NEWSLETTER Winter 2018 Vol. 15, Issue 1 At Long Last, MTA Prepares Individual To Replace the Metrocard Highlights By Andrew Albert problems. Many Metrocard paid by credit or debit card - you users have encountered the were good, if you didn’t - you’re Introduced in the 1990s, New “swipe again” or “swipe again out of luck. And of course, the York’s ubiquitous Metrocard— here” message, thus causing Metrocard did you no good if you long the symbol of New York, and frustration not only for the rode the commuter rails—Metro- Uncertainty Rides the the butt of many jokes (so-and-so user, but those lined up at the North or the Long Island Rail Rails in NJ p. 2 didn’t know how to swipe, etc.)— turnstiles behind. Many transit Road. Sure, you could purchase will soon go the way of the token. users have also encountered a monthly pass on the railroads From New Mexico (And Of course, “soon” depends on “dirty” turnstile slots, which which had a Metrocard on the your definition, as the Metrocard damage the delicate electronic reverse side - but the subway user the U.S.) p. 4 will still be around during the stripe on the Metrocard, causing couldn’t upgrade their Metrocard introduction of the new contactless it to malfunction, or have to be to allow use on the railroads. And Canada Report tap card, as yet unnamed. replaced. the MTA had to pay employees Winter 2018 p. 5 to clean the turnstile slots that It’s about time. The Metrocard Then there’s the issue of the Metrocards slid through, or Delays Plague 2017’s has outlived its usefulness in damaged cards, as well as what to damage to cards would occur. many ways. This is not to do when your card is lost/stolen. And –leave it to enterprising New New Starts p. 6 say it was without merit—it If you’ve remembered to jot down Yorkers—some figured out that allowed for many useful and the serial # of your card, then if you bent the card in a certain Passenger Rail Advoca- important fare options that good. If you haven’t—and paid fashion, you could wrangle a cy Changing p. 7 the token did not—but it’s also with cash—you’re out of luck. couple of extra rides out of it! not to say there haven’t been If it was a monthly card and you ( Continued on page 3) FRA Designates Rail Amtrak Cascades Expansion Pending Safety Week p. 8 By Lloyd H. Flem predicted, including larger picturesque water –level route MN’s Passenger-Train numbers of business travelers. skirting Puget Sound, replaced Wish List p. 9 On Dec. 18, the Seattle- In addition to the two new by a more direct, but far-less Portland segment of the Talgo- round trips, considerable aesthetic inland run between Stark County Transit’s built Amtrak Cascades trains improvements on the BNSF Olympia and Tacoma. Also will add two round trips, giving Main north-south line within new environmentally-friendly Eco-Leadership p. 12 a total of six, all during daytime the state of Washington, which Charger locomotives, built in hours. The six, plus the Coast benefits freight as well as Sacramento, will increase on- Renewed Interest in Ex- Starlight, mean that intercity passenger service, have been time reliability. Finally, Tacoma panding Seasonal New rail passenger service between completed. will have a new Amtrak station England Service p. 13 the two rapidly-growing, immediately adjacent to light economically-prosperous A decrease in scheduled run and commuter rail, intercity metro areas in the American time of 10 minutes will also bus and local transit bus. Pacific Northwest can be seen occur on Dec. 18. All Aboard Much of the funding for these as constituting a viable rail Washington (AAWA) feels the improvements and expansions corridor. With the increasingly decrease is too modest, given came from President Obama’s unpleasant experience of I-5 the infrastructure improvements ARRA “High Speed Rail” traffic, major growth in train made. In addition, all passenger (HSR) money. ridership in that corridor is trains will be leaving the (Continued on page 7) RAIL USERS’ NETWORK NEWSLETTER Page 2 of 16 Uncertainty Rides the Rails at New Jersey Transit By David Peter Alan question is whether or not there will be new support for the agency had been reduced tunnels in service before the old ones must be by 90% from 2007-08 levels in 2014-15. New Jersey’s rail riders face an uncertain shut down, if that is actually necessary. For this year, it is about one third of the future, along with their transportation level of a decade ago, but these funding provider, New Jersey Transit (NJT). They Amtrak’s plan is the Gateway Project, a mega- cuts have translated into service cuts, face a number of uncertainties on several project first proposed in 2011. Gateway includes which means less mobility. Continued fronts, from chronic funding shortages at