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A NEWSLETTER FOR EMPLOYEES

Vol. 6, No. 10 September 1979 Congressional Criteria Applied, ______--, I Board Announces October Service Amtrak's board of directors, at its Final Report to Congress on the Am­ and St. Petersburg they will operate regular August 29 meeting, reviewed trak route system, meet the Congres­ as separate . management recommendations for a sional criteria and are planned for re­ The following trains failed to meet new route system based on Congres­ tention: the Congressional criteria and are sionally mandated criteria and au­ • , to New Or­ scheduled for discontinuance on Oc­ thorized management to begin pre­ leans, tober 1: paring to implement the new system • Inter-American, to La­ • , Chicago to Houston, on October 1. redo, • North Coast , Chicago The action is subject to final pas­ • , to to , sage by Congress of the Amtrak au­ Montreal, • National Limited, New York to thorization bill-the Amtrak Reor­ • and Mount Kansas City, ganization Act of 1979-by Septem­ Rainier, combined between Portland • , Chicago to Miami, ber 30. and , B.C., and • , Washington to Cat­ The following trains, originally • and , lettsburg, and recommended for discontinuance in combined between New York and • San Joaquin, Oakland to Bak­ the Department of Transportation's Jacksonville. From there to Miami ersfield. The San Joaquin could be Projected Amtrak System* Se~,~;,l ~ " p :., -it;'V;e--- -- ____ _ o"'l ; , ---__--1;------,.---.ii. I lI;"ct I , I ..... ~ .. " , "'""'-...-.;;;.: , '''''",-- '-,, I ..... , .. ,! ------,!

-~~~~-...--.... --.., Cheyenne Salt C------' I ake City ! .V-"I----- : , ·--i-----­ I ___A_'_b~u.querque , ~_...... Phoeni)(! ~_ I ...... ~.' " , ,.- ...... I ~_._ __.. I , .. '" •· .... ·£1 Pash, -. --" , ·;Savannah I \ ",------~------nvllle .. _ . ~ l :J,.- .. I_.. )", \JackSO '. ' ... '( ...... \ , ;~~J'.- .." ... -~, .,:New Orlean's" "" Mouston "' ',) I Management recommended, or .' Tampal• existing 403(b) routes ___ ... laredo\,. SI. Petersburg'! ''''. Pending legislative agreement, or " \ I , ...... '1 ' .... -iMlami funding commitment, ------­ ')aa~ including planned 403(b) routes ·Subject to final legislative action continued if decides to 403(b) Trains paraiso, , and Chicago. fund it under section 403(b) provi­ sions. Based on the authorization legisla­ Regional Balance Routes The Congressional criteria from tion approved to date, funding for ex­ Both bills contain language that re­ which Amtrak had to take its direc­ isting state-subsidized trains under quires Amtrak to operate a long-dis­ tion are contained in both Senate and section 403(b) of the Rail Passenger tance route in each section of the House versions of Amtrak's authori­ Service Act appears assured. -with the country di­ zation bills. Funding levels that would allow ad­ vided into four quadrants created by These specified that to continue in ditional joint services are still to be drawing east-west and north-south operation, a long-distance train had to worked out in the final legislation, lines through Chicago-if service is have a ratio of passenger miles to and the board took no action on this not maintained on any long-distance train miles of at least 150 and incur an issue. route in that section under the cri­ avoidable loss of no more than seven However, Amtrak management teria, and, if a long-distance train ex­ cents per passenger mile. has had some preliminary discussions ists in that section which has shown Short-distance trains had to meet a with several states that are interested and will continue to show significant passenger miles to train miles ratio of in supporting some of the routes that performance improvement under the at least 80 and an avoidable loss of no are scheduled for discontinuance. criteria. more than nine cents per passenger Some of those planned 403(b) The and the Inter­ mile. routes, pending negotiations with the American qualified under this region­ While the two bills differ in some states involved and Congressional al formula. respects-and are going to be re­ funding, include Chicago to Peoria, solved in a conference committee in St. Louis to Kansas City, and Oak­ Cities Served September-similar language in both land to Bakersfield. Under the DOT plan, 156 communi­ bills directed Amtrak to: ties would have lost all train service. • Postpone the DOT recom­ Commuter Services Based on the Congressional criteria, mended restructuring of five long-dis­ 79 of those communities will now re­ tance routes-, Both Senate and House bills re­ tain service. Limited, Southwest Lim­ quire Amtrak to operate its commut­ A total of 458 communities will be ited, , and er-type trains until April I , 1981. served by the new system, not count­ Shenandoah-until superior or equiv­ After that date,--Amtl"ak -w-i-ll be au­ ing those that may- have service re­ alent service can be offered on the thorized to operate such trains only stored by further legislative action. DOT recommended routes. after reimbursement by state or local The planned route system will op­ • Add trains to the DOT system­ agencies for all operating losses in­ erate over 22,237 route miles-ap­ which had been approved by Con­ curred. proximately 84 per cent of the present gress by its refusal to vote disapprov­ Both bills also required Amtrak to system-and is expected to carryover al of the Final Report-which meet assume the commuter service current­ 19.2 million riders during the coming the Congressionally defined econom­ ly operated by between Val- year. ic criteria as detailed above. • Add trains to the basic DOT sys­ tem which meet Congressional re­ quirements for maintaining regional balance. The board acted at its August 29 meeting in areas where there is no dis­ agreement in both House and Senate bills . The actions had to be taken to enable implementation of the new system by October I. The board took no action on either the Shenandoah, west of Cumber-g'" land, or the because, al- ~ though both trains did fail the Con- 15 D gressional criteria, each was specif- ~ ically proposed for continuance in ~ one of the two authorization bills. £. The status of both trains will depend Interest in the board meeting and subsequent press conference is evidenced by the battery of on the direction taken by the final leg­ microphones and jungle of wires on the table in front of Board Chairman Harry Edwards and islation. Presidenr Alan Boyd.

