As has been widely reported in the ESPA Express and in the media, the Governor has proposed a comprehensive plan of property tax relief for railroads operating in New York State. Both the Senate and Assembly leadership have also publicly stated their support for such a plan. These proposals would greatly reduce the property taxes railroads pay to the various local jurisdictions they operate in. In addition, the plan would make certain new capital improvements, principally projects that will improve passenger rail services, totally exempt from taxation for a period of up to ten years.

Joe Landry, ESPA's Capital Representative, indicates that final agreement and passage of this very important legislation will be part of the overall State Budget negotiations, which are still in progress. It is vital to our cause, that property tax relief is part of the final adopted budget THIS YEAR. In support of this effort, ESPA is launching a statewide letter writing campaign. Every ESPA member is urged to write his or her New York State Senator and Assemblyperson as soon as possible, seeking their support. For your convenience and use, a sample letter is included with in this ESPA Express. Please feel free to craft you own letter also. Letters to the Governor, thanking him for his leadership in this matter, are also appropriate. See your local phone directory for the name and address of your elected state representatives.

With over 1400 ESPA members, this letter campaign will make a difference. Your efforts NOW are the single most important way to advance our goal of modern, high-speed, rail passenger service in New York State.

Bruce Becker

High Speed Rail Investment Act

As of press time, 57 Senators, including both New York Senators, have signed on to the High Speed Rail Investment Act - S.250. (See "Amtrak's Future at Stake" in the March/April issue of the ESPA Express). Special thanks to Senator Schumer for taking a leadership role on the bill on the Senate side.

To date, only 8 New York representatives have co-sponsored the soon to be introduced House Bill: Houghton, King, McHugh, Meeks, Nadler, Owens, Quinn and Towns. If your representative is not listed, its very important to Amtrak's future that you write and ask them to support the High Speed Rail Investment Act. Do it TODAY!

Capital Region Commuter Rail

The proposed Demonstration Commuter Rail Service between Saratoga Springs and Albany continues to be stalled, with several factors contributing to the delays:dispute over the ro rail property tax issue, another construction season may pass before any work can proceed on the numerous improvement projects necessary for reduced trip times in New York State.what can you do to help?

As outlined on the front page of this issue, your Officers and Coordinators have approved an Association wide letter writing campaign to our State Assemblypersons and Senators, in support of a legislative solution to the state rail property tax issue. This single issue is the principal current roadblock to New York State taking its rightful place as a leader in high-speed rail development.

I strongly urge each of you to take the time to write to your elected representative NOW! As our Capital Representative, Joe Landry describes, any resolution to this situation will likely be part of the final state budget deliberations. We need to use the power of our 1400 collective voices to help insure that indeed it happens this year. To not have a legislative solution this time around, could result in years of further legal wrangling and delay.

In addition, your Officers will continue to press NYSDOT to speed up the Turboliner project and hopefully by our next issue, we can report on the introduction into daily service of at least two trainsets.

Only the future will tell, when the exciting scene I encountered in Boston will be repeated here in New York State, but our Association needs to work today, to insure that someday it will.

As always, I welcome your comments, critiques and suggestions, on how ESPA can better attain our goals of improved passenger rail service in New York State. Don't hesitate to contact me at anytime.

Bruce Becker, ESPA President

Ohio Survey Mirrors New York's

A recent poll by the Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers shows more than eight of 10 Ohio adults want the state government to develop passenger rail service, as it does with highways. 74% think passenger rail would improve the quality of life in Ohio. 65% say state funds should be used to attract federal dollars for Ohio passenger rail improvement.

When asked which alternative would you prefer to driving 75 to 300 miles away from home, 59% stated high-speed rail, 18% air, 13% bus, 6% other, this even though train service doesn't exist between most cities in Ohio and those in surrounding states.details are available at OARP's web site "http://www.oarprail.org".

High-Speed Territory Extended

Governor Pataki announced an $8.5 million project in Columbia County that will expand boater access to the Hudson River and extend the state's high-speed rail territory. The project includes construction of a new boat launch on the Hudson River in the Hamlet of Stuyvesant Landing; a cultural and environmental interpretive center, a protected pedestrian crossing; a parking area at the state-owned Hutten Hook site; and improvements to railroad tracks and crossings on the river's eastern shore to facilitate high-speed service along the Empire Corridor.

Construction of the vehicle bridge and the provision of protected pedestrian access will allow DOT to close two at-grade crossings and to modify a third. The multi-faceted project will be undertaken by DEC and DOT.

State Trains Contribute to Growth

Amtrak ridership in the Northeast has grown eight percent since October and revenues are up nearly 17 percent, showing gains from train service supported financially by the New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

From October 1, 2000, through March 2001, over 6.7 million customers have boarded trains in the northeast, up from 6.2 million passengers from the previous October-March.

The Adirondack, which runs roundtrip daily between New York and Montreal, recorded a 10 percent ridership gain, carrying over 43,000 customers from the previous October-March period. Trips to Montreal were up 25 percent from New York, 14.5 percent from Albany and 16 percent from Schenectady. Travel between Saratoga Springs and New York grew nearly 9 percent.

In Pennsylvania, the state supports the operation of 10 Keystone Service trains daily. Keystone ridership was up one percent and produced 10 percent more revenue.

Ridership abort the Ethan Allen Express, which operates between Rutland Vermont and New York, has been growing at a rate of 5.5 percent. While the ridership on the Vermonter, which operates daily between St. Albans and Washington, was flat for the period. Revenue from both trains is growing.

Amtrak

Turboliner Update

The first rebuilt RTG III Turboliner, which completed 125mph testing in February, has been returned to Supersteel for further work. Reportedly, additional electrical work and asbestos and lead paint remediation are now required. NYSDOT officials also state that Supersteel is seeking an additional $1.5 to $2.5 million per train set, to finish this and other work. The second rebuilt trainset is nearing completion and both the first and second sets may enter service together, now projected for late June or early July. It is reported that the third and fourth sets are in progress, with equipment for the fifth and sixth sets now at Supersteel. The current in-service set may be removed from service for rebuilding, when the first two start operating.

Southern Tier Report

* Lawsuits for evaluation of the remaining value of the Lackawanna Cut-Off (including the Delaware River Bridge) have been settled, and the judge has signed the consent decree. NJDOT finally owns the line from Port Morris to CP-Slateford!

* Monroe & Lackawanna Counties are close to purchasing the remaining missing 13 miles (operated by NS) from CP-Slateford to Analomink (through East Stroudsburg).

* The studies are all done; a financial plan needs to be defined first, though. This doesn't need to be provided until the last stages of Federal Transit Administration evaluation, sometime late this summer. If they agree that it's a worthy project, the Feds would provide money.

* The best-case scenario on construction start is 2003.

Seth Taylor of the Penn-Jersey Rail Coalition

Travel Advisory

Empire State Corridor timetable changes scheduled to take effect July 9, 2001:# 283 (NYC - Niagara Falls) will depart New York City one hour earlier at 1:20pm. # 291 (NYC-Rutland) will depart NYC at 2:20 pm# 253 (NYC-Albany) will depart NYC at 3:45 pmTrain # 49/449 the Lake Shore Limited, will depart Albany about 25 minutes earlier.

Acela continues to expand service, with four weekday round trips between Boston and New York City, and three weekday round trips between New York and Washington. weekend round trips are provided between the above cities.North New Haven Line The Connecticut Department of Transportation, with funding from the Federal Transit Administration, has started installation of a new catenary system, redoing some 180-track miles of wire, estimated to take 8-10 years. Riders may experience schedule changes, slower travel times and platform changes.

Croton-Harmon Parking for Amtrak

As many passengers know, the daily parking at the Croton-Harmon station is typically full weekdays from about 7:30am to about 5:00pm, which makes it impossible for any Amtrak passengers to park and travel to upstate New York. Effective immediately,when the daily lot is full, Amtrak users may stop at the gray parking trailer (on the right as you pull into the station entrance) and purchase a daily Amtrak permit which allows them to park in thecommuter permit area for the day or for as many days as they will be away.

The Amtrak users must show their Amtrak ticket in order to purchase an Amtrak parking permit. The cost is the same $4 per calendar day that is owed in the daily area, since the Village of Croton is simply providing this preference to Amtrak passengers and allowing them to park in the monthly permit area for commuters (with permits).

The parking trailer is open all day, so if the daily lot is full, simply pay your $4 per calendar day that you will be parked, to the attendant. When parking is available in the daily area, simply park and pre-pay your $4 per calendar day in an envelope provided next to the trailer, indicating the dates you are parked and your license plate number and place in the box. This new policy encourages Amtrak passengers to use the Croton station without fear of no parking, since even on the busiest of days there is always parking available in the permit area.

Gary Prophet

Station Updates

Albany/Renesselaer

The new Albany/Renesselaer Amtrak station is slowly heading towards completion, with a current 'official' target date for opening of early 2002. While the actual building/parking garage is near completion and the new Herrick Street access bridge is underway, the construction on the passenger bridge from the building, boarding platforms and necessary track/signal work has yet to be started. Of primary concern to ESPA is the apparent plan to build only one boarding platform, serving just two tracks, in time for the station's opening. Project budget overruns have put the second planned boarding platform into limbo, with 'official' plans calling for it to be built in a 'second' phase. As the current Amtrak station has platforms accommodating three tracks, just one initial platform will be an actual reduction from current train handling capacity. EPSA will continue to pressure the Capital District Transportation Authority, the owner and developer of the station and NYSDOT to locate adequate funding, to allow for the full completion of both platforms before the station's opening.

Utica

Utica Station Overpass to Track #1/Adirondack RR Boarding Platformhas approved final design modifications.for construction access to site for project, by not crossing CSX Main Line, progressing.anticipated starting this season.'s Union Station Restaurant has re-opened. This will be location of ESPA's August meeting.

