News & Events: Week Ending January 5, 2024
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) and the Commuter Rail Coalition(CRC) issued a letter this week to members of the Surface Transportation Board.The purpose of the joint document is to “express certain concerns in connection with the potential expansion plans of the National Railroad Passenger Corp. (Amtrak), following the $66 billion of guaranteed funding allocated for rail purposes in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.”
Pointing to the Rail Passenger Service Act (RPSA) of 1970 (“The Grand Bargain”), the letter reminds the Board that the railroads that are not party to that bargain.
“…non-RPSA railroads should not be obligated to provide preferential treatment to Amtrak trains, absent a mutually acceptable agreement negotiated at arm's length with Amtrak. In particular, if Amtrak seeks to use its authority under 49 U.S.C. 24301 et seq. to operate over commuter lines or non-RPSA freight railroads and a commuter agency or non-RPSA freight railroad objects to Amtrak’s presence, Amtrak should be required to show that:
Amtrak is not merely seeking to avoid operating over a current host railroad for any reason, including failure of a host railroad to meet on-time performance measures for Amtrak’s trains on an existing route or desire to avoid other contractual disputes between Amtrak and an existing host railroad;
Amtrak service on the subject route would not inhibit the commuter agency -- now and in the future -- from achieving its goal of providing safe, efficient, reliable commuter service or the non-RPSA freight railroad from serving its customers now and in the future, and that Amtrak affirmatively gives up its right of train priority on the commuter’s line;
The market potential of the route over other alternative routes in terms of availability, adequacy, and energy efficiency substantially outweighs the burden to the commuter agency or the non-RPSA freight railroad;
Any alternative route does not provide equivalent or better service to major population centers than the subject route; and
The commuter agency or non-RPSA freight railroad is not subsidizing Amtrak in any way.
Commuter agencies and non-RPSA freight railroads “should not be seen as an easy alternative compared to routing over traditional RPSA railroads and consequently be subject to preferential treatment of Amtrak trains just because RPSA host railroads are not meeting their statutory, regulatory, or contractual obligations. Commuter authorities must be permitted to continue to realize the full, long-term value of the public investment that has been made in their lines and facilities and to protect their valuable passenger service, and non-RPSA freight railroads’ investments in their lines and freight service must be similarly protected.
“In short, commuter agencies and non-RPSA freight railroads were not party to the grand bargain. Therefore, they should be treated differently if Amtrak seeks access to them.”
WHITE HOUSE TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: USE PUBLIC TRANSIT, ELECTRIC VEHICLES WHEN TRAVELING FOR WORK
Federal employees will be using rail for trips less than 250 miles when it’s cost-effective, rather than taking planes or vehicles, according to a new statement from the White House. Administration officials have announced new travel guidance for federal employees, directing them to prioritize lower-emission options when they travel for work. The goal is to slash greenhouse gas emissions with federal employees’ use of electric vehicles, rail travel and public transit.
Robin Carnahan, who leads the General Services Administration, said Federal workers should consider what’s “most expeditious, most cost-effective and most sustainable. That's a big change from what we had before. And as we are the largest employer in the country and have about a $2.8 billion-spend every year on travel, we know that when cleaner options are involved, that will make a difference.”
In 2022, federal workers took more than 2.8 million flights, rented 2.3 million vehicles and took 33,000 rail trips. Under the new guidelines, federal workers will rent EVs on official trips when the costs are less than or equal to the most affordable comparable vehicle, and they’ll opt for cost-competitive EVs when using taxis and ride-share platforms. And federal workers will use public transit — such as subways, buses or light rail — for local travel.
USDOT RFI: EXPAND ADA
The US Department of Transportation is seeking comment on the feasibility of extending current ADA standards for buildings and facilities. The current standards contain provisions requiring assistive listening systems in assembly areas, and the Department is requesting comment on a proposal to add requirements to transportation facilities such as rail stations to enable real-time announcements for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing or because of their disability rely on text-based communications to access information.
Current requirements for transportation facilities stipulate only that the same information provided audibly must be provided visually.
Comments are due Jan 5, 2024. Read more HERE.