2 Congress Accepts DOT Report, ______------, Dictates Criteria To Reinstate Service

The Amtrak Improvement Act of there are certain issues that are thorized Amtrak's management to 1978 required the Department of spelled out in only one of the two begin preparing to implement the new Transportation to recommend to bills. But, basically, the 1979 legisla­ system on October I. This is subject Congress a route system for Amtrak tion does spell out the criteria for re­ to final passage of the Amtrak au­ which would provide " ... an op­ taining certain trains originally slated thorization bill by September 30. timal intercity railroad passenger sys­ for discontinuance. tem, based upon current and future Those differences will be addressed market and population require­ by a House-Senate conference com­ I Vegas I ments ... " mittee in the very near future. A com­ Amtrak cooperated fully with DOT promise will result which, when ap­ The board took no action on the in providing cost and ridership data proved by both Houses of Congress, new Ogden-Las Vegas- for the study. will be sent to the President for his train, to be named the Desert Wind, DOT published its preliminary re­ signature. because it was included in the DOT port-proposing the elimination of In the meantime, Amtrak's board recommended system and thus ap­ over 8,000 miles of Amtrak's sys­ of directors, faced with an October I proved by Congress when it accepted tem-in May 1978. The Interstate implementation date for the new s,ys­ the report. Commerce Commission's Rail Ser­ tem, has applied the criteria dictated The train is expected to go into ser­ vices Planning Office then conducted by Congress in its legislation and au- vice sometime in late October. hearings in 51 cities along the routes of the proposed discontinued trains to get public response to the DOT Boyd: Provisions Have Been Met plan. Most of the testimony was pro­ In his memo accompanying management's recommendations to the passenger train and the RSPO sub­ board regarding train service after October 1, Amtrak President Alan S. mitted its evaluation report to DOT Boyd said, in September 1978. "The Congress, after review of the basic system recommended by the DOT then restudied the data and Department of Transportation, determined that present energy and other considered the public comments and considerations merit the continuation of certain additional trains under the RSPO's recommendations and carefully defined criteria developed in legislation approved by the House ~nnounced its "Final Report" on and Senate. Amtrak's route structure last January "This same legislation provides Amtrak with new options on com­ 31. muter, state-supported services and demonstration routes which, to­ That final version proposed cutting gether with the DOT specified routes, would provide a truly national sys­ 43 per cent of the system, a recom­ tem linking the bulk of our major population centers on economically mendation for more service elimina­ supportable routes. tions than were proposed in the pre­ "Knowledge of the complexity of the legislation has led numerous liminary report. congressional staff delegations and other special interest groups to ques­ The 1978 Amtrak Act provided tion the impartiality of the application of this criteria. that the DOT final report be con­ "For more than two years, Amtrak, in response to requests for data sidered approved by Congress unless, from various members of Congress, has furnished myriad ridership and within 90 calendar days of continuous costing data relating to almost every train in the system. Much of this session, either House of Congress dis­ data was used by them in framing the legislation, with the result that our approved of the proposal. guidance is so specific that Amtrak has little or no latitude in determining Neither House did vote disapproval those trains to be continued, discontinued, or modified. during the required time period and "Our task is not one of making decisions between various alternatives, the DOT report was thus accepted by but rather one of the strict observance of Congressionally approved pro­ Congress. visions. However, the latest Amtrak legis la­ "I am convinced that all legislative requirements have been conscien­ tion-Amtrak's Reorganization Act tiously met, that the resulting system will be one commensurate with our of 1979-has now been passed by current resources and will constitute a sound base for orderly expansion both the Senate, on August I, and the as future revenues and appropriations permit." House, on July 25 . Although the two bills parallel each other very closely,

