Steve
Vogel, President |
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Founded
1979 |
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A CELEBRATION OF TRAINSEver since the first train started down the first short stretch
of track in Baltimore in 1830, the story of America has been linked
to the story of America's railroads. HOW THE SPLOST LOSTA new survey of Atlanta-area voters shows 58% would support a 1% sales tax to fund transportation projects including rail transit. The poll of 4,123 registered voters in 11 Atlanta-area counties was conducted on behalf of Atlanta's Transit Planning Board, which recently released a wish list of transit improvements that includes expanded MARTA rail service, multiple commuter rail lines and several light rail and streetcar projects. The results of the survey made it clear that Atlanta-area voters are willing to pay higher taxes for better transit, but ironically, it was released just days after the Georgia General Assembly refused to give them that option. The legislature adjourned early last month without approving SR 845, a proposed amendment to the state constitution that could have allowed voters to authorize Special Purpose Local Option Sales Taxes for transportation. While the language was general, the bill was tailored to give metro Atlanta residents the right to consider taxing themselves to fund metro Atlanta transportation projects. As reported in April's Peach State XPress, the so-called "SPLOST" bill got the two-thirds majority it needed in the Georgia House of Representatives, but it failed by just three votes in the Georgia Senate. Part of the problem was opposition from Governor Sonny Perdue, who has offered no serious solutions to metro Atlanta's traffic gridlock in his six years in office. There also was opposition by rural legislators who routinely vote against all potential tax increases, even potential tax increases that don't cost their own constituents anything. But the real difference between victory and defeat was a group of five metro Atlanta senators who failed to support the SPLOST plan. One metro Democrat -- Vincent Fort of Atlanta -- failed to cast a vote, and four metro Republicans voted no: Ronnie Chance of Tyrone, Chip Rogers of Woodstock, David Shafer of Duluth and John Wiles of Kennesaw. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial titled "Chokehold on Atlanta" echoed the outrage shared by many, declaring, "Once again state officials have deemed it wise to let metro commuters simmer in traffic, knowing nothing is being done to help them. The only question is whether the region's voters will let their leaders get away with it." Sam Olens, chairman of both the Cobb County Commission and the Atlanta Regional Commission, had a similar reaction. He called on Georgians to contact their elected officials and "demand the relief that we all deserve and that is long overdue." PRICKED UP EARSYou might think the legislature's failure to approve the SPLOST bill would discourage the continuing groundswell of support for commuter rail, but ironically, it did not. The State Transportation Board, which up until very recently had offered only tepid support for commuter trains, voted to pursue plans for an Atlanta-Lovejoy starter line anyway. The board is looking at an alternate source of operating funds that requires no new taxes and no annual appropriation: The Western & Atlantic Railroad is a state-owned rail line between Atlanta and Chattanooga, leased and operated by the CSX freight railroad. CSX pays Georgia $6 million to $7 million in annual rent, money that currently goes into the state's general fund. Would the legislature agree to dedicate revenues from the CSX lease to pay for commuter rail operations? Perhaps, says House Transportation Chairman Vance Smith. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Our ears prick up when they say 'no appropriations.'" Stay tuned. TIME IS MONEYAnd money is time. A new US government report shows how true that adage is when it comes to passenger train operations. Just 41.6% of Amtrak's long-distance trains completed their trips on time during fiscal 2007. The trains that serve Georgia were sadly typical. While the New York-Atlanta-New Orleans Crescent and the New York-Savannah-Miami Silver Meteor were just slightly above the national average, posting on-time arrival figures of 42.9% and 42.8% respectively, the other Amtrak trains serving Georgia were well below average: the New York-Savannah Palmetto tied up on schedule just 24.4% of the time, and the New York-Savannah-Miami Silver Star finished its trips "on the advertised" just 23.8% of the time. A report from the office of the US Department of Transportation's inspector general suggests that if Amtrak's long-distance trains boosted their on-time arrivals to 85%, they would attract more riders and cost less to operate, reducing their funding requirements by a whopping 30%. Amtrak's long-distance trains spend most of their time on single-track lines owned and dispatched by private railroads, and delays on those