Advancing the passengers’ agenda…
THE DELAWARE VALLEY RAIL PASSENGER
Vol. XXI, No. 8 August 2003 $1.25
Published by the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, Inc. in the interest of continued, improved, and expanded rail service for the present and potential railroad and rail transit passengers of southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and nearby areas
For more information about DVARP and good rail service, please contact us: 1601 Walnut St., Suite 1129, Philadelphia, PA 19102 phone: 215-RAILWAY www.dvarp.org mail@dvarp.org
By Don Nigro You and a friend or the family want to travel between the Delaware Valley and the New York City/ North Jersey area for a day trip or the weekend? The business traveler-priced Amtrak Acela and Metroliner Services are out of the question at a per-person roundtrip cost of $204 and $186 respectively. Eliminating this option, you have two rail choices: the Amtrak “Regional” Service and the connecting-in-Trenton SEPTA R7 and NJ Transit commuter rail services. The Amtrak Regional service between Philadelphia and New York is direct and quick at a travel time of one hour and 20 minutes. The cost, however, seriously discourages two or more people traveling together from using it. Per person, the minimum roundtrip fare on unreserved, non-peak trains is $96. Reserved trains or trains operating in the PM on Friday on Sunday cost even more. By rail, the extreme alternative to Amtrak service is the SEPTA R7 and NJ Transit commuter rail services. The roundtrip fare, $29.75, is highly attractive, but the quality of the trip is not. The trip requires passengers to transfer in Trenton (i.e., the “Trenton Shuffle” as coined by DVARP). The trip takes two hours and 22 minutes with a good measure of luck. If the connection is missed, the travel time increases, usually at least by another 30 minutes. When approaching Trenton, there is always a degree of passenger anxiety as to whether the connection will be made. Neither of these extreme rail alternatives are attractive to middle class couples or families. The Amtrak Regional service is quick but is expensive at a minimum of $196 for two people. The SEPTA/NJ Transit service is inexpensive but is very slow with all of the local stops and comes with a good measure of passenger anxiety and risk given the Trenton connection. As a result, what do middle class folks do who are traveling in groups of two or more?
Continued on Page 4
Philadelphia-NYC one-seat ride commuter rail service? Feasibility study completed
Amtrak Regional SEPTA/NJT
Roundtrip Fare – One Person $96.00 $29.75
Roundtrip Fare – Two People $192.00 $59.50
Travel Time 1:20 2:22
Transfer in Trenton No Yes
Direct Service to Center City No Yes
Rest Rooms? Yes No
From the Editor’s Seat
Changing of the Guard
As a member of DVARP since January 1996, I have always admired the endless energy and sheer brilliance of our editor, Matthew D. Mitchell. Matt has been responsible for gathering articles for the newsletter, writing some (or most) of them, placing the articles in a printable form, and taking the newsletter to the printer. When the printer was finished, he would collect the three or four boxes of copies home, placing labels on them (usually while watching the Flyers), and simultaneously banding them, tagging them, and bagging them. Then he would take them to the Post Office. (Whew!!!) In 1998 I took over responsibility for picking up the copies from the printer and doing the necessary things to get the newsletters mailed, with help from Don and Patty Nigro. We do this on a volunteer basis. This means that we must fit our efforts in publishing a newsletter between the demands of work and family. Circumstances with work and family have made it more and more difficult for Matt to do put the newsletter together. So, in order to spread the work around more evenly, and to be more reliable in publishing the newsletter once a month, I have consented to take over as editor of this newsletter. Matt Mitchell will still be writing articles for the newsletter. I’ll be responsible for spell checking, grammar and getting it to the printer. I’ll still be responsible for getting the newsletter to the Post Office. For those who wish to submit an article to this newsletter, I only have three rules; short sentences, short paragraphs and use the active voice. We wish to also apologize for the short bimonthly newsletter last month. It is our intent to publish a newsletter at least 11 times a year. We will make every effort to do it. –TD
Legislators Face Key Decisions Next Month
Still no deal on Amtrak, SEPTA funding
Budgets are still up in the air in Washington and in Harrisburg as elected officials are on their summer recesses. Neither SEPTA nor Amtrak knows if it will get enough money to get through the coming fiscal year or if lack of funding will result in a shutdown or service cuts. NJ Transit’s budget is secure though, and NJT riders will not face service cuts or fare increases in fiscal 2004. NARP reports that the US Senate may take up a transportation appropriations bill right away when it resumes business September 3. The Senate appears more favorable to Amtrak’s $1.8 billion funding request than the House is. HR 2989, the appropriations bill that left committee last month included only $900 million for Amtrak, an amount that would force the company to shut down operations, according to president David Gunn. But there is a lot of support among House members for full funding of Amtrak’s request. A majority of the House, 219 members, have signed a letter to the Appropriations Committee requesting full funding to keep Amtrak running and start restoring its infrastructure to a state of good repair. Most area members of Congress signed the letter, the exceptions being Frank LoBiando (R-NJ) and Joe Pitts (R-PA). DVARP members in LoBiando’s district (much of South Jersey) and Pitts’s district (Lancaster and Chester counties) should contact the representatives before the recess ends and encourage them to add their names to the list of members supporting the full $1.8 billion appropriation. According to NARP, HR 2989 also includes other provisions that would be harmful to Amtrak, especially its long-distance services. Funding is made contingent on passage of a new Amtrak authorization bill.
