Volume 1, No. 10 September 1, 1974 Metroliner To Carry 200 Congressmen

The largest single movement of Members of Congress will take place on the afternoon of Friday, September 6th when an Metroliner pulls out of Washington Union Terminal b?und for Philadelphia. Already more than two hundred legislators have signified their intent to make this trip and as we go to press the list is growing. Never before has Amtrak been asked to provide transportation for so large and so distinguished a group. It has been rumored that even the President or the Vice President designate may be among those traveling on this special train. Because of the special security precautions which prevail, it will not be known until departure time whether or not the President will be aboard. All of these dignitaries have been invited to travel to Philadelphia on Amtrak by Governor a·nd Mrs. Shapp of on behalf of the present Governors of the Thirteen Original States for the Bicentennial re·convening of the First Continental Congress. Two hundred years ago on

Continued on page 2, col. 1

$21.6 Million For NYC-Boston Track Work

On Monday, July 22, the Secretary of Transportation . approved the purchase of seven turbine powered trains for operation between and Boston. This release was important not only because it would bring the new French to the east coast corridor; but because it went on to say that Amtrak planning for the included a "sharp reduction" in travel time for that segment "better track" and the "three and one-half hour" time frame and "improvement in the roadbed." leads to but one conclusion. The will be operating The time required for the New York- Boston run now with at about 70 mph instead of the present 52-53 mph, with better conventional trains is four and one·half hours. With the new sched ule reliability and more comfort than before. turbine powered trains and with better track, the Secretary With these things in mind, Roger Lewis, Amtrak's Presi­ expects that time to be cut to about three and one-half hours. dent, proposed to the Board of Directors and the Board Significantly this statement which included the emphasis on Contiriued on page 2, col. 1 Turbo 8 Steamboat Prove then board the "old" Delta-Queen steamboat for a ride to St. Louis. Dick Billings, Manager of State Bank Travel in East Moline, Fun Combination IL, said, "This group is excited because the trip combines the modern technology of today's railroads with the nostalgia of Amtrak's Turboliner was the "hit of the day" in Chicago yesteryear's steamboats. recently when 60 passengers boarded the train in a "holiday ''I'm excited about this equipment (Turboliner). We usually spirit." travel on Mondays and Wednesdays to avoid crowds, but with The reason for the superlatives was that the group would more people riding Amtrak even today (Monday) is not a light ride the spanking-new Turboliner as far as Bloomington, IL, day. I'm glad to see Amtrak picking up."

CONGRESSMEN-Continued from page 1 realization brings with it the necessity for special handling of September 5, 1774 the first Continental Congress was con- the train and for special security precautions all the way from vened in Philadelphia with representatives of the thirteen the Capitol grounds in Washington to Independence Hall in original states in attendance. On September 6, 1774 the Philadelphia. These plans have been made under the super­ merchants and businessmen of that city hosted their distin­ vision of Roger Grapes, Amtrak's Manager for Security and guished guests at a special dinner. Thus, the present gov­ with the corresponding security staff of Penn Central. The ernors are doing today, in 1974, what had been done two railroad security staffs will be augmented and assisted by hundred years ago by inviting the Members of Congress to police of all jurisdictions from one end of the journey to the join with them in this first major bicentennial celebration. other. When Amtrak was asked to participate in this historic As this project grew from a modest beginning to a major event, everyone in the Pennsyl vania host committee mod­ activity, Amtrak's plans had to change to accommodate all of estly looked forward to a reasonable turnout for their the people who will be involved. At the present time plans will program. Amtrak agreed to do everything possible to as­ provide for a special six-car Metroliner set up and back. If this sist them with their plans and to make the necessary space will not be adequate, it may be necessary to utilize a portion available for the travel to Philadelphia. Little did anyone of the regularly scheduled train or of the dream at that time of the nature of the overwhelming re­ which fo llows. sponse which has come in from Governor Shapp's invita­ There have been many Bicentennial ideas proposed which tions during the following few weeks. Even though Con­ involve rail travel from such things as a steam locomotive gress has been on summer recess, more than two hundred powered fraiDfO travel coast to coast in t1regrand style of old members plus their wives and guests have agreed to attend railroading to a gala new Amtrak Transcontinental. Many of this ceremony in Philadelphia along with one hundred or these proposals are just ideas and will never see the light of more other high officials of the Federal Government. day; but we may be sure that whatever the Bicentennial year It now appears that this will be the largest single move­ brings, nothing will surpass the historic significance to this ment of Members of Congress ever made at one time. This rebirth of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