3 Other Board Actions ______------, [ Tied to Route Restructuring

In other actions at its August 29 mit the Inter-American to split there route system. meeting, Amtrak's board of directors to provide service to and from With the track changes at the Tem­ voted conditional funds to prepare Houston. ple station and funding support from for a Chicago-Indianapolis train, for The board's action, in this case, is Texas for a portion of the operating track and signal changes at Temple, contingent on an agreement between deficits and capital costs, the Inter­ Texas, and to build a new station at the state of Texas and Amtrak to American could be split there south­ Borie, , to serve Cheyenne. fund jointly the operation of the bound and recombined northbound Houston section. to provide through service between Chicago-Indianapolis Houston is slated to lose direct Chi­ Houston and Fort Worth, Dallas and cago service since the Lone Star failed cities further north. The board conditionally approved to meet the Congressionally man­ Changes involve lengthening sta­ the expenditure of $1.2 million to pre­ dated economic criteria for the new tion tracks, adding some switches and pare the right-of-way for a demon­ stration "short haul" route between Chicago and Indianapolis. Projected Amtrak System The board's approval is condi­ October 1, 1979 tioned on eventual inclusion of the (Subject to final legislation action) demonstration route provision in the Amtrak Authorization Act of 1979. Train Name Route Disposition The demonstration route clause New York-Montreal Continue (A) was included in the Senate's Amtrak Chicago-St. Louis Continue (B) bill but not in the House bill and Black Hawk Chicago-Dubuque Continue (A) awaits clarification through the con­ Washington-Martinsburg Continue ference committee. (Weekend service included in DOT basic system. Weekday ser- - - - vice-aut-horizee--to-April 1, 1981.)- - --- The proposed route would extend Limited Chicago-Port Huron Continue (A) from Chicago to Crawfordsville, In­ Broadway Limited New York/Washington-Chicago Continue (C) diana-over the present route of the Cardinal Washington-Chicago (D) Floridian-over the Louisville and Champion New York-St. Petersburg Continue (E) Nashvi lle railroad, then via Conrail (Combined with Silver Meteor, New York to Jacksonville. Separate trains from there to Miami and St. Petersburg.) to Indianapolis. Seattle-Los Angeles Continue (B) Construction of a track connection -Newport News Continue (B) between the two lines at Crawfords­ Crescent New York-New Orleans Continue (E) ville, track surfacing and tie renewal Desert Wind Ogden-Los Angeles Inaugurate (B) on the 47-mile-Iong Conrail segment Dewitt Clinton New York-Albany Continue (B) Chicago-Seattle Continue (B) are covered in the capital appropria­ (Tri-weekly, except daily during peak seasons.) tion. New York-Niagara Falls Continue (B) Also authorized was the installa­ Floridian Chicago-Miami/St. Petersburg Discontinue (F) tion of standby power at the Indian­ Henry Hudson New York-Albany Continue (B) apolis station. Hilltopper Boston-Washington-Catlettsburg Discontinue (F) Illini Chicago-Champaign Continue (A) The proposed service would also­ Zephyr Chicago-Quincy Continue (A) enable Amtrak to use the train to Inter-American Chicago-Laredo Continue, Daily (G) "deadhead" cars to the Beech Grove Chicago-New York/Boston Continue (C) car shops. The alternative to that Lone Star Chicago-Dallas-Houston Discontinue (F) would be to move the cars on an ir­ (Service will remain from Chicago to Newton, Kansas, via South­ west Limited) regular basis over non-Amtrak routes Executive -Jackson Continue (A) at an estimated annual cost of over (As a commuter service this train will require 100 per cent $200,000. state funding after April 1, 1981). Montrealer Washington-Montreal Continue (E) Temple Changes Mount Rainier Seattle-Portland Continue (Combined with Pacific International southbound, and operated The board also conditionally ap­ separately north bound, it meets Congressional criteria for short­ proved funding for the track and sig­ distance trains.) nal changes at Temple, Texas, to per-

