|
|
|
|
Rail Passengers
WEEKLY HOTLINE
Issue #1,242
December 17, 2021
|
|
Table of Contents:
(click to auto-scroll)
|
|
|
|
|
“I’m not worried about [polarization of transportation policy]. So far this has not been a Republican train or a Democratic train. It was Gov. — now Sen. — King who said, ’I’ll always be proud of this train, because it’s the people’s train.’”
- TrainRiders/Northeast Chairman Wayne Davis, in a featured piece in Governing Magazine celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Downeaster
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HOLIDAY NOTICE: There will be no Hotline for the next two weeks (December 24th & 31st) as your Rail Passengers staff celebrate the holidays with friends and family. We will return the first week of January!
For any late breaking news during the break, please stay tuned to our Twitter & Facebook accounts.
|
|
Rail Passengers Association Statement on Retirement of Amtrak CEO Flynn, Appointment of Gardner as President & CEO
Originally posted on December 15th
Statement from Rail Passengers Association on today’s announcement from Amtrak that Bill Flynn will retire January 17, 2022, with Stephen Gardner to be appointed as the company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer.
“I would like to extend the thanks of rail passengers to Bill for his two years of leadership at America’s Railroad,” said Rail Passengers President & CEO Jim Mathews. “Bill brought a renewed focus to the National Network, recommitting the railroad to serving rural America. He also led several major equipment procurement projects, putting future service on firmer footing. It’s a fitting tribute to his tenure at Amtrak that one of his final acts will be ensuring that Amtrak charted a safe course for avoiding service cuts due to labor shortages.”
Gardner, who currently serves as President, will add the role of CEO in January.
“Rail Passengers looks forward to working with Stephen in his newly expanded role as President and CEO,” said Mathews. “He has a deep understanding of the rail industry, gained from years of frontline experience in operations and management, as well as policy work in Congress. With the funding provided by the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act, the U.S. has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to connect tens of millions of additional Americans through expanded and upgraded passenger rail service. Our association stands ready to work with Stephen and Amtrak to turn that vision into reality for all Americans, from Wall Street to Main Street.”
Amtrak Announces COVID Testing Alternative to Vaccine Mandate for Employees, Avoiding Cuts to Service
Originally posted on December 14th
Amtrak Chief Executive Officer Bill Flynn informed employees today that, in light of the near-universal COVID vaccine adoption among its employees, and a recent decision by a federal district court halting enforcement of an Executive Order mandating vaccines for federal contractors, it will allow employees to opt-in to a testing program on an interim basis.
Flynn stated that the railroad believes these changes will allow the company to avoid any system-wide service impacts in January.
"We applaud Bill Flynn, Stephen Gardner, and the rest of the Amtrak management team for finding a reasonably safer way to keep America’s passenger trains running,” said Rail Passengers President Jim Mathews. “For hundreds of communities across the U.S., Amtrak is a critical transportation connection. We’re pleased that Amtrak leadership has shown flexibility in light of new developments, and grateful to Amtrak workers for performing the essential tasks that keep America’s passengers moving. We continue to support the goal of universal vaccination -- for both workers and passengers -- as the surest way to keep everyone onboard safe.”
Amtrak stated that 97.3% of employees have received at least one shot, with fewer than 500 active Amtrak employees subject to the testing regime. The company said more details on the testing program will be provided soon, and that it will be provided as an alternative to vaccine mandates on a temporary basis, “pending the outcome of the executive order litigation or further statutory, administrative or regulatory actions.”
Time To Clear Up Some Myths
By Jim Mathews / President & CEO
Facebook and the Twitterverse were aflutter this week between Amtrak’s announcement that it would permit some employees to submit regular Covid testing results in place of vaccination and CEO Bill Flynn’s announcement the next day that he would be retiring and that President Stephen Gardner would step into his role.
As with seemingly every other news item or topic these days, within minutes the online comments and my email box were bursting with rage, disbelief, misinterpretation, expletives, and deep, dark conspiracies.
Let’s start with the vaccine announcement. As we noted in our December 14th statement, repeated above, the best answer is 100-percent vaccine compliance. But Amtrak has already reached more than 97% compliance among its workforce, and the testing alternative is only feasible and relatively safe precisely because the overwhelming majority of employees are vaccinated. It would not be safe at lower levels of vaccination, but in this instance it should be enough to permit this calculated risk.