TRACK-Continued from page 1 AMTRAK NEWS approved a project in the amount of $21.6 million for the NATIONAL RAILROAD improvement of track and roadbed between New York and PASSENGER CORPORA nON Boston. This expenditure will result in improved service above the May 1, 1971 level. Published bi-weekly for Amtrak employees and those of At the same time, the Department of Transportation is participating railroads working on a total $60 million program for improvements engaged in passenger service along the entire corridor between Boston and Washington. A portion of those expenditures will be required to correct track Published by the Department of and roadbed deterioration south of New York that has Public Relations: Edwin E. Edel, V.Pres. occurred since May 1, 1971. The restoration of track subject to such deterioration is not eligible for capital funding by Address correspondence to: Amtrak. L. Fletcher Prouty, Director The total program will require additional coordination with Plans and Projects-PR-Amtrak the United States Railway Association (USRA), the Penn 955 L'enfant Plaza, SW Central, Amtrak and DOT. Meanwhile, approval of the initial Washington, DC 20024 $21.6 million by Amtrak's Board has made it possible to begin ordering long lead-time items and to commence engineering NEWS Staff studies and equipment procurement. Joseph Vranich Ronnie Daly

2 safety equipment, and clear guidelines. After we provide the employee with Employee these, it is his responsibility to work his job the right way- the safe way." Safety Top His first task was to establish, print and distribute a set of "ground rule" safety instructions for supervisors in the Priority Operations Dept. Every operating super­ visor was brought into regional meetings and these rules were reviewed .. Safety The second major task was to train new personnel hired to staff Amtrak "Safety is of first importance in repair shops and running maintenance the discharge of duty and in case of facilities in Providence, Brighton Park, doubt or uncertainty, the safe St. Louis and Jacksonville. Distributed course must be taken. Employees at these facilities was a new set of Joseph Bonelli, Manager of Safety shall comply with safety regulations Mechanical Department rules which and must exercise care to prevent spell out in precise terms how to work personnel in the Services Dept. Ex­ injury to themselves or others. Em­ safely with equipment. Mr. King went amples of what will be included: how to ployees will not be retained in the over each rule with Bonelli to be sure work the kitchen of a di ning car to service who are careless of the nothing was ove rlooked. avoid burns; how to properly lift bag­ safety of themselves or others."­ Bonelli said: "We started with the gage to avoid sprains. T rain ing classes from Amtrak Rules of Conduct basics in this field training. A few of the will begin after the rules are finalized. distributed to all employees. electricians and pipefitters had no rail­ "Safety has no boundaries. I'll help road background and they needed a anyone in any department in the com­ clear understanding of rail safety rules. pany," said Bonelli. "We started in the "I am the best friend you fellows Basic instruction was given in the proper Operations Dept. first because that's have," Joseph Bonelli tells Amtrak em­ manner of using the Blue Flag (a display where the need was greatest." ployees every time he meets them. He signal indicating an employee is working Bonelli added that "many people tells them this because he is bursting on a car and such car may not be moved don't know how hazardous cars and with facts about how to work safely and or coupled into until the flag is re­ tracks can be. Therefore, we have to be he energetically travels around the coun­ moved), jacking up a car, walking on the sure everyone knows how to do things try to relate the importance of safety to tracks, and coupling cars. Even some of right to avoid an injury. Any company' employees. the old-timers learned a few things." owes this effort to its employees, and Bonelli is Amtrak's Manager of Safe­ About a dozen safety classes were I'm proud of the work Amtrak is ty. He impresses upon each employee conducted by Bonelli while employees doing." his interest in their well being and his were on duty. He would not call a By law Amtrak is required to report desire for them to avoid injury. Midnight-to-8:00 a.m. man in for an certain injuries and accidents to the "I tell them that 'Amtrak is going to afternoon safety session. He went to Federal Railroad Administration, De­ make you work safely whether you them when they were at work, which partment of Transportation. Bonelli also want to or not. It doesn't take you any meant a few sessions conducted at 1: 00 does this for all departments within longer to do a job safely than to do it a.m. in a coach. Amtrak. unsafely,'" said Bonelli. He added that Potential problems also catch the eye When a derailment occurs, Bonelli, his reception in the field has been of Bonelli. In Brighton Park, for ex­ along with other operating and mechani­ " pretty good." ample, three overhead cranes are in use , cal experts, immediately go to the scene As former Safety Director on the so the entire shop was made a hard-hat to perform an inspection. While doing Penn Central, Bonelli knows railroading ar'ea to protect employees working be­ so, he works closely with officials of the and the peculiar problems inherent in low. Oscillating lights and sirens are National Transportation Safety Board train operations. He was hired by F. S. used to alert people when a train is which has jurisdiction within the Feder­ King, Vice President- Operations, in moving. al Government to investigate railroad 1973 and was given a green light to "Let me tell you, the noise and lights accidents and derailments. establish a comprehensive safety pro­ really alert you," Bonelli said. When asked what employees could do gram . Even though Bonelli is assigned to the to help him in his work, Bonelli replied , "There are three things management Operations Dept., he has begun to de­ "Tell them to be careful on the job, to must provide its employees to insure velop safety guidelines for other Amtrak work safely, and they'll help. The most safety ," said Bonelli. "We have to pro­ departments. He is presently establish­ important person they'll be helping, vide a safe place to work, the proper ing guidelines for on-board and station though, is themselves."