4 revising signals. The work would re­ sengers from Borie to the Cheyenne pected to total $182,800. quire a capital expenditure estimated station. Use of the new station is expected at $432,000 which would be shared by When completed, the new station to save Amtrak $205,000 annually in Texas and Amtrak. will enable Amtrak to simplify its operating costs. Thus, Amtrak will Amtrak's share - $345,624 - was now complicated operation between recover the station cost in less than the amount conditionally approved Denver and Cheyenne and reduce the four years. by the board. operating time of the San Francisco Under present conditions, because Zephyr. of track layouts, the San Francisco Zephyr must operate backwards in Borie Station The station building will cost $70,000; new track, signal and com­ both directions between Denver and Cheyenne. The train's locomotives are The present station in downtown munications equipment, $281,000; removed and switched to the other Cheyenne will continue in operation and new train servicing facilities at end of the train at both locations. after the new station is built in Borie, Rawlins, $105,390. Using the Borie by-pass, the 10 miles west of Cheyenne. Passen­ Other items in the project, includ­ Zephyr will be able to proceed gers who choose to use it will be taken ing platforms, lighting, parking lot, straight through in both directions to the new facility by a chartered bus drains, electrical service, septic tank, without the backup move. which will also deliver incoming pas- signs, crosswalk and furniture are ex- This will improve reliability since switching engines from one end of the

National Limited New Yo~ashington-Kansas City Discontinue (F) train to the other frequently resulted New York-Niagara Falls Continue (B) in operating difficulties and delays, Chicago·Seattle Discontinue (F) especially during severe winter (Service will remain to some cities via Empire Builder.) weather. North Star Chicago-Minneapolis Continue (B) Minneapolis·Duluth Continue (A) The backward train operation and Pacific International Seattle·Vancouver, B.C. Continue switching also often confused passen­ (Combined with Mount Rainier southbound and operated separately gers causing them to complain. northbound, it meets Congressional criteria for short·distance Full ticketing and baggage service trains.) will continue to be provided at down­ New York·Savannah Continue (B) Chicago-New Orleans Continue (B) town Cheyenne and Amtrak person­ Pioneer Seattle- Continue (G) nel will accompany passengers from Saint Clair Chicago·Detroit Continue (B) there to Borie to handle any last­ Salt City Express New York-Syracuse Continue (B) minute arrangements. San Diegans Los Angeles-San Diego Continue (Three of the trains are in basic DOT system, three are 403(b) trains.) San Francisco Zephyr Chicago·Oakland/San Francisco Continue (C) I Keep Eye On CTY I San Joaquin Oakland/San Francisco- Bakersfield Discontinue (F) Because of the lead time necessary (Status pending negotiations with California for 403(b) service.) to produce publications like Amtrak Chicago·Carbondale Continue (B) News, fast breaking events can some­ Shenandoah Washington·Cumberland Continue (B) Cumberland-Cincinnati (D) times supercede items contained in Silver Meteor New York·Miami Continue (E) any issue by the time it reaches the (Combine with Champion, New York to Jacksonville. Separate trains subscriber. from there to Miami and St. Petersburg.) Amtrak News strongly suggests Silver Star New York-Miami/St. Petersburg Continue (B) that employees keep monitoring the Southwest Limited Chicago-Los Angeles Continue (C) Chicago-St. Louis Continue (A) Employee News Service which is in­ New Orleans-Los Angeles Continue, Tri-weekly (B) serted into the ARTS system twice­ Chicago-M ilwaukee Continue (B) weekly, on Tuesday and Thursday. Chicago·Detroit Continue (B) Employees with ARTS scopes can Washington Irving New York·Albany Continue (A) receive this latest news from the pub­ Chicago-Detroit Continue (B) lic affairs department by keying CTY Footnotes: NEWS. (A) Existing 403(b) service. "Hard," or printed, copies are (B) Included in basic DOT system. transmitted overnight to all printer (C) On present route until superior or equivalent service can be provided on DOT locations. recommended route. (D) Status pending final Congressional action. Amtrak News would like to know (E) Not included in DOT basic system but meets Congressional criteria. if there are any printer locations that, (F) Not included in DOT basic system and failed to meet Congressional criteria. for one reason or other, do not re­ (G) Meets Congressional criteria for regional balance. ceive the printed copies of the news service.