Meanwhile, dropping back to three times per week service on the long-distance trains – where most of the vaccine holdouts appear to be working – only a month after Congress agreed to spend the most money in history on Amtrak would have imperiled the entire rail investment thesis and jeopardized Amtrak’s future as a provider.
So here’s what Amtrak is NOT doing. Amtrak is not dropping the mask mandate. Amtrak is not suddenly flooding its coaches and sleepers with hundreds of on-board staff spreading disease. And Amtrak is not backing off its internal push to get 100 percent of its workforce vaccinated. Instead, they’re still cleaning, disinfecting, vaccinating, and masking while keeping our essential-service transportation running for those who need it, many of whom have few or no other options.
It’s profoundly unfortunate that politicization and polarization have brought us to this place where common-sense interventions have become controversial. Likewise, fear and resentment among those of us who have followed the public-health advice, complied with mask mandates, remained socially distanced, and got fully vaccinated when it was our turn, is driving an uncivil backlash against the vaccine-hesitant as well as the vaccine-refusers. In the spirit of the season, maybe we all need to do a better job of recognizing legitimate concerns while also recognizing our basic duty to care for one another.
Stephen Gardner’s elevation seemed to provoke nearly the same level of rage as Covid controversy. My in-box was filled with breathless messages about the end of the long-distance trains and a reversion to spending money only on the Northeast Corridor. These fears are truly overblown.
Stephen and I had a brief but positive conversation on the day of the announcement. In fact, I was among the very first courtesy phone calls he made that morning. He tells me he is eager to take on the challenge of executing the ambitious plans all of us have made for Amtrak, either directly or through our elected representatives in Congress. We didn’t talk about cuts, we talked about growth. We didn’t talk about losing service, we talked about adding service. And we didn’t talk about waiting to act, we talked about meaningful progress made quickly visible, for riders across the entire country.
But there’s a reality much, much more important than the talk. Words in a conversation are reassuring, no question. But words in legislation signed by the President of the United States are law. They’re legally binding. And your Association worked tirelessly with key members of Congress and their staffs to make sure that the National Network’s survival and investment are enshrined in the law. Let me offer five points:
- Congress has made it clear that the long-distance Network has a valuable place in the overall system. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (the Jobs Act) includes funding carve outs for National Network grants, requirements for good-faith examination of options to restore the Sunset and the Cardinal to daily frequencies (with ourselves as participants, written into the law), specific protections for long-distance services and a requirement that any changes have to be vetted first through Congress.
- Congress has made clear that it wants money spent to replace the rolling stock used today on the National Network. There's money in the new Law to replace Superliners, and Amtrak is already rolling out new locomotives for long-distance service.
- Congress has made it clear it will exercise much greater oversight with Amtrak, with new provisions on accounting transparency, on grant-usage reporting, and on ensuring new Amtrak Board members represent communities and populations served by long-distance routes. There are dozens of explicit references to long-distance services throughout the Rail Title of the new law, including Section 22204, headed “Increasing Oversight of Changes to Amtrak Long-Distance Routes and Other Intercity Services.” Not to put too fine a point on it…
- Amtrak is spending considerable portions of its Legal Department's budget to fight hard for long-distance on-time performance and to go aggressively after the worst Class I scofflaws. Not the kind of stance you would expect from an organization hoping that benign neglect will permit the long-distance services to wither away.
- Amtrak’s own AmtrakConnectsUS plan adds 160 new destinations, but explicitly says it will do so without taking away from any of the other existing services.
Let’s recognize, too, that the State-supported trains and the Northeast Corridor also need serious and sustained investment, improvement, and new services. As rail advocates, we should be sure to secure a truly nationwide network of trains, but we shouldn’t be so myopically focused on those trains that we give short shrift to the desperate needs of other services and communities as well. In fact, we should also recognize that providers such as Keolis, Herzog, Brightline, and Texas Central have played and will play in expanding passenger rail options throughout the U.S.