3 \ \~ \ ...\ ...,0 _ New Ltd. \ -0 •••••• Current & SI. Cla ir Route The Blue Water will go into revenue \ service September 15, operating over \ Penn Central track from Chicago to Battle Creek and Grand Trunk Western MICHIGAN track from Battle Creek to Port Huron. Three refurbished coaches and a refur­ bished snack-lounge car will make up

LAKE the consist. MICHIGAN Start-up costs also include some track .Lapeer work: realignment of tracks at Port Huron for the new station and the building of an interchange at Battle Creek, where Grand Trunk Western and Penn Central tracks cross. Also under construction is centralized traffic Jackson Detroit .•...... •...... •...... control for a segment of Grand Trunk Western track in the Lansing area. When Battle Creek Ann Arbor completed, the interchange and C.T.C. will cut 45 minutes from the train's initial schedule. The new trai n will incre ase service between Chicago and Niles, Kalamazoo ..J INDIANA OHIO ..J and Battle Creek to three trains daily . Governor Milliken's long-range transpor­ tation plans for the State of Michigan Port Huron-Chicago of existing stations at Lapeer and Flint, include several other improved rail ser­ MI and construction of a passenger vices. A Jackson-Detroit train has been shelter at Durand, MI. At Lansing, MI , approved by Amtrak and is in the Inaugural where the old stati.on has been turned planning stages . Fllnds have been.... j JT0- into a restaurant , Michigan State Univer­ vided for improvements in roadway and September 13 sity is providing use of a trackside stations on the Chicago-Detroit line. building to serve as a station. Amtrak is Grand Trunk Western, owned by Daring the fates, Amtrak and the re pairing Battle Creek, Kalamazoo and Canadian National Railway, operated State of Michigan have scheduled the Niles, MI stations- all stops on current Chicago-Port Huron and Chicago-To­ inaugural run of Chicago-Port Huron Chicago-Detroit service- at its own ex­ ronto rail passenger service until May 1, service on Friday, September 13. pense . 1971. With inauguration of "The Blue Water", Michigan will become the fifth state to partially finance Amtrak CHICAGO-DETROIT/PORT HURON-(TORONTO) service. Under Section 403(b) of the Read Down (Local Tim e) Read Up Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970, The The The The The The St. Clair Blue Wolverine Train Name Blue Wolverine St. Clair state or local agencies may request Water Water additional rail service if they agree to 4 :15 p 3:15p 7:45a o Dp. CHICAGO, IL (Union Sta.) . (CT) Ar 12:10p 1 :45p 10:30p 7:10p 6:10p 10:40a 89 ...... Niles, MI ...... (ET) 11 :15a 12:50p 9:35p reimburse Amtrak for not less than 8:10p 7 :10p 11 :40a 136 ...... KALAMAZOO ...... Dp 10:15a 11 :55a 8:40p two-thirds of the losses. Prior to start of 8:40p 7:50p 12:10p 160 Ar . . . .. Batt Ie Creek...... Dp 9:4Oa 11 :25a 8 : 10p "The Blue Water" at Governor William 7 :55p 160 Dp ..... Battle Creek ...... •• . . . Ar 9:35a 9:25p 208 ...... LANSING ...... • ...... 8:00a G. Milliken's request, four states had 110:07p 238 ...... Durand " ...... I 7 :18a 10:49p 255 ...... Flint...... 6 :3Ba taken advantage of this provision: Illi­ 111 :1 6p 275 ...... Lapeer " ...... I' 6 : 1Oa nois with four trains daily; Massa­ 12:25a 319 Ar ...... Port Huron ...... DD 5:15a chusetts, New York and Pennsylvania (via Canadian Nal '/. Railways) 7:450 o Dp ...... Sarnia, ON ...... Ar 11:15p with one train each daily. 11 :150 174 Ar TORONTO, ON (Union Sla./ . . . . . Dp ..L.i2J2. In addition to agreeing to pay for 8:40p 12:10p 160 Dp ...... B attle Creek ... . . , , , , . , , Ar 11 :25a 8:10p 9:35p 1 :05p 205 ...... Jackson ...... • • ...... 10:30a 7:15p two-thirds of any losses associated with 10:20p 1 :50p 243 ...... ANN ARBOR ...... , 9:45a 6 :30p the new rou te , Michigan is financing 11 :05p 2:35p 279 Ar . , .. . , .DETROIT . . . . . , ...... Dp 9 :00a 5:45p most capital start-up costs. These in­ (via Canadian No 1'1. Railways) 6:500 6:05p o Dp Windsor, ON Ar 1:100 4:20p cluded construction, already underway, 8:400 7:55p 108 Ar London Ar 10:IOp 2:25p of a new Port Huron, MI station; repair 10:500 10:IOp 223 Ar TORONTO, ON (Union Sla.j(ET) Dp 7:45p 12:05p