5 Hot Line Questions ______---, I Involve New Amtrak System

Some Hot Line questions in recent the Empire Builder IS rerouted DOT recommended it operate three days referred specifically to the re­ through St. Cloud over the Hia­ times a week and daily during peak structured Amtrak route system. watha's present route.) travel periods. Congress approved They follow in this "mini" version A. First of all, nearly all Amtrak this and funded the train on this of the Hot Line report. long-distance trains are heavily trav­ basis. Question: Six months ago I called eled during summer. We use all avail­ The decision to route the Empire the Hot Line and suggested a Miami able equipment and thus can add no Builder through St. Cloud was be­ to Atlanta train to take the place of more. cause of better operating conditions the Floridian. With the new route Second, on a long-distance train, and long-term potential for greater structure this makes even more sense, ridership must be measured from end revenues. with my train taking the place of the to end, or over the total length of the Q. The cancellation of the Lone Floridian as well as the one New journey. Star is absurd, and the retaining of York-Florida train that has been For example, if a train is full be­ the Inter-American is equally absurd. taken off. tween Chicago and Fargo, and half There are more people living be­ My proposed train would take only empty the rest of the way, it loses tween Kansas City and Fort Worth on two sets of equipment and give pas­ money heavily. There may be some the Lone Star's route than there are sengers an alternate route from people turned away between critical between St. Louis and Fort Worth on Florida to New York . segments of the trip but the load fac­ the Inter-American 's route. Answer: Amtrak's route system tor for the entire trip shows that the was designed by the Department of train is not sold out all the way. I sell tickets in Norman, Okla­ Transportation and approved by There have been many empty seats homa, and there are many people Congress. No route through Atlanta over many segments on every trip. around here who depend on the train to Florida was provided and only Over the long haul, ridership has not as a means of transportation over the those routes approved by Congress been as heavy as it -is on many other automobile. will be funded by Congress. trains. A. Let 's set the record straight! Beyond that, Amtrak has no funds Third, the Empire Builder is not Amtrak did not cancel the Lone or authority for new routes at this endangered because of ridership. Star, or recommend its cancellation. time. After October I, if funds and equipment become available, Am­ trak's board of directors has authori­ ty to apply specific route and service Current Amtrak System criteria to determine which routes, if September 1979 any, show sufficient economic and other potential to warrant addition to the system. There are hundreds of such routes across the country and priorities must .~. - be applied to determine which ones S'~/-' -~ a-(eCijy- ~ ~~:~~ne can be considered seriously. , Den \l er~'-;"'~- Q. You say Amtrak's criteria for determining deletion or rerouting of Amtrak trains is based on ridership. But, how can you decide, in a fair way, what demand for ridership is , say at Willmar, , unless you also know the large percentage of people from southern Minnesota, northern and eastern South Da­ '--:. >.,:'Miami kota who are consistently turned down because the train is sold out? (Note: Willmar will lose service as

6 The Department of Transportation recommended that this train, along DOT Proposed Amtrak System with many others, be cancelled. This January 1979 cancellation, by law, is effective Oc­ tober 1. Congress then developed certain ridership criteria which, together with cost criteria, could be applied to each train that had been approved for can­ cellation. Those trains that met the criteria could, within certain dollar limits, be retained. - . --~ .. ------:: : _. ..- ----.--_. ­ Amtrak applied those criteria to ujtle Rock ; _~~!'!.I::!~~s_ .. . both the Lone Star and the Inter­ . . ~/ ' " American and neither qualified for Fort WO:;~~:~~~a-:r ------. t. retention. \, Jac:~~~ San : Congress also stated that if any Antonio HO'",US~:~~:!!,~"""~~ quadrant of the nation did not have a lared~\ . ~ , r' ~, '; long distance train restored by using - ' - -~')

the criteria, a train could be added in ------Existing 403(b) routes that particular quadrant. The train picked could not be one, however, which had a significant por­ month, there is no possible way to It has been done by now, however, tion of its route served by any other meet the demand. and we expect to get back to normal train. Clerks must be hired and trained, during September. The panic calling Because the Lone Star has its route more lines must be installed and com­ was a direct result of the gasoline common to the Southwest Limited, puter terminals made available. crisis. No one could have predicted it from Chicago to Newton, Kansas, it This cannot be done overnight. and it took some time to recover. could not be considered for retention. This is the way the legislation is written. Amtrak had no flexibility in Want A Better Job? Call! the matter. Beginning in mid-July, Amtrak be­ Information will include position Q. I have more comments and sta­ gan posting notices of available job title, department, work location and tistics on the cancellation of the Lone openings within the company on bul­ minimum rate of pay. Star. Of all the threatened trains, on­ letin boards in corporate head­ The recording will be operational ly the Montrea/er carried more quarters and at field personnel of­ 24 hours a day, seven days a week. passengers than the Lone Star in a fices. Each job was posted for five one-week period, May 13-19, this days after the opening became avail­ Station Changes year. able. Another thing. We need another Notices were also transmitted When the October changes take phone. We can never get through on through the ARTS network to facili­ place, some trains will pick up sta­ the 8oo-line. Literally hundreds of ties where there was no personnel of­ tions from discontinued ones. thousands of people are being turned fice. The Broadway Limited will begin away. Now, as of Tuesday, September 4, flag stop service to Lewiston, Hunt­ That's ridiculous. That's never the Amtrak employees can receive infor­ ingdon and Greensburg, Pennsyl­ way it used to be under the railroad. mation on available jobs by using a vania. Tyrone and Latrobe will be We always used to be able to get special toll-free telephone number. dropped because of low ridership and through. They can call from anywhere in the being located near other stations. United States-except Washington, The Southwest Limited will begin A. See the previous answer. Am­ D.C.-by dialing 800-424-5196. Dis­ stopping at La Plata and Marceline, trak did not make the choice between trict resident are urged to check the , and at Lawrence and To­ the two. The Lone Star was excluded bulletin boards at corporate head­ peka, Kansas, all currently served by by wording of the legislation. quarters. the Lone Star. We know that we need more Employees will be given informa­ In the southeast, Denmark and phones in our reservations system. tion on jobs posted that day as well as Camden, South Carolina, will be When telephone calls jump from 1.5 those whose posting period has not added as scheduled stops on the Silver million to 7.5 million in just one expired. Star.