The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger (ISSN 1073-6859) is published monthly by DVARP, 1601 Walnut St., Suite 1129, Philadelphia PA 19102. Periodicals postage rates paid at Philadelphia, PA. Entire contents copyright © 2003 DVARP, except photos, figures © 2003 credited artists. Contact the Editor for permission before reprinting material. Opinions
expressed in The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger are not necessarily those of DVARP or its members.
POSTMASTER: send address changes to Delaware Valley Rail Passenger, 1601 Walnut St. Suite 1129, Philadelphia PA 191012
DVARP President: Donald Nigro Newsletter Editor: Tony DeSantis Editor-at-Large: Matthew D. Mitchell Circulation Manager: Tony DeSantis For other officers and appointees see back page We welcome your comments: call 215-RAILWAY page 2 The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger
This is particularly contentious at the moment because it gives opponents another chance to kill off Amtrak completely, and it specially requires matching state operating funds for certain trains with particularly large losses. NARP’s web site has good analysis of this and all the relevant bills in Congress: you can find it at http://www.narprail.org/bills108.htm.
ISTEA could be punted
Passage of legislation reforming and reauthorizing federal highway and transit programs is looking less likely. The sticking point is highway spending, and the reluctance of some Republicans to pass a gas tax increase even though there are shortfalls in the Transportation Trust Fund. Even indexing the gas tax to inflation has run into opposition from members who see it as a back-door tax increase. The House has shown less restraint on the spending side of the ledger though, particularly for highway projects. The current TEA-21 legislation was supposed to limit spending to a figure tied to trust fund receipts, but when tax revenue fell in the economic slowdown, Congress broke the caps to pay for more highway spending. Some legislators want to keep highway spending at the higher levels, so they have proposed cutting the share of the fund going to mass transit, and have proposed eliminating the Transportation Enhancements program altogether. Obviously, that rankles the members who want to maintain progress towards a more balanced transportation policy and give local officials more control over transportation decisions, which was the original goal of ISTEA when it was first enacted in 1991. With consensus looking less and less likely, there has been recent talk in Washington about passing a temporary extension of existing programs, and putting off the main reauthorization for two years. By that time, the economy should be better and revenue projections should be more in line with the appropriators’ wishes. Meanwhile in Harrisburg, there has been little sign of progress in the showdown between Governor Rendell and Republican legislative leaders. A number of other issues including tax restructuring and slot machines will probably have to be hashed out before a final budget deal with more funding for SEPTA is passed.
