» May - June 2008 Newsletter

Empire Passengers

State Association

THE ESPA EXPRESS

NEWSLETTER OF THE
EMPIRE STATE PASSENGERS ASSOCIATION

The following is a summary of our association’s bi-monthly newsletter. 
All ESPA members receive the complete unabridged version
(with photos, graphs, etc.) of this newsletter by mail or e-mail. 

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May - June 2008

Vol. 32, No. 3

The View from the Cab

Planning, studying and then more planning (but never much action)….

This seems to be government’s response to most of the challenges it faces and certainly passenger rail here in New York State is a poster child for this (I think that there have now been over 25 passenger rail studies of some nature conducted in the past twenty years!)

As reported in this issue, NYSDOT is working on revising the now 22-year-old state rail plan, with a final release expected over the summer. What makes this plan different (or so I hope) is that DOT Commissioner Astrid Glynn and Deputy Commissioner Karen Rae are very actively pushing to get it done on time and done well. Instead of farming the plan development out to a consulting firm (who would have likely taken at up to 18 months to complete a final plan), DOT decided to use its pool of in-house talent and expertise to complete the job in only eight months.

I encourage everyone to review the draft plan after its release on May 19 (it will be available on the NYSDOT website) and to submit your comments and suggestions on the plan, either in person at one of the three scheduled public meetings or via mail/e-mail directly to DOT.

While a plan is only words on paper, I am very hopeful that we will be pleased with the final outcome. The next critical step of course will be to turn all this planning into meaningful action. If we can attain this, all of our collective efforts over the years will finally start to pay off.

As always, I welcome your comments, critiques and suggestions, on how ESPA can better attain our goals of improved passenger rail service in New York State. Don’t hesitate to contact me at anytime.

Bruce B. Becker, President

NARP Spring Meeting Summary…

NARP held its spring Board meeting in Washington, DC April 28 – May 1. New York’s six Region Two Board members (Andrew Cabal, Richard Kulla, Lewis Hoppe, John Ross, Steve Salatti and George Haikalis) all attended. Bruce Becker also attended and was re-elected as a NARP Director-at-Large for the next two years.

Meeting speakers included Representative James L. Oberstar (D-MN), Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Cliff Black of Amtrak’s Media R House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Matt Rose CEO of the BNSF and Tom Simpson of the Railway Supply Institute.

Representative Oberstar announced that the House version of an Amtrak Reauthorization bill would be introduced shortly (this occurred on May 8) and that prospects for Amtrak’s long-term future have never looked better.

While most Washington observers fully expect that Congress will provide Amtrak with substantially more than the $800 million proposed by the White House, meeting attendees were cautioned that FY09 may be a very challenging year for Amtrak. Currently Amtrak is faced with the need to make back-pay payments (as a result of the recent labor settlements) totaling $114 million. Currently these funds are not available and with energy costs rising and the economy cooling, Amtrak will be very hard pressed unless Congress acts to fund these payments.

NARP is also strongly advocating for an additional $100 million in funds for FY09, to allow Amtrak to repair and return to service the over 100 cars currently unavailable for revenue generation. With ridership spiking across the nation and the prospect of new equipment still many years in the future, this added capacity is critical.

NARP Board members traveled to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, April 30 and the New York delegation visited a total of 15 congressional offices, representing New York House members from across the state. The reception at the offices was without exception warm and everyone voiced their support for Amtrak. 

The NARP Board will next meet in Portland, OR in October 2008. Board meetings are open to all interested persons and full information is available at http://www.narprail.org

Bruce B. Becker

Amtrak and Enterprise Rental Car Form New Partnership…

Amtrak has announced a new partnership with Enterprise Car Rental, which will greatly improve rental car access at all of Amtrak’s stations in New York. Under the program to be featured in the upcoming 2008 ‘New York By Rail’ magazine, Enterprise will pick-up passengers with advance reservations at each station, transport them to the nearest Enterprise office to retrieve their car and then return them to the station at the conclusion of the rental, in addition to offering Amtrak passengers special discounts and other incentives.