4 ChicagoCRO Getting Better AIl the Time

The Chicago Reservations Bureau is a snappy operation. Example: A traveler in Chicago wants reservations on Amtrak to and from San Francisco. He dials a local Amtrak number, 786-1333, and the phone is answered after one ring. The pleasant voice on the other end of the line says, "Amtak reservations, Keith Lowe. May Amtrak through consolidation of the 30 R&I clerks then and an additional 15 I help you?" various reservation bureaus in Chicago. on loan for six weeks." The prospective passenge r asks fo r Development of the Chicago office The second phase was conversion to schedule and fare information, decides was a major task. On October 1, 1971 , the ADR system. The paper diagrams to make a round trip reservation, agrees Amtrak consolidated six separate reser­ were "loaded into" the ADR computer to have his ticket mailed to him, and is vation offices into one Amtrak office. system on November 14, 1971, with off the telephone in four minutes. Phased out were the bureaus of the most of the work done on overtime. It wasn't always so. In earlier Amtrak Santa Fe, Illinois Central, Burlington Instrumental in the program at that days, this call would have required Northern, Penn Central, Milwaukee time was Robert Dooley, former Direc­ patience on the part of the passenge r to Road and Chicago Union Station. Tak­ tor of Reservations, Information & get through the busy signals, and persis­ ing their place was the Amtrak facility Ticketing, now Director- Computer tence on the part of the reservation located at 80 E. Jackson Blvd., the Sy stems. Helping him were Art Ron­ agent who had to make a notation on Santa Fe building. deau, George Meredith and Bob Bell. paper diagrams in the Chicago bureau JoAnn Connor, General Supervisor, JoAnn Conner said, "ADR was an and wire the San Francisco bureau for in the bureau, recalls those maddening improvement over the paper diagram return space. days: "We've had three basic phases at system but it still had limitations. Each Efficient? No. Aggravating? Yes. this bureau. We were on paper diagrams reservation took five separate com­ But now that's changed. The transi­ for about six weeks, then the Automatic mands-or actions on the part of the tion from individual railroad reservation Diagram Retrieval system (ADR), then reservation agent- to complete the reser­ systems to Amtrak's ARTS system was ARTS. It was something when we first vation. A simple round trip reservation no easy task. While much has been started. All the paper diagrams were could take 15 minutes, in addition to a written about ARTS, it is important to moved over here one night from the call or wire to another bureau for return acknowledge the contribution made to other bureaus. We had approximately space. The Chicago Bureau went into its third phase on April 29, 1974, when ARTS was implemented there. Connor said ARTS came in while extensive hiring was underway, but the transition from ADR to ARTS went well. A reservation is much easier to handle now with ARTS. It has eliminated calling another bureau to arrange return space, then calling the passenger again. With paper diagrams and ADR, most reservations involving a round trip re­ quired a total of at least three calls. With ARTS, one call-the incoming call Continued on page 9, col. 1 3-hour, 225 mile-service between Washington, DC and southbound: train #S 101 , 103 .. . 133 and 137 Lv. NYC every hour on the half-hour weekdays from 6:30 am-8 :30 pm and 9:45 pm Sunday only lighter schedules on Sat., Sun, and holidays Amtrak's Metroliner Service northbound: train #S 100, 102 .. . 120 and 124, 126... 132 Lv. Washington, DC every hour on the hour weekdays from 6:00 am-8:00 pm lighter schedules on Sat., Sun, and holidays The doors slide shut, a quiet voice­ three-hour trip between New York and house; Metro Club and Snack-Coach self-propelled electric eq uipment barely audible to most passengers says, Washington, D.C. on new, advanced systems are General Electric designed.) consists are 4 or 6-car "Metro Blue" as all doors close and equipment. That was 36 minutes faster They are the newest inter-city passenger seating capacity: metrocoach-76; metroclub-34 and metro snack-bar coach-60 another Metroliner begins to roll. A few than the previous New York-Washington cars built in any volume in the U.S. Penn Central track passengers look at their watches and schedule and nearly an hour faster than Metroliner cars were designed to home maintenance base: PC