File: ro_1_8.txt (1/3) The rail magazine of the future =================================================== RAIL ONLINE VOLUME 1, ISSUE 8 MARCH 1994 =================================================== _______________________________________________________________ Editor-in-Chief: Peter Kirn, 73232,3534 CompuServe, 73232.3534@compuserve.com Internet Compilation Copyright (C) 1994 E/Press publishing A non-profit publication from E/Press. _______________________________________________________________ JOIN ARPNET TODAY! If you're involved in an Association of Rail Passengers, join the RailOnline network of ARPs that will keep you in touch with transit issues nationwide, give you free transit stories for inclusion in your newsletter, and allow you to get your own message out. Write us today. E-pages: For online readers, RailOnline takes advantage of the search-and-find features in editors. For instance, to read the letter from the editor, have your editor search for the text "@@A". For offline readers printing RO for Windows, we've included page numbers, as well. RO Newswire: The latest stories from around the world ----------------------------------------------------- FROM THE EDITOR: An introduction to the Newswire's all new format.......@@A INSIGHT: UP strike and UTU/BLE merger disagreement......................@@B BUSINESS: Fourth quarter verdict in, and FORTUNE judges the railroads...@@C FRONT LINES: The railroads fight winter weather.........................@@D ...plus a barge again endangers the Sunset Limited, and more on operations nationwide PASSENGERS: Clinton threatens transit budget slash......................@@E ...plus the latest at Amtrak, and transit in the Northeast Corridor, Chicago, and the West Coast PERSPECTIVE: OP-ED: Is Amtrak on the wrong track?.......................@@F INTERNATIONAL: WWI ghost derails TGV, Chunnel fares.....................@@G ...plus Europe's first MagLev t I d B i T s ! :BritRail's rail cats are endangered by privatization...@@H AL TUNER: We welcome the newest addition to the newswire................@@I RO Features: Unique in-depth articles ------------------------------------- Getting the most out of Amtrak Tips for Amtrak riders from Harry Sutton........................@@J ZEPHYR A veteran journalist's new book brings out the human side.......@@K Cyberspace Report A chance to talk to us..........................................@@L _________________________________________________________________ FROM THE EDITOR: THE RO NEWSWIRE... Mark II @@A _________________________________________________________________ by Peter Kirn So far, all the changes that I've made to RailOnline's news coverage have been gradual since its introduction in issue 2, adding coverage to what has basically been the same coverage. That changes this issue. Coverage has already made some quantum leaps since the somewhat crude collection of news in August, which was extremely weighted toward the Northeast. We've accomplished that on all sorts of different levels. I've recruited several people as additions to our own in-house news staff. And the submitting publications have changed a lot, too, especially our primary partner, the Delaware Valley Rail Passenger, where editor Matthew Mitchell has moved towards news on a more national front. I feel that it's now time to change the Newswire format to move it closer to its longer-term goals, by splitting it up into the following sections: INSIGHT: This popular section has allowed us to go into detail on longer term issues, like our current three-part series on Amtrak and US rail and transit policy, including the second installment in this issue. BUSINESS: A new section, the business section will cover the rail industry from the inside out, but will remain interesting to "laymen" and railfans by covering trends and not raw numbers. As is RO tradition, albeit not always liked, much of this coverage will come from the railroads themselves. Despite this, I will keep a watchful eye out for biased writing that we counter with our own writers. This section will be divided by railroad. FRONT LINES: Our most unusual new venture in news is creating a section on operating. By operating I don't mean covering what locomotives are where. Front Lines will cover the daily struggle railroads have with the elements and car shipments, from combating weather to carrying crucial carloads. RO has already set a new standard in this section with our almost instantaneous coverage of flooding, the LA earthquake, and the winter of `94. This section will also be divided by line. PASSENGERS: Transit has proved to be an important issue for RO's readers. This section will include the Delaware Valley Rail Passenger's pace-setting coverage of the busy Northeast Corridor, Bill Vandervoort's insight into the nation's transit leader, Chicago, and coverage of California transit, as well, soon. And, of course, we won't forget Amtrak or Washington's position on railroading. Our unique High Speed Rail Report will also be a regular feature of the section. As I'm sure you've guessed from this description, transit will be by far RO Newswire's largest section, but the smaller sections will be indexed by "@@" numbers. PERSPECTIVE: Introduced in issue 7, Perspective will continue to be a place for a variety of points of view, whether by their job and experience or by their opinion. I encourage your submission to this section, because it's one of the places where I will run op-ed pieces. INTERNATIONAL: The thing that perhaps distinguishes RO as a publication is its international rail coverage, and in some surprising ways - for Europeans, for example, we're a much-needed source for US news. Despite our cyberspace heritage, I realize RO is inevitably a US publication. However, we have put together an extremely competitive selection of stories from Canada and Europe, thanks to our own Bryce Lee and Adri Noort, and the cooperation of BritRail Travel Internation, the United States' connection with British Rail. International will be divided by region. TIDBITS: I've been very surprised by the reaction to Tidbits. No other section in the Newswire has received as much praise, or as much criticism. Since its debut, it has remained the most unusual section in RO. Let me tell you now: it's here to stay. However, Tidbits receives an upgrade this issue in terms of coverage, with a better assortment of stories than any other edition. Watch the "cyberspace report" inside Tidbits. That name hasn't been heard for quite a few months now. Today it will include an update of rail action on BBSs and national services. ...all that, plus Al Tuner's innovative "News from Here" column with his choice stories. I'm sure by now you've noticed the divisions in RailOnline are much like that of a newspaper. To be honest, this was not intentional, but it is an important parallel. This may look like shuffling around the same stories, but it's really more than that. Format is the single most important factor in a publication, because it directly impacts how easily you can get to what you want to read. I think you'll like the new format, especially since inevitably it will affect the aim of our coverage. RailOnline is once again taking an aggressive role, separating itself further still from currently available rail publications in contents, not just in its electronic format. The biggest problem so far with the Newswire is how unbalanced it has been. To sum up these changes, no more. The articles in this issue, as well as the format changes, are proof. And, as always, I won't stop with "good enough" - you'll see each issue accomplish this better than the one previous. Many of the comments I've gotten in the latest RO survey on CompuServe have mirrored my own feelings about the publication. I'm sure you often forget, but I'm a reader of RailOnline, too. I read it closely each month, cover to cover! So, it's very important to me that it be a quality publication, because I have to live with it for hours and hours every week. RO is somewhere in between a child, a wife, and an archival for me, and I stay in extremely close quarters with it. I've enjoyed shaping it, and watching you shape it and even it shaping itself. I'm more confident about issue 8 than I have ever been. I'm not bragging. I believe the current structure will last many issues. I'm still curious to hear your comments now, especially if you disagree. But thanks to all of you - RO never ceases to excite and challenge me, on a daily basis. - Peter Kirn, Editor THE GUIDE RETIRES... RO GUIDE is no longer a feature in RailOnline starting with this issue. Rather, RO will attempt to be structured so that you don't need it. -PK ___ RO Newswire: INSIGHT _______________________________________ BIG NEWS AT THE UNIONS A UP Strike and possible UTU/BLE merger @@B ________________________________________________________________ UTU ANNOUNCES STRIKE AT UP Peter Kirn (RO) United Transportation Union International President G. Thomas DuBose announced March 1 that he authorized a peaceful withdrawal from service of UTU-represented employees on the Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) system effective at 2 p.m. (CST) because of what the UTU called "arbitrary and unilateral promulgation of work rules, which is a `major dispute' under the Railway Labor Act, entitling the union to self-help." The Union Pacific is requiring conductors, brakemen and yardmen to drive company owned vehicles as part of their duties, which is not permitted by any UTU agreement or agreed-upon practice. On trains with only a conductor, this means that for periods of time while the conductor is driving the vehicle, only the engineer is aboard the train. Engineer-only operations are not permitted. The union wrote a letter to the railroad about this issue February 4, 1994,demanding the practice be stopped, and asking by what authority the railroad was acting. No written response was ever received. At a February 23, 1994, meeting with the union in Kansas City, Mo., UP management refused to stop the practice, but could not cite any agreement in support of it. Amtrak and commuter rail lines will not be affected by this withdrawal from service. UTU members are to report for work to Amtrak and commuter rail lines as usual. UTU pickets are being directed to permit all Amtrak and commuter line employees to report for work as usual. MERGER OR COOPERATION? America's two unions can't agree Peter Kirn (RO) with Jerry Horvath (UTU News) In late October 1993, officers of the United Transportation Union (UTU) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLE) began informal discussions to determine if a merger between the two rail-labor organizations could be achieved. At that time, meetings were planned to help determine whether the leadership of the two unions could reach an accord for the establishment of a unification committee. In November 1993, UTU President DuBose and BLE President Ronald P. McLaughlin had each appointed a 10-member committee to explore the merger question, with a meeting between the two committees held in early December 1993 in St. Louis, Mo. In a report to President DuBose following the December 1993 meeting, the UTU committee issued a report advising that "more specific discussions should be held in the near future to develop an agreement of merger between the UTU and BLE." It said discussion should include craft autonomy, consolidation of duplicate membership services, seniority retention/exclusive representation, financial conditions of the two organizations, and more efficient representation for a combined membership. In the second week of January 1994, the BLE held a meeting of its General Chairpersons and its Executive Board, where the feasibility of a UTU/BLE merger appeared on the agenda. In the wake of that meeting, President McLaughlin issued his letter of Jan. 11, 1994, in which he called off further merger talks for the immediate future and instead urged efforts to improve the relationship between the two organizations as a first step toward continued merger discussions. The Cleveland Plain Dealer of March 1 reported that the UTU hasn't given up on the idea, and that a letter that week suggested that McLaughlin poll members to see what they want. A spokesman for McLaughlin told the Plain Dealer that the BLE was complying, but the poll would only cover BLE members, not representing those of the UTU as well. THE SIDES... Peter Kirn (RO) Online here on CompuServe's TrainNet, opinions have been pretty clear on the matter of a possible UTU-BLE merger. Sympathy has been very much with the BLE's president, with only a few exceptions, in the RR Employees message section. Many members, some even on the UTU side, feel the rivalry between the unions has gone on to long to go straight to a merger without first trying to build trust and cooperation. Many BLE and UTU-E members have also been frustrated with UTU decisions in the past, especially a decision in 1985 that TrainNet users called a "sellout" endangering those with hostling jobs. One member has nicknamed the UTU "U Took Us". THEIR WORDS Excerpts from the president's letters McLaughlin, BLE: "The BLE invites the UTU to propose cooperative efforts by which our two unions might jointly negotiate during the upcoming round of collective bargaining with the carriers--for the purpose of benefiting as many locomotive engineers and other operating craft employees as possible." "By virtue of extending this invitation, the BLE has now opened the door to cooperation between our respective unions, in a way which will benefit the memberships of both. I look forward to hearing from you, regarding the UTU's response to this BLE proposition." DuBose, UTU: "As I have discussed with you in the past, what must be overcome in furthering the merger of our organizations are political overtones which creep into the decision-making process, when the issue should really be decided on its merits. Submitting the issue to our respective memberships will minimize any political factors in making the decision, and will make it more likely that a decision on the merits is reached. "The cost of this resolution can be borne by both organizations, and tabulation may be done on a joint basis, with appropriate representatives from each organization formulating a uniform question to be submitted to the memberships and to be present at tabulation. Ron, don't you think the time has come to set aside all personal and political agendas and get on with doing what our memberships want and most of all deserve?" Special thanks to Jerry Hoare with BLE division 157 Cab Signals, and to John Horvath with UTU News. ___ RO Newswire: BUSINESS ______________________________________ The latest in the industry: Earnings and a FORTUNE teller recount the story @@C ________________________________________________________________ 4th Quarter Verdict in: ======================= UNION PACIFIC SETS RECORD: Union Pacific Corporation earned a record $235 million compared to $191 million last year. MAJOR INCREASE ON SF: Santa Fe Pacific Corporation earned $67 million compared to $43.9 million in the fourth quarter of 1992. CSX FALTERS: CSX Corporation reported fourth quarter earnings of $151 million, a $1 million drop over the same period last year. BN UP $8 MILLION: Burlington Northern reported quarterly earnings of $118 million, compared to $111 million in the same period of 1992. CONRAIL A STRONG PERFORMER: Conrail's fourth quarter net income rose 15.2 percent and earnings per share rose 17.2 percent compared to the 1992 4Q. