GARPFebruary

Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers March 2006 newsletter
www.trainweb.org/garp
February 2006

WELCOME TO ATLANTA. As this newsletter is being distributed, passenger train advocates from across the Southeast are converging on Georgia for this year's Region V National Association of Railroad Passengers Conference, hosted by GARP. The Peach State Xpress would like to take this opportunity to welcome our guests to Atlanta, a city of transportation contradictions. Atlanta hosts the nation's busiest airport, but sees only one intercity passenger train a day in each direction. Its expressways are bursting at the seams, but decision-makers have been slow to recognize the transit potential offered by the multiple railroad lines radiating from the city. And even though Atlanta built one of the nation's first "new generation" heavy rail systems, that early promise has been tarnished by underfunding and underexpansion. Nevertheless, Atlanta remains a place of exciting possibilities, including plans for returning streetcars to Peachtree Street and for an innovative park-and-transit loop around the central city, and GARP is happy to be hosting this year's Region V conference.

WAITING FOR THE TRAIN. In late 2003, when the Georgia Department of Transportation announced plans for commuter rail service between Atlanta and Lovejoy, there were hopes the trains would be rolling this year. Unfortunately, progress has come in fits and starts. There's still no final agreement between the DOT and the Norfolk Southern railroad, which owns the tracks. And while NS CEO Charles "Wick" Moorman recently told Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Maria Saporta that his railroad is open to commuter train service, there's still no consensus on funding track capacity improvements to make that happen. The slow pace of progress on Atlanta-Lovejoy service has not, however, dampened enthusiasm for commuter rail on another potential corridor, Atlanta-Athens. CSX railroad officials are conducting a capacity study, and E. H. Culpepper of the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority recently discussed prospects for the Atlanta-Athens service with the Lilburn City Council. Meanwhile, Oconee County Chamber of Commerce President Charles Grimes told the Athens Banner-Herald that commuter rail would "bring in a lot of high-tech industry" and "be a plus for the whole area."

SHOW ME THE MONEY. While commuter rail has faced some roadblock attempts in the Georgia General Assembly, there is a hopeful sign to report this month: a piece of "poison pill" legislation appears to be going nowhere. A bill that would require individual counties and cities to hold special elections before funding commuter trains -- sent to a subcommittee shortly after it was introduced -- has not resurfaced, and now its principle sponsor is toning down the anti-rail rhetoric. Rep. John Lunsford (R-McDonough) says he isn't opposed to commuter trains; he simply wants to find better ways to fund operations. He told the Henry Herald he's encouraged that alternate funding mechanisms now are being discussed, and on that point, at least, the Peach State XPress is inclined to agree. The notion that regional commuter rail operations can be funded by a patchwork of individual counties and cities has always been a dubious assumption. Everywhere else across the country, commuter rail is funded on a state and regional basis. That's the way it ought to work in Georgia, too.

T.P.B. OR D.O.A? Just days after the Atlanta Regional Commission gave final approval to a plan creating an Atlanta-area Transit Planning Board, the new TPB held its first meeting on Feb. 16. The 18 board members include nine county commissioners, plus representatives from the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. The TPB is supposed to coordinate the Atlanta region's transit infrastructure and consider sources of funding, but before it does any of that, the first task may be educating some board members. One of them, Henry County Commissioner Jason Harber, echoed the ill-informed sentiments that have hobbled Atlanta-area transit for decades, declaring he would only support transit projects that "do not operate at a loss," meaning, presumably, transit projects that do not require government funding. Of course, all transportation (including roads) requires government funding, and if there's no government help, there's no transit, and by extension, no need for a Transit Planning Board.

NO WAY BUT THE HIGHWAY? Commissioner Harber also echoed another time-worn anti-transit platitude, saying he will support only those transit projects that "reduce traffic on the interstate." Of course, transit does reduce traffic on the interstate, but the notion that transit should be evaluated solely in terms of its effect on people who don't use it (drivers) is another piece of nonsense promoted by the Road Warriors, the stop-transit-at-any-cost ideologues who think there's no way but the highway. Unfortunately, this misguided mindset was reflected in official policy last month, when the Atlanta Regional Commission endorsed the recommendations of Gov. Sonny Perdue's Congestion Mitigation Task Force. The Task Force -- which of course included no transit riders -- established a formula for funding transportation projects that bases 70% of the decision on road congestion mitigation, reducing the consideration given to economic development, safety, environmental impact and other quality-of-life issues. There were predictions the new formula could prompt the ARC to drop the Atlanta-Lovejoy commuter train line from its "recommended" list. And in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution op-ed article, Prof. Brian Stone of Georgia Tech's City and Regional Planning Program wrote that the "mitigation" formula is in fact traffic-inducing, and warned that if it is followed, "Traffic congestion around the region is likely to get progressively worse." The Road Warriors were quick to defend the "mitigation" formula. Benita Dodd of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation assailed "social engineers" who "foist" transit "on communities that have chosen the freedom of automobiles," ignoring the obvious fact that when automobiles are the only option, driving is not a free choice. Dodd went on to declare commuter rail "elitist." That was right before she endorsed a proposal that really is elitist: reserving special toll lanes for well-heeled motorists who want to bypass the middle class riff-raff in the regular lanes.

