The National Corridors Initiative's president, Jim RePass, hailed the opening of the Anderson Regional Transportation Center (RTC), the first new station stop to be added for Amtrak's wildly successful Downeaster train, and an important step in the beginning of the North-South Rail Link project that will join North and South Stations by rail.

The new station's Amtrak Downeaster, and MBTA Lowell Line Commuter Rail trains, which will also stop at the Anderson RTC, go to North Station. They will immediately provide greater access to intercity rail at South Station or Back Bay Station: a quick cab ride to South Station or an Orange Line trip from nearby Haymarket Station to Back Bay Station, both connect to Amtrak's new high-speed Acela Express service to New York and beyond.

The North South Rail Link, which proponents see as the next major infrastructure project for Boston and the region, has been in the works for more than a decade. A long-awaited environmental impact study, delayed from 2001 when a Wall Street Journal story disclosed that a doctored, politically-ordered negative report on the Rail Link's economics had been ordered by elements of the former Mass EOTC management, is expected to show that contrary to the numbers in the political report, the project could cost less, and have much greater cost recovery potential than other large infrastructure projects, which will help it in the Federal approvals process.

The Rail Link would connect the entire MBTA rail system through Boston to permit suburb-to-suburb commuting, thereby increasing the employee pool for Massachusetts corporations. It would also provide the infrastructure for a Montreal-like "Boston Underneath", extensive enough to provide dry, winter-proof access to much of downtown Boston, the North End, and the Waterfront. Montreal despite its cold climate has made itself a winter destination through its extensive underground shopping, hotel, entertainment and residential complexes, and the National Corridor Initiative Northeast division has suggested that Boston consider doing the same as a part of the Rail Link project, in order to maximize the return on investment.

The Downeaster, the brainchild of NCI Board Member and TrainRiders Northeast Chairman Wayne Davis who fought for 12-years to re-establish Boston-Portland service, runs between Portland (ME) and Boston four times a day. Its ridership is already above projections opponents once labeled "unrealistic". Ridership now looks like it will far surpass even the most optimistic numbers from just a few months ago. It is already a major contributor to the easing of short-hop (New York) congestion at Logan airport, and will be even more valuable when the Rail Link is built by giving faster access to South Station-based Acela high speed rail.

RePass said Furlong's task will be to raise the public profile and circulation of the highly respected publication, which provides expert reporting on and analysis of events and trends in intercity and commuter rail, and public transportation, throughout the U.S.

The online publication is edited by Leo King, who possesses a rare combination of journalistic skills and in-depth, hands-on knowledge of railroad operations, RePass said.

Furlong is a former Dow Jones Newswires editor and executive. He is author of a book on German industrial relations, four published short stories that use business as a background, and thousands of financial and general-interest news articles.

Jim Furlong

The carrier said they were making the move "To ensure that carry-on baggage does not pose a safety hazard for passengers."

The passenger railroad also stated, "As a security precaution, baggage identification tags will be required on most carry-on items. The new baggage limit and ID tag requirement will not apply to purses, laptop carriers, briefcases, or infant accessories."

Travel agents were told there were no changes to the checked baggage policy, which "continues to require passenger identification, a policy established last fall."

The carrier explained, "This new policy regarding carry-on baggage ensures that luggage does not pose a safety hazard on board our trains by blocking aisles and vestibules. In addition, the required luggage tags will prevent confusion in identifying bags that look similar and will help in associating bags with their owners," said Stan Bagley, Amtrak's Chief Operating Officer.

He said ticket agents and on-board train crews "will supply passengers with pre-printed ID tags, but passengers' own tags, including a name and address, are acceptable under the new guidelines."

Agents were warned each piece of carry-on luggage is not to exceed the specified dimensions of a medium-sized Pullman suitcase (28 inches by 22 inches by 17 inches."

If space allows, a passenger may be permitted one carry-on bag that is larger than the acceptable per unit dimensions, but the bag "may not exceed the dimensions of two Pullman suitcases of the allowable size. Weight is also factor - "No carry-on luggage of any type be permitted on board that obviously exceeds 50 pounds."

Amtrak said carry-on limits will not apply to briefcases, purses, laptops, or cosmetics cases, nor infant accessories, such as car seats, diaper bags, and strollers.

"Passengers are requested to stow such items under seats" when they can, "leaving the overhead luggage racks for larger items.

Ski equipment, snowboards, golf clubs and bicycles will only be handled as checked baggage on Amtrak trains, unless the train is equipped to carry such items elsewhere.

Trains will make stops at the first light-rail stations outside Dallas, and the 9.3-mile rail link also takes trains to the doorstep of Collin County, one of the nation's fastest-growing areas, reports the Dallas Morning News. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.), a strong advocate for public transportation who helped DART secure federal funding, attended Saturday's festivities to kick off the opening of the seven new light-rail stations. She said the expansion will help reduce the number of cars on the roads and curb pollution throughout the region.