yards, Wilmington, DE average trains. achieve operating speeds in excess of also serviced at: Union Sta., Washington, DC find that the minute hand is swinging and Sunnyside Yards (New York) through the scheduled departure time. Every stage in the preparation for anything previously experienced on U.S. ca rry-on baggage only The Metroliner has made a name for Metroliner Service involved innovations. railroads. Specially modified Metroliner on-board telephone service Priority Express Service between NYC and Washington, DC itself. It is an example of what can be The right-of-way between New York test cars have achieved speeds up to 160 done and it is Amtrak's most striking and Washington, D.C. had been electri­ mph on test track. example of things to be . fied during the 1930s. (New Haven­ Each Metroliner car is powered by More than 4,000,000 passengers trav­ Washington, D.C. and west to Harris­ four 640-horsepower electric traction eled in the New York to Washington burg, PA. are electrified.) Track upgrad· motors, the total of these four is equiva­ corridor in the first six months of this ing by the Pennsylvania Rail road includ­ lent of a diesel locomotive's horse­ year and 32% of those (1 ,329,271 ) rode ed the addition of new welded bridges, power. Train operation is computer the Metroliner. Metroliner Service, in­ interlocking crossovers and high level controlled and almost automatic. The augurated January 16, 1969, with one platforms at Washington, D.C. , Balti­ operator uses only one control to dial round trip daily between New York more and Wilmington. Most grade cross­ train speed from zero to a maximum of City and Washington , was the first ings were eliminated. For the first time 120 miles per hour. major innovation in U.S. rail passenger on a heavily traveled U.S. main line, The typical Metroliner train consists service undertaken in more than twenty there was large scale use of welded of a Metroclub (luxury parlor) car, two yearsJ rom that day on, it has won track. coaches and a snack bar coach with passenger approval. However, the equipment itself was total seating capacity of 246. Interiors Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell; the biggest advancement. Sixty·one are streamlined, clean and functional. Bob Nelson, Head of the Office of High self-propelled Metroliner cars were built Metroclub cars provide hot meals on Speed Ground Transportation during by the Budd Co. of Red Lion, PA., with trays at passengers' individual seats. the Kennedy administration and a few General Electric and Westinghouse pro­ Snack-bar Coaches provide hot and cold others were right. Since the early Six­ ducing electrical systems for Budd. food items for coach passengers which ties, they had been lobbying for high­ (Coach electrical systems are Westing- can be eaten in the snack area or carried speed transportation as the key to eas­ to seats. All trains serve cocktails and ing congestion in the Northeast Corri­ mixed drinks and Metroliners have on­ dor, where about twenty percent of the board telephone service. U.S. population lives on one percent of Metroliner Revenue Public reaction to the revolutionary the land. Year Total Revenue new service was immediate and enthusi­ o New Haven-New York Metroliners Their hypothesis had been that large 1971" $1 7,833,495 astic. Each increase in Metroliner fre­ R. Daly photos weekdays, north and southbound. numbers of travelers would return to 1972 28,044,502 quency by the Penn Central spiraled • N.Y.C.-Washington, D.C. Metroliner 32,143,661 1973 The Crew route. Not all stops are made by every rail transportation if fast , frequent, 1974"" 9,914,312 ridership upward. By the second anni­ versary of Metroliner service , seven I Conductor Metroliner. modern service was made available to "beginning May 1, 1971 2 Trainmen them at an economical price. More ""Jan.·March only Continued on page 8, col. I specifically, their immediate goal was a 1 Metroclub Attendant* I Snack-bar Attendant** *Not all Metroliners have a Metro­ METROCLUB METRO COACH METROCOACH METRO SNACK-BAR COACH club car. **One attendant for each Metro / Snack-bar Coach in the Consist. Center, an artist's sketch of Metroliner-type coaches on order from the Budd Co. Above, Consists vary from 4-6 cars depending upon the day of the week and Snack-Coach Attendants T. E. Bailey (right) time of day. Not all Metroliners haVE Metroclub service. and J. A. Logan. At left, Trainman Harry J. Hanbury and Conductor Kenneth B. Good­ son.

