Vol. 7, No.3 March- April 1980 Long-Distance Cars Ordered; ------_ I Budd To Build 150 Coaches, Food Cars has signed a letter of in­ the Panama Limited, , Mon­ that travel considerable tent to the Budd Company ordering trealer and , all overnight distances. 150 new stainless steel passenger cars at a cost of approximately $150 More AEM-7s Coming Too million. At its February meeting, Am­ for the purchase of the AEM-7s al­ Approval by the board of direc­ trak's board of directors also ap­ ready on order. This includes escala­ tors to purchase the cars was orig­ proved the purchase of 17 more high­ tion costs, spare parts and other inally reported on February 28, the speed, lightweight electric locomo­ support costs. day after board's regular monthly tives for use in the Northeast Corri­ In the meantime, locomotive 900, meeting, but no builder had been dor. the first AEM-7 to arrive on Am­ specified at that time. The new locomotives, numbered trak property, continues its testing Tom Hackney, Amtrak's group­ 930-46, will be similar to the 30 program over the entire range of the vice president-operations and main­ AEM-7 units currently under con­ corridor. It now has operated over tenance, told Budd officials to pro­ struction by the Electro-Motive divi­ all of the electrified trackage from ceed on the contract, subject to ne­ sion of General Motors. The AEM- New Haven to Harrisburg and gotiation of a final agreement on 7s are based on a design by ASEA Washington. terms and conditions of the order. of Sweden. Some engineering details still remain Under the Im­ On February 26, pulling an instru­ to be finalized. provement Project, scheduled for mented test car and three stock Am­ The new cars will use body shells completion in the mid-1980s, Am­ fleet coaches, the locomotive similar to Amfleet cars but interiors trak and the Federal Railroad Ad­ reached 125 miles per hour on a and mechanical systems will be de­ ministration estimate that 47 of the 13.3 mile section of track between signed for long-distance service. The new units will be needed to provide Brunswick and Trenton, New order will consist of 125 coaches reliable high-speed service. Jersey. and 25 food service cars. The 17 new units will cost approx­ Testing will continue until the lo­ Delivery of the cars will be imately $50.6 million. Amtrak has comotive goes into revenue service speeded up significantly because of previously committed $85 million sometime later this spring. their similarity to the eXlstmg Amfleet equipment. The first new car is due for delivery in 17 months with the entire order completed within 10 months. The new cars are needed because of future ridership growth as pas­ senger demand for rail service con­ tinues to expand. Budd built the nearly 500 original Amfleet cars at its Red Lion, Penn­ sylvania, plant where the new cars will be built. Amfleet cars were de­ signed for corridor and medium-dis­ tance routes but many have been pressed into service-because of Th e Washington section of the first head end power-equipped - equipment shortages-all over the with diesel locomotives under the catenary - departs Washington 's Union Station on Wednesday, March 19. country as a substitute for the aging The Amdinette in the consist will be replaced with a cafeteria / lounge car when it is fleet of conventional rail cars. For available from Beech Grove. example, Amfleet cars operate on Amtrak, DOT Present Congress With Study__ I Identifying Thirteen Major Corridors

Amtrak and the Department of ceptable level of 80 passenger miles quest of three members of the Transportation have presented Con- per mile as the measure of House Interstate and Foreign Com- gress with a study that could pro- ridership density on short-distance merce Committee; Chairman Harley vide a blueprint for the development trains and has mandated that Am- Staggers (D-WVA); James Florio of as many as 13 major rail corri- trak improve its ratio of revenues- (D-NJ), chairman, Transportation dors across the country. The corri- to-expenses to 50 per cent by 1985 . subcommittee; and Edward Madigan dors would have the potential for Every corridor was able to meet (R-ILL), subcommittee