Biden Budget Proposal Would Boost Amtrak Spending 35%

Amtrak would get a 35 percent boost, most of it for capital projects, if Congress adopts the Biden administration budget.

The administration has proposed $2.7 billion for Amtrak with a major share of that funding set to be used for track and station improvements, fleet refreshment, and systemwide maintenance. Another $625 million would create a new grant program, Passenger Rail Improvement, Modernization and Expansion, to develop and expand rail corridors across the nation.

The U.S Department of Transportation would receive $88 billion in total.

This includes $13.5 billion for transit projects of which $2.5 billion is for Capital Investment Grants, a $459 million increase, to accelerate projects already in process and support new projects seeking approval.

Another $550 million would go toward Transit Infrastructure Grants of which $250 million is for the Zero Emission Bus Program.

The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant program would receive $1 billion in funding.

Amtrak Seeks $75B for New Service

Amtrak elaborated this week on its “Connect US” plan, which calls for a 15-year $75 billion federal investment to add 39 new routes and enhance service on 25 other routes.

Calling the plan “Corridor Vision,” Amtrak said it would lead to the carrier providing intercity rail passenger service in 47 of the 48 contiguous states and new stations in more than half of those states.

If implemented, the network expansion would generate $8 billion in annual economic benefits by 2035 and an additional $195 billion in economic activity resulting from capital projects during the same period.

In a letter to Congress, Amtrak CEO William Flynn outlined details of the plan, many of which have already been reported.

This includes Amtrak paying all initial costs for new or improved service but with states eventually assuming responsibility for those costs.

Amtrak proposed to pay upfront the estimated cost for stations, railcars, locomotives, and infrastructure.

Amtrak also is seeking a dedicated funding source, the Passenger Rail Trust Fund, and called for passage of the Rail Passenger Fairness Act, which would enhance Amtrak’s ability to enforce its right of operating preference over freight trains.

In an effort to prevent host railroads from stalling the launch of new routes, Amtrak wants Congress to clarify existing law that provides Amtrak has access to host railroads.

“Too often host railroads resist and stall any efforts to expand service,” Flynn wrote.

In a statement issued with a news release, Flynn said new and improved rail service has the ability to change how Americans move while providing cleaner air, reducing highway congestion and providing a more connected country.

Details of the Connect US plan are contained in a report Amtrak issued titled  Amtrak’s Vision for Improving Transportation Across America.

Among the cities that would receive new or improved service are Houston, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Las Vegas, Nashville, Columbus, Phoenix, and Wichita.

Amtrak said the added service could increase its ridership by 20 million riders annually.

Amtrak said the plan is not a final proposal and does not lay out a specific order or priority ranking for route development.

It said many factors, including available funding levels, post-pandemic travel demand, state interest, host railroad conditions, and equipment availability, will play a role in determining final implementation plans for the Connect US program.

If a corridor is not mentioned in the plan, Amtrak said that doesn’t mean it opposes development of that service.

The passenger carrier cautioned that just because a corridor is shown in its plan doesn’t mean it is certain to be implemented.

“The corridors proposed here are intended to be additive to Amtrak’s pre-COVID-19 route network,” Amtrak said.

Amtrak expects to implement its corridor services over a 15-year period.

The Amtrak report also sought to downplay the idea that these will be high-speed routes.

“While high speed rail service may be right for certain corridors, current state-supported Amtrak services such as the Pacific Surfliner and the Hiawatha show that intercity passenger rail can be successful with conventional operating speeds,” Amtrak said.

“As corridors which begin at conventional speeds build ridership and demand, they can be considered for future conversion to high speed service.”

Funding for Connect US would come from a variety of sources, including direct federal funding to Amtrak for corridor development and operation, and discretionary grants available to states, Amtrak and others for corridor development, the report said.

 “This vision does not propose to replace existing grant programs. Rather, it would augment them with dedicated and reliable funding from an intercity passenger rail trust fund … or other source needed to execute on a long-term vision.”

Tags: Amtrak, Amtrak Connect US, Amtrak funding, Amtrak funding request, Congress, William Flynn

Horizon Cars Almost to the Horizon

Amtrak’s northbound Illini has finished its station work in Centralia, Illinois, and is headed toward its next station stop in Effingham. Train 392 originated in Carbondale and will end its journey at Chicago Union Station later this evening.

The train has a typical consist for Midwest corridor service of Horizon Fleet coaches along with one lone Amfleet food service car tucked in behind the P42DC locomotive pulling the train.

The image was made on Aug. 4, 2012.

Reservations Required on Pacific Surfliners During Peak Summer Weekends

Reservations will be required for travel aboard Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner trains on peak weekends this summer.

The carrier said this will help it manage capacity when more travelers are anticipated.

Among the weekends when reservations will be needed are Memorial Day weekend (May 28-June 1), Fourth of July weekend (July 2-5), the opening weekend at Del Mar racetrack (July 16-19), and Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3-7).

The program allowing use of Metrolink and Coaster tickets on Pacific Surfliners will be suspended on most of these dates, although Amtrak said monthly and 10-ride passes may still be used with a reservation.

Additional dates could be added depending on travel demand.