6 7 door basis than the airplane. And it is "Am trak's experience with the certainly faster than driving." Metroliner proves the value of an equip­ "It is very apparent that speed is the ment type name in selling to the general key," Graham said. "We have found public," Graham continued. "People say that as speeds approach 110 mph, we 'I took a Metroliner, not I took a train'. have become extremely competitive It has prestige value ." with all other modes of transportation This prestige factor creates a public within ranges up to 300 miles." He also demand which carries over to conven­ noted that "the addition of new equip­ tional service ridership. Passengers will ment on a route without accompanying take a conventional train when a Metro increases in speed has been shown to is booked. have very little affect on ridership where Conventional trains are able to bene­ the route distance and trip time make fit from Metroliner overflow partially the train non-competitive with air and because of the Metroliner's booking auto." pattern. A high percentage of Metroliner The competitive situation with both tickets are sold in the last' 72 hours air and auto has opened up to the before departure. Also , a large number Metroliner a large segment of the travel· of passengers will have reservations but ing public not normally disposed to not tickets, in many cases picking travel by train- business travelers. tickets up only about thirty minutes "The Metroliner name and the qual­ prior to departure. R. Daly Photo ity of Metroliner service also are factors Vice President Graham considers that have permitted us to get into the Metroliner's experiment with suburban METRO-Continued from page 7 business mar k~t on straight hour-to­ stations at Lanham, MD. and Me tro­ round trips daily were scheduled and hour competition with air for origin and park, N.J. "terribly important for the nearly two million passengers had been destination traffic," Graham said. "We future of corridor travel." "In the carried on some 6,500 trips. When carry about 30% of business travelers future Amtrak must take a closer look Amtrak took over inter-city rail passen­ between New York and Washington , the at the suburban driving market," Gra­ ger service on May I, 1971, two more highest percentage of business travel on ham said. "We must have suburban Metroliner ro und trips were immediate­ any Amtrak route segment." Continued on page t 2, col. t ly added, bringing the total to nine. Both ridership and revenues con­ 1961 Doyle Report, so urce of both Metroliner and Amtrak ideas, presented to Congress. 1962 Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell lobbies for high-speed rail transportation to ease tinued to climb under Amtrak's manage­ congestion in the densely populated Northeast. ment. August 1973 marked the seven 1963 Northeast Corridor Project set up in Commerce Department to examine rail passenger service between Boston and Washington. Headed by Robert Nelson, a former millionth Metroliner passenger. In professor of transportation economics at the University of Washington. October of that year, service was in­ 1965 President Johnson signs High Speed Ground Transportation Act authorizing Com­ merce to "contract for demonstrations to determine the contributions that high-speed creased to 15 round trips on weekdays. ground transportation could make to more efficient and economical intercity As of March 1974, over eight and transporta tion systems." 1966 Commerce and contract for a two-year demonstration project one-half million passengers had ridden in the Northeast to "measure and evaluate public response to new eq uipment, higher the MetroJiner and nearly one quarter speeds, variations in fares, improved comfort and convenience and more frequent of se rvice." Robert Nelson to head the project. a million passengers rode the Metroliner 1966 Pennsylvania Railroad spends $1.5 million for track work on 22 mil es of number 3 in that month. main line track between Trenton and Nt!w Brunswick. Track upgrading eventually included various parts of the Washington-N ew York route with new welded bridges, There is another side to the Metro­ interlocking crossovers and high level platforms at Washington, Baltimore and liner story. Marketing strategy was, and Wilmington. 1966 Contract signed with the of Red Lion, PA for self-propelled cars, later continues to be , as innovative as the called Metraliners. A total of sixty-one built. Forty-nine are owned by the Penn new service being sold. Central Railroad; twelve by the Budd Company. (Amtrak currently is negotiating for their purchase.) The high-speed Metroliner has put rail Spring 1967 transportation in a position where it can Office of High Speed Ground Transportation is transferred to the newly created Department of Transportation (DOT). compete directly and quite successfully January 16, 1969 ' with the airplane and the.automobile. Metroliner Service begins with one round trip daily between New Yo rk and "Speed and train frequency have Washington. August 16, 1969 given us a good set of train combina­ Computerized reservation and ticketing begun for Metroliners. tions between major cities in the North­ March 16,1970 Capital Beltway station opened at Lanham, Md. east Corridor," Vice President Harold L. May I, 1971 Graham said. "Here we have a situation, Amtrak takes over Washington-New York serv ices with DOT under existing demonstration project contract. Two roundtrips added, bringing total to nine. particularly between Philadelphia-New August, 1973 York and New York-Wilmington where Metroliner carries seven millionth passenger. October, 1973 the train is actually faster on a door-to- Metroliner service increases to 15 round trips on weekdays.