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 1993 totaled $910 million, a 6.2 percent increase, compared to $857 million for the fourth quarter of 1992. Full year revenue totaled $3.453 billion in 1993, an increase of 3.2 percent, compared to $3.345 billion in 1992. ___ Statistics courtesy Conrail Newswire Contract News ============= CONRAIL & COAL Conrail lands major Bethlehem deal; new car developed in Johnstown Conrail Newswire Conrail will continue to carry millions of tons of metallurgical coal, coke and iron ore to Bethlehem Steel's Bethlehem, Pa., Burns Harbor, In. and Buffalo, NY plants in 1994. The renegotiated contracts will bring estimated total revenues of $45.4 million. The breakdown looks like this: $9.65 million for iron ore; $13.75 million for interplant coke moves and $22 million for metallurgical coal. In other news on the coal front, a new open top hopper rail car has been developed by Conrail and Johnstown America. It was developed to be more "user friendly" for the railroad's shippers and incorporates higher cubic capacity, higher payload and more economy. The car body is stainless steel which increases its lifetime in the fleet by reducing rust and corrosion. The prototype is now being tested by customers and is the first of 1425 "four pocket" cars to be built this year. Evaluation ========== FORTUNE JUDGES RAILROADS Conrail Newswire (edited for RO) Fortune Magazine has published its list of 404 "Most Admired" companies in America and Conrail's in the top 100, ranking 96th. Companies are rated on eight "key attributes of reputation": quality of management; quality of products or services; financial soundness; value as a long-term investment; use of corporate assets; innovativeness; community and environmental responsibility; and ability to attract, develop and keep talented people. Railroads compared poorly with the tobacco, airlines and aerospace industries. Among railroads, Norfolk Southern came out on top, followed by Union Pacific and Conrail. _______________________________________________________________________ All news stories in the RO Newswire from railroad sources are carefully edited to remove biased and opinionated statements. TRENDS: ======= ALL-TIME HIGH FOR AUTO SHIPMENTS Peter Kirn (RO) Across the continent, automobile shipments are at an all-time high. Many plants are working a few hours of overtime each day. As a result, nearly every railroad is experiencing n extreme shortage of multi-level cars. February has also been a big month for shipments to Southern California in the wake of the earthquake. ___ RO Newswire: FRONT LINES ___________________________________ The operations saga: from the tragic to the heroic This Month... WINTER BLUES @@D ________________________________________________________________ After a difficult January (see issue 7: Late-Breaking News), February again pushed US railroads as severe winter storms, generating ice, snow, high winds, and low visibility. Railroads were not always the victims, however. Sometimes they were the saviors, called upon to save lives as on CSX or haul salt for winter-beaten cities like Chicago. WINTER BLUES: Chicago ===================== RAIL CAPITAL LOW ON SALT, PACKED WITH DETOURING TRAINS Peter Kirn (RO) Friday, February 26, 1994 may have been the most difficult day of the winter for Chicago. A winter storm all morning brought visibility down to half a block, but the worst was yet to come. A second storm in the afternoon was upgraded to blizzard conditions, with winds up to 50 miles per hour generating "white out" conditions of zero visibility. A third snowfall fell during the night and early morning Saturday. Traffic conditions on Chicago roadways fell to extreme lows, with a few miles taking 45 minutes or more and frequent accidents. While it would appear Chicago's roadway system and two major airports are the big players in this drama, railroads are actually the key element. The National Weather Service reports February as the "snowiest" February on record. With salt supplies dwindling, and salt "rationing" in effect, railroads are Chicagoland's lifeline as its salt source. Meanwhile, traffic from winter weather in the Midwest has escalated greatly, a railfan's dream if they're willing to brave the cold. Areas such as "The Raceway" near Aurora are filled with units from a variety of Chicago roads. WINTER BLUES: NEC ================= ICE PUSHES CORRIDOR LINES TO THE EDGE IN JANUARY Delaware Valley Rail Passenger (DVRP) Staff (RO Newswire member) Rail experts often say ice is worse than snow in disrupting train service. Freezing rain slips into switches and freezes them in place. Ice causes tree limbs to fall onto power and signal lines: bringing them down. Ice on roads makes it difficult for repair crews to get to work sites. Take those problems and multiply by three. That's what East Coast railroads faced last month, plus a cold snap not seen here in over a decade. > Amtrak okay in NEC, trouble to Chicago Amtrak's Northeast Corridor trains got to their destinations reliably nearly the whole month, with occasional delays. Diesel locomotives were used to get trains around downed power lines. An air line failure snarled the Washington Terminal area, causing several trains to be annulled. Metroliner Service was suspended during the height of cold-induced electric crisis Jan. 19, and Metroliner passengers were asked to take conventional trains, to reduce power use in the most critical hours. Give Amtrak and its passengers a medal for citizenship. Amtrak had huge problems with its long-distance trains. The very old coaches and sleepers used on many trains literally froze and were unusable. Fuel in diesel locomotives turned to jelly and engines quit during the freeze. As a result, most trains were annulled: on a couple nights, only the Broadway Limited made it between the East and Chicago. Snow and ice closed some of the freight lines used by Amtrak, causing many delays and detours throughout the month. > SEPTA learns its lesson the hard way SEPTA's performance in the second and third storms was an improvement over the first, when railroad service collapsed. All service was shut down Friday evening the 7th; very few trains ran the 8th, and full service wasn't restored until the 9th. SEPTA apparently did not run 'pilot trains' during this ice storm, or add extra cars to consists for extra pantographs to act as ice-breakers. Lack of preparedness was the story in a lot of cases, such as the weak reaction to shifts in passenger demand caused by early business closings. Several passengers complained of being passed up by overcrowded trains, especially at 30th Street. Other commuter railroads have learned to put extra cars onto early-afternoon trains on wintry days. Metra even goes so far as to aim marketing efforts at these 'snow-bird' customers, and get them on the trains on nice days too. One good RRD move was to arrange for Amtrak trains to pick up Coatesville and Parkesburg passengers. (SEPTA tickets were accepted during the storm) This let Amtrak not have to worry about the switches at which SEPTA's Parkesburg trains turn. SEPTA's subway and elevated lines were reliable workhorses, though one night's El service was halted to inspect a possible crack in the elevated structure. The biggest problem for Subway-Surface trolleys was stuck automobiles blocking the tracks, though overcrowding ran a close second. Suburban Transit Division trolleys suffered some storm-related disruptions; many bus lines were simply shut down. > Power failure makes one Friday infamous for SEPTA and Amtrak commuters A problem with power dispatching made a shambles of SEPTA's commuter rail lines much of the afternoon and evening Friday, January 28. Details are unconfirmed at press time, but its was reported that the initial failure was in Amtrak's switchgear. Amtrak supplies power to all of SEPTA's ex-PRR lines, and to the Center City Tunnel. Both Amtrak and SEPTA lost power for several hours, but the problems persisted on SEPTA, even after Amtrak was back running. CONRAIL RESCUES NORTHEAST SALT SUPPLIES Conrail Newswire (edited for RO), February 8 Last week, the Delaware and Susquehanna Valleys were facing yet another snow-ice-sleet-freezing-rain storm. If that wasn't bad enough, there was no rock salt to be found within what seemed like a million miles. A mammoth effort among Conrail's Transportation Department, Division personnel and the CORE Service Group's Petrochemicals and Minerals group helped Conrail come to the rescue of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the City of Philadelphia and townships and municipalities in the Delaware and Susquehanna Valleys. Over the past weekend, 72 carloads of salt were expedited from Cargill in Ithaca, NY with 30 of them arriving in Harrisburg and 42 in Philadelphia on Friday. And on Super Bowl Sunday, Dallas wasn't the only winner. The City of Philadelphia was a winner too, because 93 cars of the precious commodity from Akzo Salt, Inc. in Retsof, NY (near Rochester) arrived in Port Richmond, Pa. with 15 of the carloads tagged for the City's use and the rest to be distributed to surrounding area townships and municipalities. This train arrived in an amazing 17 hours from the Rochester area. Freight cars were pulled from the coal hopper and grain hopper fleets to accommodate demand. The Philadelphia area will receive 15 more cars this week and 30 next week. Expedited salt trains are also headed to Port Newark and Waldwick in northern New Jersey. WINTER BLUES: Midwest ===================== CSXT HIT HARD IN WESTERN MICHIGAN CSX News For the second time in four weeks, much of the CSXT system has been blanketed with a severe storm system, leaving snow, ice and flooding in its wake. Al Crown, general manager-operations, said this storm "came much harder and faster than our weather intelligence predicted." Western Michigan has up to 5 feet of snow, and widespread sleet and ice storms have created treacherous conditions, freezing switches, closing roadways and downing trees in many other areas. The Corbin Division was hardest hit, with trees down on all critical lines. Despite the operational challenges, most customers are being served, sometimes through monumental effort and dedication. "A couple nights ago, Baltimore had 4 inches of ice on the ground," Crown said. "The General Motors plant needed to be switched, or they would have had 3,100 employees standing still. Emory Hill (division superintendent), Tony Tuchek (terminal superintendent) and Jerry Herndon (assistant division engineer) came up with a plan to switch the plant safely, and they worked all night with the crew to get the plant switched safely and on time. That's the kind of dedication we're seeing all over the system." OPERATIONS: WEST ================ DEJA VU? Amtrak's Sunset Limited is again endangered by a barge SP News, January 26 Last September 22, Amtrak's Sunset Limited hurtled off an Alabama bridge after a barge ran into the span and damaged it. In an eerie echo of that scenario, a barge broke loose from its mooring at Bayou Boeuf, LA., last week and bumped SP's bridge -- but this time the bridge was tended and the oncoming Sunset Limited was alerted. The barge hit the Bayou Boeuf bridge about 4:15 PM, January 17. Bridge tender Billy Himel immediately notified dispatcher John Rodriguez in the Regional Transportation Center in Houston, and Rodriguez radioed the Amtrak train, which was about 10 miles from the bridge. The train was halted, and returned to New Orleans. Three freight trains also were delayed. The bridge was knocked out of line 3 inches on the west end and 6 inches on the east end, said Avondale Trainmaster Dave Dawson. "The barge had to be moved of the span and then the track realigned," Dawson said. "The main line was reopened at 1:00 AM." The structure is a 124-foot swing span bridge, with a bridge tender on duty 24 hours a day. The Coast Guard began an investigation of the incident. SP PLAYS KEY ROLE IN AIDING RELIEF AND CARRYING COMMUTERS SP News, January 26 SP crews worked over the past weekend to complete two passenger platforms at Lancaster and Palmdale for MetroLink, which is providing expanded commuter rail service in the aftermath of the January 17 Los Angeles earthquake. MetroLink service from downtown LA previously extended only to Santa Clarita. After the disaster, SP offered use of its lines into Palmdale and Lancaster, and MetroLink estimated that up to 15,000 commuters a day would use the service. SP also offered other assistance. In a letter to California Governor Pete Wilson and L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, SP Vice Chairman Bob Starzel said the Company would provide, if needed, additional intermodal rail service between L.A. and the Bay Area to alleviate highway congestion, and also would transport drinking water. Meantime, SP is giving free transportation for various shipments of donated earthquake relief supplies, said Kathy Welch, Clearance Bureau team leader and shipment coordinator. Among the shipments: four trailerloads received from Burlington Northern at Portland; an SP trailerload (drayage provided by Swift Transportation) from Phoenix, another trailer from St. Anthony's Breadbasket in Fresno, and a boxcar from the Good Shepherd Center of Sacramento. Romar Transportation Company of Kansas City has also contacted SP about moving 15 to 20 trailers, to be filled with public donations at Kansas City, Welch said. ___ RO Newswire: PASSENGERS ____________________________________ Washington, Amtrak, and transit nationwide @@E ________________________________________________________________ Washington ========== CLINTON THREATENS TRANSIT BUDGET SLASH DVRP (RO Newswire Member) Preliminary versions of the Federal Budget for Fiscal 1995 show a plan by the Clinton Administration to eliminate federal operating support of public transit systems over the next three years. Intended as a deficit reduction measure to save $800 million, this proposal would have drastic impacts on public transportation. While transit agencies like SEPTA have reduced their reliance on FTA operating subsidies (they make up less than 10% of SEPTA's budget) transit passengers face either major cuts in service or a