Ontario Rail Service Being Studied

The province of Ontario, Ontario Northland, and provincial transit agency Metrolinx are working together to restore rail passenger service to Timmins or Cochrane, Ontario.

Service to those points last operated in 2012. Officials on Tuesday released an initial business case for a proposed 13-stop passenger service.

A more detailed business-case study will be needed to flesh out such details as station locations, integration with Ontario Northland’s bus service, and scheduling matters.

The latter include the number of days service would be offered. The advanced business case is expected to be completed in 2022 with service getting underway by mid-decade.

The Way They Began Service

Amtrak’s Superline fleet lounge cars are today known as Sightseer Lounges, but when those cars began revenue in the early 1980s they were named “lounge cafe” cars.

Note also the broad red and blue strips with white accents that ran the length of the car.

When this image was made in Albuquerque in early November 1981, Superliner equipment was still relatively new. The car shown is in the consist of the eastbound Southwest Limited, which later would be renamed the Southwest Chief.

VIA Annual Report Shows Ridership, Revenue Declines for 2020

The 2020 annual report of VIA Rail Canada shows how much the COVID-19 pandemic drove down ridership and revenue.

In 2020 VIA ridership was 1.15 million passenger trips, a 77 percent drop from more than 5 million trips in 2019.

Passenger revenue fell 80 percent to C$76 million from C$388 in 2019. Total revenues were C$92 million, down 77 percent from $411.1 million in 2019.

Service reductions in response to the pandemic triggered a 21.2 percent decline in operating expenses.

The carrier said it laid off 1,000 employees last summer and reduced working hours and salaries of some employees.

The report said most employees have or will eventually return to work while some workers have taken pay cuts. VIA said it plans to bring staff back as it gradually returns to full service.

In looking ahead, VIA said it is planning for a new equipment fleet for the Quebec City-Toronto corridor, a new reservation system, and the renovation of 72 Heritage cars.

Production of new trainsets began last year, VIA selected an onboard Wi-Fi provider and it made progress on the implementation of a computerized maintenance management information system.

Eight economy coach and four business Heritage cars were overhauled last year and partial overhauls were completed on 14 out of 15 P42 locomotives.

VIA said it established a working relationship with the Joint Project Office created by the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

It said this has led the carrier to the “precipice of positive news” for a project to build dedicated passenger rail tracks between Québec City and Toronto.

During 2020, VIA said it launched a Universal Accessibility Policy and completed 18 projects under its three-year plan to adhere to the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations, which took effect in June 2020.

New Amtrak VP Will Oversee Infrastructure, Fleet, Station Projects

Amtrak has appointed an executive vice president who will be overseeing infrastructure, fleet and station programs.

Laura Mason will report to Amtrak President Stephen Gardner. She begins her post on June 28.

In a news release, Amtrak said Mason will lead strategy in developing the railroad’s largest and most complex projects.

The news release said Mason will work with Amtrak’s stakeholders and ensure that programs are implemented in adherence with safety, regulatory, program-management and reporting requirements.

Mason is currently executive vice president of capital delivery at the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority where she has been responsible for project management, engineering and construction of major capital projects, infrastructure renewal, capital-program planning, and the scheduling and contracting strategies.

Lounges to Remain Absent from 2 Trains

Sightseer Lounge cars won’t be returning to two long distance trains when they resume daily operation.

The Rail Passengers Association reported on its website that it has been told by Amtrak that the absence of the popular cars from the Capitol Limited and Texas Eagle is temporary.

“While temporary, we do not yet have a defined timeline for increasing Sightseer Lounge availability, and have placed the other five Western [long distance] routes at a higher priority for deploying these popular cars,” said Larry Chestler, Amtrak’s vice president of the Long-Distance business unit. “We also are maintaining the Sightseer Lounge on the City of New Orleans due to our long-standing axle count requirements in Illinois.”

That means the Capitol Limited and Texas Eagle will will continue to operate with a single food-service car.

Chestler said Amtrak has a shortage of the lounge cars due to coronavirus contingencies. He said the cars will be restored once it’s possible to do so.

The Capitol Limited is scheduled to return to daily operation on May 31 while the Texas Eagle will resume daily operation today (May 24).

In a related development, Amtrak expects to resume full-service dining aboard Western long distance trains as early as June. Last May it switched to the contemporary dining model as a response to COVID-19 pandemic.

The passenger carrier is recalling furloughed workers and getting them qualified.

RPA said it was told that once traditional dining returns to the Western trains, Amtrak will begin work on “improvements to dining services on other [long-distance] routes, including the Eagle.”

Tags: Amtrak onboard service, Amtrak Sightseer Lounge, Amtrak’s Capitol Limited, Amtrak’s Texas Eagle, Capitol Limited, COVID-19 pandemic, dining aboard Amtrak

An Eagle and a Commuter

Appearances to the contrary, the train the left is not an Amtrak train. It is a Trinity Railway Express commuter train using leased Amtrak equipment.

That included a pair of F40PH locomotives and two Horizon Fleet coaches.

On the next track over the Texas Eagle is making its daily stop at the Dallas Union Terminal. Note that the Eagle has a new P40 on the point and a veteran F40PH trailing.

When this image was made on March 4, 1997, such mixed motive power consists were not unusual and would continue through the late 1990s until the P42 fleet began arriving.