8 CRO-Continued from page 5 week of Nov. 11, and 55,000 calls placed by the passenger-is all that is during the week of Nov. 18. It was needed. unbelievable. Now we're equipped to With ARTS, the average time spent handle 80,000 calls per week, and few per call in the Chicago Bureau is three­ are lost." and-one-half minutes. Consequently, the The old-timers at the Bureau pointed greater productivity available through out that they are particularly proud of ARTS results in improved service to the the role they have played in establishing public and greater productivity in Am­ Amtrak on a sound footing not only in trak employees. Chicago, but "throughout the country The bureau covers Minnesota, Wis­ in an indirect way." JoAnn Connor said , consin, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, "Chicago was the first reservation bu­ Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, reau for Amtrak. We set up procedures and the Omaha area of Nebraska. and policies and manuals which were J. McCowan photos The Chicago office easily handles used elsewhere. Most of us feel we've neapolis and Kansas City. They graduate 1,000 calls per hour. There are 93 been in a position to help the com­ from these schools with a high degree of positions available but not all are in use pany." knowledge about geography and trans­ at the same time. Each position is "We've always been an experimental portation, and Amtrak gives them fur­ vacant for part of the day because of office ever since our first day when the ther training to familiarize them with lunch breaks and equipment break­ idea of centralizing bureaus was done the railroad network and the ARTS downs. here," Connor continued. "While we system. "The time of day when our call had some rough times, I think we All of this means that a person living volume is heaviest is between 10: 00 managed pretty well." in Chicago , calling for a train reserva­ a.m. and 2: 00 p.m. This is true here in The bureau is staffed by an interest­ tion , now finds it a Simple, easy task. It Chicago as well as in New York. We ing mix of people. JoAnn Connor said is the result of centralizing the Chicago have all positions manned when calls are that some of the personnel have railroad Bureau , equipping it with ARTS, and heavy ," said Roy Nyquist, CRO Man­ and some airline backgrounds. Many are staffing it with a new breed of reserva­ ager. from training schools in Pittsburgh, Min- tion agents. During the weekday peak hours, there are 90 to 100 age nts on duty. From 11:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., there's an average of six people on duty who can easily handle the number of incom­ ing calls. "Since the middle of June we've been holding our own," said Nyquist. "We handle an average of 97 percent of all calls offered by the public. This runs from a low of 9,000 to a high of about 14,000 per day. The number of calls on Saturday and Sunday are low but Mon­ day is high. I think this is because people read newspaper travel sections on Sunday, plan their trips and call us on Monday." Bureau Supervisors Pete Stewart and Phil Paden, along with JoAnn Connor, agree that the "most difficult" time experienced by the Chicago office (other than its original consolidation), was immediately after President Nixon made his famous "energy crisis" speech in the Autumn of 1973. "During the week of October 28, 29,000 calls were offered to the bu­ TRYING IT ON FOR SIZE. Adam Elman of Kent, Ohio has a few years to go before he can fill reau," said Connor. "After the Presi­ Trainman Allen (Tiny) Littrell's uniform. Adam met Trainman Littrell on a February 10th trip dent's speech, things changed rapidly. from Portland to Seattle on Amtrak's "Puget Sound". His mother writes "We would be We were offered 49,000 calls during the flattered to share Adam's picture with your employees. We heartily approve of Amtrak."