7 How Did They Figure? ______--. I Formulas For Loss, PM/TM Described A voidable Loss 2. The number of passenger miles So that the forecast would be based is added up. A passenger mile is de­ on the most recent 90-day period, To determine the avoidable loss on fined as one passenger traveling one April through June 1979 was picked a passenger mile basis, the following mile. to compare to the same period in 1978 procedure is followed. 3. The train's annual train miles to determine the growth rate. I. Revenues generated by the train are then divided into the annual pas­ Because of the short term fuel are added up. These include ticket senger miles, resulting in the PM/ TM shortage crisis that occurred during sales, food and beverage income, and figure. those 90 days, the growth from the income from mail and express. The resultant PM / TM figure is a previous year was far higher than This results in a "revenue" figure. mathematical number denoting an could be reasonably expected for the 2. The avoidable costs are added average number of riders on board full year. Therefore, a yearly growth up. (Avoidable costs are those in­ the train. rate of only one-fourth of the April­ curred directly by the operation of the June ridership rise was used. train and are thus those costs that This percentage of growth was then would not have to be paid if the train Projected Passenger Miles applied to the year-long ridership fig­ ceased operations.) These include ures to achieve the projected figure train and engine crew costs; fuel and The base period for compiling pas­ for fiscal year 1980. power costs; railroad transportation senger miles, to be used in applying charges; locomotive, car and right-of­ the Congressional criteria, was the Projected A voidable Loss way maintenance costs; and costs of year ending on March 31 . reservations, and on-board and sta­ However, since the period did not The figures to determine revenues tion services that are provided only include an Easter holiday, March used in calculating the avoidable loss for this train. 1978 was substituted for April 1978, were adjusted to include projected The total results in an "avoidable resulting in a restructured year. fare increases. cost" figure. 3. The avoidable cost figure is then subtracted from the revenue fig­ C-2 Available For Affected Employees ure, resulting in an "avoidable loss" figure, stated in dollars. Most Amtrak employees will not be posted the required 30 day notices in­ 4. The avoidable loss figure is affected at all by the cutbacks in the dicating the trains to be discontinued, divided by the total passenger miles* route system. the positions to be abolished and the amassed by the train, resulting in an However, some jobs will, of neces­ appropriate claims processing center avoidable loss per passenger mile, sity, be eliminated. to which the Application For C-2 generally stated in cents. Persons working on routes of the Benefits should be forwarded. affected trains, of course, have the Amtrak News is publishing the *(A passenger mile denotes one most concern. form for applying for C-2 benefits on mile traveled by one passenger. One Many of the affected persons will the following page to insure that passenger traveling 250 miles totals be able to exercise their seniority and every employee in the company has 250 passenger miles. Three riders go­ transfer to other positions. one at his or her disposal. Additional ing the same distance total 750 pas­ If indeed, in the final analysis, a forms are available from supervisors, senger miles.) person does actually lose his or her and labor relations and personnel of­ PM/TM job, or is transferred to a lower rated fices. position, that person is protected. Employees are cautioned not to use To ascertain the ratio of passenger For Amtrak employees, this pro­ the form unless their position is abol­ miles to train miles, or PM/TM, the tection is set forth in Appendix C-2, ished or they are displaced in the exer­ following is done. an agreement between Amtrak and cise of seniority and believe they have I. The number of train miles is involved labor organizations. been adversely affected as a result . added up. This is done by doubling Affected employees will be notified Employees are also advised that a the daily train miles (one for each di­ through departmental channels of the lengthy list of questions and answers rection), then multiplying that by the jobs to be actually abolished. regarding C-2 benefits was published number of days in the year (365). The At press time, Amtrak's labor rela­ in the July issue of Amtrak News. Ex­ resulting figure is the number of train tions and personnel department had tra copies are available by writing the miles operated annually. itemized the affected jobs and had editor.

8 AMTRAK FORM C-2A APPLICATION FOR C-2 BENEFITS

TO THE EMPLOYEE: This is your official application for protective benefits under the C-2 Agreement. After completing AND SIGNING this form, mail it to the Claims Processing Center designated on your posting bulletin board. You will be advised of your protection status, and will be provided with all additional instructions.

CHECK ONE: I was placed in a worse position with respect to my compensation and rules governing my working conditions.