significant fare increase if this source of funds dries up. Smaller transit agencies often count more on federal support, so this proposal may hit small city and rural systems even worse. Amtrak ====== AMTRAK SHORTS DVRP (RON member), edited by Peter Kirn NEW SENIOR CITIZENS DISCOUNT. Amtrak is offering a 15 percent discount to senior citizens over 65, giving more savings off its already-low fares. The senior tariff is not effective on Auto-Train or Metroliner service, and seats at these fares are limited on some trains. SUPERLINER II HERE. The first of the Superliner II cars, the Arkansas is in service on the City of New Orleans. A total of 55 new double-deck sleepers are arriving over the next year, and the first of 20 new diners is expected this month. They introduce a new paint scheme, too. Amtrak has exercised an option in the order for 55 additional cars, mostly crew dormitory-high/low-level transition cars. The Superliner IIs are being built in Vermont by Bombardier. HUNGRY? PENNSYLVANIAN NOW SERVES IT HOT. Hot entrees are now served on the Pennsylvanian. Three selections are available: barbecued short ribs, chicken Parmesan, and vegetable lasagna. Pre-prepared, frozen, then microwaved when served, all three are tasty, but not quite filling enough. MORE POWER TO YOU, NEC. Amtrak continues to upgrade the Northeast Corridor power supply for capacity and reliability. A contract was let recently for a new solid-state frequency converter to be installed at Sunnyside Yard in Queens. ANOTHER THRUWAY LINE GONE. Thruway bus service to Fort Wayne, Indiana is being ended by Amtrak. `94 CALENDAR IS A SIGN OF THE TIMES. Amtrak's poster-sized calendar features a side-by side photo of new motive power: Sweden's X2000, Germany's ICE, and the G.E. Genesis locomotive, made in Pennsylvania. The calendar is $5.00 per copy, $3.00 or less for orders of 5 or more. To order, send check or M.O. to Amtrak Calendar, Box 7717, Itasca IL 60143. NEW RAIL SERVICE IN WASHINGTON STATE. The State of Washington is working on restoring rail service between Seattle and Vancouver, BC, and has dedicated $24 million for equipment and other needs. Service between Seattle and Portland will also be expanded, to four trains per day starting this fall. DISPUTE OVER COST RECOVERY BETWEEN CONRAIL AND AMTRAK Conrail Newswire, February 1 Following months of unsuccessful negotiations, Conrail and Amtrak jointly applied to the Interstate Commerce Commission to resolve a dispute concerning the freight railroad's recovery of incremental track maintenance and related costs for Amtrak's use of Conrail's rail lines. The disputed costs are estimated at $10 million annually. Track maintenance costs include capital investment to replace worn rail, ties and ballast, as well as operating costs for routine maintenance to keep our tracks in safe condition. Incremental costs are those that are attributable to Amtrak's use of Conrail tracks beyond what Conrail would otherwise experience. Most freight railroads recover part of these costs, but Amtrak has been using Conrail lines without paying any of the direct costs associated with that use. At the same time, Amtrak recovers not only its direct costs, but also receives a contribution to its fixed costs when we use their lines in the Northeast Corridor. The 1976 contract between the two railroads says that if both parties disagree on cost recovery, the ICC will settle the dispute. There is a Congressional limit on the amount that other railroads can charge Amtrak for the use of tracks, so we can only expect to recover part of our fixed costs as a result of the proceeding initiated late last week. More than 40 Amtrak trains per day run over Conrail tracks, more than on any other freight railroad in the nation. Northeast Transit ================= Virginia: VRE PROPOSES FIRST FARE INCREASE DVRP (RON member) Walt Disney Corp.'s plans to build the "Disney's America" theme park in the Virginia suburbs west of Washington has led to local concern about the effect on traffic, especially on I-66. Some have suggested a Virginia Rail Express extension from Manassas to Haymarket. Meanwhile, VRE faces problems with the freight railroads over which its trains operate. They are demanding higher trackage rights payments, and objecting to schedules for proposed off-peak service. Partly as a result of these items, VRE is proposing the first fare increase in its history. Maryland: MARC UPGRADES SCHEDULE, SERVICE DVRP (RON member) The new and improved Brunswick and Camden Line schedules went into effect Jan. 31, bringing new mid-day and evening service. Penn Line service was also increased. There are newly-named express trains, but that's not the big story--MARC is seeking to beat the auto in comfort by introducing caf and reserved-seat parlor car service on selected Brunswick and Penn trains. The parlor seat costs $105 a month above the usual rail fare, still only one-third or less of the lease payment on some less prestigious cars. For more information, call 1-800-325-RAIL. New York: AFTER 40 YEARS, THE TIMETABLE IS BACK DVRP (RON member) The TA has finally relented to rider pressure, and will publish timetables for its subway and bus routes for the first time since the 1950s. METRO NORTH IMPROVEMENTS DVRP (RON member) Metro-North recently increased service again. They also plan to replace the Upper Hudson Line stations at Crugers and Montrose with a new Cortlandt station. Delaware: DTA WORKS WITH SEPTA TO EXTEND TRAINS TO NEWARK Matthew Mitchell, DVRP (RON member), edited for RO The Delaware Transportation Authority is close to agreement with SEPTA on a contract which will extend selected SEPTA Wilmington trains to Newark, Delaware. The extended service may start in April. Several intermediate stations are proposed, including Newport, Sandy Brae Industrial Park, and Stanton. Closure of the SEPTA/DTA deal for Wilmington trains may also unblock negotiations for the jointly-sponsored Route 202 West Chester-Wilmington bus. There is also talk in Delaware of a similar agreement extending Maryland MARC trains from Perryville into Delaware, thus "closing the gap" in Northeast Corridor commuter service. Only the Old Saybrook, CT-Providence, RI segment would be without commuter trains, as commuting distances grow longer and more states take advantage of their back-to-back commuter markets. New Jersey: NJT EXTENDS TO HACKETTSTOWN; TROUBLE IN PASACK DVRP (RO Newswire member); edited for RO The Boonton Line is to be extended nine miles from Netcong to Hackettstown this fall. NJ Transit will lease the track from Conrail, then upgrade and maintain it. Only eighty passengers per day will use the two new stations, far fewer than would use other rail services proposed by DVARP and NJ-ARP, such as Bound Brook-West Trenton. > Pasack Valley Line study NJ-ARP has succeeded in delaying an NJ Transit study of a new Pascack Valley Line rail yard in Nanuet, NY, which was proposed by New York officials. Residents of Spring Valley are complaining about noise from the yard there. If the yard there is closed, service is likely to be cut back to Nanuet. The DVARP recommends spending a half million dollars to improve the line and yard to take care of complaints. The NJARP believes NJT should extend the Pasack Line to Suffern and use the Port Jervis Line yard there. Both associations, however, agree that simply studying the problem is needless; that action should be taken. SEPTA: NEW CAR MULTI-NATIONAL EFFORT Matthew Mitchell, DVRP (RON member), excerpt In what may be the best evidence yet of the globalization of the railroad industry, ABB Traction Inc. has announced that body shells and trucks for the new Market-Frankford cars will be made by ABB's Dandenong subsidiary near Melbourne, Australia. Electrical equipment is to be made in ABB's home works in Sweden, while individual parts will come from many different subcontractors in the USA and overseas. Only the final assembly will take place at the Elmira, New York location which was nearly ABB's undoing in the controversial bid process. Had rival AEG Westinghouse won, the result would not likely have been very much different; only final assembly would have taken place in Pennsylvania. Editorial - Delaware: CROSS-COUNTY RIDERSHIP EXPECTED TO BE LOW; WILL SEPTA RETHINK THE PROJECT? Matthew Mitchell, DVRP (RON member) A preliminary study conducted for SEPTA and three county planning agencies predicts that daily ridership on the 'Cross-County Metro' would number no more than 4,000 to 5,000 under SEPTA's proposed operating scheme. The DVARP criticized that scheme last year in Capital Budget hearings, citing a belief that the project failed to meet the needs of any real suburb-to-suburb travel market. DVARP proposed a three-part alternative which would better meet suburban transportation needs while costing less than SEPTA's proposal. The heart of the problem is that while the former PRR 'Trenton Cut-Off' connects almost a dozen centers of suburban industrial and commercial development, including the biggest concentrations of suburban employers, the rail right-of-way is too far away to be able to deliver employees without the use of shuttle buses. Nor does the route serve areas where the employees live. The result would be that riders would have to drive to a Cross-County Metro station, park their cars and wait for a train, ride to their destination, then ride a shuttle bus to their workplace. That kind of trip can't compete with the automobile, especially because the commercial centers were designed for car access rather than transit. A substantial change in suburban development plans, from green fields further and further isolated to focused activity near rail stations, would have to take place if the SEPTA plan is ever to be effective. Despite a Federally-earmarked grant of a million dollars for further study of the service, the 'Cross-County Metro' as SEPTA conceives of it, is probably dead. But rather than give up on transit in this increasingly car-choked corridor, SEPTA planners should take a look at DVARP's alternative and see if it would attract more passengers. DVARP's three-part plan includes a low-cost extension of existing New Jersey Transit diesel train service from Trenton to Downingtown, where trains could be serviced at SEPTA's Frazer facility rather than deadheading all the way back to the Meadowlands. These trains would serve the long-distance commuter market now driving many miles on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The second component would include Turnpike express buses from park-and-ride lots directly to office and industrial parks near Turnpike exits. They would serve the same market targeted by SEPTA, with one less transfer, and at a more realistic cost. Finally, DVARP has proposed a Route 100 (Norristown High-Speed Line) spur delivering reverse-commuters to the King of Prussia area, which has the highest concentration of employment in the suburbs. Several key pieces of right-of-way need to be preserved for this service, DVARP has identified them to SEPTA and asked that SEPTA act to block development plans which would sever the best route. The response to this pessimistic report will make an excellent test of how SEPTA manages the planning and development process. If SEPTA continues to push its $100 million, 'one size fits all' Cross-County Metro in upcoming budget and planning documents, we can conclude that there is no room for reality at 714 Market St. Delaware: CITIZENS REJECT PLAN: TOO HIGHWAY-ORIENTED DVRP (RON member) In a bold act of dissent, the Regional Citizens Committee advising the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission voted against endorsing a proposed policy for allocating transportation funds to support the Year 2015 Transportation Plan. In voting 18-9 to reject the proposal, RCC expressed dismay that the plan continued to stress the use of single-occupant automobiles instead of other transportation modes. The Committee suggested that reducing, not increasing highway capacity for SOVs would be better for the citizens of the region. An example of this sentiment was provided by committee member Hollister Knowlton, from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, was concerned that State Transportation Secretary Howard Yerusalim and other government and planning personnel had the wrong priorities and failed to adequately emphasize mass transit. NORTHEAST TRANSIT SHORTS DVRP (RON member), edited by Peter Kirn NJ: ABANDONED TRACK CONVERTED TO TRAIL. New Jersey plans to buy the right of way from Glassboro to Bridgeton from Conrail for $1 million. The abandoned track will be replaced by a trail for biking, horse riding, and hiking. DELAWARE: B&O STATION RESCUED BY STATE. The state of Delaware has purchased the former B&O Wilmington station. The building is about one block from the Amtrak station and could be see service again if downstate passenger trains are restored. First action was to securely close the station to vandals while preliminaries to repairs are in process. Still to be resolved is land under the station which remains with CSX. ____________ CORRECTIONS: Last month's story on the murder in Lansdale may have left the impression that either the trains or the station are unsafe. The woman's body was found in the Conrail freight yard, which is about 1/4 mile north of the passenger station. There is no evidence that the crime occurred at the station; the victim was acting disoriented, and called home about an hour after she got off the train. y A para. break was omitted - Gayle Belford and Alan Wickersham are not connected with the Pennsylvania State Legislature. -PK(RO) / MM (DVRP) 2/1/94 Chicago Transit =============== A giant leap for Chicago... PROPOSAL WOULD CREATE A LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM TO FIT CITY GROWTH William Vandervoort (RO) The past year has been an eventful one for rail transit in the Chicago area. The CTA opened its new line to Midway Airport, along with its new subway connection between the Dan Ryan line and the Howard line. Meanwhile the CTA's two oldest elevated lines, which had been connected into one route, were closed down in January to begin a two year renovation project. Three events, each more significant than any on the CTA since September 1984, when the line was completed to O'Hare Airport. Aside from the reopening of the renovated elevated lines in two years, no more significant developments are expected for the CTA rapid transit in the near future. However, planning is under way for one exciting new transit project, different from any other project Chicago has ever seen. This is the Central Area Circulator project, which will bring light rail in to the downtown Chicago area. Trains will run on dedicated rights of way in the streets. Computerized priority signalization will enable trains to move reliably through intersections. Several routes are