The ‘I Love New York’ tourism web site will also be promoting this new partnership, along with the current on-going ‘I Love New York’ 20% Amtrak discount starting in late May. With gas prices already at record levels, this program is bound to be hot with many travelers.

This partnership represents a major accomplishment and we applaud Amtrak and Enterprise for recognizing the value of providing for seamless travel both on the rails and on the roads away from Amtrak’s stations. 

Bruce B. Becker

Spring and Summer Timetable Changes…

Amtrak issued a new national timetable on Monday, May 12, which includes all of the New York State services. Amtrak had earlier revised many Empire Corridor schedules on April 7th, at the start of the Metro-North track work season.

Highlights of the new summer schedules include:

• The Adirondack now operates on the same schedule every day, leaving New York at 8:20am northbound.

• Most early and mid day northbound trains out of Penn Station now leave on at “20” past the hour, instead of the previous “45” slot.

• The first eastbound train from the west now arrives in New York in time for connections to the south (Atlanta, New Orleans, Orlando and Miami) every day except Sundays. Previously these connections were only available on weekdays.

• The eastbound Lake Shore now leaves Buffalo-Depew at 9:35am (25 minutes earlier) but arrives at Albany at the same 3:40pm.

Amtrak has resisted efforts by CSX to add significant additional time to the west of Albany trains this summer. Whether a further schedule revision will be forced on Amtrak by CSX is not yet known.

For complete schedule information, obtain a copy of the new national schedule at any staffed Amtrak station or visit their web site, http://www.amtrak.com

Bruce B. Becker

West of Albany Ridership Surges In March…

In the biggest increase of any of Amtrak’s trains and corridors, ridership on the two Niagara Falls trains and the Maple Leaf surged ahead 61% in March as compared to last year, with overall ticket revenue up an astounding 71% over last March. 

The other New York State services also all enjoyed healthily gains, with the Adirondack’s riderhsip up 26.5% and revenue up 24.2%; the Lake Shore was up 26.4% and 33.9% respectively and the Ethan Allen was up 10.0% and 15.6%. The Hudson Valley trains had modest increases of 1.4% and 4.9%.

The western New York increases are in spite of continuing poor on-time performance and capacity constraints.

With gas at all time record highs, these increases will likely continue in the coming months. Hopefully Amtrak is wiling to provide the necessary equipment to accommodate all of the passengers who may want to travel by train.

Bruce B. Becker

Amtrak Offers Trails and Rails Program To Groups On The Maple Leaf…

From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, Amtrak and National Park Service volunteer rangers from the Erie Canal National Historic Corridor at Fort Stanwix in Rome will be offering special Trails and Rails presentations on the history of the Mohawk Valley by special advance request to groups between Albany and Syracuse on train #63, the westbound Maple Leaf.

For more information on this special group program contact Bill Hollister, Amtrak’s New York State Marketing Manager, at 518-462-5760.

Bruce B. Becker

ESPA Beautifies Western New York Stations…

Applauds go to ESPA’s green thumb garden expert David Skoney, who is planting and tending gardens at three Western New York stations this summer.

ESPA has for many years provided and planted flowers at the Depew station, but for the first time Dave is also tending a garden at the Niagara Falls and Rochester stations. With Amtrak’s limited budgets, they are only able to provide for basic lawn care and not for flowers. Through a partnership with Mischler’s Nursery in Williamsville, who provides the plants in return for a small sign noting their generosity at each station, the flower program provides a welcome touch of color throughout the summer months for Amtrak’s many passengers.

If you live in Western New York and would like to help Dave out with the garden duties, send ESPA a message and we’ll get you in touch with Dave.

Bruce B. Becker

New State Rail Plan Advances…

NYSDOT’s ongoing process to develop a new state rail plan (for both passenger and freight) is actively moving ahead towards a final plan release by mid-summer. The new plan will be the first comprehensive state rail plan released in over 20 years!

ESPA, as a principal NY rail stakeholder, has been represented at two plan input meetings held by DOT in the past several months. In addition, we have provided DOT with copies of our Five-Year-Plan and other pertinent documents. Other participating rail stakeholders have included Amtrak, MTA, the Port Authority, CSX, NS, CP and Railroads of New York (RONY) representing the short-line industry. 

