Silver Star Meet in Alexandria

It is July 7, 1973, in Alexandria, Virginia. Amtrak’s southbound Silver Star is dead on the main due to locomotive trouble.

In the foreground is its northbound counterpart, No. 82. This is still the rainbow era so some of the motive power wears Amtrak markings and some still has the liveries of a former owner.

No. 82 has E8A 238 (former Seaboard Coast Line, ex-Atlantic Coast Line), E8B 373 (former Union Pacific) and E8A 247 (former SCL, ex-Seaboard Air Line).

On No. 81 is E8A 234 (former SCL, ex-ACL), SCL E7A 557, E8A 218 (former Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac) and E9A 412 (former Union Pacific).

Photograph by Robert Farkas

FRA Says PTC Deadline Has Been Met

The Federal Railroad Administration said this week that all railroads required to do so have met the deadline for installation and implementation of positive train control.

PTC is in operation on all of the 57,536 routes miles required to have it.

This includes rail lines that handle intercity or commuter passengers on a regular basis, certain hazardous materials, and Class 1 railroad mainlines that see more than 5 million gross tons of annual traffic.

The mandate for the installation of PTC was part of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

Federal law gave the railroad industry a deadline of Dec. 31, 2020, to install and place PTC systems into operation.

In a news release, the FRA said this meant the FRA had certified not only that PTC was in operation but also that PTC systems had achieved interoperability.

This means a PTC system used by a tenant railroad such as Amtrak is compatible with the PTC system of a host railroad such as CSX.

PTC is designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, overspeed derailments, work-zone accidents, and incidents involving improperly lined switches.

Implementation of PTC involved seven Class I railroads, Amtrak, 28 commuter railroads, and five other freight railroads that host regularly scheduled intercity or commuter rail passenger service.

Also involved in the effort were industry associations, suppliers and other service providers who have been working for more than a decade to develop, install, test and oversee the operation of PTC systems.

FRA certification means a PTC system complies with the required technical requirements contained in federal law or FRA regulations.

Most railroads have been in compliance with federal law and regulations for several months with 99.6 percent of those affected by the PTC mandate having complied by the end of the third quarter of this year.

Moynihan Train Hall to open Jan. 1

A new Amtrak facility at New York Penn Station is expected to open on Jan. 1.

The opening of the Moynihan Train Hall will complete a three-year $1.6 billion project that will double the size of Penn Station.

The train hall is located across 8^th Avenue from the existing Penn Station inside the James A. Farley Post Office Building.

Amtrak has posted on YouTube.com an animated “fly through” video of the train hall.

A signature feature of the train hall is a 92-foot-high glass skylight over an atrium.

Other features include a new reserved customer waiting room, free WiFi service throughout the hall, Red Cap service, and a new Metropolitan Lounge including increased food and beverage offerings.

The train hall is closed between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. but offers full Amtrak services between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m.

Penn Station is open 24 hours a day. Tracks 1-4 will be accessible only from Penn Station, while tracks 5-16 will be accessible from the train hall, which is named after the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Rail Passenger Future Gains Some Clarity

With the signing of legislation this week granting another round of federal stimulus funding and giving final approval to federal spending for fiscal year 2021, we now have some clarity on what the nation’s rail passenger system will look like over the next several months.

It is likely to look a lot like it does today, meaning it will be more Spartan that it was a year ago with long-distance trains continuing to operate on less-than-daily schedules and reduced levels of corridor service trains.

Amtrak was granted $1 billion in pandemic emergency funding, which Amtrak CEO William Flynn characterized as a band aid that will get the passenger carrier through to the spring when he said additional funding will be needed.

That’s the same level of emergency funding Amtrak received from the CARES Act adopted last March in the early weeks of the pandemic.

The latest emergency aid given Amtrak bans it from furloughing additional workers or reducing services further, but that is not the same thing as a mandate to restore service that has already been suspended or recalling workers who have been furloughed.

In a statement, Flynn tied service restorations, employee recalls and moving ahead on capital projects to Amtrak receiving additional funding next year.

As for FY 2021, Amtrak received $2.8 billion of which $1.3 billion is for the national network and state-supported corridor services.

That is not much more than the $2 billion the passenger carrier sought back in February before the pandemic began and well short of the $4.9 billion for FY2021 that it sought last October.

The legislation contained a policy rider expressing the sense of Congress that Amtrak is to operate long-distance routes in order to provide connectivity throughout the intercity passenger carrier’s network and provide transportation to rural areas.

That is far from being a mandate to restore daily operation to trains that shifted to less-than-daily operation, primarily tri-weekly, last October and July.

The rail passenger advocacy community may be united in believing that less-than-daily long distance trains are a bad idea, but Amtrak management is doing it anyway.

The downsides of less-than-daily service have received a lot of ink and bandwidth from railroad trade publication and railfan magazines, but that hasn’t moved the needle of Amtrak management’s behavior much if at all.