planned, connecting with most Metra commuter rail and CTA rapid transit stations, and serving all major points of activity in the Central Area. Two car trains are proposed utilizing ground level boarding, and cars will be accessible for people with disabilities. A proof-of-payment fare system is planned. Trains will be based at a yard located near Roosevelt Road and Clinton Street, west of the Metra/Burlington Northern suburban train yard south of Union Station. One line will run north from the yard and serve both the Union and North Western stations. That line will turn east at Kinzie Street, north of the Chicago River, and run east past the North Pier area to Navy Pier. Another line will start at McCormick Place and will run north, serving both the State Street and the Water Tower shopping areas, and ending up near the Rush Street night club/sports bar area. An additional line will operate east from North Western Station at Madison Street, past the State Street shopping area and the Illinois Center development, and connecting with the Navy Pier line at North Pier. The plan is to run trains along different routes depending on demand. For example, service would be needed between all points and both the Union and North Western stations, especially during the rush hours. Also during major conventions, exhibitions and trade shows at McCormick Place, service would be needed between there and all points. For the many people from out of town attending the conventions and trade shows, trains will conveniently serve most downtown hotels. A major new expansion project has recently begun for McCormick Place, and the trains would relieve the pressure on the roads which are already overcrowded during major McCormick Place events, such as the annual auto show and the consumer electronics show. The Circulator is necessary because Chicago's Central Business District has grown in size. For a long time the Central Area consisted of the "Loop," one square mile in size. Now the Central Area covers about six square miles, employing more than 600,000 people. At present about 866,000 people use a vehicle to travel within the area daily, by the year 2010 that number is expected to reach 1.1 million. Meanwhile, little had been done to plan for this growth until about a decade ago, when civic and government leaders began to search for a solution. Each two car train will have the capacity to replace five CTA buses. Over the past twenty years the CTA's downtown shuttle bus routes have evolved into a network serving a larger area, and with greater emphasis on express routes. For example there used to be one rush hour express route, operating non stop on the lower level of Wacker Drive along File: ro_1_8.txt (2/3) the Chicago River. This route connected both major train stations with Michigan Avenue just north of the river. Then in the mid 1970's the CTA split that route into two separate routes, one for each train station, and eventually extended the routes further east almost to Navy Pier. Both routes still run during rush hours only, with buses usually every 4 minutes on each route. Also in the mid 1970's the CTA introduced the "Water Tower Express" route. This bus route operates weekdays throughout the day from Union Station and North Western Station, via the Merchandise Mart, to the Water Tower area. Buses usually run every 2 to 4 minutes on that route during rush hours. In 1980 the CTA added two more express shuttle bus routes on the lower level of Wacker Drive, connecting each train station with the Illinois Center development, east of Michigan Avenue and south of the river on property once owned by the Illinois Central Railroad. These routes also run during rush hours only, usually every 8 minutes on each route. This illustrates the need to provide for this growth in trips within the Central Area which are longer than walking distance. And this does not include the potential to attract visitors from out of town, many of whom presently use taxicabs. The CTA bus network is not really well suited for much visitor travel, and CTA service to McCormick Place is presently minimal. The physical presence of a rail line is more likely to attract new riders including visitors than a bus route, and the new Circulator system will be better suited for the many visitors and people attending conventions. The $770 million project is to be financed with city state and federal funds. The city's share will come from a special tax on commercial properties in the Central Area. The last streetcars in Chicago ran in 1958, but Chicago plans to join other American cities in going "back to the future" in adopting a light rail system, designed to meet downtown Chicago's needs for many years to come. West Coast Transit ================== Los Angeles after the earthquake: RAIL KEEPS THE CITY OF ANGELS MOVING James S. Morgan, DVRP (RON member) Until 1946, Los Angeles boasted of an extensive trolley system. General Motors bought up these lines and tore them up to pave the way for the freeway system which has suffered extensive damage as a result of the earthquake last month. The question is, should the freeway system be fully restored at a cost of billions when currently existing railway systems may have survived the quake with much less damage and are currently alleviating commuter congestion? This question may never be posed to the public or the relevant authorities because of people's myopia about cars. Trackage: Although trains were temporarily halted to inspect tracks, most southern California trackage suffered no significant damage. A freight derailment on Southern Pacific's Coast Line halted Southern Pacific, Amtrak and MetroLink until a temporary track was built around the wreck. Amtrak San Diegan service was interrupted but has now resumed. Other Amtrak cancellations and diversions were experienced. At one point, the Coast Starlight terminated at Oakland. MetroLink: LA's new MetroLink commuter rail system was closed the 17th in observance of Martin Luther King Day. MetroLink has been frantically adding trains, particularly on the Santa Clarita line, where stations not planned to open until 1999 were pressed into service at the northern LA County sites of Palmdale, Lancaster, Vincent and Canyon Country. Ridership on that line zoomed from a thousand daily riders to 21,000. Metrolink has quickly acquired coaches from as far away as Toronto. "Look at these poor wretches: They're actually riding a train to get to work," was apparently the remark of a TV newscaster which typifies too much of media coverage. While rail watchers in LA attack local radio newscasters for focusing on MetroLink grade crossing accidents, they criticize MetroLink itself for feeble publicity efforts and lack of preparedness (no station has more than three ticket machines, and there were initially no alternative ways of selling tickets). No damage to Metro Red or Blue Line subway tunnels was found, nor to the Green Line, which is currently under construction. Metro service on the Red Line has been hampered by a problem (antedating the quake) relating to rail lubricators, which has caused wheels to wear out 20 times as fast as anticipated. In the aftermath: In the United States, Internet correspondents note, problems like this and cost overruns are expected, and the news media raised not a protest. When a similar problem occurred in Stuttgart, Germany, the press was instrumental in swiftly remedying the problem, after some shakeups in the local transit authority. It is questionable whether the authorities will be called to account as long as major media newscasters say that LA commuters must now consider alternatives to the automobile never before imagined in total ignorance of the previous history of LA transit. TV coverage of the SP wreck focused on the twisted track under the derailed cars, not on the fact that the engines and the rest of the train stayed on the track. American taxpayers may spend billions to restore a freeway system which perhaps should never have been built to its prequake extent. ___ Special thanks to Elson Trinidad of the University of Southern California, and all the other California Internet correspondents Classic equipment: ESPEE STEAM ON HIATUS SP decision would effectively bar steam excursions Glenn Candland (RO) As of February 22 ALL steam operations offered by private operators and private steam locomotive groups will no longer be able to run on the Southern Pacific (SP). This affects all the excursions of the ex-SP4449 Daylight and ex-SP2472 including the "Golden Spike" celebration in Utah. Apparently the situation has arisen that SP is requiring all steam operations on its tracks to obtain an insurance policy of $25 million dollars before any excursion will be even considered or approved by SP management. (The "Golden Spike" excursions are included due to the fact that negotiations were not completed before SP made this decision.) This requirement effectively bars all private operators of steam locomotives on the SP because most, if not all of these groups, already operate on limited budgets with very limited resources. It is still yet to be seen if this is going to be a permanent move by SP or only a temporary setback until higher management gets involved. (Also another rumor going around is the fact that SP is also requiring that any steam operations on the SP MUST be done by certified SP steam engineers. Contributing to this tough line has been the fact that the FRA has been dinging SP for equipment violations at many of their locomotive facilities and the tougher enforcement of FRA regulations by FRA inspectors.) Hopefully, these issues will be resolved and steam can return to the SP in the near future. California: MORRISON-KNUDSEN OPENS NEW PLANT FOR CALTRANS, BART Glenn Candland (RO) Morrison-Knudsen (MK Co., Boise, ID) has opened their new manufacturing plant in Pittsburgh, CA to build rolling stock for BART and the State of California Transportation Department (CALTRANS). The contracts for $146 million for BART and $209 million for CALTRANS . The first BART car is to be off the line in late 1994 or early 1995 and the CALTRANS order is for the new "California" car which is very similar in design to the GOcars of Toronto, Canada and Metrolink in Southern California.. California: NEW INITIATIVE WOULD BE BIG SOURCE OF FUNDS FOR TRANSIT Glenn Candland (RO) A new initiative is in the process of being placed on the ballot in California. Called CALTEA, it will provide a sequel to the successful Prop. 116 legislation that generated a one time, $1.99 billion dollars for rail transportation issues throughout the state. CALTEA would generate $700 million dollars annually by attaching a 4% sales tax on gasoline purchases. Some of the proposed benefits are funding transit service to Yosemite and Lake Tahoe, acquiring and upgrading the SP Coast Line for AMTRAK service, avoiding abandonment by SP, and development of high speed rail between Los Angeles and the S.F. Bay Area. Rail history: RESTORED SP E-9 PERFORMS WELL, RETURNING HOME Glenn Candland (RO) The California State Railroad Museum ex-SP6051 a "Daylight" E-9 diesel made a successful trip to Winter Rail Fair in Dunsmuir, CA. Apparently the 6051 performed beyond expectations for a restored unit, and after some initial rework to bring it up to SP standards and repair some problems with electrical and air systems the unit was lashed to a northbound freight as a helper unit and worked flawlessly on the entire trip. An SP engineer was quoted as saying "it ran better that all the other power units combined." The 6051 is now back in Roseville at last report and will be returning to home rails shortly. COMING EVENTS IN CALIFORNIA... March 26 (Sat.) the Yolo Shortline will be offering an excursion on the old Sacramento Northern Line from Woodland to West Sacramento. For more information contact Yolo Shortline RR, c/o Excursions, 20 Arapahoe Court, Portola Valley, CA 94208. May 21-22 (Sat.-Sun.) Ontario, CA will be the site for the Cajon Pass Steam Special. UP3985 Challenger runs Ontario - Barstow round trip each day over Cajon Pass. For more information contact Pacific Limited Group, P.O. Box 27081, Salt Lake City, UT 84127-0081 or call (801)355-5871. -Glenn Candland ___ RO Newswire: PERSPECTIVE ___________________________________ OP-ED: Is Amtrak on the wrong track? @@F ________________________________________________________________ by Dennis Larson While RO and the NARP blamed Washington's funding death grip in last month's issue, Dennis Larson faults management for Amtrak's problems. --- Here is a familiar Amtrak story. A family of four took Amtrak from St. Paul, Minnesota to Albuquerque, New Mexico over the Thanksgiving Holiday. The family traveled in sleeping car accommodations. The first train, the Empire Builder from St. Paul to Chicago, was late and the family missed their Southwest Chief connection. Airline space was not available out of Chicago that day so Amtrak paid for the their lodging in Chicago that evening. The next morning Amtrak flew them out to Albuquerque. The final arrival turned out to be slightly earlier than the scheduled arrival time of the Chief. Although Amtrak tried hard to make up for the missed connection, the family was disappointed overall by their Amtrak trip as they wanted to travel by train instead of the airline. The unfortunate thing about Amtrak's expense is that similar situations occur to hundreds of people daily, some are ferried by bus, others by taxi or van. Lets take a look at some of the costs Amtrak incurred by just this one family of four. Hotel costs in Chicago are typically high so lets figure $100 for the overnight stay. The cost of meals, based on our experiences, was $100. Amtrak then shelled out another $900 for the airline tickets the next day with total costs in the area of $1100. The astounding thing is that in spite of the enormous costs Amtrak must absorb because of mis-connecting passengers caused by late trains, little or nothing is in the works to improve on time operation. In fact, on time performance has declined steeply in the last year from less than 60 percent to 38 percent for long distance trains. The last figure does not include the period during the 1993 floods and it does not take into account the length of delays. Amtrak has lots of excuses. Or does it? > Amtrak's plight not a given Most of us following the Amtrak scene, including the leading rail publications, seem very accepting of today's situation as the only course of action. In the process, many of today's railfans are growing up believing that passenger train travel is synonymous with unreliability. But there is no reason it has to be that way. It is this way because this is the route Amtrak has chosen, it is not a necessary evil because of budget cuts. If you ask Amtrak, they will blame the railroads citing their lack of control over handling of passenger