501-C6 organization status: Our application has been received by the IRS and has been given a confirmation number. We should have a response by early November 1994. PO Box: ARPA has made a deposit, and is on a waiting list for, a new PO box which will be more conveniently located to those members retrieving mail.
Quarterly Membership Meetings: Intentions for having more frequent meetings were defined as follows: - member talk get-togethers - information to members - non member introductions- include other rail organizations. It was decided that ARPA is not yet ready to plan and prepare four meetings per year.
Video-production proposal: A proposal has come before the board to prepare a five-minute video for use in public relations. A formal proposal to the board is pending.
Demo Train: Carl Bender of Chandler reported on his idea of a Shoppers Train to run from Riggs Rd to Boston St in Chandler to Guadalupe in Mesa. He has already spoken to many people in an effort to get this idea rolling. Jay Myers said that ARPA certainly lends its philosophical support, but will not focus solely on this project. We wish him luck in his future endeavors.
Regional Rail: Phil Sadler reported that there are EPA issues which may be usable in ARPA's favor. Phil's idea is to promote ARPA as an option to aid companies with greater than 75 employees in complying with a travel reduction plan. (Those companies found not in compliance are subject to penalties.) Members are verifying that joining ARPA will be a legitimate compliance with TRP initiatives, and will compile a list of all companies in Maricopa County with more than 75 employees.
The Arizona Rail Passenger Association is currently working on reintroducing an Arizona Rail Authority (A.R.A.) bill into the State Legislature. This bill may differ from the previous one in that funding may be authorized; revenue would come from existing
taxes. One possibility is to redirect some of the several state taxes which are levied against the railroads back into rail transportation, just as many automobile taxes go back toward highway and road transportation.
Meetings will be scheduled with the short line railroads, then with the Class 1 railroads and the public sector. ARPA will be looking for inputs, and support, for an upcoming A.R.A. bill.
The ARPA White Paper proposing a two month demonstration around the time of the 1996 Superbowl is continuing to receive attention and planning. RPTA is continuing to express interest. Stay tuned for additional news. July ARPA Picnic Notes
Thanks to all those who helped plan and carry out the Cookout in Flagstaff. In spite of the rain which turned the planned Cookout into somewhat of a Cook-In, this was a good chance for everyone to meet and chat. It was certainly a break from the heat of southern Arizona. All members are encouraged to consider attending next year's cookout.
[At the picnic, Tom Kelly of the Grand Canyon Railway mentioned that the Canyon trains recently have been so well attended that it has become necessary to add a diesel locomotive in behind the steam engine to handle the additional cars. On a trip I took in April, all 26 seats on the Chief Keokuck parlor car were sold out, and almost every space on the club car as well. The coaches had few empty seats, so I'd say the folks at GCRy are doing a good job of judging how many cars they need each day. (If you get a chance to ride in the parlor car, tell Sue the ARPA TIMETABLE editor sent you.) - Ed.]
A proposal to raise the sales tax to pay for transit and freeway improvements in Maricopa County [has] moved one step closer to the ballot box.
The RPTA Board of Directors and the Maricopa Association of Governments Regional Council unanimously agreed April 27 to put the proposal before the voters next November. The measure now goes before the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors for approval.
If approved by the Board of Supervisors, Maricopa County voters will be asked to increase the sales tax a half-percent to pay for transit and freeway improvements. The tax would be split 50/50, with the transit portion used to fund the Regional Transit Plan for Maricopa County, which calls for a doubling of the bys system and a tripling of the dial-a-ride system.
The Regional Transit Plan was developed in 1990 by the RPTA's Citizen Advisory Committee. The plan calls for seven day a week bus service that would operate from 5AM to midnight. Dial-a-Ride service would expand throughout the region and operate 24 hours a day.
Many of you are aware that Amtrak accommodation charges are higher during the peak summer season, and the December holidays, than during the rest of the year. Accommodation charges usually go down in mid-October. This year, however, sleepers on most western trains will feature offpeak prices starting September 6, rather than October 16. Lowered to offpeak prices starting September are through Texas Eagle/Sunset Limited accommodations. Other affected trains are the California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Desert Wind, and Coast Starlight. On all other trains, offpeak accommodation charges will go into effect for travel starting Oct 16. [from Ted Kildegaard]
Some travelers have observed reductions in accommodation (sleeper) charges compared to last year's prices. Those of you who have taken economics may recall that as price decreases, demand rises. With the new Superliner equipment adding capacity, and freeing older equipment, more spaces are available to sell. (The Sunset Limited / Texas Eagle seems to have three sleepers regularly now, two bound for Miami and one for Chicago) Accommodation revenue should increase, and because the costs of running additional sleepers are fixed, profit should also increase.