Rome Station Rehabilitation

Phase One contract has been awarded, but work is being delayed pending approval from CSX for safe site access.

Rail Station Shuttles For Long Island Get a Start In Islip

In May, Suffolk Transportation Inc. announced theof a new rush hour station shuttle service for Long Island Railroad commuters in Central Islip. The door-to-service will deliver train commuters to the station in the morning and from the station to home at night. Service is provided by the Town of Islip and the Tri-State Campaign. The Central Islip Railroad Jitney is funded by a grant from the NY State Department of Transportation. The service is intended as a pilot project and will promote shuttles for other Long Island towns and villages. "The institution of jitney service will make it easier forpeople of Central Islip to get around," said Islip Town Supervisor Pete McGowan. "It gives commuters anotherand an example of how different levels of government can cooperate with the private sector." According to LIRR data, 1,200 rail commuters now vie for 650 Central Islip parking spaces. Although a portion of LIRR commuters live within 1-2 miles of the station, 60-75% drive and park. For more about the shuttle, visit www.suffolkbus.com/jitney.html.

ESPA develops Regional Rail Plan

Working with other transit advocacy groups, including the Committee for Better Transit, Downstate ESPA continues to develop a short term rail transit plan that could greatly increase train service at Penn Station. The key to optimizing the use of this terminal is to take advantage of its unique design as a "through" terminal. While relatively few passengers would benefit from through operation from Long Island to NJ, the station's capacity could be significantly enhanced.

The evolving plan calls for installation of a "high capacity signal system" in the East River tunnels, modelled after the system now being advanced by NJ Transit and Amtrak for the Hudson River tunnels. By avoiding time consuming reverse moves, flow-through train patterns eliminate conflicts between arriving and departing trains.

At present, each rail operator seeks to optimize its own service with cooperation limited-to-limited resolution of scheduling issues. Rail transit advocates can take a broader look and suggest changes that individual operators are reluctant to advance. A key part of the plan will be the conversion of "commuter rail" into "regional rail" with frequent service all day and integrated fares.

This regional rail-planning workshop is scheduled for the third Tuesday of each month. The May 15, 2001 meeting, the fourth held in Lower Manhattan, will again be at the Conference Room of the Downtown Police Center at 104 Washington St., near Rector St. Subsequent meetings are also likely to be held there, but check first by calling at 212-475-3394 or by sending an e-mail to geohaikalis@juno.com.

Please plan to attend and share your ideas about a short-range regional rail plan. Committee for Better Transit wages an uphill battle to "streamline" LIRR access to Grand Central Terminal.

MTA continues to ignore rail transit advocates' efforts to streamline MTA's costly and inconvenient plan to bring the LIRR into a new 8-track stub terminal, carved out of Manhattan schist. Instead of assigning some of Metro-North's 46 platform tracks at Grand Central Terminal, by far the world's largest, for LIRR use both carriers insist on separate facilities. MTA is digging a colossal hole in its capital budget, which will be made up by transit riders through "fare-backed" revenue bonds.

Thus far, the state's political leadership has ignored the "streamlined plan" prepared by the Committee for Better Transit (CBT) that would reduce the cost of the link from $3.4 billion to $800 million. Not one elected official has asked CBT for a briefing about its plan since it was widely distributed in June 1996. In the meantime, LIRR planners have changed their plan four different times, even as the Environmental Impact Report has been prepared.

CBT urges ESPA to ask upstate members of the legislature to seriously consider the merits of the CBT plan, before it is too late. For info contact CBT at 212-475-3394.

George Haikalis, Manhattan Coordinator

News on Other Capital Region Rail Projects

The development of a new multi-modal station in Schenectady continues to progress, with additional local money having been recently committed to the project. As part of an overall downtown revitalization effort, the proposed new station has now been made the immediate corner stone of the project. Construction is possible on aspects of the project during late 2001.

Planning for the development and construction of a new Saratoga Springs Rail Passenger station, under the leadership of the Capital District Transportation Authority, continues. Talks with CP/D&H, as to their possible use of the station, are ongoing. It is hoped that this project will advance forward significantly by year-end.

Double-tracking between Albany and Schenectady is being delayed solely by the state rail property tax issue. Unfortunately, it looks like construction will not start during 2001, unless a legislative solution is reached soon.

In Albany, the rehabilitation of Livingston Avenue rail bridge over the Hudson River is also being delayed due to the property tax issue.

Rehabilitation of the former D&H line from Corinth to North Creek as a scenic rail line and possible future ski train route, progresses well, with adequate federal funding available to complete the project. The required non-federal matching funds are being currently sought. Construction is anticipated to start in 2002.

The proposed re-routing of Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express to serve additional Vermont locations, including North Bennington and Manchester, appears stalled, as there are significant, un-funded rehabilitation needs and operational concerns on the New York State portions of such a routing.