MOKSRail News  February-March 2001
Missouri-Kansas Rail Passenger Coalition
P. O. Box 1183, Mission, KS  66202-1183 
                                                                                                                                                  
AADDW

‘Ride Amtrak to Kirkwood’ --Next Meeting March 24
Amtrak Marketing’s Anne McGinnis, MoDOT’s Tom Griebel to Speak
“Ride Amtrak to Kirkwood” the ad on page 19 of the 2001 St. Louis Visitors Guide says, and many MOKSRail members will be doing just that on Saturday, March 24, when the next MOKSRail meeting will be held at the Kirkwood Public Library between trains.

Eastbound train 304 is scheduled to arrive at the historic Kirkwood station at 12:33pm, while westbound train 303 is scheduled to depart Kirkwood at 3:59pm, so the meeting is scheduled to run from 1-3:30pm at the nearby Kirkwood Public Library at 140 E. Jefferson, within a few blocks of the station.  In the event the eastbound train is late, the start of the meeting will be postponed until eastbound passengers arrive.

Anne McGinnis, Zone Manager for Amtrak Marketing and Sales, and Tom Griebel, MoDOT’s new Administrator of Railroads and Waterways, are scheduled to speak at the meeting.  McGinnis will talk about the many marketing events and opportunities Amtrak is participating in throughout the region, while Griebel --who came to Missouri from Texas DOT and was involved in saving the Texas Eagle --will speak about MoDOT’s work with passenger rail.

The Kirkwood meeting will be the first MOKSRail has had in the St. Louis area for several years.  Approximately one third of MOKSRail’s membership lives in the St. Louis area. 

Members who live outside the St. Louis area can get more information about things to do in the area and information about where to stay by visiting www.explorestlouis.com (ask for a Visitors Guide!) or www.kirkwoodarea.com or by calling 800-916-0092.  The Museum of Transportation (www.museumoftransport.org) is in the area.  Kirkwood has had continuous rail passenger service since 1853, while the existing Kirkwood station was completed in 1893.

MOKSRail will hold an informal outing in St. Louis in June (exact date to be determined) to ride MetroLink, particularly the new line to Illinois.

MOKSRail Calendar:
March 24 (Saturday)  -- MOKSRail meeting, 1-3:30pm, Kirkwood Public Library
May 1 -- Amtrak is 30 years old
June -- MOKSRail rides MetroLink throughout the St. Louis region
July 4 -- ground breaking for “Pacific Railroad of Missouri” St. Louis-Kansas City line held 150 years ago in St. Louis
MOKSRail News        February-March 2001            2

New Amtrak Business Plan
Bad News for Kansas on Getting New Amtrak Service
The new Amtrak 2001 Strategic Business Plan issued a few weeks ago has bad news for Kansas rail passenger advocates hoping to at least see Oklahoma’s Heartland Flyer extended north to meet the Southwest Chief at Newton.  ”In no case will Amtrak invest in a Growth Service project that results in a negative financial operating contribution,” the plan says.  Once projects have been identified that will not lose operational money, one of the major things used to prioritize them is “the percentage of public and private match provided for the program relative to Amtrak’s contribution and the stability or reliability of state and local capital and operating support.”

Kansas Governor Bill Graves says there’s no money for passenger rail in the new 10-year $12.9 billion transportation program, and no state legislator is calling for paying the $219 capital cost and $3 million annual initial operating subsidy that the state’s study says would be needed for high speed rail.  

Even Wichita mayor Bob Knight and the Wichita city council, representing the largest city to benefit from connecting the Heartland Flyer with the Southwest Chief, do not act as if getting Amtrak service is a priority.  “Although Knight said a national rail policy is ‘a great idea’ that ‘makes sense,’” the Wichita Eagle reported recently, “neither he nor the council has pushed for state dollars to lure Amtrak to Wichita as aggressively as they’ve fought for state money to widen Kellogg (US 54).”

New Amtrak Business Plan
Good News for Amtrak as a Whole
Despite its implications for any new service in Kansas, there’s other news in the Amtrak 2001 Strategic Business Plan that makes sense and better defines the task Amtrak faces as it seeks operational self-sufficiency by 2003.  