trains. But for an organization with little control, Amtrak has in fact resorted to some strong arm legal tactics in the well known Montrealer case getting the rails of the Montrealer route back in shape. Amtrak has also had success with the Santa Fe Railway and others in on time train handling. But delays caused by the railroads are only part of the problem. Based on personal experiences and many trip reports by others, online both on CompuServe's TrainNet and the Travel Forum, most of Amtrak's lateness problem is caused by Amtrak itself. Surprisingly enough, elimination of many of these delays doesn't require an infusion of millions of dollars of federal money to correct either. Maintenance on Amtrak has been sliced to the bone, with many of Amtrak's maintenance people thrown out of work. The reason given are federal cutbacks in subsidy. If you are thinking that this is a smart economic move, consider the costs incurred by just that one single family at Chicago. How much maintenance would $1100 pay for? It doesn't end there. Car attendants, cooks, Onboard Chiefs, Conductors and Engine personnel are all collecting overtime pay in the process. It would not take a brilliant accountant long to justify well maintained trains. In fact there is no other viable passenger train system in the world that takes the same approach on maintenance, except in third world nations. It is however the same view held by U.S. railroads that have slipped into bankruptcy in the past. This is old time railroad logic. > Maintenance only the beginning of problems But even a perfectly maintained, trouble free mechanical operation will not solve all of Amtrak's late train problems. One problem discussed in the forums is the boarding procedure at Chicago Union Station. Many of us have left 20 and 30 minutes late or more because of slow boarding procedures. Is this THAT difficult of a problem to solve? The same problem occurs at other major Amtrak terminals. The California Zephyr is delayed or unable to make up time because of double station stops at small towns because of short station platforms and long passenger train consists. One railfan reported the California Zephyr as passing his house on schedule only twice in a one year period. Actually most trips are delayed because of a multitude of problems. Sometimes many minor occurrences piled on top of a major problem such as a mechanical failure change an arrival time from 1 or 2 hours behind schedule to one that is 4, 5 or more hours late. A trip which probably could have arrived within an hour or two of schedule, would preserve connections for all passengers. > Looking for a solution After 100 years of railroading, are these problems too difficult to solve? Do we really have to get Swiss Federal Railway personnel to show Amtrak how to do it? The answer is no; there is plenty of expertise already in the Amtrak organization that could solve most of these problems. But if so, why don't they get resolved? Amtrak is structured like many large U.S. companies with General Motors being an excellent example of a failed management team. In the past, General Motors was basically controlled by one person and the CEO's board members merrily rubber stamped his decisions. General Motors was also top heavy in management and departmentalized, just like Amtrak. In this situation, everyone did their job and nothing more. Teamwork is a word not understood in work situations similar to this. Chrysler also had similar teamwork problems. General Motors in the 1990's has seen the error of its ways and is trying to change. The board members fired that GM CEO and they are restructuring the entire organization. That same scenario is happening at IBM and other major corporations. But this article is not about firing Claytor or his replacement but about the savings and enormous benefits in running a quality passenger train operation. Over a decade ago, the auto makers were taking the same course of action that Amtrak is taking today by attempting to decrease costs by decreasing quality. The Japanese auto makers were using another strategy, making more money by improving quality. We all know the story's ending today, with Japan coming close to taking over the majority of all U.S. automobile sales. The Japanese used a sophisticated concept commonly known as 'Total Quality', originated by Dr. W. Edwards Deming, an American citizen. In the past few years, auto makers in the U.S. have been playing catchup and are taking the same course of action, the high quality road, albeit 10 years too late. Market share and profits are slowly returning. Surprisingly enough, the cost of manufacturing an automobile has fallen $3000 per car from 1990 to 1994. So they are winning the battle two ways, first in decreased costs and in increased volume and market share because of satisfied customers. The quality route does not simply mean workers have to be more careful, but a Total Quality method which starts with design of the car, tools on the assembly line and better marketing techniques on the dealer showroom floor. The same principle is now spreading to the service and government sectors. VIA Rail in Canada, Union Pacific Railroad, and Wisconsin Central are also well into Total Quality programs. > Moving towards Total Quality But it is easy to complain, quite another to offer low cost solutions. Using some of my own training in total quality, I know that to solve one problem, there are perhaps a hundred solutions that have to be implemented first. The solutions will not involve a handful of quality people, but the dedication of the entire Amtrak team from the coach cleaners to conductors and top level CEO's. It also means the entire organization will eventually have to be retrained in operating a passenger railroad. Those of us who follow the railroad scene are used to seeing phrases like "cutback in service", "abandonment proceedings", and other familiar phrases used in the railroad business. The main reason of course is loss of market share. Truckers, airlines, and barges are beating railroads out of market share because they offer better quality service to the customer. Amtrak is in the same league, with market share dwindling from 1 percent to 0.7 percent of passenger miles traveled. True, many Amtrak trains are operating in a sold out condition, but many are not as Amtrak has cut some routes to a 3-day-a-week schedule and eliminated others completely. Also Amtrak concentrates its efforts on 450 miles of track in the NEC and virtually ignores the rest of the system in comparison. Cutbacks are good strategy if you plan to be going out of business in the future and want to make maximum profits in the interim period of time left. It may be necessary for Amtrak at this time. But how much talk do we hear about 'new business' in railroading? Obviously not enough. New Business is what keeps business in-business in the future. Here are some examples. .. The auto makers are not the fastest learners, but they have fared better than Amtrak. To look at new business, note the number of mini-vans, 4-wheel drives, pickup trucks with back seats for kids and vehicles with front wheel drive. These vehicles were seldom seen 15 years ago and you can be fairly certain sales would have gone to the Europeans or the Japanese instead had they not been put on the market. Railroads have also been in the new business-business. Note the number of tri-level auto-racks, double stack containers, and piggybacks on the rails today. If the railroads had stuck with the boxcar, we can be certain they would ALL be out of business today. > Room for improvement Amtrak also has the capacity to attract new business but hasn't pursued it enough. Metroliners are new business that was not there before their inception. But there are other far more practical, lower cost options with the best example being the Coast Starlight. It is one of the heaviest traveled routes on the system, so why is this new business? Before Amtrak's inception, making the journey from Seattle to Los Angeles involved changing trains in Portland, and at San Francisco another change was necessary. But no convenient connection was available to coast line cities. After the Amtrak takeover, the Coast Starlight was inaugurated with through train service from Seattle to Los Angeles turning this into one of Amtrak's most successful routes. There are failures too. To save payouts to mis-connecting passengers, Amtrak has scheduled the Lakeshore Limited to mis-connect with the Empire Builder and the California Zephyr. They save on mis-connect payouts but in the process traffic on the Lakeshore Limited is down 19 percent from the previous year. Amtrak is also doing the same with upstate New York trains. Some more old time railroad logic at work here. Some possibilities to salvage the Lakeshore connection at Chicago could be to eliminate it completely. How about through cars from Salt Lake City to Buffalo? A silly idea, think about it! Multiple departures are available from Buffalo eastward and Superliner service could probably be used as far east as Buffalo. Of course the best option is to get the Lakeshore operating back on schedule. Autotrain has been a financial success, generating somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 million in annual net profits. Some argue that this is the only place Autotrain could survive. I argue that Autotrain type service could probably survive on many routes in the U.S. Probably the best shot at new autotrain business would be the Texas Eagle between Chicago and Texas. It is a long and treacherous drive in winter, and like the Florida route, many people head to south Texas from the Midwest to winter there. With the Eagle cut back to a 3 day a week operation, there is lots of room for new business and several autotrain cars on the back. Autotrains don't have to be dedicated; that is Amtrak's present day rule. Amtrak also has the capability to carry cars with boats and boat trailers, cars with snowmobile trailers, motorhomes, motorcycles, and bicycles. This is all business the rails can handle well. You will never see an airplane hauling automobiles or the like. And the automobile is still king, something most everyone wishes they could have with them at their destination. Again this may sound like a silly concept, but charter bus operators in Minnesota operate tours to the Colorado Rockies with passengers in buses, and their snowmobiles in semitrailer-trucks behind. This is new business, or money bus operators normally would not have in their pocket. The inception of auto trains or partial auto trains only requires automobile carriers, far cheaper to buy than X2000 or ICE trainsets. And the same track can be used for autotrain consists as is used for Superliner equipped trains. Let's take a look at onboard services. Lots of people on the forums complain about Amtrak car attendants and what to do about them. How about the customer service card often seen in eating establishments and hotels? How comfortable would you be as a bad car attendant if you got many more 'poor service' complaints than other car attendants? The point is that Amtrak management is failing to act in many areas and they are hiding behind the excuse of budget shortfalls. But how many millions does it take for attendants to do their job, for conductors to put hustle into their crews instead of shooting the breeze outside at station stops. The answer is hundreds, thousands of improvements, but little in the form of additional money for there is a payback in quality service. That is why quality ultimately is free - it is not an expense. Ghost from WWI derails TGV Adri Noort (RO/Holland) On December 21, 1993 a French TGV derailed on the TGV-Nord High Speed Track between Paris and Lille at Chaulnes. The train was moving 300 km/h at the time of derailment. Afterwards, train was still 'standing up'. A few passengers had light injuries. The cause was the collapse of an unknown trench from World War I located under the track. Further investigation showed that a part of the old trenches are still intact and that the track of the TGV-Nord is crossed by trenches at at least seven other places. The discovery of the trenches also has financial consequences. The TGV-Est to Strasbourg, which will be constructed soon, will cross a lot of old battlefields from the first World War. It is to be investigated if there are intact trenches in that area too. GENTLEMEN, START YOUR SOAPBOXES. Feel strongly about something? Why not let the world listen in? Consider putting those opinions into words for a Perspective editorial. This section is dedicated to representing the perspectives of different people through round tables and editorials. Help us achieve that goal. Better start polishing that soapbox. ___ RO Newswire: INTERNATIONAL _________________________________ Canadian and European news @@G ________________________________________________________________ France ====== TEEN CAUSES DERAILMENT THAT KILLS FOUR Adri Noort (RO/Holland) A 16-year-old French student is accused of causing a train derailment in December 1993 at Saint-Leu-d'Esserent, 80 kilometers north of Paris. Four passengers were killed. The boy was curious to know the effect of a piece of metal of 20 kilograms lying on the track. Channel Tunnel ============== CHUNNEL RATES PUBLISHED Adri Noort (RO/Holland) Euro-Tunnel, the British-French cooperation that will run the trains in the Channel Tunnel, published the prices of the return-tickets for a car (unesteemed the number of passengers in that car) between the two countries. The cheapest rate is about 180 US Dollar (USD) for a 5-day return-ticket in November and December. Between May and September a return-ticket will cost 400 USD a car, or USD 430 for a return-ticket including a weekend. The train tickets are about the same price as a ticket for the boat. For the train it's not necessary to order the tickets in advance. The trip through the tunnel will last about 35 minutes. England ======= Trouble with Eurostar Adri Noort (RO/Holland) Tests of the new Eurostar-trains in Great-Britain caused major problems. In Great-Britain the tension is delivered by a third rail along the track ('live rail') instead of a overhead-line. At points the live rail is interrupted. Old trains don't have problems here, but the computer-controlled motors of the Eurostar-trains stopped at some places two times a minute! The computer controlling the motor has to be reprogrammed by British Rail. The signals also produce a current too strong for the 'sensitive' Eurostar-motors. The signals at about 900 points have to be replaced. Due to this problems the opening of the tunnel is delayed for a few weeks. It's not possible for the goods-trains to use the tunnel on March 7, 1994. Germany ======= DB AND LUFTHANSA FINANCE EUROPE'S FIRST MAGLEV Adri Noort (RO/Holland) In Germany the first operating Magnetic Levitation Train (Maglev) in the world will be build between Berlin and Hamburg. The German company Siemens has tested the principle of the Transrapid, as the train is named, in detail since the sixties. The track will be 290 km long. The construction will start in 1996 and is finished in about 10 years. The project will cost about 5.6 billion German Mark (DM). Most important investors are Deutsche Bahn and Lufthansa, the national airline. The Transrapid established a new speed record in June 1993: 405 km/hour. Critics say the costs of the project are too high and the train makes too much noise. The government however decided in favor of the project. Nineteen trains will be ordered to create a ten-minute service between the cities. Editor's note: I'm surprised to notice both Germany and upstate New York are claiming the "world's first Maglev" (see RO:6 for New York's work) Both are due to be completed around the same time, though the Siemens product has the speed record. -PK DB-DR MERGER FINAL LINK BETWEEN EAST AND WEST Adri Noort (RO/Holland) The former national railway companies of West and Eastern Germany, Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) and Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR), fused on January 1, 1994 and formed the private company Deutsche Bahn (DB). The DB is the first national railway-company in Western Europe to be privatized. The total debt of the new company is 97 billion Deutsche Mark (DM). The government took over 40 billion DM of this debt. Editorial ========= BRITISH PRIVATIZATION THAT HAS CLEARED FRACTIOUS PARLIAMENT IS A MISTAKE Matthew Mitchell, DVRP (RON member), edited for RO Prime Minister John Major of Great Britain secured approval late last year of his Government's plan to privatize British Rail. The bill was rammed through Parliament under special rules cutting off debate despite the need to consider hundreds of amendments put forth by the House of Lords. The only significant change accepted by the Government was to permit British Rail to bid on service franchises under certain circumstances. On April 1, private companies are to submit bids for franchises to operate the first of some 25 packages of routes, while all the trains are to be transferred to three new companies which will lease them to the operators. The Government expects to be able to sell those companies off to the private sector. Meanwhile, responsibility for constructing and maintaining the tracks will be transferred to the new "Railtrack" company, which will still receive Government investment. The prospect, as reported by Modern Railways, is that the franchising will be in most cases a monumental failure. Few serious outside bids are shaping up; the Government holds out hope for buyouts by management. Few observers inside or outside England predicts that a privatized BR will ever be profitable, or serve customers as well as the present unified railway. They express shock that Major would tinker with the existing 'sectorized' management structure, which brought accountability to management and made BR arguably the best financial performer among European railways. In fact, with all the added bureaucratic costs, the Government will spend a billion pounds more on the railways next year. Advocates for the passengers are rightfully worried; with the possibility of two dozen different operators, through-ticketing and even the consolidated national timetable are to go by the wayside. Fares for most trips are expected to go up, and service cuts are likely as a focus on bottom-line profits replaces the goal of serving the needs of the travelling public. They foresee a replay of the awful experience of bus privatization. Meanwhile, retired railway men allege that in privatization, the Government will divert their L4 billion pension fund into the general treasury. Our own experience with increasing the number of different agencies responsible for delivering any service is that it increases the number of things which can go wrong, and promotes finger-pointing instead of solving problems. ____________________________ ENGLAND: Where do you stand? I'd like to run next month's Perspective on the BR privatization. Please e-mail me today at 73232,3534 CIS or 73232.3534@compuserve.com Internet with your thoughts on the matter. -Peter Kirn Trends ====== EUROPE MAKES NEW YEAR'S REVOLUTIONS Matthew Mitchell, DVRP (RON member) While not the shock therapy prescribed by Prime Minister Major, reorganization has been prescribed for several other European railways this year. 'Commercialization' is a good word to describe the first step towards privatization which was taken in several countries. The East and West German railways will be merged into Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG), (see story, last page) which will be kept at arm's length from the government, as Amtrak is. The company will be divided into sectors for passenger services, freight, and infrastructure. Netherlands Railways is also being divided and commercialized; the process is being repeated in other nations too. ___ RO Newswire with flavor! ___________________________________ t I d B i T s ! @@H ________________________________________________________________ ENDANGERED CATS: BR PRIVATIZATION COULD END RAIL TRADITION Adri Noort (RO/Holland) British Rail (BR) is to be privatized and has to lower its costs. That's the reason why the 100-year-old tradition of railway-cats is threatened. In the fourties and fifties there were 2000 cats to keep the stations free of rats and mice. Less than 200 cats are left now. Taking care of the cats costs BR 95 pound a cat a year. BR wants to get rid of the cats. The rats and mice have to be removed by specialized companies. Personnel of BR-stations with railway-cats, however, want to keep their animals! Memorabilia: UK CELEBRATES AGE OF STEAM IN STAMPS Adri Noort (RO/Holland) On January 18, 1994 five stamps were published in Great-Britain to remember the Age of Steam and the 150-anniversary of the building of the British railway-net. The series contains the following stamps: 19 pence stamp: Train with loc class 5, 4-6-0 nr. 44957, and loc class B1, 4-6-0 nr. 61342on the West Highland Line. Photo from 1961 25 pence stamp: Train called 'Amadis', class A1, 4-6-0 nr. 60149 at platform 10 London Kings Cross station, photo 1961 30-pence stamp: Class 4, 2-6-0 nr. 43000, photo 1966 35-pence stamp: class 4, 2-6-4T nr. 42455 at Wigan Central Station 41-pence stamp: 4-6-0 nr. 7002 at the bridge over the Worchester-Birmingham Canal Oddities: OPERATIC LOCOMOTIVES Peter Kirn (RO) According to Reuters, the 38 Chunnel engines are to be named after operas or opera singers, the first after Luciano Pavarotti. The star singer was on hand to christen the locomotive and say a few kind words for the project. Alas, he didn't sing. -PK Oddities: BR EMPLOYEES DOCTOR WHO FANS? Peter Kirn (RO) The January issue of British Rail's publication includes a rather unusual shot for its "Caption of the Month" contest. The photo pictures two of The Doctor's most infamous enemies, a silver, robotic Cyberman and the only science fiction character to have been fashioned after a pepper pot, a Dalek, posing on a BR train, possibly celebrating the show's 30th anniversary last year. The program, cancelled only last year by BBC, has been contracted to California for a new series directed by Steven Speilberg. Perhaps next we'll find characters on the California Zephyr! The program is a time-traveling science fiction show which has the same popularity that Star Trek enjoys here in the States. This publicity shot is not the first; Daleks have been known to help out BR employees carrying baggage in earlier photos. Heroics: ENGINEER A SLEUTH CSX News Engineer Ronald E. Hughes was commended for providing information that led to the arrest of Joseph Lee Loomis and an accomplice who were responsible for derailing an Amtrak train at Newport News, Va., on Aug. 13, 1993. Roberg G. Doumar, U.S. District Court Judge in the case, cited Hughes for his professionalism in an earlier sabotage attempt by Loomis on May 25, 1993. Hughes noticed a switch near Stony Creek, Va., had been tampered with, possibly in an attempt to derail the train. Hughes stopped the locomotive, and provided law enforcement officials with descriptions of automobiles which he and other employees had seen that night. "It was largely due to the information provided by Hughes and others that Mr. Loomis and his accomplice were eventually brought to justice," Judge Doumar said. Heroics: CSX CREW SAVES A LIFE DURING WINTER STORM CSX News A CSX crew was credited with saving the life of a 33-year-old woman during last week's [late January] killer storm. Engineer Art G. Rayner, of New Castle, Pa., spotted the woman lying in the snow between the railroad tracks and an adjacent highway. Rayner radioed Trainmaster Wayne Tenney, who told the crew to "stop the train and take a look." Trainman Robert Havrilla, of Youngstown, checked on the woman and found she was alive. Tenney called 911, and Rayner backed the train up to where the woman was seen to help emergency workers find her. Technology: VOICE AUTOMATION PROVES RAILROADS STILL AT TECHNOLOGICAL FOREFRONT CSX News Infobot, the automated voice system at the Crew Management Center, was awarded the "Most Innovative Voice Application" in the transportation category by Syntellect, the manufacturer who supplied the computer hardware for the system. Infobot was recognized for its success in reducing the large volume of calls to the Crew Management Center by providing train and engine employees with information about their work schedules. It will soon be capable of outdialing to employees to notify them of a work assignment. Infobot handles 10,000 calls a day, reducing by 38 percent the call volume handled by crew callers. The system was programmed by the CSX Technology group. In winning the award, CSXT beat out such companies as Federal Express and Ryder Truck. "This is an indication of our capability to use improved technology to better meet our needs in one of the more complex areas of our operation," said Earl Currie, vice president-transportation. Media: TRANSIT'S OWN TV PROGRAM DVRP (RON member) "The New Electric Railway Journal," produced by the magazine of the same name, is now on the air. The monthly news and interview program is being broadcast over National Empowerment Television, the cable network just launched by NERJ parent Free Congress Foundation. Though few local cable systems carry NET at this time, viewers with a satellite dish can catch the program via Galaxy 7, transponder 20. Broadcast time is not yet announced, call FCF at 202-546-3000 or 800-525-4992. Train station or bobsled run? Peter Kirn (RO), DVRP (RON member) The Inquirer of February 12 carried a photo of the Erie Avenue entrance to the Broad St. Subway, which at the time rivaled Lillehammer's toboggan tracks. The stairs were barely visible under hard packed snow. A sour note to otherwise good winter storm performance. Sports: THE TEAM THAT RIDES TOGETHER...? DVRP (RON member) ...didn't win this time, but at least enjoyed the trip! The University of Pennsylvania men's basketball team rode the Broad Street Subway to their game at Temple instead of taking a slow team bus. The 'Subway Series' game gained a lot of publicity from the ride: Temple won 76 to 65. Take the Subway-Surface Lines to next year's rematch. ___ RO Newswire: SPECIAL _______________________________________ Canadian and European news @@I ________________________________________________________________ Al Tuner, Internet jockey and rail lover, has been attracting attention on the UseNet with his unique blend of news material mixed together into a tasty casserole of rail news. Now he joins the Newswire. MARCH 12 MARCH 13 This month, you get to see Al Tuner's news as he collects it. Next month, his "view" of things will be integrated with the Newswire structure. -PK > Freight Follies Department Union Pacific local freight LZK50 derailed a locomotive and three cars at Rennox NV. Amtrak 6 operated via the Southern Pacific from Winnemuuca to Carlin, delaying it four hours. Also yesterday Conrail freight BUEL became disabled 20 miles east of Toledo OH. Then their freight ML403X stopped on the remaining main track, also with a mechanical problem, with double stack train TV201 in behind. By the time it was all over Amtrak 29 was delayed nearly two hours. Further east, the third section of intermodal freight TV10 became disabled at Little Falls NY, delaying Amtrak 48 and 63 nearly an hour each. Meanwhile, Southern Pacific freight PTWCQ went into emergency in a tunnel between Fields and Wicopee OR. Amtrak 14 waited for two hours. Also Santa Fe freight CDNJC derailed two cars at Joseph City AZ. Amtrak 3 was delayed over an hour. > Continuous Carnage Department Amtrak 709 struck an abandoned automobile west of Fresno CA delaying it for nearly two hours. Amtrak 177struck and killed a trespasser north of Trenton NJ last night. The train was delayed for 2 1/2 hours, while trains 179, 654, 90 and 50 were delayed lesser amounts. > Finance Department Morrison Knudsen announced it will form a subsidiary called MK Rail Corp and offer stock ownership of 42 per cent of equity to the public. > Classic Locomotives Department Illinois' West Suburban Mass Transit District is again offering its 20 former BN E units for sale. Last time it tried this it had $100,000 minimum and they got no takers. MARC then bought 6 for a total $600,000. Now they are being made available to the highest qualified bidder. [Editor's note: There is concern now as to whether these E's will be sold - without a buyer, they could end up in the scrapyard, much to the dismay of EMD lovers. -PK] > "Showing Off" Department Amtrak displayed a locomotive and a Superliner II sleeper at Berkeley CA today. > Special trains Department Tomorrow Amtrak will operate a Reno Fun Train with two locomotives and ten Superliner. It will also operate a special consisting of 17 Amfleet I coaches, alounge and a sleeper, with two units for the West Palm Beach Safety Patrol leaving tomorrow. > Continuous Carnage Department Amtrak 14 struck a tractor trailer west of Chico CA yesterday causing minor damage. Conrail freight ALPI struck a truck east of Johnstown PA, killing the operator of the truck. One track was opened after some hours by local officials, and freight STES became disabled on it, holding up the parade which included a coal train, two eastbound intermodal trains and Amtrak 43. The passenger train was delayed for three and one half hours. > Lights Out Department A grounded catenary line in Queens NY yesterday afternoon caused three Amtrak trains and 18 LIRR trains to be delayed up to 1 1/2 hours. Continuous Carnage Department Conrail freight NASE became disabled east of Albany NY, delaying Amtrak 449 for two hours. > Finance Department Railtex announced