the lines are responsible for most of the late arrivals. The inspector general's report recommends higher incentive payments to reward railroads that operate Amtrak trains on time. But the report also notes another problem: track congestion. The American Association of Railroads says many US lines currently operate at or near capacity, and it warns that unless more tracks are added, traffic volume will soon exceed capacity. Virginia recently decided to give the CSX Railroad $9.8 million to increase track capacity on two lines used by Amtrak trains. Public/private partnerships are always controversial, but many experts believe Virginia is leading the way for the rest of the country: they say efficient railroads are essential to the US economy, and no matter whether you're talking about passengers or freight, it will require a substantial government investment to keep rail traffic flowing smoothly in the future. DUEL AT SUNSETA ranking member of Congress confronted Amtrak last month over its failure to restore service between New Orleans and Florida, suspended after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005. Before that date, the Sunset Limited ran coast-to-coast between Los Angeles and Orlando, serving several northern Florida stations frequently used by passengers from southern Georgia. Since Katrina, the Sunset has run only between Los Angeles and New Orleans. At first, Amtrak said New Orleans-Orlando service had been suspended temporarily pending track and station repairs, but after the line reopened to freight traffic, it became increasingly clear Amtrak had no plans to reinstate passenger service. Amtrak President Alex Kummant admitted as much during an appearance last month before the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials. "I don't really see any way to bring back service at this point," he said, adding, "It was never very effective service, going through these towns in the middle of the night, three times a week, always late." Subcommittee Chair Corrine Brown (D-Florida) agreed that there were problems with the Sunset Limited service, but she wouldn't let Kummant off the hook. She told him, "Go back to the drawing table and come up with something," possibly "a New Orleans-Orlando train with better timing." Kummant's reply: "I understand." THE INTERNATIONALChina has started construction on an 820-mile high-speed rail line between Beijing and Shanghai using conventional, not mag-lev, technology... China suffered its worst rail accident in a decade, when two passenger trains collided in Shandong province, killing at least 71 people; one train was reportedly traveling nearly double the speed limit... More than 20,000 people have died on Mumbai, India's notoriously overcrowded commuter trains over the past five years, largely because of dangerous practices like riding on rooftops and hanging out the doors... Passenger train service between India and Bangladesh has been reinstated after a 40-year hiatus... 1.2 billion people rode British passenger trains last year, the highest number since 1946... A surprise strike idled Toronto's subway trains, streetcars and buses for two days before Ontario's provincial legislature issued a back-to-work order. NATIONAL LIMITEDUtah is the latest state to get commuter rail service: Front Runner trains began rolling between Salt Lake City and Ogden on April 26... New York's Metro North Railroad has boosted its weekend service with 21 additional runs on its Hudson Line... New Jersey Transit has added additional service to its Suffern-Hoboken commuter rail line... The National Association of Railroad Passengers has endorsed Amtrak's request for $1.78 billion in federal funding for fiscal 2009; NARP also called on Amtrak to expand its capacity by repairing idled equipment... Amtrak's new spring/summer timetable goes into effect May 12; there will be no major service changes... Responding to a question from Iowa, Amtrak says it would cost $55 million to begin passenger train service between Iowa City and Chicago; two daily round-trips would draw an estimated 187,000 passengers annually... A study conducted for the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority predicts that Amtrak's Boston-Portland, ME Downeaster corridor will generate billions of dollars in regional economic benefits by 2030; Maine is considering plans to fund a extension of the route to Brunswick.... Months after a huge landslide severed its Los Angeles-Seattle route, Amtrak's Coast Starlight is making a gradual comeback; trains now operate from Los Angeles to Klamath, OR and from Eugene, OR to Seattle; buses cover the remaining gap between Klamath and Eugene.. Stanwood, WA will become a stop along Amtrak's Seattle-Vancouver, Canada line next year, following completion of a state-funded platform and shelter... Niagara Falls, NY will get a new Amtrak station closer to the city's tourist attractions.... In an unusual move, Pittsburgh's transit authority may sell naming rights for a 1.2-mile extension of its light-rail line... A Detroit study