FEWER TRAINS MAKE FEWER PASSENGERS. The numbers are in, and they're not surprising: last year's service reduction on Amtrak's New York-Savannah-Miami line had a negative impact on Georgia patronage. Amtrak pruned the New York-Miami Palmetto back to New York-Savannah, a move that reduced Savannah-Miami service from three round trips per day to two round trips per day. As a result, passenger counts fell at the two Georgia stations along that route: Savannah boardings and alightings (people getting off) fell from 42,603 in 2004 to 39,332 in 2005, while Jesup's numbers fell from 6,238 in 2004 to 6,190 last year. Meanwhile on the Crescent route, patronage was up: Atlanta had 87,811 boardings and alightings during fiscal 2005, up from 86,916 the previous year; Gainesville recorded 4,721 boardings and alightings versus 4,425 the previous year, and Toccoa climbed to 2,994 from 2004's 2,783. Unfortunately, the Crescent route gains were not big enough to offset the losses in Savannah and Jesup, so in a year when Amtrak enjoyed record ridership nationwide, its Georgia state passenger totals fell from 142,965 in 2004 to 141,048 passengers in 2005. Some other numbers: Amtrak spent more than $12.6 million on goods and services in Georgia last year, up sharply from $8.4 million the previous year. Amtrak employed 83 Georgia residents last year, paying wages totaling $4.3 million.

ANOTHER SHUTDOWN BUDGET. Despite President Bush's State of the Union address vowing to fight America's addiction to imported oil, the President's tactics don't seem to include energy-efficient intercity passenger rail. Once again this year, the Bush Administration has released a budget plan that would shut down Amtrak as we know it. As predicted in last month's Peach State XPress, the President recommended $900 million in federal funding for Amtrak in fiscal 2007, an improvement over his zero-funding recommendation for 2006, but a 30% cut from this year's congressionally approved funding level of $1.3 billion. This comes despite a new Harris Poll showing that Americans put trains at the top of the list, when asked to rank transportation modes they would like to see have "an increasing share of passenger transportation." And despite the Administration's insistence that individual states should take over the responsibility for funding Amtrak operations, 68% of the people who responded to the Harris survey said the federal government -- not the states -- "should be mainly responsible for retaining and improving the transportation system in the nation as a whole." 27 House Republicans recently signed a letter warning that President Bush's funding proposal would leave Amtrak "incapable of providing effective service for its 25 million annual passengers." Sadly, the letter did not include even one single signature from Georgia. In a statement supporting the proposed Amtrak funding cut, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta suggested that the cut would force Amtrak to continue "fundamental reforms" that will "reduce Amtrak's need for federal subsidies." The nature of these reforms? The Bush Administration says Amtrak should be "moving aggressively in a number of areas, including phasing out costly overnight trains." For the record, three of the four Amtrak trains serving Georgia are overnight trains. In his statement, Mineta applauded a provision inserted in the 2006 Amtrak funding bill that effectively requires Amtrak to cut spending on sleeping car service and food service, both of which are essential to overnight train operations. This new law will have a very real impact on Amtrak trains serving Georgia beginning next month. Amtrak is replacing most of its traditional dining car service system-wide with what it calls "simplified diner service" using a three-person staff serving pre-cooked meals reheated in convection ovens. Four trains -- the Texas Eagle, the City of New Orleans, the Capitol Limited and the Sunset Limited -- have already been converted. The first Georgia train to be converted -- the New York-Miami Silver Star -- is to be switched over April 15. The New York-Atlanta-New Orleans Crescent is to make the transition May 3, and the New York-Miami Silver Meteor will follow on May 24. All of Amtrak's overnight trains except the Auto Train and the Empire Builder are to be converted by June 1.

STOLEN SILVER. Dozens of Amtrak cars failed a snap inspection in New York's Sunnyside Yard early last month, resulting in an equipment shortage that forced temporary New York-Savannah-Miami service cutbacks. The Silver Meteor was canceled for five days, leaving only the Silver Star on the route until repairs were completed. Ironically, Amtrak's Palmetto, on the New York-Savannah portion of the route, was only running three days a week at the time, not because of the equipment shortage, but because of CSX track repair work.