fourth quarter 1993 earnings of $1,600,000 compared to $1,070,000 for the same period in 1992 > Intermodalism Department Union Pacific announced it is equipping its new Lathrop CA (opening Aug) and West Memphis AR (opening 1995) intermodal facilities with automatic car and trailer identification scanners, a magnetic card reader base upon the trucker's drivers license, a new gate inspection system and an automated load planning and trailer parking system. > New acquisitions Department Orders on the books as of 1/1/94: 325 boxcars 8993 covered hoppers 2557 flat cars 7339 articulated flat cars 2349 gondolas 3108 open top hoppers 4523 tank cars > Off the beaten path Department To allow track work to go on, Amtrak trains 35 and 36 detoured via Metro Link between San Bernadino CA and Los Angeles CA. > Disaster Epilogue Department DOT Secretary Pena recently announced in Congressional testimony that he wishes legislation to be completed, signed and in force improving safety regulations of barge traffic, by September 22, 1994, the first anniversary of the Amtrak Bayou Canot disaster. Requirements will include barges and towboats maintaining marine charts on board, and require fathometers, radar and compasses. Also planned are reporting requirements for accidents and potential manning and licensing requirements for on board personnel in the barge trade. > Freight follies Department Southern Pacific freight EUCHQ derailed four of its 35 cars at Klamath Falls, delaying Amtrak 11 for two hours. Burlington Northern train G11GK became disabled at Michigan ND, delaying Amtrak 7 for nearly two hours. > Continuous Carnage Department Amtrak 19 struck a tractor trailer south of Tuscaloosa AL, injuring the driver and damaging unit 808. The train was delayed for two and 1/2 hours. > Intermodalism Department Currently container traffic moving from the Far East to the American East Coast is primarily moved via West Coast ports and then forwarded on double-stack trains to eastern cities. American President Lines, Mitsui OSK, K Line and Sea Land are major operators in this area. Recently Neptune Orient and China Ocean Shipping innaugurated service via the Suez Canal direct to the east coast. This will cut transit time from 34 to 22 days and cost $200 less per container. It will be interesting to see what the effect will be on the transcontinental double stack service currently operated. Also Union Pacific, Santa Fe, Burlington Northern and CSX have announced price increases to intermodal marketing companies this week. UP will raise rates by an average of $25 a trailer, with the highest increases effecting traffic out of California and Texas where they are short of equipment. The BN announced increases of 3 per cent. Santa Fe has raised rates between $40 and $125 on trailers between Texas and the Midwest and between Texas and California. CSX increases range between $15 and $30 a trailer. > Abandonments Department: Delaware and Hudson has been granted permission to abandon its Adirondack Branch between North Creek and Corinth NY. > Talgo Tales Department The Talgo train is slated to leave the Port of Baltimore MD sometime this Friday, and then make at least one test run between Washington and Philadelphia at normal speeds during the day Saturday and possibly Sunday. ___ RO Feature: TRAVEL _________________________________________ File: ro_1_8.txt (3/3) Getting the most out of Amtrak Harry Sutton @@J ________________________________________________________________ Over the months, I've run many stories on the drama of rail travel. Here's how to take care of the nitty gritty to make all your voyages more pleasant. -PK --- Call Amtrak at 1-800-USA-RAIL (872-7245), or visit your local station, and ask them to send you "Amtrak's America", their 80-page travel planning booklet. It contains a wealth of tips and information, including a description of each major route. Allow four weeks for mail delivery. Also ask for a copy of the National Timetable (and Northeast Area Timetable if appropriate) which will greatly assist you in planning future trips. Take reading material, particularly for evening use. During the day you can expect to be looking out the window and "schmoozing" with those around you, but things quiet down after dark. A deck of cards is a good idea if traveling with others. Bring some simple, non-noisy toys and games for the children. They will quickly tire of just looking at scenery. Avoid the urge to nap in the daytime -- you'll regret it about 1 AM when you're staring at the night light unable to sleep. Take a good road atlas with you, even if it doesn't show the rail lines. Knowing where you are and the villages you're passing through adds to the enjoyment. If traveling overnight by coach, take a light blanket. Otherwise, Amtrak will sell you one for about $10. The train often gets a bit cool at night, even in Summer. Many people suggest that you take a pillow as well, but Amtrak will provide small airline type pillows. Especially in coach, take a pair of disposable foam rubber ear plugs -- they'll help in a variety of social and sleep situations. Wear comfortable, casual clothes, the sort you would wear around the house. Most of your fellow travelers will be dressed the same. Comfortable shoes are a must. You can take off your shoes while in your seat, but shoes are required when passing from one car to the next. Some like to take soft moccasins, which meet the requirements but are the next thing to no shoes at all. The ability to wash up varies from the private facilities including a shower in a Deluxe Bedroom on a Superliner, to the unisex, closet sized rest rooms in some coaches. Don't plan on taking a shower too often! Take a wash cloth for sponge bathing. You can usually get a towel from the train attendant. Take a bar of soap (in a sealable soap dish). For a long trip, a bottle of skin moisturizer is a good idea. Don't stay glued to your seat. Walk around. Meet people. Enjoy your travel mates. Schmooze! This is a "required" part of the Amtrak Experience! Generally you can safely leave your possessions on/above your seat while you wander. I always carry my camera (if not packed) and scanner radio with me, even to the rest room, unless I have someone to watch them. You don't have to be paranoid, but simple security considerations should be followed. Eat at least one meal in the dining car if your train has one. It's fun, less expensive than the snack bar (for equivalent items), good food -- and another "obligatory" part of the Amtrak Experience. Amtrak full service dining car food is prepared on board; no airline styled meals. Steaks and eggs and various other things are cooked to order by a graduate of the American Culinary Institute. Don't be in a rush. Eating in the dining car is going to be leisurely most of the time. Patience is really a virtue here. Pack sensibly. Carry no more luggage than absolutely necessary. Amtrak allows 2 carry-on bags per person (but usually you won't have any trouble with a third; shoulder straps are suggested. Additional baggage can be checked on most trains at, and to, major stations (but not between all stations, call Amtrak about that). Baggage can be checked before the date of departure; it'll be there waiting for you (held up to 5 days at no charge). If you have a room, roomette, etc., carry only a small overnight bag as there is very little room in sleeping compartments for luggage. Superliners sleepers & coaches have a luggage rack downstairs, with no special security. Coaches have overhead racks for an overnight bag or two. You have several options when making your reservations. First there's 1-800-USA-RAIL. Any reservations you make this way you'll have to follow up by purchasing your tickets at a station or by mail. Second you can visit a station and talk to an agent face-to-face. Try to avoid their busy times (an hour or so before and half hour after a train is scheduled to depart or arrive respectively). Last but not least, there are many travel agents that are "plugged into" Amtrak and are knowledgeable about making rail reservations. However not all T/As are in this group. If you're interested in trying to upgrade your reservation or trying to get a sleeping compartment when one wasn't previously available, try calling Amtrak after 4AM or so east coast time. About 3AM is when they enter no-show daily cancellation info into their reservation computers. Occasionally you might wish to upgrade (or downgrade!) a reservation at the last moment. Sometimes because of no-shows (not often), compartments or coach seats become available. It never hurts to ask the conductor when you board. Be prepared to pay appropriately in cash on the spot. If you're boarding at an intermediate stop or if someone is meeting you, call the 800 number to see how the train is doing -- trains often run a little late. Some stations have a local number to call for this info -- these phone numbers are in the back of the National Timetable. If you're traveling in a sleeper (and even if you're not), you may wish to take some paper towels and window cleaner, some Duct Tape to fasten a loose fitting or whatever, and a small flashlight to help find your missing things that somehow have crawled under the seat. Smokers should be aware that Amtrak has followed the airlines by eliminating smoking on most short and medium-distance (up to 4-1/2 hour end-to-end) runs. Smoking is restricted on longer trains (a few are totally non-smoking). The rules vary from route to route but generally there's no smoking in coaches, except for a portion of one designated coach. Also no smoking in Lounge cars. Smoking is permitted in sleeping compartments on most trains, but not all. Tipping: It is considered correct to tip the service personnel on the train. Recommendations: Snack bar attendant, roughly 10%. Dining car, %15 of menu prices. Sleepers, the consensus seems to be $5-$10 per overnight per passenger for an attendant who does a good job. Train crew is not to be tipped -- the conductor is train crew. Study the National Timetable (and Northeast Timetable if necessary). Plan your own trip. Familiarize yourself with your train numbers and scheduled arrival and departure times. The timetables contain a wealth of information about every train and every station on the system, and are an invaluable tool for your vacation. Accommodations: Eastern trains (except the Sunset Limited) use mostly "Heritage" cars. These are older cars, from pre-Amtrak days, that have been fully renovated. You'll see Coaches, Sleepers, Lounges, Diners, and others. Sleeper cars have Bedrooms (for 2) and Roomettes (for one); these are first class and include meals in the dining car. Some trains have Slumbercoaches with rooms for 1 or 2 (these are less expensive, not considered first class and meals are not included). Accommodation is available for handicapped people. Western long distance trains are double-deck Superliner equipped with the same general types of cars. Sleeping cars have 5 Deluxe Bedrooms (upstairs) which are ample for two, and Economy Bedrooms (10 upstairs, 4 down) which are satisfactory for two. There is also one Family Bedroom (2 adults, 2 children) and one Handicapped room (1 handicap person and 1 companion) on the lower level; only these latter two rooms have in-room windows on both sides of the car. Coaches on all Amtrak cars have reclining seats in a 2-aisle-2 arrangement. You'll see an airline style tray table in the back of the seat in front of you. On Superliner coaches and some others the seats have leg rests built in. All have footrests. Coach seats are very comfortable, approximately like a family room recliner. Lounge cars are intended for viewing the scenery and grabbing a snack from the snack bar. Seating is less comfortable and open to everyone, first come, first served. The Lounge is the place to be for scenery highlights and to meet other travelers. Dining cars are another place that you are likely to meet interesting people as you usually share a table with someone new each time. Eastern trains have no showers. Superliner sleeping cars have showers in Deluxe rooms and most have a single shower for others to use. Some cars have "changing rooms", a larger rest room that is better for taking a sponge bath. Don't expect to wash up too much while on the train. Deodorant is another "mandatory" part of the Amtrak Experience. Photography: It's fun to record the scenery that you travel through, but it's not easy to take pictures through the heavy weight plastic windows of an Amtrak train. Glare is a serious problem. Most people suggest getting as close to window as possible and using a rubber lens hood if you have one. Also, the train will be jerking around a little, so pick a camera that can be set for short exposure times (1/500th of a second or quicker). If you have an integral flash attachment, turn it off or cover it so that it doesn't ruin a picture by reflection. To give your pictures perspective try to include the head or tail of the train in your pictures whenever possible. The size and scope of a mountain gorge is made much more understandable if an Amtrak locomotive is in the picture. The Family Bedroom on Superliners is the largest room available and great for a family of four, but the relatively small windows (which are on both sides as noted) make watching the scenery a bit difficult. Also it is on the lower level, near the wheels. Plan on spending most of the day in the Lounge Car. Those who have trouble dozing off may wish to take some over-the-counter sleep medication with sleep inducing side effects, such as Benadryl. Discuss the use of any such medication with your Physician and/or Pharmacist. NEVER get on a train unless you want to go somewhere, you know where the train is going, and you know where you are going. It happens, folks! Just about every day. Read the front of your tickets carefully. Listen to announcements. Ask questions! If you're serious about enjoying your rail adventures, get the book "Rail Ventures, The Comprehensive Guide to Train Travel in North America". It contains minute-by-minute route logs, maps and photos, station info, where to stay info, and many Traveler's Tips. Get the Sixth Edition if possible (it should be in the stores in the Spring of 1994). Price (5th Edition) is $14.05US or $17.95CAN. Check local book stores, or order it directly from Rail Ventures Publishing, Box 1877, Ouray, CO 81427. Add $2 (US) for postage and handling. If you're really serious about rail travel, consider buying a portable Scanner radio. The two main brands are Bearcat and Realistic (Radio Shack). They are roughly equivalent; each has its proponents. You'll be listening to frequencies mostly between 160 and 162 megahertz plus a few around 450 megahertz. Scanners start with models having 10 programmable channels up to monsters with 400. 100 channels is plenty for railroad applications. 