Railroad Nation

TAMPA, Fla. — As part of President Barack Obama’s jobs recovery act, the President  has  announced  on Thursday awards for the $8 billion in economic  Recovery Acts grant for the development of the U.S.’s first nationwide program of high-speed intercity passenger rail service.

In last Wednesday’s  State of the Union speech in Washington, the president said, “We can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of tomorrow. From the first railroads to the interstate highway system, our nation has always been built to compete. There’s no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains, or the new factories that manufacture clean energy products.”

According to the White House, 31 states will be receiving investment rail-related awards  toward developing or laying the groundwork for 13 new, large-scale high-speed rail corridors across the country, including smaller projects and planning work that will help lay the groundwork for future high-speed intercity rail service.

The $8 billion investment is expected to create or save tens of thousands of jobs over time in areas such as track-laying, manufacturing, planning and engineering, and rail maintenance and operations. More than 30 railroad equipment manufacturers, both domestic and foreign, have agreed to establish or expand their base of operations in the United States if they are hired to build America’s next generation high-speed rail lines.

(more…)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Virginia Railway Express board recommended a French company be hired to operate VRE commuter trains effective next summer, a move that would end 17 years of contracted operations by Amtrak, the Washington Post has reported. Keolis Rail Services of America, a U.S. arm of a French company, received the contract under a unanimous vote by the VRE operations board.

VRE spokesman Mark Roeber said four companies submitted bids to operate the trains, and that Keolis rated highest, based mainly on its customer service, plus its management and operations plan. It also underbid Amtrak, offering to take over running the service for $18.5 million versus Amtrak’s $19.6 million plus its $2.2 million mobilization fee (versus Keolis’s $1.7 million). He said the agency also wanted a more “hands-on” approach from its operator.

Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm said the railroad is “saddened and disappointed in the recommendation, as our employees have invested a great deal of heart, energy, and effort in providing excellent service to VRE passengers since 1992.”

The Northern Virginia and Potomac and Rappahannock transportation commissions will have the final say on whether the board’s recommendations come to pass. If approved, it would be Keolis’s first commuter train operating contract in the U.S.

VRE’s weekday commuter trains run on two lines south of Washington Union Station. The 35-mile Manassas Line uses Norfolk Southern trackage from Alexandria to Manassas, and the 55-mile Fredericksburg Line uses CSX Transportation from Washington to Fredericksburg.

VRE officials said the switch should impact operations from a customer perspective. However, he said because Amtrak controls railroad operations in and out of Washington Union Station, it would have the ability to retaliate. “The critical question will be how things change at Union Station,” Roeber said. “We expect the same level of service, but whether there is any animosity there, you never can tell. We hope it will be a smooth transition.”

WASHINGTON — Due to a deluge of applications for high speed rail funding, the Federal Railroad Administration Tuesday announced it would award grants for high speed rail development this winter. According to Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo, the agency has received 45 applications from 24 states totaling approximately $50 billion to advance high speed rail corridor programs. It also received 214 applications from 34 states totaling $7 billion for corridor planning and smaller projects. The economic stimulus package approved earlier this year included $8 billion for high speed rail. “We have received numerous applications from states and groups of states for the development of high speed and intercity passenger rail programs for grant funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” Szabo said in a news release. “Due to the overwhelming response and our desire to lay the groundwork for a truly national high speed and intercity passenger rail program, we will be announcing all awards this winter.”

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood told Congress last week that he would name the winners of the stimulus law’s $1.5 billion Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant program before the end of the year. The TIGER program includes built-in competition between modes of transportation, from railroads to ports and roads. Within the Obama administration, ten teams are evaluating the applications submitted for TIGER, which the U.S. Department of Transportation says total $57 billion. Several states have submitted proposals to fund rail projects under the TIGER program.

ORLANDO — Florida has received a last-minute boost from Walt Disney World in its bid for $2.5 billion of federal money to build a high speed train linking Orlando and Tampa, according to a story in the Orlando Sentinel. Disney says it will support a stop at the Orange County Convention Center, and provide up to 50 acres of free land for a station. For years, Disney wanted any train that might be built to make a straight shot from Orlando International Airport to its parks, with no intermediate stations.

Disney’s backing is important because it could draw millions of riders onto the system, helping to underwrite operating costs over the entire 90-mile route.

(more…)

DENVER—The Ski Train may be back this winter after the Union Pacific Railroad agreed to let a new owner use its tracks between Denver and the Winter Park resort.The special passenger train was in danger of dying when the previous owner folded the operation last spring after a 69-year run.

Chicago-based Iowa Pacific Holdings, which operates freight and excursion trains in six states including Colorado, wants to take over the service.

On Thursday, Omaha-based Union Pacific agreed to let Iowa Pacific use the same route the previous Ski Train owners used.

Iowa Pacific President Ed Ellis says the train would use his company’s equipment and Amtrak would provide the crews.

An Amtrak spokesman said Friday the company is reviewing Iowa Pacific’s proposal but no decision has been made.

Denver Post 9/18/09

For more on Colorado Train Rides, see: http://scenicrailexcursions.com/colorado_trainrides.php

NEW YORK - Amtrak has announced that its New York-Montreal Adirondack will again feature the company’s only remaining full-length, single-level dome car for this year’s fall color season. The car, which was originally built for Great Northern’s Empire Builder in 1955 and acquired by Amtrak in 1971, will run northbound Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from Oct. 1 through Nov. 9, and southbound on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, Oct. 2 through Nov. 10, 2009.