member. carrying large numbers of intercity these levels and even significantly The three had asked Amtrak and travelers thus saving significant improve on them. the Department of Transportation amounts of fuel. "As rising fuel prices and contin- last fall to identify and study poten- The 13 corridors were: uing shortages change the transpor- tial corridors between key cities to -Indianapolis-Cincinnati tation makeup in this country," says meet new energy and transportation Chicago-Cleveland Amtrak President Alan Boyd" "we needs. Chicago-Detroit must be prepared to offer the public Key factors evaluated included Chicago-Milwaukee-Twin Cities attractive alternatives to the auto- ridership levels, the ratio of rev- Chicago-St. Louis mobile. enues-to-expenses and the potential Miami-Jacksonville " Amtrak is convinced that these for energy savings. Los Angeles-Las Vegas developing corridors can provide Five other corridors also under Los Angeles-San Diego such alternatives, if trip times and study will be covered in specific de- New York-Buffalo frequencies are competitive with the tail in the future. Included are Har- San Jose-Oakland-Sacramento private car. To a very great degree, risburg-Philadelphia; Boston-Spring- Seattle-Portland Amtrak's future lies in these cor- field-New Haven; Atlanta-Nashville; Fort Worth-Dallas-Houston-San ridors." Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati; and ------t.AlnjIT1Ilmorriu =FoTLWort1T;an1rl-----..Lf'-ltmle.-,.;re""pmo""r"'"c--'w:u'"'Tas"--"'p""Ie""p""a"'r'""e<7idJ-,a"'cr1'1th""'e,..-y,re1':_:--- Savannal1-itrlanta-.- =- W ashington-Richmond. The relative strengths of each cor­ ridor varied depending on trip fre­ Corridor Legislation Introduced quencies, fuel prices and track On Thursday, March 13, Congress­ The Rock Island has been in bank­ speeds, but every corridor was able man Harley Staggers introduced ruptcy for five years and is now to meet or exceed required ridership legislation in the House of Represent­ scheduled to be liquidated. and performance levels. atives which would provide funding The positive spirit of the committee Most importantly, every corridor to implement the 13 high-speed multi­ debate over the future of American showed the potential to improve sig­ frequency corridors announced by rail pas.senger service was in stark nificantly Amtrak's overall system Amtrak and DOT. contrast to that of just one year ago performance. Staggers is chairman of the House when this same committee was con­ The study results suggest that the Interstate and Foreign Commerce sidering the Secretary of Transporta­ strongest situation exists when gaso­ Committee which has jurisdiction tion's recommendations for dras­ line is assumed to cost $2.50 a gal­ over rail matters. tically reducing Amtrak service. lon-presumably by 1985-in to­ The Staggers bill-HR 6818-has a The committee bill would provide day's dollars, train speeds are pro­ number of cosponsors, one of whom an additional $750 million for jected at 79 miles per hour and train is Congressman Jim Wright (0- NECIP, $55 million for Amtrak to frequencies reach at least six daily TEX), House majority leader. conduct an engineering and design trips in each direction. Corridors The committee favorably reported analysis of a number of other corri­ that already have good trip frequen­ the legislation to the full House on dors, $50 million for additional cy levels were evaluated with further Wednesday, March 19. equipment and $850 million for con­ expanded service in mind. As written, the bill would provide struction of the high speed corridors. Under the most favorable condi­ additional funds for the Northeast Construction money would not be tions, every corridor in the study Corridor Improvement Project, for available until 1982. made a favorable contribution to development of other energy-efficient At the present time there appears to Amtrak's goals for both ridership corridors and to provide protection be no plan to consider the emerging and ratio of revenues-to-expenses. for some employees of the Rock corridor component of the bill in the Congress has set a minimum ac- Island railroad . Senate.