Amtrak has shown some sensitivity to the accusation that reducing long-distance trains to less-than-daily service is part of a larger plot to eliminate those trains.

In interviews and congressional testimony Flynn has tried to frame the service cuts as a temporary response to plunging ridership triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic that has also devastated ridership of airlines and buses.

He and Amtrak Chairman Anthony Coscia have sought to underscore that Amtrak is committed to having a national network.

That is not necessarily a commitment to operating that network at the same level of service that existed at the beginning of 2020 or even operating that network in perpetuity.

Flynn’s most recent statement about the latest emergency aid said nothing about when daily service will return to long-distance routes.

He told Congress in October that daily service might be restored in May “when financially possible.” That is hardly an ironclad promise.

In looking back at the fight over the past few months over rail passenger service cuts a couple of conclusions come to mind.

First, without public funding there are not going to be passenger trains of any kind. That particularly has been illustrated by the service cuts in state-supported corridor service.

The Chicago-Detroit corridor went from three trains a day to one, which reduced service to the lowest level it has been in the nearly 50 years of Amtrak operation.

Other corridors that had multiple daily frequencies saw service cuts as well and a few state-supported corridors that were suspended have yet to resume operations.

Second, passenger train advocates continue to lack the political clout needed to realize their visions of an expansive intercity passenger rail network.

Advocates have done well at keeping Amtrak funding at a suitable level to maintain a skeletal level of intercity rail passenger service but have failed to prevent Amtrak and its state partners from making service cuts when ridership and revenue plunged during the pandemic.

Congress has not shown a willingness to unlock the federal piggy bank to open-ended levels of financial support for intercity rail passenger service.

Getting intercity rail passenger service back to where it was in early 2020 is going to be a long, hard slog.

The end of the pandemic may be in sight, but it might take much longer to get there than many want to believe.

Although it seems likely that significant numbers of people will want to travel again, airline industry observers have talked about a four-year time frame to get air service travel back to where it was before the pandemic took hold.

It is not unrealistic to think intercity rail service might be operating under a similar time frame.

It may be that pent up demand will move that up slightly in the next year or two but that is going to hinge on how quickly the economy grows and how soon larger numbers of people feel confident that traveling and unfettered social interaction are safe again.

Pandemic Aid May Maintain Amtrak Status Quo

Although a bill adopted by Congress on Monday provides $1 billion in emergency pandemic relief aid to Amtrak, it remains unclear whether that will be enough to restore service suspended due to steep ridership declines.

Amtrak’s $1 billion pandemic relief grant includes $655 for the Northeast Corridor and $345 million for the national network.

Amtrak CEO William Flynn in a statement characterized the aid as a “temporary band-aid that will help Amtrak and our state and commuter partners.”

Flynn’s statement suggested that Amtrak will need additional financial assistance so that it can restore services cut during the pandemic, recall furloughed employees and move ahead on capital projects.

The statement did not indicate if any service restorations are likely between now and March.

The tenor of the statement suggested Amtrak intends to maintain the status quo, which would mean that all but one of its one-distance routes will continue operating on less-than-daily schedules.

Also in doubt is any restoration of state-supported corridor services that have been suspended during the pandemic due to steep ridership declines.

If anything, the statement hints that Amtrak will tie service restorations to receiving future emergency aid in the spring.

Flynn’s statement also resurrected the prospect of network expansion along the lines of that proposed by his predecessor Richard Anderson.

“This near-term support, coupled with significant new investments through our infrastructure or stimulus bill to expand the Amtrak network through new corridor routes, would create thousands of new jobs, reduce our nation’s carbon footprint and help the economy recover and flourish in the years ahead,” the statement said.

The legislation also included $14 million in pandemic emergency funding for public transit. Funding was also provided for bus companies, airlines and airports.

The transportation aid was part of $900 billion in pandemic relief aid.

The Rail Passengers Association on its website reported that the Northeast Corridor funding has a provision that not less than $109.8 million is to be used by Amtrak in lieu of capital payments from states and commuter rail authorities.

The funding for the national network includes $174.9 million to be made available to Amtrak in lieu of Section 209 payments from states to the passenger carrier for state-supported corridors.

The legislation bans Amtrak from making further employee furloughs or further reductions in frequencies on long-distance trains.

Currently furloughed Amtrak workers will be entitled to be recalled to the same seniority and job classification that they held prior to being furloughed when intercity passenger service is restored.

The bill prohibits Amtrak from contracting out any services that were performed by a furloughed worker.

The grant to public transit comes with a stipulation that no recipient may receive more than $4 billion when combined with money received in the CARES Act.

The bill also directs that the pandemic aid be shared with paratransit providers and rural transit providers.

Amtrak Did Well in FY2021 Budget

Public Transit and Amtrak did reasonably well in the legislation approved by Congress this week to fund the federal government through the end of the 2021 fiscal year on Sept. 30.

The $1.4 billion omnibus budget bill include $15.5 billion for public transportation and passenger rail, a $10 million increase from the enacted levels of FY 2020.

