The North American passenger rail market

Railway Age, March, 2008 by Greg Gormick

AMTRAK

Amtrak again emerged semi-victorious in its annual financial tug-of-war with the White House, thanks to the omnibus funding bill passed on Dec. 26. The Administration proposed an inadequate $900 million, but H.R. 2764, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, produced $1.325 billion. Although $255 million less than requested, it's a 2.4% increase over Amtrak's FY2007 appropriation through a similar process.

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Amtrak last year recorded record ridership of 25.8 million--the filth straight year of gains and the most in the corporation's 36-year history. At $1.5 billion, ticket revenue was 11% ahead of last year. Flagship Northeast Corridor services showed strong growth, with the high speed Acelas gaining 20% in ridership and 23% in revenue. Some of this was due to improved on-time performance (OTP) of 87.8% resulting partially from full in-house maintenance of the trainsets. The electrified, 110-mph Keystone Corridor increased ridership (20.7%) and revenue (nearly 30%). Frequency was increased from 11 to 14 roundtrips.

Where state-supported corridor improvements went, passengers and revenue followed. Noteworthy were the Illinois routes from Chicago to Carbondale, Quincy, and St. Louis, attracting 48% more passengers in combination. The Boston-Portland Downeaster experienced a 24% ridership gain over the previous September. California's Capitol Corridor service registered a 14.8% ridership jump. A $7 million agreement with Washington State, British Columbia, and BNSF will add a second Seattle-Vancouver Cascade this year.

State-requested studies of new routes produced encouraging results, too. Chicago-Quad Cities, Chicago-Rockford, and a range of Virginia services have solid potential under 403(b) funding. Amtrak will also explore requests from federal and state legislators for reinstitution of the Salt Lake-Portland Pioneer section of the California Zephyr. (Further corridor development is one of the strategic goals behind Amtrak's request for a 27% increase in FY2009 funding, announced late last month.)

Amtrak's fleet has been stretched to the limit. To handle the traffic surge and bolster itself for more, it rebuilt 262 pieces of rolling stock in 2007 and another 318 cars will be shopped this year. Development work continues on diesel multiple-unit (DMU) equipment and an Amfleet replacement (p. G5).

VIA RAIL CANADA

The 2003 departure of pro-rail Transport Minister David Collenette left VIA Rail Canada on an annual starvation diet of $170 million to operate its 8,700-mile network serving 450 communities from Halifax to Vancouver Island. That changed last October thanks to Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon, a former mayor and member of the Canadian Urban Transit Association. VIA is receiving $691.9 million over five years to rebuild motive power, rolling stock and stations, as well as invest in CN and CP infrastructure improvements. This will primarily reduce trip times within the Quebec-Windsor Corridor. At least two additional roundtrips are planned for each route segment. A Montreal-Ottawa frequency was added in January.

Following a test rebuilding of EMD F40 locomotive 6400, VIA awarded a $101.5 million contract to Global Railway Industries' subsidiary CAD Railway Industries Ltd. for the remaining 53 units. Delivery begins in March 2009 and will be completed by 2012. VIA requested bids in February for a $100 million contract to upgrade its 98 LRC tiltbody coaches and club cars, which are the backbone of the central Canadian corridor service. Prototype rebuilding of one of the classic Park-series sleeper-dome-observation cars used on the western transcontinental train, The Canadian, has been approved. DMU equipment options are being explored for corridor and remote services.

In January, the federal government, along with the provincial governments of Ontario and Quebec, announced a $30 million high speed study--the ninth in a quarter-century. Cannon said he envisions incremental improvement, which he dubbed "higher-speed rail passenger." VIA already has that plan. Called VIAFast, it aims at providing 120-mph or higher service on existing, upgraded lines.

BOSTON

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. (MBTA) is straining under a $2.7 billion "state of good repair" backlog. Its FY 2008-2013 capital program will invest $3.9 billion to address that and boost the more than 800,000 weekday trips now handled on the 486-mile rail network, which includes the five-route light rail system (Green), three heavy rail lines (Blue, Red, and Orange), and 13 commuter rail routes.

Delivery, of 94 Siemens Type 5 Blue Line cars resumed in December after a three-year delay with a new price tag of $200 million. The dispute that halted the delivery of the 100-car Type 8 low-floor streetcar fleet was resolved and Ansaldobreda delivered 85 cars plus spare parts. A $190.2 million contract for 75 bilevel commuter cars was awarded in February to Rotem USA Corp. Next will be procurement of 38 diesel-electric locomotives. The $512 million Greenbush commuter rail line was launched Oct. 30.