We are poised on the edge of a passenger rail boom in America, if we can keep focused on improving service, adding frequencies, and helping states and municipalities be responsive and competitive as they look for their share – YOUR share – of the passenger-rail funding that the Federal Railroad Administration could award in the next five years, some $60 billion. Let’s go forward into 2022 on a positive note, ready to use our historic wins in 2021 to make passenger rail better for generations to come.
Happy Birthday to “America’s Favorite Train”!
|
|
|
|
December 15, 2021 - There was an impressive gathering of passenger rail leaders and officials, past and present, at the Wells Train Station today to celebrate the 20 years of service of the Amtrak Downeaster.
Governor Janet Mills spoke of the train's accomplishments over those two decades along with recorded appearances of Senators Collins and King. NNEPRA board members and Executive Director Patricia Quinn enthusiastically emphasized the role of TRN Chairman Wayne Davis in bringing Amtrak to Maine, proving that one visionary and a small band of advocates can make a difference.
|
|
|
---
Join Rail Passengers in Thanking Congress
We have created a VoterVoice campaign to send thank-yous to your member of Congress who helped pass the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act.
Thanks to their vote on this historic bill, Amtrak passengers will see newly refurbished train interiors and brand new trainsets, expanded and upgraded train stations and platforms, additional frequencies that offer more convenient travel options and connections, and new energy-efficient locomotives. Passengers will also benefit from the less glamorous upgrades to our aging rail infrastructure that will eliminate delays, add capacity and reduce trip-times: new bridges, rebuilt tunnels, upgraded signals, additional sidings, crossovers and double-tracking.
Click Here To Thank Your Members of Congress!
|
|
|
---
Donate Online with Confidence
You can donate to the Rail Passengers Association online with confidence, knowing your credit card information is secure. Fundraise Up uses industry-standard SSL technology to keep your information secure. Supply chain disruptions are impacting our print production vendor. Don’t wait for a paper appeal to donate, support the Association by donating today.
|
|
---
Rail Passengers Webinar Series
More information for our events in 2022 is coming soon!
Miss out on our past events? You can watch them on our YouTube channel or through our website at railpassengers.org/webinars
|
|
Lockbox Transition + Postal Update
NEW UPDATE
As we’ve been noting in the Hotline for several months, our lockbox location transitioned from Baltimore to Pittsburgh. Recently, we learned the postal facility in Pittsburgh returned some our response envelopes to the original sender, if a return address was noted on the envelope, instead of submitting the mail for processing by the Association’s financial partner. If your membership dues or donation envelope has been returned to you, PLEASE place the original Pittsburgh envelope, the buckslip along with your check in one of your stamped envelopes and forward to the DC office. The Association sincerely apologizes for this inconvenience. We are in regular contact with the Pittsburgh postal facility and our lockbox financial partner to rectify the ongoing processing issues. We will be announcing additional lockbox changes in the near future.
Remember, you can renew your membership online by logging into your Neon account. If you can’t remember your login, please call the office for assistance.
If you’d like to make a donation online, in lieu of sending a paper check to the lockbox, you can do so by clicking here.
Instead of sending donations/dues to our lockbox, mail can be sent directly to the office in DC.
Office mailing address:
Rail Passengers Association
Attn: Membership or Donation
1200 G Street, NW
Suite 240
Washington, DC 20005
|
|
End of Year Giving
It’s your generosity and partnership that gives us the resources and encouragement the Rail Passengers Association needs as resources grow tighter. We all hope and pray next year will be easier than the past two years. We have challenges ahead. But together, we’re in a position to prevail.
You may be considering your end of year giving, and we humbly ask you to donate to support our work. Below are ways you can help our small professional staff:
-
Make a donation, any amount will help.
You can donate online here. Please consider making it monthly.
Send a check donation to:
Rail Passengers Association
1200 G Street NW, Suite 240
Washington, DC 20005
ATTN: EOY Donation
-
Does your employer match donations? If they do, please ask them to match your contributions. An employer may match the donation from a retired employee.
-
Consider donating through a Donor Advised Fund. Learn more about ways to give my visiting myimpact.railpassengers.org.
-
Reduce your taxes by using your IRA to support rail transit. Learn more about how a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) can benefit you.