The funding breaks down to $2.8 billion for passenger rail and $13 billion for the Federal Transit Administration.

Amtrak’s FY2021 funding included $700 million for operating and capital projects in the Northeast Corridor.

Of that $75 million is earmarked for bringing Amtrak-served facilities and stations into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The national network received $1.3 billion for long-distance and state-supported trains, including $50 million for the latter.

Among the policy riders attached to the budget bill was one stating it is the sense of Congress that long-distance passenger rail routes provide much-needed transportation access, particularly in rural areas.

The long-distance passenger rail routes and services should be sustained to ensure connectivity throughout the national network.

Another rider sets aside $100 million to support the acquisition of new single-level passenger equipment in proportion to the use of this equipment for Amtrak’s NEC, state-supported, and long-distance services.

The bill “reminds” Amtrak that Congress removed the prohibition on the use of Federal funds to cover any operating loss associated with providing food and beverage service on Amtrak routes.

That action was part of a one-year extension of federal surface transportation authorization legislation approved last September.

Amtrak also was directed to “continually review and evaluate the locations and trains that may be eligible for private car moves, update the guidelines for private cars on Amtrak if additional locations or trains meet Amtrak’s criteria, and notify private car owners of these changes.”

In other budget provisions, the Consolidated Rail Improvement and Safety Improvements program received $375 million for rail projects of which at least $75 million is to be used for projects that support the development of new intercity passenger rail routes including alignments for existing routes.

Not less than $25 million is to be used for capital projects and engineering solutions targeting trespassing.

The Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair program received $200 million to repair, replace, or rehabilitate qualified railroad assets to reduce the state of good repair backlog and improve intercity passenger rail performance.

The Restoration and Enhancement Grants program received $4.7 million for initiating, restoring, or enhancing intercity passenger rail transportation.

Of the $13 billion appropriated for the Federal Transit Administration, $2 billion is to be used for for Capital Investment Grants and $516 million for Transit Infrastructure Grants.

The bill reestablishes an 80/20 cost share split between the federal government and state government for the CIG program.

Amtrak Gets $1B in Pandemic Aid

As expected the pandemic relief bill approved by Congress on Monday contains emergency aid for Amtrak and public transit.

News reports indicate the legislation allotted $14 billion for transit and $1 billion for Amtrak.

The measure also earmarked $2 billion for the private motorcoach, school bus and ferry industries; $10 billion for state highways; $15 billion for airline payroll support; $1 billion for airline contractor payrolls; and $2 billion for airports and airport concessionaires.

Lawmakers have said the funding is designed to “prevent furloughs, meet operating needs and keep [transit] systems running.”

The aid to Amtrak will allow it “to continue to provide existing service and prevent additional furloughs through March 31, 2021.”

It is not clear if the funding is sufficient to restore daily service to long-distance trains that have been operating tri-weekly since October.

The pandemic aid was part of a $1.4 trillion omnibus budget bill that will fund the federal government through the end of the current federal fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2021.

Pacific Surfliners Shift to All Reserved This Week

All Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains will require reservations for travel between Dec. 23 and 28.

In a service advisory Amtrak said a ticket will only be valid on the train on which a passenger holds a reservation.

During this period, multi-ride passengers with a monthly pass or 10-trip ticket must also confirm each trip in advance through the Amtrak RideReserve program.

Travel can be confirmed at Amtrak.com or on the Amtrak app by retrieving a ticket, choosing the date and direction of travel, and selecting “Confirm” on the train you would like to reserve a seat on.

Reservations can also be made by calling 1-800-USA-RAIL or at a staffed Amtrak station.

The Rail2Rail programs (COASTER and Metrolink) will observe a blackout period on the same dates, Dec. 23 through Dec. 28.

Trains will operate on a holiday schedule on Dec. 25 in observance of Christmas Day.

More information is available at PacificSurfliner.com/holiday

OIG Finds Amtrak Handled CARES Funds Well

The Amtrak Office of Inspector general has found the passenger carrier has made effective use of its federal CARES Act relief funds.

The OIG said there were some flaws in how Amtrak addressed use of those funds for state-supported intercity rail passengers service but otherwise the carrier has been effective in its use of and accounting of relief funds.

Amtrak received $1.018 billion in CARES Act funding and through October had spent about 87 percent of that money.

Amtrak underreported its use of the funds set aside for state-supported costs by about $686,000 out of a total of $97 million, the OIG audit found.

The OIG report said Amtrak’s finance department has since revised its reporting to more accurately reflect the remaining funds.

In another finding, the OIG said Amtrak could more consistently apply its coronavirus paid leave policy.

Silver Meteor Motive Power in late 1979

Amtrak SDP40F Nos. 633 and 641 have brought the Silver Meteor into Jacksonville, Florida, from Washington in December 1979. No. 633 will pull ahead and back onto the Miami section, of which I am a passenger. The Washington-Florida run would be the last bastion for the SDP40F in scheduled service.