two new tunnels, two new bridges to replace uncertainty over funding means continued NJT, to not being sure whether the train the aging Portal Bridge over the Hackensack uncertainty over whether any particular they want to take will run on any given day. River, and improvements at Penn Station. It train will be removed from the schedule. also includes a new stub-end terminal called There was uncertainty on the Morris & Essex “Penn South” for NJT trains, new infrastructure There is also uncertainty about NJT’s (M&E) Line at the beginning of the summer, as in Secaucus, NJ and a loop that would render relationship with Amtrak. NJT has not paid NJT announced that there would be no weekday the current Secaucus station (which opened for its assessment to Amtrak for the use of the trains on that line to or from Penn Station, New service in 2003 and cost $600 million to build) Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Trenton York (except for a few early-morning arrivals) for obsolete. Amtrak claims that Gateway can be and Penn Station, New York. As a result, eight weeks. The trains were sent to the historic completed by 2030; only a few short years before Amtrak has stopped work on projects along Hoboken Terminal instead. NJT cut Hoboken it says the existing tunnels must be shut down for the line that would benefit NJT’s riders. Mayor fares in half for the duration and threw in free repairs. Some advocates believe this deadline to J. Christian Bollwage of Elizabeth complained connections to Manhattan on PATH (Port be too close for comfort. that the dispute between the two railroads has Authority Trans Hudson) trains or ferries. The halted construction of a new station in his riders suffered some inconvenience, but NJT Those advocates, including the Lackawanna city, which is located on the NEC, but where planned and executed its plan well, so there was a Coalition, are concerned about the cost of Amtrak trains do not stop. He also expressed general consensus that the summer could have been Gateway, which is now estimated at close the hope that the incoming administration in much worse. That uncertainty had been resolved. to $30 billion. They do not believe that a Trenton can resolve the situation. fiscally-conservative Republican government When the M&E trains returned to Penn will spend half of that amount, which is Some of these uncertainties may be resolved Station, other uncertainties remained, roughly half of the money available for transit next year, although some transit managers and they have not gone away. There is a projects around the country, for a project that are facing a new uncertainty. New Jersey shortage of engineers at NJT, which has will benefit a Democratic stronghold like the is getting a new governor, Democrat Phil caused some trains to be canceled. This New York area. They also doubt that there is Murphy. Both houses of the legislature have writer and many other riders have had enough “local” money available to pay for the Democratic majorities, so Murphy should occasions when the trains we expected to local funding match. They propose a “Plan B” be able to implement policies easily. During catch did not run, so we had to wait for that includes new tunnels, a single new bridge the campaign, Murphy complained about the next train. Outside peak-commuting and the improvements at Penn Station, but the leadership at NJT, so advocates expect hours, that meant an extra hour of waiting not “Penn South” or the other infrastructure, to see some new faces at the agency next time. If an “inbound” train is canceled, which they deem unnecessary and possibly year. Whether any such changes will be far- the consequences could be much worse, undesirable. These advocates say that their reaching, or merely cosmetic, is anyone’s guess. like missing appointments. Labor and scaled-down plan is affordable, and will That is a new uncertainty for riders, while management are blaming each other, provide enough capacity into Penn Station. some managers are uncertain about whether while the biggest losers are the riders. They criticize Gateway for not promising or not they will keep their jobs after the new to provide such capacity until the all of it is administration takes office in January. In the long run, there is uncertainty about completed, which might not happen before how NJT riders will get into New York’s the existing tunnels are taken out of service. Riders and their advocates are also uncertain Penn Station in the future. The tunnels under They are beginning to think about a “Plan C” about whether there will be more funding for the the Hudson River flooded in 2012, when to get commuters into Manhattan, even if a operating side of NJT, now that the Democrats Hurricane Sandy struck.