The plan contains, in a footnote, a definition of exactly what “Operating Self-Sufficiency” is.  “In accordance with the Administration and Congressional intent, the test for operating self-sufficiency excludes the following,” the plan says.  “(A) mandatory excess Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA) payments that Amtrak is required to make to cover the costs of the Railroad Retirement program for non-Amtrak employees, and (B) capital for progressive overhauls (assumed to be funded through federal capital investment), depreciation, and other noncash items.  The FY01 test for self-sufficiency is -$178 million,” the plan continues, “which includes a budget deficit of $119, and federal operating support (above and beyond excess RRTA) of $59 million.

Prior business plans expected operating self-sufficiency in FY02, “a year ahead of the legal mandate,” but Amtrak notes the delayed implementation of Acela service will prevent that.

The plan says a dollar invested in new rail capacity “can deliver 5 to 10 times as much capacity as a dollar invested in new highway capacity, depending on the location.”  Yet, 
“today, the nation spends nearly $80 Billion per year on its highway infrastructure and
MOKSRail News        February-March 2001            3  $19 Billion on its aviation system,” but “since 1982, highway delays across the largest 68 metropolitan regions have nearly tripled, and flight delays have grown by more than 33 percent in just the last five years.”

In order for the nation’s rail system to handle the capacity required by the “strained” highway and aviation systems, Amtrak completed a long-term capital needs assessment.  “The assessment indicates that annual federal investment in passenger rail of $1.5 billion --only 2.5 percent of what the federal government spends on transportation --combined with state and private investment, will modernize the current rail system and advance high-speed rail corridor development throughout the United States.”

To keep the current trains going, a minimal capital investment of $973 million a year is needed for five years, followed by $750 million a year after that.  If sufficient capital is not received, however, “the company will be required to restructure the scope of its capital-intensive business.  While Amtrak remains fully committed to achieving operational self-sufficiency,” the plan explains, “the company believes that inadequate capital funding would compromise its ability to sustain self-sufficiency and to deliver a quality national passenger rail system.”

“In order to realize the potential of this plan,” the executive summary notes, “Amtrak and its partners must move forward on several critical fronts.  First and most importantly, the federal government must provide a stable, long-term source of capital funds sufficient to support the long-term capital plan.  Second, Amtrak must continue to build partnerships with states, freight railroads, and other entities.  Third, Amtrak must fulfill its strategic business plan by continuing to deliver on its six business strategies, with an emphasis on financial and operational efficiency.  Finally, Amtrak must continually work with its partners to meet growing demands, refine its approach, and update its long-term capital needs.”

The six business strategies, which Amtrak introduced in 1998, are to build a market-based network, deliver consistent quality service, revitalize the Amtrak brand, operate a cost-effective business, leverage public and private partnerships, and develop services on high-speed rail corridors.

As part of its effort to implement quality service, the plan notes Amtrak has begun its service guarantee.  “A one percent increase in guest retention provides an additional $13 million in annual revenues,” the plan notes, while reporting that results for July-December of 2000 were 996.4 satisfied guests per 1000.  Management believes the goal of 999 satisfied guests per 1000 can be reached this year.

Technology investments have paid off for Amtrak too.  Reservations made through Amtrak’s web site have increased 116 percent in the last year and now account for seven percent of total ticket sales, jumping from $29.2 million to $63.1 million.

Amtrak’s $122 million mail and express business, up 25 percent from a year ago, is expected to grow to $400 million of annual business in the next few years.  In expanding the revenue, Amtrak will first “move to maximize the use of its 30-car MOKSRail News        February-March 2001        4 allowance on each mid- and long-distance train” and then develop partnership agreements with national and regional freight railroads.

Amtrak will prioritize any new service based on return on investment, leveraging of Amtrak funds with state and private funds, cost effectiveness, safety improvement, mobility improvement, and feasibility.

Today, Amtrak is receiving $117 million in operating funds for state-supported services from California, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.  In addition, state and local governments and private entities are providing $67.8 in capital investment for assets used in support of Amtrak service this year.

The entire 88-page business plan can be downloaded from Amtrak’s web site --www.amtrak.com --by clicking on “news” and then on “February 2001” and  then on the plan title. 

Lewis and Clark Along the River Again
Have you ever been on board one of the Amtrak trains between Jefferson City and Kirkwood, looking out the window at the Missouri River rolling by, and wondered at how different things were when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark paddled up the river on their famous exploration in 1803-1806?