"Any metropolitan area in the United States of America that says to me, 'We think we can do rail”' I say, 'Go see DART,'", the senator said. "Ours is the absolute best new system in America."

DART officials expect the rail line extension, built in two segments in less than four years, to come in about 10 percent under its $205.5 million budget.

"As we continue to expand, our shadow influences more of the community," said Gary Thomas, DART president and executive director. "It's an exciting time for the region."

Collin County's population has doubled since 1990 to almost 550,000, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments. That growth, which has occurred almost exclusively in the county's southern half, gives DART a pool of customers who can drive to several commuter-based stations, each with more than 1,000 parking spaces.

Richardson and DART have met with major employers to explore the best ways for their employees and customers to avoid traffic and parking problems. "When you look at traveling on the freeways, you could have an incident that will delay you a half-hour," said Walter Ragsdale, Richardson's director of transportation. "You can set your watch to these trains."

Daily service is expected by spring 2003, but "excursion service" could begin this year. When the plan is finished, it would link Binghamton to shopping and sporting events in Syracuse. It also would bring riders to the entrance of the Amtrak station in northern Syracuse, meaning passengers could catch connecting trains to other parts of the country.

Officials expect one-way tickets for daily passenger trains to cost about $25 when service starts in 2003. Trains to hockey games and events at the Carrier Dome could start this year.

"Is this going to be perfect? No," said state Sen. Thomas W. Libous (R-Binghamton), "but it's going to be a whole lot better than what we have now." Passenger trains haven't run to Binghamton since 1970.

The trains would be operating over the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, a small regional railroad that has operated passenger trains around Syracuse for a number of years.

Daniel Chazin of Teaneck, N.J., a close watcher of the U.S. railroad scene, observed, "They have a positive attitude toward passenger service, and are concerned only that the costs of such service be subsidized by the government, so that the railroad will not lose money on providing the service. In the case of the passenger service around Syracuse, the subsidy is being provided primarily via a tax abatement."

State officials began seriously considering a Binghamton-to-Syracuse passenger rail link after a report prepared for the state DOT found that creating service to Scranton and New York City would be a slow and expensive process. Setting up that connection would take at least five years. Instead, New York will take the $5 million it set aside to put Binghamton-area residents on trains to New York and spend it putting them on trains to Syracuse.

The state DOT has earmarked another $1.3 million for the project and the state Senate will add $3.3 million from a transportation fund carved out in the state budget, Libous said. Most of the money will be spent fixing the track connecting the two cities. In some places, it's so out of shape that federal regulators say trains can't go more than 10 mph.

The upgrades also are meant to speed freight trains traveling between the cities. But even after the tracks are fixed, service still won't be as fast as a bus or a car.

NYS&W Railway Corp., nicknamed "Susie-Q," estimates a Binghamton-Syracuse trip will take about two hours. Along most of the roughly 75-mile route, the trains won't be able to go much faster than 45 mph. By car, the trip takes about an hour and a quarter. The carrier is considering using elderly Budd cars from the 1950s era.

Greyhound buses travel the route in an hour and a half, for $27 round trip.

"As it is, this can't compete with somebody driving," NYS&W Vice President Nathan Fenno said. "The speed on the highway's 65, but we think there's a convenience factor. There's the ability to relax or read instead of getting into road rage on the highway."

The trains would connect Binghamton with the Syracuse University campus, nightlife at Armory Square, the Carousel Center mall and eventually the Amtrak station.

Libous said the company plans to run trains consisting of two 90-passenger self-propelled cars between the two cities. The cars are retired and rehabilitated New York City transit cars. The trains would stop in Cortland and possibly other villages along the route, which would run through Chenango Forks, Whitney Point, Marathon, Homer and Tully. Fenno said NYS&W hasn't studied how many people might ride the trains.

"We've come to the conclusion that we're going to get the operation running and test the market that way," he said. The schedule could change depending on how many people take the trains, he said.

NYS&W hasn't yet set a schedule for the daily trains, but officials said they're likely to leave in the morning and return in the evening.

Part of the state's money will be used to build a small train station in Binghamton, near Bevier Street, Libous said.

In addition to regular passenger service, the company is considering running excursion trips that would take people from the Southern Tier to Syracuse when the Binghamton Senators play the Syracuse Crunch or for events at the Carrier Dome. The dome plays host to concerts, and Syracuse University football and basketball games.

The state Assembly is considering using $3.3 million of its transportation money to create similar excursion service between Binghamton and Utica, Libous said. That line would connect with the Adirondack Scenic Railroad in Utica.

"Someday there's the potential that you could get on a train in Binghamton and ride all the way up to Lake Placid," Fenno said, "but that would be a very long trip."

