NEWSLETTER Spring 2012 Vol. 9, Issue 2 RUN Conference Attendees Will Monitor Proposed Federal Actions on Rail Individual By Jack Corbett FY2013 DOT Appropriations of the FY2013 year. Getting Highlights Act. Last week the U.S. Senate these measures conferenced for When RUN’s Regional passed a two-year Surface final Congressional approvals Conference convenes in the Transportation Reauthorization by the House and Senate will be Amtrak Accelerates, NS Nation’s Capital next month Act, 74-22, that continues difficult. (Friday, April 20), many mass transit funding at current Puts on Brakes p. 2 Among the transit and rail attendees will have visited the levels, funded from Federal gas issues RUN conferees will offices of their Congressional tax revenues. The Republican have discussed with their G Train Extension p. 3 delegations and Congressional majority in the House of Congressional offices are the transportation leaders the prior Representatives has had a following: Public-Private day to discuss transportation difficult time developing a Partnerships p. 4 policy issues important to their House bill that can generate the communities and regions. 218 votes needed to pass the 1. Restore Tax Benefits for House, and won’t debate any Deductibility of Mass Transit More on the Southwest Congressional policy on bill for the next few weeks. Costs to Equal Vehicle Parking Chief p. 5 transit and rail funding will be Benefit. The federal income tax completed this year through The FY’2013 DOT provision allowing employees An Open Letter two major legislative vehicles: Appropriations bills—providing to exclude up to $230 of their to Gov. Patrick p. 6 a multi-year authorization funding for Federal Transit monthly mass transit costs from bill for highway and mass Administration grants and for their taxable income expired transit (Surface Transportation Amtrak—will be developed last December. Currently NJ Transit Improves Reauthorization) and the before the October 1, 2012, start (Continued on page 10) Transparency p. 8 Join Us at RUN’s Third Regional Rail RUN to the Nation’s Capital p. 11 Conference in Washington, DC By Richard Rudolph The conference, which is being Chief, Product Management for Maine’s Mountain Chair, Rail Users’ Network held on Friday, April 20 at the Amtrak, will shed light on what Division Line p. 15 American Public Transportation Amtrak is doing in the short run The deadline for early Association headquarters, 1666 to improve long distance service. registration for the Rail K St. N.W., Washington, DC, Our keynoter, Don Phillips of Users Network 2012 regional will provide participants an Trains Magazine, will examine conference -“Keeping Connected opportunity to learn first-hand what needs to be done at both the by Rail: Making our Voices what is going on in Congress state and national level to create a “Heard” is fast approaching. The regarding Amtrak and transit world-class rail passenger system registration fee is still $50. After funding issues. Art Guzzetti, Vice in the United States. Participants March 31, it’s $60, and $75 at President of Policy at APTA, will attending the conference will also the door. The fee includes all provide a layout of the land in DC, hear from rail activists who are conference materials /handout, and what we can expect, given the working at the grassroots and as well as a continental breakfast, present Congress, and prospects state level to improve and expand a hearty lunch and an afternoon for change, both in the near future service in the Mid-Atlantic Region. beverage break. and long term. Brian Rosenwald, (Continued on page 10) RAIL USERS’ NETWORK NEWSLETTER Page 2 of 16 MICHIGAN AGAIN Successful 110-mph Rollout Followed by NS Slow Orders Leaves State and Amtrak Angry, Riders Confused By F.K. Plous Things went downhill after that as Going faster…slowly the Interstate highway system and the For riders of Amtrak’s Chicago-Detroit federally financed airport program created Raising the speed limit took a while. Wolverine service the months of February competition for which the New York Central The software, which included millions and March truly were Dickensian—“the had no practical answer. The Interstate of lines of code, needed lots of patient best of times and the worst of times.” Commerce Commission didn’t help either debugging. State cooperation was needed, when in 1955 it clamped a passenger-train because numerous grade crossings had to The “best” of times came Feb. 13, when speed limit of 79 mph on all main lines not be closed and the remaining ones beefed Amtrak, for the first time, began operating equipped with either Automatic Train Stop up with more modern gate technology. its regularly scheduled passenger trains at or cab signaling. Ridership dropped, and New welded rail had to be laid on fresh 110 miles