As many as 20 million people will be following in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark for a part of their journeys in the next seven years, and interpretive National Park Service volunteers on the Anne Rutledge and Empire Builder trains will point out the scenery and significance for those who choose to see the river from the train.

Initially, guides on the Anne Rutledge will travel onboard only between St. Louis and Jefferson City.  The guides will be volunteers from the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, and will make a same-day turn on the trains.   Eventually, Park Service employees at the Truman Home in Independence may be asked to volunteer so that the guides can run all the way to Kansas City, but in January they had not yet been asked by the coordinator who is overseeing the national event.

For more information on the Lewis and Clark expedition, click on the Lewis and Clark heading on the MOKSRail web site, www.ipt.com/aboard/moksrail.htm

MOKSRail to Present Plaque Recognizing Carbondale, Kansas
MOKSRail will present a plaque “To the people of the Carbondale, Kansas, area, with thanks for their assistance to passengers of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief at the time of the derailment March 15, 2000.”  If you would like to attend the presentation, call Pete McMasters (913-722-4782).
QUOTE OF WISDOM
“We have an opportunity in this country to tie together the rail mode and the highway mode --the bus mode --and even the air mode, and in doing so create more travel opportunities for more citizens and utilize the system better and more efficiently,” Craig Lentzsch, the president of GREYHOUND told the Amtrak Reform Council.
MOKSRail News        February-March 2001        5 Now That’s a Transportation Bill!
Missouri State Representative Joan Bray of St. Louis has introduced HB685 in the Missouri Legislature, a bill that would significantly revise transportation funding laws in the state of Missouri.

HB685 would create a Transportation Sales Tax Fund, with 65.5% of the money going to public transportation, 13% to intercity rail facilities and services, 13% for any transportation purpose and allocated to cities and counties by a formula, 3% for port facilities, 1.5% for intercity bus facilities and services, 1.5% for bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and 1.5% for support facilities.

A Transportation User Fee Fund would also be created to collect and distribute typical highway user fees and taxes, and various taxes would be increased.

The entire bill and a bill summary can be found on the web at
http://www.house.state.mo.us/bills01/bills01/hb685.htm or Missouri residents can request a copy from their state representative.  The bill has been read the required number of times and referred to the Missouri House Transportation Committee but it is not currently scheduled for a hearing.

The bill is not the only one in the legislature that would revise transportation funding, however.  SB0286, introduced in the Missouri Senate by State Senator James Mathewson of Sedalia, would also increase various taxes and fees but would spend 50% of the money “for the purpose of repairing, rehabilitation, constructing, improving, or expanding the state highway system,” another 30% for the same purposes on “the interstate highway system within Missouri,” 15% for transit, and 5% for “multi-modal transportation projects, other than highway, such as aviation, ports, and railroads.”  

In the U. S. Senate, S. 250, the High-Speed Rail Investment Act that would let Amtrak sell up to $12 billion in bonds over a ten-year period to provide funds for high speed rail development, still does not have a sponsor from Missouri or Kansas.

OOPS --Whenever you make a list, it seems, you always leave someone out
and that was the case with the list in last issue’s editorial on “Volunteerism.”  Rod Dixon also assisted those listed in the last issue in staffing the MOKSRail table on weekends in November at Kansas City Union Station.  MOKSRail received a letter of thanks on Union Station Assistance Corporation stationery for our participation in the National Model Railroad Month event.  “There was overwhelming excitement and approval by visitors and staff throughout the event,” the letter noted.  “We are extremely pleased with both the presentation of the event and the enthusiasm of all who participated,” the letter said.
Katy Railroad Historical Society to Ride Amtrak
The KATY RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY will offer an optional Amtrak trip as part of its April 20-22 Annual Meeting in Sedalia.  For more information check www.katyrailroad.org/meet.htm
Join Us!
We believe, quite simply, that there ought to be more passenger trains in Missouri and Kansas.  If you agree, you’ll want to join us.  
Just fill out the coupon below, and send it today with your annual MOKSRail membership dues of $15 (seniors/students $10, family $20). 
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MOKSRail News
Missouri-Kansas Rail Passenger Coalition
P.O. Box 1183
Mission, KS  66202-1183