At the ARPA Annual Banquet earlier this year, I had a chance to speak with Mr. Chuck Mott, President of WashARP (Washington ARP), who was fortuitously in town that weekend.
Mr. Mott was somewhat frustrated that the large number of studies which have been performed toward Seattle transit improvement have produced little tangible result. One bright spot is that the new downtown Seattle bus tunnel includes LRT tracks should an LRT system be built.
Currently additional studies are underway, and the RTA wants to place, on the May 1996 ballot, a proposal for commuter service plus light or heavy rail. Burlington Northern has already submitted a turnkey proposal to the Snohomish County council.
Current thinking divides proposed service in two parts: Seattle to Tacoma, and Seattle to Everett. Although the rail line lies west of the population center, it would likely do well with the growth in area population, according to Mr. Mott. Coordination with bus and ferry service would increase ridership, and would help to ease the need for east-west travel.
Mr. Mott also notes that trains could run through Seattle, all the way from Tacoma to Everett. This is consistent with the Regional Rail concept as espoused by ARPA, which emphasizes running through city centers. He also noted that, unfortunately, Pacific Northwest voters have little confidence in politicians and proposals. Too many studies have come and gone, and voters see general funds wasted in seemingly trivial pursuits.
The tides may be changing, however, with the recent swift action on the Talgo train. Success of this state sponsored project could bode well for additional projects in the Pacific Northwest.
Information supplied by Robert Constant, via CompuServe
The August 7 Los Angeles Times Sunday Travel Section contained a little "factoid" box listing the top 20 airline routes (in passenger boardings, not passenger miles) for 1993. Los Angeles to Phoenix was ranked seventeenth, with 1.36 million trips per year.
Improved Amtrak service between these two cities should be able to capture some percentage of this large figure. While many other city pairs are too long for existing types of rail travel to reasonably compete (on basis of time, at least,) several other routes stand out.
Number 3 on the list was New York to Boston, with 2.5 million trips; airline trips surely will decrease with electrification of the Northeast Corridor. Seventh was Dallas/Ft. Worth to Houston at 2.2 million; L.A. to San Francisco was eighth at 2.0 million; L.A. to Oakland fifteenth at 1.5 million; and Chicago - Detroit at 1.4 million.
The following is excerpted from a recent letter from new Amtrak President Thomas M. Downs to MinnARP President Andrew Selden:
"Allow me to reassure you that I am under no illusions as to the financial burden that owning and operating the Northeast Corridor places upon this Corporation. At the same time, I am very much aware of the significant contribution to Amtrak that our long-distance services provide. While generating only 28 percent of our riders, long-distance services contribute nearly half our revenues, and provide service to most of the 520 communities we serve, making Amtrak a truly national transportation system.
"I am committed to preserving and enhancing a national rail passenger system. Our current equipment purchase of Superliner[s] and Viewliner[s] should permit a considerable increase in capacity (as well as significant reductions in maintenance and labor expenses) for the trains so equipped, while greatly intensifying their passenger attractiveness. The addition of modern, cost-effective equipment to our long-distance services should go a long way toward further improving their future viability.
"Americans continue to want to see their country at `see level.' Amtrak's long-distance services provide a unique travel experience for discretionary travelers, and one that I believe will continue to constitute a major part in this Corporation's travel offerings."
A disaster may be looming for Amtrak's Western services on a scale comparable to the loss of 5 national system routes in 1979 when the Carter administration last slashed Amtrak funding. This is the legacy of years of deferred maintenance and failure to expand under Graham Claytor.
According to a new study by the U.S. General Accounting Office, and testimony to Congress on March 17 by new Amtrak President Thomas M. Downs, "We are promising a service we can't deliver. We're selling disappointment at the same time we're selling transportation."
The GAO's director of transportation issues, Kenneth M. Mead, testified that Amtrak had failed to grow as Congress intended, and had failed to buy and maintain enough cars and engines to sustain itself. Mead said that some of Amtrak's recent cost-cutting efforts had been counterproductive.
Mead noted that Amtrak's losses since 1990 had outstripped its subsidy by $102 million.
Transportation subcommittee chair Bob Carr (a pro-highway Democrat from Michigan) told Downs not to expect much from Congress because, "What you're getting is about what America is willing to afford, and it's not going to get much better."