NEW MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
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NJT IS BULLISH ON TRAINS
A steer, since-named Ricardo, found his way onto the tracks at New Jersey’s Newark Penn Station this week, bringing Northeast Corridor rail service to a halt.
Ricardo was eventually sedated so that he could be removed, and will live out his days at a nearby sanctuary.
LEADERS WEIGH IN ON THE STATE OF RAIL
CRC leaders, including vice chair Michelle Bouchard, chair emeritus Jim Derwinski, and emeritus board member Rich Dalton were recently featured in a Progressive Railroading article on the future of commuter railroads and transit-rail agencies.
While the end of the pandemic has buoyed ridership levels, hybrid work schedules continue to be a drag on ridership growth, as many workers no longer commute five days a week to office buildings and other worksites. Transit agencies and commuter railroads are offering creative fare packages, increasing onboard security and other means to make rail travel easier and safer, but the future of public transit still remains murky, according to the officials interviewed in the story.
Richard Andreski, president and CEO of Trinity Metro in Fort Worth, Texas; Michelle Bouchard, executive director of Caltrain in California; Richard Dalton, CEO of Virginia Railway Express; Jim Derwinski, executive director/CEO of Metra in Chicago; and Stephanie Wiggins, CEO of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) were interviewed in the story by Julie Sneider.
Andreski says that Trinity Metro is nearly back to 2019 ridership levels, and Bouchard says Caltrain’s average weekday ridership has grown slowly but steadily since the end of the pandemic. According to Dalton, VRE has seen slow but steady growth in ridership since hitting a low of 440 average daily riders in April 2020 and Derwinski reports that Metra expects to be at 44% of pre-COVID ridership in 2023. Finally, Wiggins says Metro has seen a ridership increase for 11 consecutive months, with weekday ridership now at 71% of pre-pandemic levels.
Other insights from these rail leaders on funding and budget challenges and their responses to worker shortages can be read in the article HERE.
CALTRAIN LOOKS AHEAD TO NEW ELECTRIFIED SERVICE
Caltrain on Dec. 7 unveiled its fall 2024 schedule for electrified service, which it said includes faster transit times and more frequent service including during weekends.
The commuter railroad’s $2.4 billion electrification project is upgrading and electrifying its double-track system from the 4th and King Station in San Francisco to the Tamien Station in San Jose and replacing trains. The new service plan, it said, now includes more frequent weekend service, with trains running every 30 minutes, compared to hourly today.
Caltrain awarded Stadler a $551 million contract to supply 16 six-car EMUs in August 2016 with an option to extend these sets to seven-car trains exercised in December 2018. The 110-mph-capable trainsets have been built at the manufacturer’s plant in Salt Lake City.
Weekday peak period service will feature four trains per hour running in each direction, including an express train running between San Jose and San Francisco in under an hour. Local service times will be reduced from 100 minutes to 75 minutes, and travel time from Southern Santa Clara County (Gilroy/Morgan Hill) to San Francisco will be cut by nearly 30 minutes.
According to Caltrain, as ridership and revenue continue to grow, it will have the capacity for even more regular service as a result of the electrification project, with the capability to run up to six trains per hour during the peak. Caltrain said that since last year, its average weekday ridership has increased by 14%.
“With electrified Caltrain service now less than a year away, it is exciting to see a new schedule in place that will allow riders to get to their destinations quicker and more often,” Caltrain Board Chair Jeff Gee said. “While there is still a lot of work ahead of us, the vision of greener, quieter and more efficient trains will soon be a reality.”
HOLIDAY SPIRIT FROM AROUND THE INDUSTRY
VIRGINIA RAILWAY EXPRESS
METROLINK’S DARREN KETTLE
NEW JERSEY TRANSIT
UTAH TRANSIT AUTHORITY
WHAT WE’RE READING
All Metrolink service will be down for 4 days. Here’s why. (KLTA News)
Cohasset Grapples with Meeting ‘MBTA Communities’ Multi-Family Zoning Requirement (Cohasset Anchor)
Metrolink to pause service systemwide Dec. 26-29 (Mass Transit)
MassDOT Issued BVLOS Waiver to Fly Drones Over Rail Network (RT&S)
MBTA developing a low income fare program (WBUR)
THANK YOU FOR READING. WE’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE IN 2024.
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