2 Commuter Shuttle Successful ______I When Flood Cuts Off Phoenix Drivers

Over 46,000 persons were carried by Amtrak in special commuter shut­ tle service in Phoenix during a ten day period between February 25 and March 7. The special train was requested by Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt who appealed directly to both Amtrak and the Southern Pacific to provide the service to connect Phoenix's eastern suburbs with downtown. The two were separated by the flooding Salt river which put eight of the city's ten bridges out of commission. The re­ sultant traffic jams at the open two (Above) Litter spans delayed auto commuters for up covers the Salt river to six hours. bed as the Hattie B Financed by Arizona's Department rolls across the SP's of Transportation, the train operated trestle bridge ap­ six round trips daily over the 10 miles proach on its last day of operation. of Southern Pacific track between (Left) Lewis Cook, Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa. left, and Ray Krebs, Five Amcoaches were assigned to ticket agents, prov­ the service, along with two locomo­ ided information to tives, one at each end to provide the many callers. Arizona DOT sold push-pull service to minimize turna­ 2c cl: its own tickets for round times at each end of the run. f.­ the train . a Because of heavy patronage, a sixth Q "~ Amcoach was added on the third day 2 . ~ of operation. ,, ------Fare for the 45 minute run was set 772 persons but this number climbed train ride before the train went away. at $1. "We appreciate what Amtrak did Lloyd Clark, community resource quickly. One trip, at the peak of the coordinator, Arizona DOT, reports operation, carried 1,160 persons. for us. We had a bad situation here in that one train reached a phenomenal As the bridges went back into ser­ moving our people but the train did a load factor of 230 per cent. "Despite vice one by one, ridership slipped but phenomenal job for us." the crowding," he said, "passengers peaked again on the last day with After the service ended, the cars and locomotives were moved back to were courteous to each other and 5,529 persons riding the 12 trains. made sure no one was left at the Said Clark, "1 guess a lot of people their Los Angeles base on the follow­ stops. There was no New York-style around here just wanted to take a ing day's . shoving and pushing." Clark did admit that on one of the Minority Contracts Top Goal first runs, he did have to dissuade a Amtrak has surpassed its goal for ended last September 30. passenger from crawling into the lug­ minority contracts awarded in fiscal The current figure is far higher gage rack for an early morning nap. year 1979. In awarding the contracts than several years ago when, during The service was previewed on to minority firms, Amtrak spent fiscal years 1976 and 1977, the com­ Saturday, February 23, with a test over $28 million, or more than $3 pany spent only $2 to $3 million an­ run with 200 invited guests. Prior to million over the internal goal set by nually in purchases from minority the departure, the train was officially the company's management. businesses. christened the "Hattie B," after the The total amounted to over 15 per Many of the contracts were part governor's wife. cent of all Amtrak contracts of the Northeast Corridor Improve­ The first train on Monday carried awarded during the fiscal year which ment Project.

3 Handicapped Access Program ______--, I Features People, Equipment

When Amtrak recently revealed its to station, on-board services and res­ been company policy since 1972, a new discounts for senior citizens and ervations employees. time when most other public trans­ handicapped travelers the response "It's original purpose was an inter­ portation companies were doing was overwhelming. nal and external communications de­ nothing about handicapped custo­ To date the company has received vice, but before we could really publi­ mers. This, too, was literally years over 18,000 requests for more infor­ cize its availability, we had to make before the Department of Transpor­ mation about the reduced fares and sure all of our employees knew what tation regulations mandated that fed­ for copies of Access Amtrak, the in­ services we had to offer and that they erally-supported carriers be barrier­ formative travel guide for elderly and knew what a handicapped traveler free. handicapped passengers. had a right to expect." Vic Ryerson, Amtrak's counsel Access Amtrak was first published The new Access Amtrak, currently who has worked on the compliance of in 1977 and never drew more than a at the printers, will be printed in a the rules, notes, "We became sensi­ few dozen requests per week accord­ much larger quantity so all stations, tive to the access problem earlier than ing to Sue Stevens, director, special travel agents and central reservations others because of comments we re­ projects, public affairs department. offices can order them through nor­ ceived from handicapped groups. Recent news releases, which des­ mal distribution channels. "Our employees, I'm happy to say, cribed the new fares and told of the Access Amtrak, however, is only seem to have taken their obligation to availability of an updated version of one way Amtrak is telling the public handicapped travelers seriously. They Access Amtrak, made the booklet an that it is making its trains accessible feel that this is a civil rights issue and overnight sensation. Requests con­ to the handicapped. When the new not just another burdensome fe deral tinue to pour into the public affairs America's Getting Into Training ad­ regulation. " office with no letup in sight for the vertising campaign began last Janu­ DOT's regulations, which were is­ immediate future. ary, people