CURRENT NEWS

Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Magazine, May 2005

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S.S. Badger to Get a Face Lift from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Apr. 15, 2005, submitted by Russ Schroeder

Battling to keep its hold on the newly competitive Lake Michigan ferry market, the parent company of the S.S. Badger has invested more than $100,000 in renovations to the 52-year-old vessel.

The Badger's owners also announced a slight fare increase and-in a none-too-subtle swipe at their high-speed rival, the Lake Express-touted their car ferry's reliability.

This season's ferry service will start May 12 for the Badger, which runs between Manitowoc, Wis., and Ludington, Mich., at 18 m.p.h. Two days later, the Lake Express will start its second season of 40-m.p.h. service between Milwaukee and Muskegon, Mich.

Last year, the Lake Express cut into the Badger's passenger total, although bad weather and high gas prices probably also depressed travel, said Lynda Daugherty, spokeswoman for the Badger's owner, Lake Michigan Carferry Service. The Badger and Lake Express don't release specific passenger figures, although both claim to carry more than 100,000 passengers a year.

This year, Badger passengers will find the vessel has been redecorated and repainted, with a nautical theme in the decor and new crew uniforms, Daugherty said. The Badger ? also catering more to children and pets, she said.

The Badger upgrade follows an announcement that the Lake Express is upgrading its first-class cabins. The Badger owners said they were stressing the "cruise experience" aboard their larger vessel. The Lake Express originally focused its marketing on speed and convenience but now notes that its passengers have said they want the trip to be more a part of their vacation experience.

Last year, in the first year of competition from the Lake Express, the Badger didn't raise its prices. This year, Daugherty said, rising fuel costs have forced a fare increase.

For spring and fall trips, adult fares are rising from $44 to $47 one-way and from $72 to $78 round trip. For summer trips, adult fares are rising from $47 to $49 one-way and from $78 to $82 round trip. For cars, the fare is up from $49 to $53 each way.

The Lake Express didn't raise its base fares-$50 one-way, $85 round trip and $59 each way for cars-but added a "fuel surcharge" of $1.25 per passenger each way.

In another sign of the competition, the Badger is stressing that it didn't miss any scheduled sailings during 2004. That was a clear reference to the Lake Express, which canceled 11 of 295 round trips through September 8 of last year, mainly because of rough seas. The Lake Express has never disclosed the total number of trips canceled in the first season which ran through October 31. But it is spending $450,000 on new stabilizers to provide a smoother ride.

[Editor's Note: The S.S. Badger is, of course, the former C&O vessel of the same name. Its new competitor, the Lake Express, is a high-speed diesel catamaran.-KJH]

Concern About Amtrak from the Ashland, Ky., Daily Independent, Mar. 21, 2005, submitted by George Greene

Local officials have expressed concerns about the future of Amtrak's Cardinal now that it appears the federal funding that subsidizes the rail transport company could be in jeopardy. Concerns stem from a proposal by President Bush to cut the $1.2 billion Amtrak subsidy from the federal budget, a move some lawmakers have said could be the death knell for the company. The U.S. Senate has voted against an amendment from Sen. Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia), that would have earmarked funding for Amtrak. "Without the federal subsidy, it doesn't have enough money to run itself," said state Rep. Tanya Pullin (D-South Shore). "I was very sad to hear it."

The local legislator authored a state resolution urging the states congressional delegation to preserve Amtrak's northeastern Kentucky route running from Chicago to Washington, D.C.

Ashland City Commissioner Don Maxwell said the issue over keeping the Cardinal is nothing new. In fact, he noted, local officials have been battling the federal government over Amtrak funding since 1980, when cuts were first proposed. As executive director of the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society in Huntington, Maxwell said experience with the industry has taught him the fight could last at least several months. "It will probably drag on until October when current funding runs out," said Maxwell. "There should be no threat to our service until that time."

In Ashland, where the city has spent about $1 million in recent years moving and renovating its Amtrak station, other local officials have been vocal on the matter. The Ashland Board of City Commissioners recently passed its own resolution supporting preservation of the line by calling on the federal government to supply $1.8 billion in funding for fiscal year 2006. "...The national Amtrak system has been undercapitalized for decades, passenger rail has not been provided with a dedicated and secure source of funding as enjoyed by other modes of transportation," the resolution stated, "and passenger rail has not been supported as have many other nations' systems."