ESPA has pushed for the inclusion of a policy statement calling for New York State to become an active partner with Amtrak in the operation of the entire Empire Corridor, with New York State contributing a reasonable share of the Corridor’s operating costs. In addition, we have pushed for the completion of the many long-discussed infrastructure improvement projects across the state.

Current plans are for DOT to release a draft copy of the plan for public review on May 19. Following this release there will be a 30-day public comment period, during which DOT will be holding three public outreach sessions across the state. Meetings are scheduled in Buffalo on Monday, June 9, starting at 1:30pm (at the Westwood Country Club, 772 North Forest Road, Williamsville, NY); on Tuesday, June 10 in Binghamton (time and location to be announced) and in New York City on Monday, June 16 (time and location also to be announced). Check the NYSDOT web site for the most accurate information on these sessions.

Based on the comments received, DOT will refine the plan and then release the final version. It is expected that the bulk of the passenger related segment of the plan will be outlined in a separate addendum to the main plan (which speaks to the level of passenger detail which hopefully will be contained). As future Federal funding for passenger projects will likely be directly tied to whether the projects and improvements are specifically contained in current state rail plans, this document will be critically important for the future of passenger

Bruce B. Becker

h2>Empire Corridor Travel Tips and Discounts…

• In partnership with the ‘I Love New York’ tourism program, Amtrak is offering a 20% fare discount program for NYS rail travel now through September 2008. With a 20% discount off the regular adult fares, the program is only available by making reservations directly though Amtrak’s 800 number, 1-800-USA-RAIL and specifically mentioning discount code V464 to the agent (it is NOT available via the Amtrak’s web site!). Valid on all trains running in New York State and on the Adirondack to Montreal (but not on Northeast Corridor trains or on the Maple Leaf in Ontario), reservations must be made at least three days in advance of travel and early reservations will help insure the best availability of the discount. For more information and other discount restrictions, contact Amtrak directly.

• All Empire Corridor trains require reservations. While advance reservations are encouraged, last minute passengers will always be accommodated if space is available on a particular train. Booking as early as possible will provide the best possible fare. Amtrak accepts reservations up to 11 months in advance of your travel date! Travel during off-peak periods (mid-week, early morning or late evening) will generally be the least expensive.

• AAA and NARP members receive 10% off most regular fares, with a three day advance purchase requirement. Senior citizens, veterans and many students can receive a 15% discount off most fares.

• Visit http://www.amtrak.com and select ‘Hot Deals’ for the latest discount program information.

• Join the Amtrak Guest Rewards program and earn points towards free travel and more.

Amtrak Seeks ESPA’s Input

Amtrak’s Empire District Superintendent Tom Connolly wants to hear of your New York State Amtrak travel experiences. Whether everything was great or if there was room for improvement, Tom welcomes our input, as he strives to provide the best possible service on the Empire Corridor. Please send your written trip reports and comments, including specific dates, train numbers and employee names as appropriate to:
Thomas Connolly
District Superintendent
Amtrak
525 East Street
Rensselaer, NY 12144
Please also send a copy to Bruce Becker, so we can track trip experiences and follow up as necessary. Thanks for your help…

2008- 2009 ESPA Meeting Dates

If you would like to become more active in ESPA, these meetings are the perfect opportunity to learn more about the Association and how YOU can make a difference! ALL ESPA members (and other interested persons) are welcome and encouraged to attend. Please contact President Bruce Becker, 716-741-6384 or , for more information or if you are planning on attending a meeting. Advance registration is required!

Saturday, June 21, 2008 Schenectady, NY
Saturday, August 2, 2008 Utica, NY
Saturday, September 27, 2008 Rensselaer, NY
Saturday, November 15, 2008 Schenectady, NY
Saturday, January 24, 2009 Schenectady, NY

Saturday, March 7, 2009 Annual Membership Meeting – Schenectady

ALL dates and locations are subject to change…Please refer to the ESPA Web Site, http://www.esparail.org, for the most current information on meeting times and venues…

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