in wheelchairs and on sued last summer, are a follow-up to Stevens explains the booklet's phil- crutches were featured along with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which -----nsop l7evetupmclTrof lile ori - ----mm=1TImtIlcappeatrave ers. n- raIn --uur1mvRt IscrimInarion - against inal publication served as a device for notices in the growing fleet of accessi­ handicapped persons solely by reason drawing up of all the policies and pro­ ble equipment also make it clear that of their disability. Architectural or cedures regarding the handicapped, assistance is available from on-board structural barriers which prevent han­ changing them where necessary, and services personnel just for the asking. dicapped individuals from making then communicating that information The move toward accessibility has full use of a facility constitute such discrimination. Since the Act applies to any program receiving federal money, Amtrak has to comply. Federal law defines a handicap as any temporary or permanent physical or mental impairment that substan­ tially limits one or more major life ac­ tivities. Functions such as performing manual tasks, caring for one's self, walking, seeing, hearing, breathing, learning or working are described as such. Amtrak's fare discount applies to anyone who has such a physical or mental impairment that limits access to-or use of-Amtrak services. Ticket agents have been instructed to accept a wide variety of identification cards-from those issued by handi­ capped organizations to those from Ramps on the new Superliner equipment make boarding much easier jor handicapped state, local or federal governments­ persons in wheelchairs. as certi fication of a legitimate handi-

4 cap. They may also accept letters from physicians if they clearly state that the traveler has an impairment that affects his or her ability to use Amtrak services. Since Amtrak's accommodations for handicapped travelers are limited, they should be reserved for those with physical mobility problems. Hence, a deaf person, who clearly qualifies for a fare discount, would probably not need special seats or other special ac­ commodations. A $93 million facilities improve­ ment program and a $17.6 million equipment refurbishment program are already under way to make existing equipment and facilities com­ ply with the federal regulations. Cynthia Benton, senior secretary, public affairs, displays the Access Amtrak brochure Eric von Schilgen, director, mar­ that thousands of persons have written for. keting services requirements, is Am­ trak's coordinator for the program. the customer is all done via teletype. $2,500-per-unit cost. Some 30 Ii fts He emphasizes that making Am­ Although DOT regulations require were purchased a nd sent to the sta­ trak accessible means more than just that all stations be accessible within tions. eliminating physical barriers. It also 10 years, certain ones in metropolitan According to William Presho, sen­ means good service. areas must be ready by 1984. Amtrak ior engineer, support systems, the lift "We'll give assistance," he says, is inventorying its stations to see how program began with a successful "to any passenger needing help in best to accomplish this. Initially, 250 demonstration of a prototype at moving through the train, getting on stations will be examined to see what Washington Union Station over a or off, or who needs food served at renovations will be needed. A report year ago. his or her seat or accommodation. on the progress of the program must "We'll be going to the board of di­ We do, however, strongly recom­ be submitted to the Secretary of rectors pretty soon to get authority to mend that people who need such spe­ Transportation by July. buy 100 to 150 more lifts," said cial help enroute contact our reserva­ Jay Stearman, structural engineer, Presho. "We plan to install them at tions office so we can be ready for who has worked on the survey project the stations that must be made acces­ them. " with Charles Koch, architect, engin­ sible within the next five years. The central reservations offices eering design, said that parking fa­ "But, we're going to try to install process requests for such assistance. cilities, passenger loading and un­ the lifts within a year so we can save They also answer questions as loading areas, ticket counters, some money by eliminating the infla­ whether a particular station presents restrooms and other station facilities tion C'f the succeeding years." barriers to a wheelchair or whether are all being inspected. Some $315 ,000 will be spent on the anyone at the station can help a pas­ "We've already visited 60 stations devices if the board approves. senger get on or off the train. and measured them against the stan­ Amtrak is also spending $6.7 mil­ Customer requests, including those dards of accessibility for the han­ lion to make much of its older equip­ for special meals, are forwarded by dicapped," said Stearman. "There's ment access ible. As the old steam­ the reservations agent to the special no point in offering discount fares if heated cars are being converted to services desk which then processes the the people can't use the system." head end power at Beech Grove, requests and confirms all arrange­ Newly-built stations, it might be some 47 coaches and sleeping cars ments. When this is done, the cus­ noted, are automatically designed have been earmarked for installation tomer is so advised. with access ibility features. of access ibility features. They will be Deaf customers are accommodated To ease the boarding process for fitted with spaces to park and secure by Amtrak in a unique way. A special wheelchair passengers, Amtrak has wheelchairs and provi,ded with stor­ teletype machine has been install