group has recommended building a two-mile light-rail line along that city's main thoroughfare, Woodward Avenue... Hopes of reinstating vintage streetcar service along the Seattle waterfront have dimmed, after an agreement with a developer fell through... Dallas Area Rapid Transit is modifying its light-rail equipment, adding new low-floor center sections that will allow easier boarding and increase capacity... New Jersey Transit's River Line light-rail route, derided as a boondoggle before it opened four years ago, carried 65.1 million riders between Camden and Trenton during the last three months of 2007. DIXIE FLYERAn eight-foot sinkhole that opened up at Central Station in Memphis, TN, has forced Amtrak to reroute its City of New Orleans around Memphis; no word on when the damage will be repaired... The Louisiana Association of Railroad Passengers reports that Amtrak has dropped a plan to extend the New York-Atlanta-New Orleans Crescent route west to Houston and San Antonio, at least for now... A Florida planning council has revived a proposal to route Amtrak trains over the Florida East Coast Railway between Jacksonville and Miami; Amtrak's current Jacksonville-Miami trains use another, more inland, route.... North Carolina's Special Transit Advisory Commission has endorsed a plan to build a commuter rail line between Raleigh and Durham and a connecting light-rail line from Durham to Chapel Hill... Historic trolleys are operating in Charlotte for the first time in more than two years; the trolleys share tracks with Charlotte's new Lynx light-rail trains, and trolley service had to be suspended while the Lynx line was under construction... More than two-and-a-half years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans transit officials hope to reopen the last closed stretch of the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line this month; the 6.5-mile line has been repaired and reopened in phases... Amtrak has signed a contract with the federal government to evacuate up to 9,000 people from New Orleans in the event of another hurricane. THE GEORGIANTurmoil at the Georgia Department of Transportation could complicate efforts to get more funding for transit: Transportation Board Chairman Mike Evans resigned after revealing that he and Transportation Commissioner Gena Abraham were involved in a romantic relationship; meanwhile, officials suggest GaDOT may have entered into contracts committing itself to spending $1 billion it doesn't have... The Gwinnett Daily Post printed an essay by Citizens for Progressive Transit President Lee Biola calling the General Assembly's failure to pass SPLOST legislation "an especially tough blow for Gwinnett County"... Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Police Chief Richard Pennington and MARTA General Manager Beverly Scott are calling on Governor Sonny Perdue to veto a bill -- approved by the General Assembly --that would let licensed gun-owners carry concealed firearms on MARTA trains and buses... MARTA has revised its weekend rail service schedules; it says adjustments on the North-South and Northeast-South lines will improve on-time performance and connectivity... A citizen's advisory committee complains that officials planning Atlanta's Beltline park-and-transit loop are disregarding public input. THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARPThe Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers has joined the Get Georgia Moving Coalition, a broadly-based group working to increase transportation funding... The Atlanta Journal-Constitution printed a letter from GARP's Jock Ellis suggesting a volunteer-operated tourist trolley in Atlanta as a first step toward regular streetcar service... One more reminder: GARP's regularly-scheduled May meeting has been canceled, so that members can participate in National Train Day celebrations at the Atlanta Amtrak station. NEXT MEETING: NO regular meeting in May - Celebrate National Train Day at the Atlanta Amtrak station (see above) Copyright © 2008 Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers, Inc. |
Even
today, the distant growl of diesel locomotives echoing through the
night air conjures up thoughts of distant places and unexplored
horizons. To celebrate both America's railroad past and America's
railroad future, Amtrak has designated Saturday, May 10 as National
Train Day. The national spokesman is television personality Al Roker,
and special events are being planned all over the country. GARP
will bring the celebration to Georgia. In lieu of our regular May
meeting, GARP will host a pair of National Train Day receptions
at the Atlanta Amtrak station, at 1688 Peachtree St., NW. There
will be snacks, beverages, and maybe a few surprises! Join us at
the station May 10, as we greet the southbound Crescent from 7:30
to 9 AM, or as we greet the northbound Crescent from 7 PM to 9 PM.
"Trains are an important part of life in Atlanta now as they
have been for over 100 years," said Amtrak Chief Marketing
Officer David Lim. "It is great to have GARP aboard."