Amtrak
MIDWEST TALGO TUSSLE CONTINUES: After Wisconsin decided in March not to fund a dedicated maintenance facility for the two Talgo trainsets it purchased for the state-sup- ported Milwaukee-Chicago Hiawatha service, in April the state informed the builder that it would cancel its 20-year maintenance con- tract. The state has already paid $48.7 million for the two 14-car trainsets plus $2.5 million worth of spare parts and $6.9 million to a British consulting firm to oversee the trains’ construction. Legislators are concerned that the new equipment provides less revenue seat- ing than the typical conventional consist, which Talgo says is due to the state’s decision to substitute a food service car for one coach. It’s looking less and less likely that the new trains will ever enter service in the Badger State, even as road testing and Federal Rail- road Administration certification for the new equipment is slated to begin.
eTICKETING HEADS WEST: Amtrak has expanded its eTicketing program to Califor- nia’s Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin trains as well as the Heartland Flyer between Okla- homa City, Okla., and Fort Worth, Texas. The new service was first offered in November 2011 on the isolated Downeaster route be- tween Portland, Maine, and Boston, Mass., and then in February 2012 on the City of New Orleans between Chicago and New Orleans. Passengers on these routes may print their tickets at home to present to personnel on the train, or they can download reservations to their cell phone for crews to scan.
STB OKSMICHIGAN LINE SALE: The Sur- face Transportation Board tacitly approved the Michigan Department of Transportation’s pro- posed purchase of 136 miles of Norfolk South- ern trackage in Michigan when it said that the transaction does not require its approval since MDOT would not become a common carrier; the route will be operated by Amtrak.
NEW CAR SHOP OPENS IN FLORIDA: Amtrak’s new Hialeah Preventive Mainte- nance Facility has opened in Hialeah, Fla. The shop building is 50 feet wide by 920 feet long and includes a 600-foot inspection pit with an in-floor jack system to facilitate truck change- outs. Formerly an open-air facility, Hialeah maintains Viewliner sleepers, Amfleet II coaches, and Heritage diners used on East Coast long-distance routes. Financing for the $32.7 million project included $29.4 million in federal stimulus money.
Berkshire Scenic Railway
DISPUTE ENDS EXCURSIONS: It appears that this year the Berkshire Scenic Railway will not be able to offer its excursions between Lenox and Stockbridge, Mass., over Housaton- ic Railroad trackage. Since 2002 Housatonic provided an easement for passenger opera- tions to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which in turn chose Berkshire Scenic to operate the excursions. That agree- ment expired at the end of 2011 and Housaton- ic says simply that “continued operation by Berkshire Scenic Railway on Housatonic- owned track is no longer possible.” The Berk- shire Scenic Railway Museum is still in busi- ness, however, and the station and exhibits at Lenox will reopen for the season on May 26.
Canadian Pacific USDOT Requests Bids for New Amtrak Bilevels
THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION has issued a request for proposals for the construction of 130 new, standardized bilevel passenger cars to be used on Amtrak corridor services in California, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Iowa (if the proposed Chicago-Des Moines service is implemented). The RFP requires the cars to be made of 100 per cent American content and to be “built by American workers, with American hands, and with American-produced steel, iron, and manufactured goods.” USDOT says this will foster competition among builders and help to re-establish the domestic supply chain for passenger rail equipment in the U.S. The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act Section 305 Next Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee, made up of representatives from interested states, the Federal Rail- road Administration, Amtrak, the host freight railroads, passenger railroad equipment manufac- turers and suppliers, and other passenger railroad operators, developed the specification for the cars. The committee has also developed specs for high performance diesel locomotives and single- level passenger cars. The new bilevel specification was derived from the successful Amtrak Cali- fornia cars, which were built by Morrison-Knudsen and Alstom in 1996 and 2000-2002 and based on the Superliners, built by Pullman Standard in 1990 and Bombardier in 1993-1994 The cars will be built in cab/baggage, coach, and cafe-lounge configurations and will be able to op-
erate at up to 125 m.p.h. USDOT says that a builder will be selected by this autumn and deliveries could begin in 2015. The cars will be paid for with $551 million from the Federal Railroad Adminis- tration’s High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Program.
22 JULY 2012 •
RAILFAN.COM
MANAGEMENT FIGHT CONTINUES: In early May, Canadian Pacific and Pershing Square Capital Management were still going head to head to head in Pershing’s quest to oust CPR’s current management, including CEO Fred Green, in a bid to install former Canadian National chief E. Hunter Harrison at the top. Pershing CEO William Ackman ac- cuses the big Canadian railroad of mismanage- ment, which he claims is reflected in CPR’s op- erating ratio, highest of the seven Class I’s compared to Canadian National’s lowest. CPR management says that Pershing has no con- crete plan for improvement other than to bring in Harrison, who retired from CN in 2009 leav- ing CPR’s arch rival with the lowest operating ratio in the industry. CPR says that its Multi-Year Plan for im- provement is already achieving success, as 2012 first quarter earnings of C$142 million were up C$108 million, or 318 per cent, from a year ago. Pershing claims the railroad cooked the books. However at press time, it appeared that Pershing was picking up momentum.
CaterParrott Railnet
TO SUBLEASE GEORGIA ROUTE: Cater- Parrott Railnet has filed an application with the Surface Transportation Board to sublease 43 miles of former Norfolk Southern trackage from Georgia & Florida Railway, an Omnitrax railroad. CaterParrott will operate the line, which was built in 1906 by the original Geor- gia & Florida and is owned by the Georgia De- partment of Transportation and leased to GFR, between an interchange with NS at Langdale yard in Valdosta, Ga., and the end of track at Willachoochie. CPR plans to serve the branch’s five customers twice a week, carrying
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
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