I was deprived of emp l oyment.

I. EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION Last Name First MI Soc ial Security Number

Home Address

Present Occupation(Railroad or other) Loc ation

Se niority Roste r Title Seniority Date Roster Standing

Re gion Division

II . SUPPORTING INFORMATION

1. Are you presently protec~ ed under : Title V

C-l

C-2(anothe r transac tion)

2. (a) What date were you first plac ed in a worse position o r deprived of employment as a result o f an Amtrak transaction?

(b) How were you p laced in a worse position or deprived of employment? (Check one)

My position was abolished. I was displac ed.

If you were displaced, by whom?

(c) Ide ntify the tra nsac tion invo lved in your being place d in a worse position or dep rived of emplo yment.

(d) Specify pertinent facts of that transaction relied on to support your claim.

3. (a) What position did you hold immediately prior to the date shown in item 2(a)?

position ~ymJ:)oJ. Locatl.on Rate of Pay (Specify hourly , daily, monthly)

(b) What position do you currently hold? Indicate none, if applicable. Posl.tl.on Symool Location Rate of Pay (Specify hourly, daily, monthly)

I hereby certify that thl.s 1nformat10n is true and correct.

Signature Date New Opens, ______-----, I State, City, Amtrak Cooperate On Project

Some 250 persons turned out on commissioner, New York State De­ nected to station level by a stairway Wednesday, August 8, to witness the partment of Transportation; and and an elevator which can accommo­ dedication of Amtrak's new passen­ Martin Garelick, executive vice presi­ date the elderly and handicapped. ger station at Schenectady, New dent and operating officer, Am­ The station will be staffed by a ticket York. trak. John Lombardi, Amtrak's sen­ agent. An adjacent parking lot can ac­ The station will replace the tem­ ior director, government affairs, was commodate 30 cars with an addi­ porary facility which Amtrak had master of ceremonies. tional 60 spaces available across the been using since last October when Downing told the attending public, street where the temporary facility rail passenger service was restored to "This is only the beginning of had been located. the city for the first time since 1969. upgraded rail service in New York. This is going to be followed this fall The eastbound Lake Shore Limited Restoration of service is the result was the first train to arrive after the of a $4.7 million cooperative program with the institution, in stages, of high-speed-up to 110 miles per station's official dedication. Four between Amtrak, New York State trains, in each direction, will serve the and the City of Schenectady. New hour-service in the Schenectady­ corridor." station daily, including the Salt City York State has rehabilitated tracks Express, the Empire Express, the running through downtown Schenec­ Following the speeches, Downing Niagara Rainbow and the Lake Shore tady at a cost of $3.9 million. The and Duci cut the dedicatory ribbon Limited. new $881,000 station was funded and all participants were invited in­ After the Schenectady station jointly with Amtrak paying two­ side the station to an open house. A began operations, the ticket office at thirds of the cost and New York State tour of the two-level facility fol­ Colonie, eight miles away, was one-third. The city contributed lowed. closed. The trains served the station $30,000, plus land for the project. Located in the steel and masonry until Sunday, September 9. At that Speakers at the ceremony included structure are a ticket office, baggage time the station was completely clos­ Schenectady Mayor Frank Duci; and waiting room, and restrooms. ed to permit high speed train opera­ John F. Downing, executive deputy The elevated train platform is con- tions over the 17.5 miles between Albany and Schenectady.