AS FAR AS IT GOES. Half a year after Hurricane Katrina devastated the CSX railroad line between Louisiana and Florida, Amtrak's Sunset Limited continues to run only from Los Angeles to New Orleans, and there's still no word on when the Sunset will resume its full run on the CSX through to Orlando. CSX resumed freight operations on the Louisiana-Florida route last month, ending detours that had congested Norfolk Southern's New Orleans-Atlanta line, used by Amtrak's Crescent. That was good news for Crescent passengers, who had been enduring chronic delays since September, but now there's a new issue: Norfolk Southern will be closing the Atlanta-New Orleans line periodically through mid-April to do trackwork. As a result, there will be no Crescent service between Atlanta and New Orleans March 6-9, March 13-16, March 20-23, March 27-30, April 3-6 and April 10-12. The Crescent will continue to provide daily service between Atlanta and New York.

THE INTERNATIONAL. The Canadian passenger rail advocacy group, Transport 2000, is calling on Canada's newly elected Conservative government to revive train service to Regina and other neglected parts of western Canada... Police say they've busted a counterfeiting ring that produced more than five million bogus Toronto transit tokens... France's Alstom Engineering is working on a new generation of high-speed passenger trains capable of speeds up to 218 mph... Israeli officials hope to have high-speed trains running between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv by 2010... Venezuela is opening the first section of a new national railroad expected to carry up to 86,000 passengers a day.

NATIONAL LIMITED. President Bush has re-nominated Floyd Hall and Enrique Sosa to the Amtrak Board of Directors; they're already serving under recess appointments granted after the Senate refused to confirm their initial nominations... Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has named Paul Weyrich, a noted conservative and passenger rail supporter, to the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission... The American Public Transit Association is expressing disappointment in President Bush's transit funding proposal for fiscal 2007, saying it's $100 million below the levels approved the SAFETEA legislation Congress passed last summer... An equipment shortage in Chicago forced Amtrak to run one Lake Shore Limited round-trip with Superliner equipment between Chicago and Albany, NY; since the double-deckers can't fit into New York City's Pennsylvania Station, a separate train ferried passengers between Albany and NYP... Illinois legislators have introduced a bill that, if passed, would fund additional service on Amtrak's Chicago-St. Louis, Chicago-Carbondale and Chicago-Quincy routes... New Hampshire legislators have rejected legislation to help fund three train stations along Amtrak's Boston-Portland, Maine "Downeaster" route... Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road have agreed to an as yet unfunded plan that would allow the LIRR to tunnel under Amtrak's Sunnyside Yard for a new route into New York's Grand Central Station... A series of public hearings were held in Wisconsin last month, to discuss plans for commuter train service between Milwaukee and Kenosha.... Plans to expand Boston-area commuter train service beyond Providence, R.I. will take a step forward this spring, when station construction begins at Warwick and North Kingston, south of Providence... Minnesota's Metro Transit, with its new "Hiawatha" light rail line, enjoyed a 7% patronage increase last year despite a 25-cent fare increase... New Jersey Transit tested a new device to screen riders for explosives... Bowing to legislative pressure, Maryland's MARC transit agency has withdrawn plans to close four stations in the Baltimore area... Two light rail stations in San Jose, Calif. will be renovated this summer, with raised platforms to help disabled riders board... A committee in Minot, S.D. is raising money to restore that city's Amtrak depot to its 1903 appearance... A Wall Street ratings firm has downgraded the troubled Las Vegas monorail system to "junk bond" status... Seven people celebrating the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl victory were trapped on Pittsburgh's Monongahela Incline railway for about two hours, after a computer glitch caused their car to stop before it reached the station at the bottom of the incline... Amtrak has launched a Spanish-language version of its web site, espanol.amtrak.com.

THE GEORGIAN. MARTA veteran Richard McCrillis will serve as interim general manager until the Atlanta transit agency appoints a permanent replacement for Nathaniel Ford, who resigned late last year to take another job... Higher sales tax revenues and rising ridership helped MARTA end the first half of its current fiscal year in the black, but officials say that without new funding sources, the long-term outlook remains grim... MARTA plans to spend $2.5 million on a sweeping review of its operations.

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution printed a letter from GARP's Dick Hodges warning against the region's "almost total reliance on highway building," and expressing disappointment that other options including MARTA expansion and commuter rail "seem to be out of sight and out of mind for many of Georgia's decision-makers"... Just to show there’s a life beyond passenger rail, GARP Director Emeritus Ross Goddard was recently presented with the prestigious Silver Beaver award by the Boy Scouts, recognizing his nearly 30 years of service to that organization...Thanks to Dick Hodges and Don Nuckolls of Eatonton for renewing their memberships at the contributing level... Thanks to former GARP President Tim Wolfe for renewing his membership at the contributing level, and for his generous extra donation... 2006 membership renewals are now overdue; if you haven't renewed yet, please send your check today to GARP, Inc. at PO Box 851, Decatur, GA 30031 today: $20 for regular membership, $30 for family memberships and $10 for student and senior memberships.

NEXT MEETING: Saturday, March 11, 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 © 2006 Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers, Inc.