Here are some other transit headlines, from the pages of Passenger Transport, the weekly newspaper of the public transportation industry published by the non-profit American Public Transportation Assn. For more news from Passenger Transport and subscription information, visit the APTA web site at http://www.apta.com/news/pt.  

Supreme Court rules on searches
aboard buses, surface transport

The U.S. Supreme Court, by a 6-3 vote, ruled June 17 that police officers are not required to advise bus passengers of their right not to cooperate and to refuse consent to searches. The court also said those confronted by a police officer in a bus or train do not face what amounts to a coercive tactic.

The case involved a routine drug and weapons interdiction search by plainclothes police officers aboard a Greyhound bus that had stopped in Tallahassee, Fla., to refuel. The question raised to the Supreme Court was whether the officers should have advised the defendant explicitly of his right not to cooperate.

Although the factual situation in the case, US v. Drayton et al, arose aboard an inter-city Greyhound bus, the outcome would seemingly apply to all public surface transportation. Some believe this decision is one of the first indicators that enhanced police authority may be deemed more acceptable at this time of heightened concern about security issues.

"These stations and the additional parking is going a long way to making commuter rail service more convenient and more accessible to more people," MBTA General Manager Michael Mulhern said.

The Southboro and Westboro stations bring with them 600 more parking spots MBTA officials say are sorely needed on the Framingham-to-Worcester commuter rail extension.

A third new station in Ashland with another 600-plus parking spaces is scheduled for August.

The three new stations bring to a close a $14.2 million expansion of commuter rail service connecting Route 9 communities to Boston.

The MBTA owns the trains and tracks that carry commuters to and from Boston and its suburbs, but pays Amtrak $200 million annually for the 1,500 employees who service and dispatch the trains and maintain the tracks.

"It's a good contract and this is a healthy, fully funded system," Mulhern said.

The contract expires July 2003 and the MBTA will include "very strong" language in the next contract to guard against the possibility of Amtrak's problems shutting down MBTA trains, he said.

Transportation officials are searching for ways to increase service for Worcester-area residents and businesses, including running trains for reverse-commuters and increasing mid-day service, said Mulhern.

BNSF, BLE ink safety pact

Through the agreement, which has been ratified by BLE members, a new safety culture will be introduced that focuses on the active participation of employees and BLE and BNSF leadership working as a team to create a safer workplace, according to both organizations in a joint press release.

The agreement also establishes an approach to discipline that further stresses training and counseling instead of punitive discipline.

"The BLE is happy to be a full partner with BNSF when it comes to safety," BLE International Vice-President Stephen Speagle said. "Accidents cost BNSF millions of dollars each year, but they cost our members their lives. The joint agreement - ratified by BLE members and negotiated by the four BLE general chairmen, with the assistance of the International Division of the BLE - will allow our members to fully participate in creating a safer working environment."

The agreement provides for BLE-represented safety people to assure that the agreement's procedures are being implemented and interpreted uniformly across BNSF's 33,000-route-mile system. Safety forums at different BNSF locations will address conditions that have to be corrected to improve safe production, replacing the previous reporting, cataloguing and investigative process. Workplace coaching, counseling and retraining will replace the existing discipline process for non-repetitive and non-serious rules violations.

"This agreement, the first of its kind between the BLE and a large railroad, represents a fundamental change in our approach to safety for operating employees," said M. David Dealy, BNSF's vice president, Transportation.

"Both BLE and BNSF will focus on root cause analysis and corrective action to prevent injuries caused by behavior as well as injuries caused by environmental conditions."

Speagle said, "The BLE believes that the new approach to discipline, which places a higher emphasis on training and counseling, will also contribute to a better and safer work place. He noted, "The overwhelming ratification of the agreement by the BLE membership is further evidence of the need for change. We are hoping the appointment of BLE Safety Coordinators and the implementation of the new agreement will provide for the change that everyone agrees is necessary.

"We are proud to work with BNSF to make the work place safer for not just our members, but for everybody working at BNSF."

The arbitrator, who was unnamed in a P&W press release, said the amount P&W owes Amtrak $723,890.94, and covers the time between July 9, 1999 through March 31, 2001.

P&W estimated the total amount owed is $1,250,000.

"The estimated impact of the award will be to reduce the company's pre-tax earnings for the second quarter of 2002 by approximately $1,250,000, although the actual amount is subject to calculation," the press release stated, and "the total impact of the award will result in a loss for the second quarter.

P&W said it disagrees with the arbitrator's findings, and "expects to contest the ruling."

One is the former Buena Vista rail yard of about 56-acres, and is a vacant parcel near downtown Miami.

The contracted sale price is $34.5 million.

The other parcel, is seven located between the Miami River and S.W. 3rd Street in downtown Miami. The site has approximately 345 feet of frontage on the Miami River and is located near the Government Center district. The contracted sale price is $16.3 million, before sale commissions.

Both closings are expected later this year.