In 1979, faced with a similar crisis in the last Democratic administration, Amtrak was forced to kill five long-haul trains, including the North Coast Hiawathas (Chicago- Twin Cities- Seattle via southern Montana), the Lone Star (ChicagoTexas; since restored), the National Limited (New York- St. Louis), and the Floridian (direct Chicago- Florida service.) Similar plans could be afoot now, to the extent that the same people are involved at Amtrak, using the same information systems, analytical techniques, and outlook.
Curiously, experience since 1979 has proven conclusively that cutting long-haul trains costs more than it saves, as the trains' revenues exceed, often substantially, the direct and semi-variable costs of operating them. One simple proof of this came last summer when flooding forced Amtrak to annul numerous trains. If cutting trains saves money, that should have been a financial bonanza. It wasn't, of course. Similarly, Amtrak's finances have actually suffered as a consequence of cutting the Pioneer and Eagle to tri-weekly last fall (although equipment availability for other routes has improved slightly.)
At the same time, an Amtrak spokesman confirmed in the March issue of Railway Age that annual net operating losses in the NEC come to $250 million (plus all the associated overhead and administrative costs, which MinnARP estimates at another $100 million), yet it's the national system trains that are said to be "too costly" and vulnerable.
[Consider] the cost, in terms of lost revenue, of Amtrak's extremely limited capacity, and how that problem is exacerbated by Amtrak's long-standing policy of keeping as much as 25% of its available fleet in reserve to cover replacement of cars that have to be taken out of service on short notice (usually for mechanical reasons.)
[This author has] long felt that in Amtrak's current financial crisis, they would be much better off in the long run by running every car they have - everything with wheels on it - and if every now and then a car gets bad-ordered, then there's a problem with reaccommodated passengers that has to be dealt with. But in the meantime, maximize revenues with all your assets.
Recently, the cost of Amtrak's idle capacity was illustrated by an incident in Florida. NBC TV reporter Gene Shallit was injured in a car accident in south Florida, and tried to book space on Amtrak to get back to New York rather than fly with his injured
leg in a cast. Well, we all know what happened - "Sorry, sir, we're sold out" - probably until 1997. Strings get pulled -- and, lo and behold, out comes a "protection" 10/6 sleeper to add to the consist of the Silver Meteor for one trip.
And here's the kicker (confirmed by a reliable source high up in Amtrak HQ): the car was sold out within 2 hours of going into the computer, for a trip only a few days off. How much money is Amtrak losing by not running that sleeper on every trip? How many other "protection" cars are sitting idle around the system, gathering dust instead of revenues?
This year we went to St. Louis on the Sunset Limited and the Texas Eagle. We left Phoenix May 18, on time, but were two hours late by El Paso after waiting for freight trains.
The train was full, as evidenced by the wait for breakfast. The evening meal was by reservation. When we arrived, the salads were on the table - which completed a very attractive table setting. The Eagle had a new diner, in purple trimmed with white. We found the food better on the Eagle.
At San Antonio, where the Alamodome sits beside the station, the train apparently went too far and partially derailed. This caused an additional three hour delay which, along with the previous two hours, we were not able to make up; the train arrived St. Louis five hours late. To make amends, Amtrak was offering continuing passengers a free dinner past St. Louis.
We started our return trip at the old train station, which has been converted into many shops and cafes. There is entertainment going all the time, and the station seems to be a big success.
In contrast the old station's peak of three hundred trains a day, from 7:30 pm when we arrived at the Amtrak station to midnight, when the Eagle arrived, we saw a few short runs from Chicago and Kansas City. The passenger counts on those trains were small. Our own train was about an hour late with electrical problems. Several people waiting at the station told us Amtrak had flown them in from Chicago to make their connections on the Eagle. Amtrak is paying a lot of money to keep their customers happy.
This Eagle had an older diner, and the food was not as good. Perhaps it is decided by the chef. But after San Antonio, where we again joined the Sunset which had a new diner, the food was very good.
All these trains had a friendly, helpful crew. I was especially impressed when one attendant stopped by our economy bedroom and asked if everything was OK and if we were enjoying our trip. I really feel Amtrak is going out of their way to please their customers.
For anyone interested in what regional rail is today, I recommend this publication as a source of solid information.
To quote the introduction of this publication, "...the last decade has seen an unparalleled restoration of North America's regional railroads that has made them the fastest growing segment of public transit. In this first-ever Regional/Commuter special we review this remarkable decade and look ahead to the 21st century -- Our User's Guide takes you to every North American regional rail property with data and new maps."