(Left) A passenger checks the arrival time of the east­ bound Salt City Ex­ press. (Below) (Above) Schenec- .-____ Visitors mill around tady's street level the station waiting station is connected room during the to the elevated tracks by an escalator and stairs. (Right) Ticket Clerk Harold Remington serves his customers from a new brightly-appointed office. Ceremony Marks Anniversary _____----, passenger on the first trip, christened a Ford on exhibition at the station as I Of First Air-Rail Service the "City of New York." Armed with plaques and messages Amtrak participated in ceremonies lick, "This is more than an anniver­ from New York's Mayor Jimmy at Station, New York, sary of the first rail-air journey across Walker to the mayors of Los Angeles this summer, to commemorate the the United States. and San Francisco, Earhart and 19 50th anniversary of the first air-rail "We also celebrate the progress other intrepid air travelers boarded coast-to-coast service between New this country has made over the past the train for their overnight trip to York and Los Angeles. 50 years in providing a multiplicity of Columbus. The service consisted of using an transportation modes to serve a wide The next morning, the eastbound overnight train-the Pennsylvania range of needs., service was inaugurated from Califor­ Railroad's Airway Limited-from "There is a need, in fact a real nia when the "City of Los Angeles" New York to Columbus, Ohio. At the urgency, for establishing a well­ was christened by film star Mary airport-dubbed Port Columbus­ balanced, national transportation Pickford with a bottle of grape juice. passengers transferred to a Ford Tri­ system in this country. Prohibition was still in force. With Motor airplane for the daytime flight "The railroads helped build this Lindbergh at the controls and his wife to Waynoka, Oklahoma. country. The aviation industry helped as a passenger, the plane took off. shrink it and the bus and automobile At Waynoka, they boarded the Fare for the one way combined air­ helped maintain communication links Santa Fe for a second overnight run rail trip was $351.94. The service to Clovis, New Mexico, where they to smaller towns and rural areas." Travel in 1929 was not quite as easy covered 2,343 miles by air and 970 by transferred to yet another Ford air­ rail. The train portions followed the plane for the final miles to Los An­ as it is today. The diary of one of the first passengers on the Ford flights routes of today's National Limited geles. A connection was available from New York to Columbus, and there for San Francisco. describes the "luxury" of the day. "The din is terrific," she wrote. the Southwest Limited from As a tribute to the 50th birthday of Waynoka to Clovis. the service, Trans World Airlines, "Every throb of the propellor as it successor company to the original beats the air is like a thousand snare The eastbound planes did not con­ Transcontinental Air Transport, drums in your ears. nect with a special train at Columbus presented replicas of a Ford Tri­ "The courier comes forward to but the field was served by the Penn­ Motor propellor to cities that were give you little pieces of cotton to stuff sy's American and the Spirit of St. stops on the aerial portions of the in your ears." Louis. run. The first such commemorative The inaugural train's departure The air-rail service was discon­ prop was presented to New York at from Pennsylvania Station was trig­ tinued by TAT on October 25, 1930, the Pennsylvania Station ceremony. gered by a telegraph key activated by when it operated its first all-air coast­ Representing Amtrak was Martin Charles Lindbergh in California. to-coast service. That also took two Garelick, executive vice president and At Pennsylvania Station, following days of flying during daylight with an chief operating officer. Said Gare- some speeches, Amelia Earhart, a overnight stop in Kansas City. AMTRAK NEWS Published once a month for em­ An airplane in Pennsylvania Sta­ ployees of the National Railroad tion? TAT's Ford Passenger Corporation and those which was later of participating railroads engaged christened by in rail passenger service. Amelia Earhart as STAFF the City of New Editor York was put on Ed Wojtas display in the sta­ Circulation tion prior to start of Marguerite Broyhill the transcontinental Reporter air-rail service. Debbie Marciniak

I_In Amlrak News is a member o f Ihe liJiI Associalion of Railroad EdilOrs . Malerial in Amlrak News is nol copyrighled. Readers may use whal Ihey wi sh wilh proper al­ tribution 1O Amtrak News .

11 artford Ticket Clerk Marries, ____------, Hires Train For The Wedding

True railroader that he is, Bill Sam­ trak train as it passed through Wall­ ple, lead ticket clerk, Hartford, got ingford, . married in real style. About 150 relatives and friends He and the former Nancy Bentley witnessed the ceremony as the train­ were married earlier this year aboard steam powered with locomotive bell Pullman parlor car Wallingford as it ringing loud-puffed down the ran on a chartered train, the Wedding tracks. Bell Express, over the Valley Railroad Actual location of the wedding between Essex and Chester, Connec­ posed a problem in obtaining a ticut. license because the route passed Choice of the car was significant through three townships. A Chester because Sample had proposed to his license was obtained and the Valley wife last year while riding on an Am- Railroad scheduled the train so it would be "on time" in Chester township as the pair said their "I Valley Railroad dos. " After the train returned to Essex, The steam-powered Valley the wedding party boarded the Railroad offers six daily trips bet­ railroad's dining car, the Lion Gard­ ween Essex and Chester during ner, for the traditional cutting of the the summer. Limited service is cake and reception. Hartford Ticket Clerk Bill Sample, his new available after that until October Sample is a founding member of bride, and a sooty and steamy old friend enjoy 28. The tourist line even offers in­ the Connecticut Valley Railroad the wedding day. termodal service, Connecticut Museum, operator of the Valley with a Connecticut river cruise Railroad, and currently is serving a Sample is a Specialist 4th class,,--­ boat. A detailed brochure cna be term as its president. He also was, un­ locomotive engineer with the 76th obtained by mailing a self-ad­ til recently, president of BRAC local Transportation Detachment, U.S. dressed stamped envelope to the 186, in Hartford, until it was ab­ Army Reserve. The day after the wed- line at Essex, Connecticut 06426. sorbed by the Springfield, ding, he reported for two weeks of , unit. duty in North Carolina.

First Class Mail U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit 1911 Merrifield, VA

Passenger Corporation 400 N. Capitol Sf.. NW Washington. D.C. 20001

FIRST CLASS ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED