Hotline #676

All eyes now are on the House Public Works Committee in hopes the highway/transit bill they are now drafting will be as favorable for rail interests as S.1204 is. The Surface Transportation Subcommittee mark-up is now set for July 16, with full committee mark-up on July 18, but all important decisions are likely to have been made before the first mark-up. Public Works has yet to decide whether to follow S.1204's good example of making intercity passenger rail eligible for highway trust funds. The American Automobile Association is urging its members to contact their legislators in opposition to S.1204 "if you value the freedom your car gives you." A July/August AAA World editorial warns that S.1204's purpose "is to 'manage gridlock' and to force people to use public transportation. Time may be running out on your personal mobility."

Key provisions we hope the House committee will incorporate include H.R.2515, the Boehlert-Borski truck-weight freeze bill; H.R.2619, the Sangmeister passenger-rail corridor grade-crossing elimination bill that would empower the DOT to designate corridors eligible for significant grade-crossing elimination money; and a requirement that the Boston Central Artery project include a rail link.

The Sierra Club's Greater Boston Group on June 29 wrote to members of the House Public Works Committee asking them to "make funding of the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel contingent on inclusion of a North Station to South Station rail link." The letter suggested that widening the Central Artery "will only add to Boston's serious air quality problems" but "two railroad tracks instead of highway lanes will translate into cleaner air."

It appears that the administration of Massachusetts Gov. William Weld is starting to acknowledge efforts by NARP and others to get a two-track rail link in the Central Artery. When Transportation Secretary Richard L. Taylor last week announced his two-year study on the state's rail needs, he specifically mentioned that the study will include the cross-Boston rail link as well as commuter rail extensions to Fall River and New Bedford. While the study appears to be an effort to sidetrack attempts to get the Central Artery rail link, NARP and others will continue pressing for it.

Last week's Hotline got a few Massachusetts points wrong. Governor Weld did not tie his endorsement of high-speed Boston-Springfield service to maglev and did not say Amtrak should revise its electrification plans to go via Springfield instead of Providence. He did respond positively to Springfield Mayor Mary Hurley's pitch for a high-speed Boston-Springfield ground link. He asked Secretary Taylor to compare costs of upgrading Conrail tracks with the cost of building a new rail line along the Massachusetts Turnpike, an investigation that Taylor said would take about three months. Hurley is a maglev enthusiast but even she said she's not tied to maglev. "I'm not looking to have a train pull in here next Tuesday. I want to do this right.

If the maglev funding provisions in S.1204 become law, of course, you can expect public officials in many states to start talking about maglev as they try to land that prototype line and as much as possible of the bill's $750 million in maglev money.

Two Cleveland rapid transit trains were involved in a minor collision on the evening of July 2. One revenue and one dead-head train collided at low speed near the W. 98th St. station, where all traffic is on one track because of a track work project. Fourteen of the 27 aboard were treated for minor injuries. The exact cause is under investigation.

Thought for the week -- Isn't it ironic that the nation with the world's lowest gasoline taxes can't figure out how to keep several of its state and local governments solvent, much less avoid cuts in transit services and increases in transit fares?

The June NARP News has been printed and will be mailed early next week. We plan to mail the July issue first-class so you will get it before month's end.