Articles include: "The New Age of Regional Rail;" "Coming Soon to a Suburb Near You" (which mentions, albeit briefly, regional rail efforts in Arizona; "Metro-North: From Faltering to First-Rate;" and "Commuter Boom on the Potomac." Seven pages detail L.A.'s MetroLink successes and prospects. The maps and stats alone are well worth the $9.95 price. (North American Commuter Rail 1994; 66 pages, soft-bound, Pentrex 1994)
The occasional ARPA presence at the Harvey Stand seems a welcome one among both the traveling public, for whom the ARPA volunteers attempt to answer an unexpectedly wide variety of questions, and among the station crew. When refreshments are offered, it has been observed that ice-cold lemonade goes faster than hot coffee in the Phoenix summer.
The renovation of the Flagstaff Visitors' Center/Amtrak depot is complete. The original waiting room, which still maintains wooden benches, also doubles as the Visitors' center, with a well-staffed information desk, and many racks of brochures to plan your Northern Arizona vacation.
The evening before, and the morning after, the recent ARPA picnic near Flagstaff found this station busy with passengers and families waiting for the Southwest Chief. The station was well-lighted and seemed a comfortable place to wait for a train. Surely a few of these passengers had arrived to the station early and walked through the many shops of downtown Flagstaff just a few steps away.
With its location in Flagstaff the depot is well suited in its role as a train station, bus stop, and visitors center.
In March the St. Louis area's Bi-State Development Agency published a market research survey on users of its buses and the new MetroLink light rail system. The survey offers strong evidence to bolster rail transit advocates' contention that light rail attracts a wider range of users, traveling for a greater variety of purposes, than does the bus system.
Among the interesting items discovered in the Bi-State survey:
After less than one year in service and with the important west end airport terminus still depending on shuttle buses, MetroLink has already made mush of critics' arguments. It is hauling nearly 24,000 passengers daily, well above even the most optimistic pre-opening estimates. By attracting middle class and suburban riders, MetroLink is broadening the political base of support for public transporation - and this may well prove to be one of its most important contributions. MetroLink is also providing encouragement to backers who hoped that it would be an economic engine to help in the rebuilding of the St. Louis urban core. Not to be underestimated are the philosophical benefits of the new light rail system. In talking to MetroLink users, it is apparent that the system has given many a renewed sense of community and optimism.
[Eastward extension to Belleville/Scott AFB via the CSX routing is underway, with funding approved by voters 2-1; it will have 13 stations and should be open in 1998.]
D.C.Warner notes that as of July 13, all 11 Duewag SD-100 light rail vehicles are on RTD property. Denver's light rail line is under construction.
Mr. Robert Hart sent in a clipping from the July 16 Chicago Tribune which noted that METRA is preparing to open a new commuter line, Chicago's first addition since 1926, on Wisconsin Central trackage. "[T]he first passengers will board in April 1996 ... with an estimated 5,400 riders a day." "Though there will be substantial work in upgrading the tracks and rail crossings, there will be none of the hassle or expense of acquiring right-of-way and starting from scratch..." The Tribune emphasizes that the response of the communities was critical: "they - with the support of local business - agreed to foot part of the bill by building stations and parking lots. That kind of collaboration helped make it possible to get generous state and federal funding." At least one additional new line is under study.
[If you can imagine reading "Tucson" or "Phoenix" in the above article; if you know that regional Arizona Rail is one of ARPA's goals; then you are - or should be - an active ARPA member. - Ed.]
RAILPAC (the Rail Passenger Association of California,) in their June 1994 Review, carried an article by their editor, Russ Jackson. Among the objectives set forth were:
Other articles in the July 1994 newsletter include "Institutional Changes Needed to Develop California's Passenger Rail Network," by Dr. Adrian Herzog, which espouses the establishment of a terminal railroad district for southern California, and a similar arrangement for northern California. Both of these would tie into the regional rail networks of neighboring states (Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon.)
Also in this newsletter are reprints of letters detailing how RAILPAC suggested a station stop at the Burbank Airport, and how this suggestion was handled by both Metrolink and the mayor of Burbank.
Since its inception, ARPA has been an organization that has supported and advocated rail travel in and through Arizona. Over the past year and a half ARPA has taken a prominent role in the community with its promotion of activities that are leading to the formation of public policies for regional and commuter rail travel in Arizona.
The higher profile in the community and in the rail industry has led to an increased workload for the ARPA board. Therefore, in accordance with the ARPA by-laws, the board of directors has voted to increase the size of the board from seven to fifteen members. This change should allow for an influx of energy and a more widespread involvement in the leadership of ARPA. To insure that quorums will be reached at each board meeting, the quorum requirements have been set at seven.