-
Know someone who relies on rail transportation but is not yet a member? Encourage them to join! As our membership grows, so does our impact!
|
|
|
|
Rail Passengers President + CEO Jim Mathews gives a brief update on the launch of our railpassengers.org/timetables landing page.
|
|
NOTICE: More Mail Delivery Delays
On October 1, 2021, the United States Postal Service (USPS) extended its standard delivery time for first-class mail up to five days. This delay could impact your membership dues and donations mailed to the DC office or lockbox.
Remember, you can renew your Rail Passengers Association membership online through “My Account” on the home page.
You can also make a donation online, here.
|
|
Get Your Own ‘Rail Passengers’ Signature Federal Credit Union VISA Card!
Rail Passengers Association members have access to a full service, nationwide federal credit union with extensive product and service offerings. Signature FCU is the exclusive provider of the Rail Passengers Association-branded Visa credit card with our logo, which supports our work by giving back to our organization, and gives you 1 point for every $1 you spend to redeem for travel and merchandise. The card has no annual fee, no balance transfer fees, no foreign transaction fees, and has a very low interest rate.
|
|
A selection of passenger rail and transportation stories from the week. For more, check out our social media feeds on Twitter & Facebook
|
|
- Maine Loves Its Train. Can Other States Follow in Its Tracks?, Governing
Wayne Davis and Jim Mathews weigh in on the well-loved and highly successful Downeaster as it enters its 20th year of service, connecting Maine to the rest of the Northeast. As a blueprint for advocate success, both the post-covid recovery and increases in ridership are worth celebrating.
- Amtrak Fiscal Year 2021: Amidst Continuing Coronavirus Pandemic, Grew Ridership and Revenue and Introduced New Projects and Initiatives for the Future, Amtrak Media
“Our 50th year as a company is certainly a milestone, and we launched several hallmark initiatives as we embark on a new era for passenger rail,” said Amtrak Board Chair Tony Coscia. “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted by the Biden Administration and Congress is a historic investment that will benefit customers and communities and prove that Amtrak is an important part of a larger solution to help America tackle the climate crisis, create economic opportunity and expand mobility.”
- Coalition proposes new passenger train through southern North Dakota, INFORUM
Rail Passengers Director Dan Bilka and Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority Vice Chair Jason Stuart trekked to Fargo to make their case for expanding service. Connecting Fargo, Bismarck and Dickinson to the greater west, would provide huge economic and employment boosts for the people of North Dakota.
- Amtrak cites lack of state funding in cutting service in Missouri, stltoday.com
As MoDOT awaits their fate determined by the upcoming legislative process, Amtrak is forced to reduce frequency for the River Runner until additional funding is provided.
- A Southern train plus e-bike adventure (part one), Trains
Advocate (and Rail Passengers Council Member) Malcolm Kenton highlights his recent southern trip - taking an electric bike along on an Amtrak adventure - in a new post for his ongoing Trains Magazine blog.
- WMATA 7000-Series Cars to Resume Service, Railway Age
After thorough wheel assembly inspection following the blue line derailment in October, all of the 7000-Series cars have been cleared to return to service. With a metered release of these cars from storage, inspection intervals will be frequent and all cars will be heavily monitored with regard to their performance and consistency.
- Buttigieg visits Manchester, NH to talk passenger rail, New Hampshire Public Radio
Secretary Pete shared his thoughts on the future of passenger rail with locals, officials, and press this week during his time in New Hampshire: “Whatever we can do to simplify the ability of people and goods to move where they need to be, we should be doing it. Commuter rail can be a big, big part of that … The more that story is told, the more we can move past the idea that there's anything political or partisan about the idea that Americans deserve to have excellent rail service, just like people in pretty much every other developed country take for granted,”
- STB opens proceeding on proposed high speed line in California connecting two routes, Trains
The window for public comment has opened as the environmental impact analysis is being reviewed for a potential 54-mile connector between CAHSR and Brightline West. Dubbed the “High Desert Corridor”, the Joint Powers Authority is requesting an exemption from the STB to speed up the building process for this high speed link.
- MDOT wants to transform Detroit's 'cramped' Amtrak station into $57M hub with retail, more, Detroit Free Press
$10 million in grants has been awarded to the Michigan DOT for their new station to be built in Detroit. The plans for the modern multimodal complex include services for rail passengers as well as retail opportunities, parking, bus, rideshare, bike, and taxi services.
|
|
AmazonSmile For The Holidays
Your holiday shopping can help make a difference, at no additional cost to you!