per hour over the full 97 miles when Amtrak took over the train service in ballast, curves had to be recalibrated for of track it owns between Porter, IN and 1971 it operated only three daily Chicago- faster train operation, and new sidings Kalamazoo, MI. The speedup affected Detroit round trips. The overnighters to had to be installed. Top speeds were all three Chicago-Detroit Wolverine New York already were long gone. frequencies plus the single daily Blue Water raised from 79 to 90 mph in 2002 and the software upgraded again. Then in 2005, frequency between Chicago and Port 1976: Enter Amtrak Huron, MI. That train leaves the Wolverine the limit was raised to 95 mph, where route 23 miles east of Kalamazoo and as an owner it stayed while the software was further uses the Canadian National’s former C fine-tuned. Originally, only the middle Grand Trunk Western for the balance of The origins of today’s higher speeds go portion of the line was covered by the the trip. back to 1976, when the U.S. Railway new technology, with the western 12 miles Administration created Conrail out of the between Porter and New Buffalo and the The Porter-Kalamazoo segment is part of wreckage of the doomed Penn Central and eastern extremity between Kalamazoo and the original Michigan Central line opened five other bankrupt Northeastern carriers. Oshtemo left out. between Chicago and Detroit in 1852. Since Conrail was to be a pure freight Under New York Central ownership carrier, Penn Central facilities dedicated Finally, on Feb. 6 of this year, Amtrak and after 1867, it became the premier route largely to passenger trains were distributed MDOT announced that on Feb 13 all 97 between Chicago and Detroit as well to the new government-owned carriers that miles of track would be fully commissioned as a popular alternate route to the were springing up: Metro North Railroad for a top speed of 110 mph. Two days Central’s Water Level Route for trips got the old New York Central’s commuter later, I and my colleagues Jim Coston between Chicago and New York. Popular routes out of Manhattan, Southeastern and Scott Braverman rode the 7:30 a.m. overnighters such as the Wolverine, the Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Wolverine, No. 350, to a meeting in Ann New York Special and the Canadian Niagara (SEPTA) inherited the Pennsy and Reading Arbor. The 110 mph track performed picked up New York- and Boston-bound commuter routes serving Philadelphia, superbly, but the Horizon business/food passengers at Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and Amtrak got the Northeast Corridor, service car in which we rode did not. The Jackson, Ann Arbor and Detroit, followed Chicago Union Station and the 97 miles Horizons, which were adapted from a the New York Central’s Detroit River of former MC track on the Chicago- Pullman Co. commuter-car design, were a Tunnel to Windsor, Ont., and then raced Detroit route. Conrail consolidated all of little noisy—although the ride was smooth. across 246 miles of Southern Ontario its Chicago-Detroit through freight on the I clocked the train several times, but the flatlands on the Vanderbilt-controlled Water Level Route, which has a connecting fastest speed I was able to record on the Canada Southern before rejoining the track up to the MC at Jackson, MI, eastbound trip was 101 mph. Still, it was a Water Level Route at Buffalo. In the bypassing the Porter-Kalamazoo segment thrill to be traveling at more than 90 mph streamliner era, Chicago-Detroit day- and leaving it free for passenger service. on track outside the Northeast Corridor. It trippers boarded speedsters like the Amtrak rebuilt the track and eliminated reminded me of my many trips during the Mercury and the Twilight Limited, both the slow orders, but in the late 1990s it 1950s on the Chicago & Northwestern’s of which hit speeds of up to 100 mph. began taking the pike up to the next level, “400” streamliners and the Milwaukee In 1954, the Twilight covered the 284- installing a pioneer Positive Train Control Road’s Hiawathas, both of which regularly mile run in a flat five hours—with six technology to replace the deteriorating exceeded 100 mph. intermediate stops. ABS system. (Continued on page 14) RAIL USERS’ NETWORK NEWSLETTER Page 3 of 16 Keep the G Train Extension! By Andrew Albert the G train, which formerly ended its was cut back to Court Square, there was southbound run at Smith-9th Street, was a promise of more-frequent service. That The Culver Viaduct spans the Gowanus extended to Church Avenue, five stops was debatable, however.) Canal in Brooklyn, at times reaching a further down the F line, stopping at 4th height of 90 feet above the street. The Avenue, 7th Avenue, 15th St-Prospect Now, riders and advocacy groups are viaduct was opened in 1933 and is served Park, Ft.