Returning to the Adirondack after a successful stint last fall, the dome operates only between Albany-Rensselaer and Montreal due to height restrictions on the Empire Service line south of Albany to New York’s Penn Station. It is usually kept on the West Coast as part of a standby set of single-level Horizon equipment, and will return there for the holidays, but it also is used as needed for charters around the system. The car is a welcome addition to the scenic route along Lake Champlain, especially because the Amfleet cars normally assigned to the Adirondack have such small windows. - Bob Johnston

For more on train rides in New York, visit:

http://www.scenicrailexcursions.com/newyork_trainrides.php

DENVER - The operator of tourist- and freight-hauling short line Rio Grande Scenic is considering resuming the Denver-Winter Park, Colo., “Ski Train,” the Denver Post has reported. Iowa Pacific Holdings President Ed Ellis said the talk is “very premature,” but he has alerted Union Pacific, the line’s owner, to his desire to run the train.

In April, Denver billionaire Phil Anschutz’s company said it was selling the Ski Train’s rolling stock to Canadian National’s Algoma Central Railway, ending a 69-year run for the excursion train. Anschutz’s company attributed the decision to overall cost increases, particularly for liability coverage, operating issues with freight trains, and uncertainty surrounding the redevelopment of Denver’s Union Station as the hub for light rail and commuter services.

In a presentation to government leaders, Ellis’ company said the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad “can provide all services necessary for the Winter Park train,” including “railcars and locomotives, onboard services, reservations and ticketing, sales and marketing, and administration.”

A UP spokesman said the railroad department that interfaces with passenger operators hasn’t received a proposal from Ellis yet.

A company with experience running excursion passenger trains in southern Colorado is interested in reviving Ski Train service between Denver and Winter Park, beginning with the upcoming season.

It is “very premature” to talk about the resumption of the Ski Train, said Edwin Ellis, president of Iowa Pacific Holdings LLC, which counts the Alamosa-based San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad and Rio Grande Scenic Railroad among its properties.

The 56-mile train trip takes about two hours each way, and many riders say it’s worth the cost to avoid the traffic hassles of the oft-congested I-70.

For more information on Colorado train rides visit: http://www.scenicrailexcursions.com/colorado_trainrides.php
(more…)

WASHINGTON - National Transportation Safety Board investigators on the site of Monday’s heavy-rail collision on Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Red Line, found metal-to-metal compression streak marks on both rails of track for about 125 feet ending near the approximate point of impact, which is consistent with heavy braking. Earlier reports confirmed the mushroom button used to activate the emergency brakes had been depressed in the striking train’s cab, and brake rotors were discolored blue, which happens when high friction, such as heavy breaking, heats metal components.

Further, investigators Wednesday evening conducted tests at the accident site with a similar train and found that when the train was stopped in the same location as the stopped struck train, the train control system lost detection of the test train.

The Washington Metro system relies on about 3,000 track circuits to direct the trains when to proceed and when to stop. When running in automatic mode, as the striking train was Monday, the operator is primarily responsible to close the doors before leaving the station and override the system if need be.

Investigators will examine and test all circuits systemwide, as well as the rest of the train control system to understand how it functioned the day of the accident.

Investigators also interviewed the operator of the struck train who said he was running his train manually and felt a hard push from behind when struck.

The NTSB plans to conduct sight-distance tests, using trains similar to those involved in the crash. - Kathi Kube

WASHINGTON - The Obama Administration is looking at the creation of a bond program to help fund high speed passenger lines, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has reported. Vice-President Joseph Biden has revealed the administration’s plan, saying it’s clear more funding will be needed to make the administration’s plan a reality.

Biden described the $8 billion allocated for high speed rail in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as a “down payment” on a national fast-train network. “We do know $8 billion is not going to put in place an entire high speed rail system in America, but it’s 8 billion times more than we had prior to the recovery act.”

Biden said the need for better passenger service is part of the need for “rebalancing” the nation’s transportation network. And despite the ambitiousness of the proposal, he said there is a precedent. “Let me remind you, the interstate highway system started the same way,” he said.

Biden, a former Delaware senator, has logged, by his count, nearly 8,000 round trips on the Acela Express, which goes as fast as 150 mph.

“This has sort of been a hobbyhorse of mine for the past 25 years,” he said, touting high-speed rail as a way to cut congestion and greenhouse-gas emissions, with line construction boosting employment.

As for that $8 billion, Biden said officials expect to have all the applications in by June 17 and start awarding money by the end of the summer.

President Barack Obama has announced a national vision for fast trains aimed at reducing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. He invoked the memory of President Abraham Lincoln and his quest to build the transcontinental railroad and dubbed his vice president, Joseph Biden, as “the nation’s No. 1 railfan.”

Other highlights of the president’s plan are the eleven high-speed rail corridors that were  indentified as possisble recipients of the $8 billion in the federal five-year stimulus funding.
He also cited the success of high-speed rail systems, such as those found in France and Japan, as positive examples of what future U.S. railroad transportation would look like. (more…)