When you shop at smile.amazon, or in the Amazon app with AmazonSmile turned on within Settings, you’ll find the same products and same low prices as the Amazon you already know - plus, they donate a portion of your purchases to your chosen charity.
You can select us as your AmazonSmile charity by visiting: smile.amazon.com/ch/36-2615221
|
|
|
If you aren’t following along on social media, join us via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and our blog posts on RailPassengers.org We are covering all the breaking news America’s passengers need to stay informed on local, regional, and national issues.
|
|
If you are working with a local organization and have news you would like to share, please reach out and let us know by emailing Madison Butler (mbutler@narprail.org) with links to your press release, blog, or article.
Are you holding a community meeting, networking opportunity or another kind of rail-advocacy event? We can help spread the word if you send them to us. Email Joe Aiello (jaiello@narprail.org) We will include those updates in our coverage and put them on the website here.
|
|
|
Where are we and what are we working on? This section will update you on what Rail Passengers HQ is up to...even when we’re all working online or from home
- Jim Mathews, President & CEO, continued to present talks to advocacy groups detailing what’s in the IIJA – now becoming known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – as well as participating in emergency Federal advisory committee meetings and checking in with the Acting Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Amit Bose.
- Sean Jeans Gail, Vice President of Policy, talked about how the IIJA could help railroads respond to post-pandemic ridership trends by shifting to a more regionally-focused operational model, and took part in the Federal Railroad Administration briefings on upcoming grant opportunities for the Federal-State Partnership for Good Repair.
- Jonsie Stone, Vice President of Resource Development & Operations, is resting and recovering at home after having shoulder surgery this week.
- Joe Aiello, National Field Coordinator, worked on end-of-year projects and helped prepare mailing notices for upcoming Council elections while Jonsie is recovering. Joe also continues to work with members & supporters from around the country on what the infrastructure law could mean for their cities and regions, as well as getting our virtual event schedule set for 2022.
- Madison Butler, Communications Manager, sent out press releases, began planning next year’s webinar programming, edited end of year member testimonial videos, and followed up on member inquiries from last week’s open office hours.
|
|
|
Go to railpassengers.org/events for more information.
Please contact Joe Aiello (jaiello@narprail.org) to have a local, state or regional meeting added to the Rail Passengers calendar (print and on-line) of upcoming events!
|
|
|
Rail Passengers Association Earns Coveted 3-Star Rating from Charity Navigator
Rail Passengers Association’s strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned it a 3-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.
The Rail Passengers Association’s Charity Navigator profile can be found by clicking here.
|
|
- The Rail Passengers Association is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Our federal tax identification number is 36-2615221
-
To help facilitate dissemination of electronic thank you receipts in 2021, please make sure your contact information, specifically your email address, is up-to-date in your Neon profile.
-
If you need assistance with your membership, please call the Office at 202-408-8362.
-
While our staff continues to work remotely, we are unable to provide permanent membership cards. You can print a temporary membership card by creating an account at www.railpassengers.org (select “My Account” on the homepage).
-
Complete all information! -- Before sealing your envelope, PLEASE double-check the credit card information on the buck slip!
-
Print credit card information clearly.
-
Include an expiration date, month and year, as well as the CVV number.
-
Without COMPLETE information your membership renewal or donation can’t be processed.
-
If you have your financial institution send a check on your behalf, without a buckslip, PLEASE instruct them to add:
-
a notation in the memo field if the payment is for membership dues or a donation, AND,
-
your Rail Passengers Association member ID. If we have multiple members with the same name, i.e., John Smith, it can be hard to identify the correct member to attribute the payment, without the member ID.
|
|
|
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act includes new tax incentives for charitable giving. --- We’ve provided a quick overview here and encourage each of you to seek advice from a financial planner.
If you have a donor advised fund, please consider recommending a grant from your fund to be the Rail Passengers Association. It is a great way to maintain flexibility with your support throughout the year. For more information, go to http://myimpact.railpassengers.org/daf. As always, please feel free to contact Jonsie Stone if you have any questions.
The Rail Passengers Association would like to
thank our Annual Partners for their support!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