20 is adequate. The freqs used by the railroads can be obtained in many places, including asking here. If you use a scanner it is strongly recommended that you use earphones at all times so as to not annoy the folks around you and so that you can best hear the radio chatter. You'll usually hear routine on-board crew reports, occasional discussions with railroad dispatchers, "roll-by" reports from other trains, "talking" automated defect detectors which often include a report of the train's speed and the outside temperature, and once in a while you'll hear about a problem or incident of which your fellow passengers will be ignorant. Last tip: Don't ride Amtrak expecting great luxury and personal service. Amtrak isn't the Orient Express (it's also much less expensive) and not an airline. Don't expect to be pampered, but don't expect plastic smiles. Travel on Amtrak has been described as a cross between staying at a resort and camping out. Its employees are a cross-section of America; you will encounter some excellent ones, some mediocre ones, and some who belong in another line of work. If you experience rudeness or incompetence, take names and talk to the Chief of On-Board Services. The address of Amtrak's Customer Relations office in Washington is on your ticket folder. With a spirit of adventure and a willingness to "go with the flow" you can expect to have a great time! I would be pleased to see that you've read this information. And if I've left something out or made an error, please let me know ! My favorite Railroad Quote: My heart is warm with the friends I make, And better friends I'll not be knowing; Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take, No matter where it's going. -Edna St. Vincent Millay 1892-1950, "Travel" [1921], St. 3 Please enjoy ALL of your travels! --- When he's not traveling, Harry Sutton resides in San Diego. Harry runs the rail forum on GEnie, is a staff member on CompuServe's Travel Forum, and a regular on CompuServe's TrainNet Forum. ___ RO Feature: BOOK REVIEW ____________________________________ Z E P H Y R excerpted and reviewed by Dennis Larson @@K ________________________________________________________________ ZEPHYR: Tracking a Dream Across America Written by Henry Kisor 338 pages plus 16 pages of photographs and graphics. Price 24 dollars US, 31 dollars Canadian. Published by Times Books, NY, NY Hard cover. Henry Kisor [CompuServe: 75745,1233] is the book editor and literary columnist of the Chicago Sun Times and author of What's That Pig Outdoors?: A Memoir of Deafness. He is the same Henry that checks into the Rail Travel Section on the Travel Forum and on TrainNet on CompuServe. Early in the book is it easy to see that Henry has an edge, as a veteran writer who is also a life long railfan. His writing style in the book is smooth, flowing and his words are easily visualized into thousands of pictures. More accurately, the book is like a feature length film for it is entertaining, not only for railfans, but more so for the rail traveler. The book could easily be converted into a movie, for those that seldom read, since the story begins in Chicago and takes you across the U.S. to the ZEPHYR's terminal in California. Leaving Chicago's Union Station, Henry writes- "Emerging from the train shed into daylight, the locomotives tiptoed gingerly through scores of switches, towing their long rope of cars southward across a broad sea of tracks. Past a huddle of darkened double-deck Metra commuter trains, past the huge Amtrak coach yards, past ready tracks of drowsing locomotives glided the ZEPHYR." There are many books on trains and this book does not follow the pack with hundreds of photos, so if you like photographic essays only, you will not like "ZEPHYR". What "ZEPHYR" dwells on is the California Zephyr operation from a human perspective, not the typical technical/railfan view. Henry delves deeply into many areas of Amtrak railroading we have not heard before. He looks at the differences in the type of crews from past and present, even mentioning gay and straight car attendants of today and all their respective social problems. He also looks at the scenery. "For seven minutes our train rolled slowly by - and through -beetling, bristling, jagged 1,500 foot cliffs looming so close that they seemed to threaten to collapse upon the track" Here on the forums some complain of Amtrak crews, but in "ZEPHYR" you get to see a bit of passenger behavior through a crew person's eyes. As we entered the lounge car, the chief caught Don's eye. "Yeah, Reggie?" "We're having trouble again with Mildred," Reggie said. "Mildred?", I asked. "Yeah, you remember the lady from yesterday, the one who got her virginity back." "Ah." "When I went through her car this morning, she had her bra off, and was about to take off the rest of her gown right in the middle of the car to get dressed. When she saw me she stopped. I told the attendant to make sure that she wasn't drinking or anything like that. She doesn't have any money, remember?" "Yup." Henry seemingly has left no stones unturned. From the book, one gets the impression it is written during one trip, but something like 17 trips were necessary to collect the many tales, some from the past, some of them as they happened during his journeys. Between both covers lie love, sex, violence, tragedy, on-board excitement and finally arrival. It may sound like fiction, it isn't, amazingly it is all true. "For all of us who feel happy every time we board a train, Henry Kisor provides a free trip, complete with grand views and life stories and lots of train talk. You open up the book, you're on the ZEPHYR--its as simple as that". -Garrison Keillor "Above all, ZEPHYR is just plain fun to read, full of quirks and unexpected moments and some memorable phrasing from a skilled and inventive writer." -T.H. Watkins, Washington Post "One would be lucky to draw Kisor as a seat partner on a long train trip, for this book review editor of the Chicago Sun Times is....a master at consequential chitchat and full of train lore, which he makes interesting whether or not you happen to share his ecstasy in rolling stock." -Publishers Weekly Henry will be promoting his book on a trip across the U.S.A. calling at several cities in March. Appropriately, he will be traveling on the California Zephyr. --- Dennis Larson is head of the rail travel section on CompuServe, and regularly chats electronically with Henry Kisor. Dennis writes for RailOnline frequently, but this is his first book review. (In fact, this is RO's first book review.) ___ RO Newswire: COMPUTERS _____________________________________ Cyberspace Report with Peter Kirn @@L ________________________________________________________________ COMPUSERVE USERS: TALK TO US "LIVE" Monday, March 28, I'm hosting the second online conference on CompuServe for RailOnline, giving you a chance to talk to me about RO. The timing of the first one was bad and many of you missed it, but it was already clear that `live' conferencing has its advantages. By being live, rather than just writing messages, you can write text in real time, and get an instant answer. Live conferencing doesn't involve complete chaos. There are rules to make it more like a guest speaker. The moderator and the speaker have the floor, if you will - the right to talk. To get the floor, you raise your hand electronically, by typing "??". The moderator will give you the floor by saying something like "Jane, ga." (GA stands for go ahead.) Once you have the floor, you stand up by typing "ok", then, after you've said what you have to, you type "//" to let everybody know you're finished. This may sound a little odd, but trust me, you'll get used to it fast, and it prevents the conference from turning into a chat frenzy. Be sure to check the forum notices for further details, and look for me online March 28 at 9pm EST, 8 CST. AOL REVIVAL, OR JUST ANOTHER FALSE START? Those who remember back far enough will remember that RailOnline was created on America Online. (Rail endeavors there still carry the RailOnline name.) In fact, without the failure of the forums, I never would've decided to create RailOnline magazine. Back in July, things appeared to be looking up. JP Flaherty (Darkhawk) believed the rail forum had a real shot. I even ran an article in RO that the project had promise back when RO still had "RO News" right after the table of contents. However, nothing has come of it. Still, AOL's user counts have doubled since then, and there's a whole new gang of people trying to make the rail forums official. We'll see. THE GRAPHICS FILE: This month's graphic comes from CompuServe's TrainNet, and was uploaded between issue 7 and press time for this issue. The file was located in lib 2, new uploads, at press time but may have been moved to another library by the time you read this. To get at them quickly, use the SEARCH function and check for their filename. You must have or download a GIF viewer. SF_842.GIF by Daniel S. Dawdy (RO) 800x600x256 The Super Chief still lives in one of Dan Dawdy's latest scans. Also check out his Racetrack series in library 2, photographs of the busy freight corridor near Aurora, IL, brimming with detouring trains from February's harsh winter weather. 45-mph and higher winds don't stop Dan. COPYING RO ...and its contents RailOnline is copyrighted, and as such we have certain rights to it. However, since we are a non-profit publication at this point, we actually encourage that you distribute this file. Charging for it, aside from electronic services charging for use of their service, is a copyright infringement. Giving it to your friends, though, is just as healthy for us as it is for them. Only a limited number of people have access to the services that carry RailOnline. Since we actually pay to access these services at this point, rather than making money off RO's distribution, you become part of our distribution network. I do ask as a courtesy that you tell us if you're sending the file around, not because I'm concerned about it, but because I like to know where the file is getting. _________________________________________________________________ RAIL ONLINE @^ _________________________________________________________________ ===== STAFF ===== MANAGING STAFF: Peter Kirn Editor-in-Chief CompuServe Distribution Manager Daniel Dawdy Assistant Editor Internet Distribution Manager RO Features Image Editor CONTRIBUTING STAFF: Al Tuner US news Matthew Mitchell Northeast, transit issues (for DVRP) Bryce Lee Canada William Vandervoort Chicago Glenn Candland West coast Adri Noort Europe Harry Sutton News via GEnie / CompuServe Dennis Larson Travel DVRP, RON MEMBER: Matthew Mitchell Editor For RailOnline: Peter Kirn Tom Borawski DVRP production manager Chuck Bode DV Assoc. of Rail Passengers' president With correspondents: Chuck Bode, Howard Bender, Tom Borawski, Bob Machler, James Morgan, Don Nigro, John Pawson. Special thanks to Amtrak Public Affairs, and to Mary Donahue, John McGee, and Kim Scott Heinle of SEPTA. DVRP Subscriptions/membership: $15 (supporting $25), DVARP, PO Box 7505, Philadelphia, PA 19101 Thanks to Conrail, Santa Fe, CSX, and BritRail Travel International (Bob Halcums), and to Robert Sells. Thanks, as always, to all our freelance authors and to the staff of the Travel SIG and TrainNet Forums on CompuServe. Special thanks to Dorr Altizer, Corbett Price, and Tom Pinkerton on TrainNet, and Dennis Larson on Travel SIG. IMPORTANT: RailOnline is a non-profit organization. Compilation copyright (C)1994 E/Press publications. Copying RO in a manner contrary to the way defined by the section "copying RO" is a federal offense. Violators may be prosecuted. All trademarks are registered with their respective owners. CONTACTING RO: Via US Mail: Peter Kirn 25777 Tara Drive Barrington, IL 60010 Via E-Mail: On CompuServe: Peter Kirn, 73232,3534 On the Internet or on any service that has an Internet gateway: Daniel Dawdy, dawdy@tellabs.com Call 1-800-848-8990 for information on joining CompuServe. SUBMITTING TO RO: Articles may be edited for space and clarity. As a free publication, RO can offer no kind of compensation for submitters. Contact the editor if you're interested, or for more information. COPYING RO: RO may be copied or uploaded in its entirety, unmodified. Any other use of the material is a violation of our compilation copyright and is illegal. We have a talented team of image artists and writers here at RO. They are not paid. Just as they are happy to give us material for free, they will probably be happy to do the same for you or your publication. However, we do demand that you ask permission to copy individual images or articles alone, outside of RO, even if you're not charging for that. E-mail 73232.3534@compuserve.com Internet or 73232,3534 on CompuServe, and we will forward your reprinting request. =========================================================================== Next Month in RailOnline Magazine... TRAVEL: Part two of Daniel Dawdy's Algoma Central odyssey, delayed from this issue to next. DEBUT OF HISTORICAL COVERAGE: Our first dive into covering railroads now gone. and in the RO Newswire: Matthew Mitchell brings us an exclusive INSIGHT into the Clinton Administration's transit policy. Plus: With the winter drawing to a close, railroads and transit have time to look back - and check their wallets to see how much has survived. The last of our series in reports on "Winter Blues", coming next month. Also, the first full month of Al Tuner's news coverage is integrated into our other material, and Bryce Lee returns with the latest from Canada. ALL IN APRIL! Algoma Central article pushed back one issue... Dan Dawdy's Algoma Central article, slated for this issue, was unexpectedly delayed. (Winter will do that to things.) You'll get to see the continuation of Dan's Canadian odyssey next month. -PK =========================================================================== This month in RO's sister mag: MODEL RAILS online PREMIERE ISSUE WinRail: An exclusive tour of the new Windows layout design software from Germany, hosted by the man who translated it into English. Ghost Trains: The real reason we're model railroaders TREES: The basics on tree building techniques INDUSTRY CONNECTION: The latest news from the manufacturers, in an all new format with many more brands A note from the editor: Splitting RO into RailOnline and Model Rails Online is a big risk, but I have confidence in the growth of these two publications. MRO will follow the same standards and format that has made RO a success, but by being independent will allow us to raise the quality of our model railroading coverage to a new high. -Peter Kirn ALL IN APRIL... GET IT WHERE YOU GET RailOnline! Yes, it is available in Replica format! ============================================================================ RAIL ONLINE `94 See you in April!