9 dack's certainly was no exception, are sioner Raymond T. Schuler spoke to the impossible to describe. One has to feel crowds. Governor Wilson stressed that The first hand the excitement generated by the Adirondack was only the beginning all those smiling, waving people snatch­ of a major new program of rail improve­ A Promising ing at Amtrak hats, pins, balloons, any ments across New York State. reminder of the day's events. A photo­ Initiation of the Adirondack was a Beginning graph can capture the sense of numbers, cooperative effort-between New York the crowds packed onto small station State, D&H Railroad and Amtrak- and Particularly since the energy cnSlS, platforms. But the vitality of the scene its inaugural was carried out in the same there has been much talk about grass­ has to be experienced. spirit. Amtrak PSRs in red, white and roots support for rail passenger service. Bands, banners and babies are stan­ blue and D&H women in grey and blue The best and most dramatic illustration dard on-the-platform inaugural fare. uniforms served as joint on-board of this re-awakened enthusiasm for However, Upper State New York had its hostesses. At stations, everyone from trains is an Amtrak inaugural. own version. The "band" at Ft. Ticon­ Amtrak Vice President of Marketing Latest addition to the Amtrak system deroga was ; costumed char­ Harold L. Graham on down could be was Albany-Montreal service inaugurat­ acters from a current production of found shaking hands and handing out ed August 6. For the first time in over "Pinocchio" danced on the Saratoga hats and buttons. three years, a passenger train made the platform, and a display of antique auto­ What is an Amtrak inaugural? Be it in 381-mile daylight trip along the Hudson mobiles and an enormous toy train set New York State, California or, this and Lake Champlain. shared the Plattsburgh platform with month, Michigan, it is an exhilirating, Its return was noted. Hundreds 700 or 800 people. optimistic experience. gathered at each stop along the Adiron­ Local newspapers ha d done their ad­ Below: Sue Stevens, Amtrak Public Re­ dack's route. It almost seemed to those vance work we ll. Governor Malcolm lations. Top, right: NY Transportation on board- press; officials of Amtrak: Wilson was on the inaugural train, from Dept. Commissioner Raymond T. Schuler. D&H Railroad and New York State­ Alb any to Whitehall. New York resi­ Center: NY Gov_ Malcolm Wilson. Center, that each town was vying with its dents knew it. They waited at the right: Harold Graham, Amtrak VP Mar­ keting. Bottom, right: David Watts, Am­ neighbors for the most spectacular dis­ stations with signs welcoming him. trak Director State & Local Affairs (left) play. Both Governor Wilson and New York and New Yorker Magazine Editor Rogers Amtrak inaugurals, and the Adiron- Transportation Department Commis- E.M. Whitacker. R. Daly photos . ~~ - """" ~ HutJrrr~ ~~~~ is ... ~~l~~~o · ~ " --,-- METRO-Continued from page 8 advantage since they can be pulled by to spend $21,650,000 for the improve­ either electri c or diesel/electric loco­ ment of track and roadbed between stations capable of parking large num­ motives. Also, their maintenance costs New York and Boston. This would be a bers of cars in order to get people will be lower than the current self-pro­ part of an overall expenditure of 'door-to-door' in congested inter-city pelled cars which are the maintenance $60,000,000 which the Department of corridors. We've got to get the passenger equivalent of individual locomotives. Transportation says is needed for similar to and from his house. If it's easier for a Like the present Metroliners, new Budd work between Washington and Boston. passenge r to park at the airport, he'll equipment will be capable of operating All of these incremental actions bring fly ." At Washington Union Terminal, up to 120 mph. us closer to the goals established by the the rail passenger can park his car inside "It is our intent to greatly expand 1973 Regional Rail Reorganization Act the station and on return, the Metro­ service between New York and Washing­ which provides that Amtrak will, within liner conductor will call ahead to ar­ ton with the first 57 cars on order from two years, operate trains between New range to have his car waiting for him. Budd," Graham said. "Our ultimate goal York and Washington in two hours and Despite a growing market, Amtrak is a half hourly schedule with other fifteen minutes and between New York has been unable to expand the availa­ innovations like non-stop service and and Boston in two hours and one-half bility of Metroliner space for over a skip stop service." and that Amtrak will acquire the track year. Load factors have reached the Above we mentioned Bob Nelson and and roadbed property in the Northeast practical maximum with existing equip­ the Office of High Speed Ground Trans­ Corridor. ment. (According to Peter Montague, portation. After studyjng the Corridor The Amtrak Board of Directors in Amtrak's Manager of Market Research, and a number of options open for its July 1974 approved the expenditure of Metroliners had an average load factor development and fullest utilization, ' it $21,650,000 for track and roadbed im­ for the first six months of 1974 of over became apparent to them that the provement. This paves the way for 60%. Public transportation as a whole " Northeast Corridor" really was a line future Northeast Corridor expansion. aims at raising load factors over 50%. extending from a southernmost point, " In the minds of many people at Am­ The 60% average load factor included perhaps Richmond or even Petersburg, trak, DOT and Congress, the Northeast prime time Metroliners that ran almost VA. to a northern point, perhaps Corridor extends from Richmond, VA. 100% full and off-peak trains that usual­ Augusta, ME. The reasoning behind to Boston," Graham said. " Our experi­ ly ran at about 44% full.) such a model is based upon the demo­ ence with the present New York-Wash­ However, between April and August graphics of that huge population pool. ington, D.C. Me troliner service has been of 1975, Amtrak will receive 57 Metro­ If Amtrak is to serve Boston and Wash­ a good beginning. With the new cars and liner=type cars from the Budd Co., the ihgton with impro:ved Metr-ol-iner ser­ locomotives on oroerancI wffh- fhe- tra'ck first of a total order of 257 cars from vice, then it is reasonable to plan to and roadbed work about to begin, we Budd. These 57 cars will make it pos­ serve them beyond their city-center shall see a new extended Metroliner sible to increase daily Metroliner-type midpoints to tap the whole megalopolis operation in the not too distant future." service almost 100% between New York and not just half of it. Although this and Washington and also extend such objective was stated more than 10 years service to Boston. ago, present activity brings it closer to The new cars will not be self-pro­ realiza tion. pelled. This will give them a flexibility At the present time, Amtrak proposes

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