P.
O. Box 1183, Mission, KS 66202-1183
www.trainweb.org/moksrail
Bush
Administration puts Southwest Chief & Texas Eagle on Hit List
Passenger
rail supporters need to contact their state and national elected officials and
urge them to properly fund passenger rail service. One of Missouri’s two St.
Louis to Kansas City trains is threatened with discontinuance because of a
statewide budget crisis. Amtrak’s continuing funding crisis is threatening to
shut-down the entire national intercity passenger train system.
As
of this writing, disagreement remained between Congress and the White House regarding
Amtrak’s FY 2003 funding. Amtrak has requested $1.2 billion, which the U.S.
Senate approved. The House of Representatives, however, approved a lower
funding level of $762 million while the White House recommended $900 million.
The
Bush Administration Feb. 3 cited the
Southwest Chief and the Texas Eagle as two of the Amtrak trains it would like
to discontinue.
The
administration, in its 2004 budget request, stated the Southwest Chief, which
runs through Kansas on its run between Chicago and Los Angeles, as losing $237
per passenger; the Texas Eagle, which runs through St. Louis and southeast
Missouri on its Chicago to San Antonio run, was cited as losing $258 per
passenger. Continued next page
NARP
issue Missouri alert; MODOT to consider private operators’ bids
The
latest in securing funding for Missouri’s passenger trains involves a private
operator offering to run the service at a lower cost and Amtrak lowering its
cost.
On
Jan. 28, the National Association of Rail Passengers sent an email and regular
mail message to Missouri NARP members that stated how continuation of two of
the St. Louis-Kansas City "Mules" beyond February 28 depends on state
approval of another $1.2 million for Amtrak. “Continuation of any service
beyond June 30 depends on adequate funding in the state's Fiscal 2004 budget,”
the alert said.
NARP
urged members to write their state lawmakers and urge them to fund the second
daily train.
In
an Associated Press article, an Amtrak spokeswoman said if Amtrak doesn’t
receive the supplemental funding, the train would cease operation after Feb.
28. The report noted that given the
pace of the state budget process, it was unlikely lawmakers would have passed a
supplemental appropriation for Amtrak service by Feb. 28. But if the extra
money looks likely, Amtrak officials
may be willing to negotiate continued service with the state, the Amtrak
spokeswoman was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile,
officials with Herzog Transit Services of St. Joseph, Mo., in a Jan. 27 Kansas
City Star article, stated how they would like to take over the Kansas City –
St. Louis service and operate it for less than $8.9 million a year, the amount
Amtrak had charged.
Less
than two weeks later, Amtrak lowered the price tag to $6.4 million.
Amtrak
said the lower figure includes only the actual operating costs of running the
trains. Overhead and depreciation costs associated with the routes are not
included, Brian Weiler, the Missouri Department of Transportation’s director of
multimodal operations, said in news reports.
On
Feb. 7, the state’s Highway and Transportation Commission authorized a request
for proposals for any company interested in operating the trains. Amtrak's
contract with Missouri ends Feb. 28.
Lawmakers
last year appropriated $5 million for the subsidies, although Amtrak's actual
cost is about $6.2 million, a Jefferson City newspaper reported.
The
funding is an issue of mobility options for Missouri citizens who can't drive
and can catch a train into St. Louis or Kansas City, Weiler said.
Students
attending Lincoln University, the
University of Missouri-Columbia, Central Missouri State at Warrensburg and
State Fair Community College in Sedalia regularly use the trains. Continued next page
Missouri service funding- continued
Herzog
Transit Services operates several commuter lines in Florida, Texas and
California. In the Kansas City Star article, Herzog officials declined to
provide details on how much money the company would need to run such a service
or how the company would run the trains.
Sharon
Dashtaki, MODOT’s assistant administrator of railroads, updated MOKSRail
members on legislative funding efforts at MOKSRail’s Jan. 25 meeting at Kansas
City Union Station. She said $1.2
million is needed to continue service from March 1 to June 30. MODOT has
requested $8.9 million to fund the trains in FY 2004.
“The
$5 million that the state appropriated last year, we knew that was not enough
to continue the four trains for one year,” she said.
“We need everyone’s support and we need you to
contact your state senators and representatives,” Dashtaki said. “Let them know
your support. We have to have the funding.”
Dashtaki
said Amtrak has been “biting the bullet” and absorbing the route’s costs. A new
route cost analysis system increased the service’s costs from $6.2 million a
year to $8.9 million.
Options
MODOT is considering to save costs, Dashtaki said, include eliminating station
agents in Kirkwood and Jefferson City, removing one coach and ending snack and
beverage service.
Rail
supporters should write their representatives and tell them how the service is
important to their community, Dashtaki said.
She cited Sedalia, whose Amtrak station is receiving a needed federal
grant for renovation, as having no bus service.
“Amtrak
is the only transportation service that city has,” Dashtaki said.
Regarding
the offer of a private contractor to run the trains, Dashtaki said MODOT “has a
lot of things to work out. There are
private entities that think they can do so at a lower cost.”
Amtrak national funding update – continued from p. 1
The
administration's reliance on inaccurate figures and phrases from fringe think
tanks to kill off Amtrak passenger trains underscores the problem in the debate
over Amtrak funding. The Amtrak Reform
Council, which was highly critical of Amtrak, however, stated that the
Southwest Chief was the fifth best performer out of the system's 19
long-distance trains in terms of operating ratio, where costs are divided by
revenues.
If
Congress goes along with President Bush’s recommendations, Texas, Kansas, New
Mexico, Arizona and Arkansas would lose all passenger train service. Missouri
would have only one daily Kansas City- St. Louis train.
Enactment
of the House Committee mark of $762 million would guarantee Amtrak's insolvency
and a complete shutdown of the railroad by springtime, according to the
National Association of Rail Passengers.
The $1.2 billion level would allow President and CEO, David Gunn, to
bring stability to Amtrak for the remainder of the fiscal year so Congress can
debate the future of passenger rail service in this country.
Mr.
Gunn has written a budget that focuses on repairing equipment needed for
revenue service and making investments in their infrastructure just to maintain
current speeds and operations. In doing so, he had to cut or defer nearly $200
million in activities and projects critical to the railroad just to get to the
$1.2 billion level. Failure to invest
in certain urgent capital expenses is just as perilous to Amtrak's operations
as is a reduction to the operating subsidy, according to NARP.
|
Southwest Chief
& Texas Eagle action flyers developed MOKSRail has developed posters that urge
passengers to write their congressmen. The posters, which can be adapted to
other trains, include information on
the funding crisis and congressional contact addresses. The Southwest Chief
flyer will be posted at all Kansas Amtrak stations. Oklahoma Passenger rail supporters have modified the flyer to
include the Heartland Flyer, Texas Eagle and Southwest Chief. The posters are
located on MOKSRail’s Web site. |
Remind your elected
officials about the importance of passenger train service. Addresses are on
MOKSRail’s Web site.
Volunteers needed to work MOKSRail booth
at the 20th annual Topeka Model Train show,
Saturday, March 1, 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. and Sunday, March
2, 10:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. at the Kansas
Expocentre.
For more information, contact
newsletter editor Doug Ohlemeier at ohlemeier@netzero.net or 816-795-8775.
