22 at the First Presbyterian Church, 1328 Peachtree St... Former US Congressman Mac Collins told the Clayton News-Daily that Georgia should work with Amtrak to set up Atlanta-area commuter rail service (Amtrak operates regionally-funded commuter trains in several US cities). THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP. It was a busy December for GARP President Steve Vogel, who was interviewed in the Clayton News-Daily and on WDUN Radio in Gainesville and WGAU Radio in Athens, and, along with Past President Tim Wolfe, met with State Sen. David Adelman (D-DeKalb and Minority Whip) to discuss the upcoming legislative session... GARP sent press releases to Georgia media outlets discussing the new Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce study on commuter rail... GARP's Vinnie Kelly provided us with a travelogue on his recent trips aboard Amtrak's Boston-Portland, ME Downeaster, his trips from Boston to New York on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and his trip from New York to Atlanta aboard Amtrak's Crescent; Vinnie writes, "Train travel brings out the kid in you and the adventurer in one instance"... GARP will hold its February meeting in Dalton, Georgia; watch for details in next month's Peach State XPress... Thanks to Don Nuckolls of Eatonton and Jim and Diane Dexter of Decatur for renewing their memberships at the $50 contributing level.... Other 2008 GARP membership dues levels are $20 for regular membership, $10 for seniors and students and $30 for families; you can pay at a meeting, you can send a check to GARP at PO Box 851, Decatur, GA 30031, or you can use GARP's new on-line payment option, on the GARP website at www.garprail.org - click on the Join/Renew button. NEXT MEETING: Saturday, January 12, 10 AM PLACE: Towne Square Condominiums Club Room, 225 East Ponce De Leon Avenue, Downtown Decatur, between Church St. and North Candler St., 1/2 block from the Decatur MARTA station. Building entrance is beside the Subway shop PARKING: Parking available on the streets and elsewhere. If you park in a metered place, feed the meter - the City says they are checked on Saturday. Parking in the Towne Square building parking deck IS NOT FREE - driveway is beside the Natural Body Spa COST: Kindly contribute $ 1 toward the cost of refreshments Copyright © 2008 Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers, Inc. |
The thick black lines represent Atlanta's only
current rail transit, the MARTA heavy-rail lines. TPB calls for relatively
modest extensions of MARTA heavy rail. It would extend MARTA's North Line
further north to Alpharetta and it would extend MARTA's West Line west to
Fulton Industrial Boulevard. TPB also would add a short branch off MARTA's
South Line, into Hapeville. More ambitious is the TPB proposal for light-rail/streetcar
service, indicated by the double-dash lines. That part of the wish list
includes two projects already being planned for central Atlanta, the Peachtree
St./Downtown streetcar line and the Beltline rail transit loop. TPB also calls
for a light-rail line linking downtown Atlanta with Kennesaw in the northwest
suburbs, and for an east-west light-rail line running through the northern
suburbs from Smyrna to Gwinnett Place Mall. It also calls for a light-rail line
between MARTA's Lindbergh Station on the North Line, and East Lake or Decatur
on MARTA's East Line. The slashed lines on the map represent TPB's commuter
rail proposal: TPB envisions five commuter rail lines linking downtown Atlanta
to Griffin, Senoia, Douglasville, Gainesville and Athens. TPB is taking public
comments on its wish list through May. You can call 404-463-1700 or send e-mail
to