Administration Seeks Amtrak Breakup
Before the Senate left for its summer recess, noted Amtrak opponent John McCain (R-AZ) introduced the Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act (S 1501) on behalf of the Bush Administration. The bill would essentially end Amtrak, as we know it, breaking it up into at least three separate entities. The plan follows what the Amtrak Reform Council in its final report, setting up separate companies to operate the trains and maintain the infrastructure, proposed. The new wrinkle is to keep a paper Amtrak in existence under the Department of Transportation. This company would retain Amtrak’s existing right to operate over freight railroad lines, and theoretically transfer those rights to the privatized operating company or some other newly-formed entity. The legal status of that deal could be challenged by the host railroads, and if it were invalidated, we could lose access to some of the nation’s most important passenger train routes. The bottom line of the Administration bill is what has been a long-time goal of Amtrak opponents: to get the federal government to stop paying for passenger trains anywhere. This would be accomplished by making states responsible for any service they want to have. Enacting that provision would sound the death knell for much of Amtrak’s system, since the states are financially strapped and would have a hard time finding new money to support their intercity trains. Even where money is less of an obstacle, there would be formidable challenges in setting up interstate compacts to plan the service and contract for operations, and in finding an allocation of funding responsibility that all the participants can agree to. In response, four pro-Amtrak Republican senators, led by Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, introduced the American Rail Equity Act, S 1505. This bill reauthorizes Amtrak in its present form for six years, mandates that the existing long-distance routes be maintained, and authorizes $2 billion per year in federal funding. It also provides for a new authority that could issue bonds to fund rail infrastructure projects; the bonds would be supported by a federal tax credit. No additional sponsors had signed on as of last month, but there could be movement on one or both of these bills when the Senate is back in session next month.
August 2003 page 3
One-Seat Ride to New York
continued from page 1 For North Jersey/New York-bound travelers, they can: • Drive to Trenton, Princeton Junction, or Hamilton Stations to catch an NJ Transit train and avoid the transfer; or • Drive all the way. For actual and potential Delaware Valley-bound travelers, they would: • Drive all the way; or • Don’t come at all. This is what spurred on the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the Regional Rail Improvement Study to undertake as its latest initiative, the analysis of the feasibility of “oneseat ride” (OSR) commuter rail service between Philadelphia and New York. The Regional Rail Improvement Study is a multi-phased/year project of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC). Each phase has focused on potential travel time improvements for a particular commuter rail line in the region. In its first two years, the DVRPC initiative took on the study of travel time improvements for the R5 Lansdale/Doylestown Line followed by the R3 Media/Elwyn Line. DVARP and the DVRPC’s Regional Citizens Committee were the first to petition DVRPC to undertake a commuter rail travel time improvement study back in the mid-1990s. SEPTA has been long criticized as the slowest commuter railroad in the country. The study’s current TAC comprises of: DVRPC staff; county transportation officials; Penn DOT; Amtrak; NJ Transit; SEPTA; Dr. Vukan Vuchic of the University of Pennsylvania; transportation planner Tom Hickey; and Don Nigro representing DVARP. The committee is commendably chaired by Dr. Donald Shanis, DVRPC Assistant Executive Director for Transportation Planning. For each study phase, SYSTRA Consulting, Inc. has done the fine research and analysis work. In the study’s third year, the TAC turned its attention to R7 Trenton Line, particularly that of the feasibility of providing service for the vast market niche between the present available rail services between Philadelphia, Trenton and New York. The study’s governing parameters and conclusions are encouraging.
The TAC established the intermediate stations to be North Philadelphia, Cornwells Heights, Trenton, Princeton Junction, New Brunswick, Metropark Elizabeth, Newark International Airport, and Newark Penn Station. The committee also set a target travel time of one hour, 40 minutes to one hour, 50 minutes. The constraints on New York Penn Station and the two-track tunnel approach under the Hudson River are severe. New York Penn Station is exceeding its highest historical usage. During the morning and evening peak periods, SYSTRA developed single train simulations of operations between Philadelphia and New York, using the NJT ALP-46 rolling stock and convention passenger coaches With a top speed of 90 MPH when the locomotive is pushing (due to cab control car structural issues), SYTRA found that a trip time of just less than one hour, 50 minutes including a ten percent schedule margin could be achieved.
Findings of the Study
Here is what the study found as excerpted from the study report: SYSTRA endeavored to schedule a “One Seat Ride” service train in each direction every hour between New York and Philadelphia 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM. This represents a goal of 17 trains per day per direction. The results of SYSTRA’s analysis found that it is operationally feasible, at this conceptual level of investigation, to operate 16 trains per day per direction. It should be noted that the service is far from uniform, with no departures from New York between 6:15 AM and 8:16 AM, or from 6:13 PM to 8:07 PM. In the eastbound (northbound) direction, there is no Philadelphia departure between 7:49 and 9:42 PM. [These larger gaps are due to the availability of slots in Penn Station New York given the current station operation plan.] Because of scheduling constraints, not all of the proposed “OSR” trains serve all of the proposed “One Seat Ride” stations. Metropark and Elizabeth, for example, have no eastbound “OSR” service until just after Noon; passengers could transfer to an NJT train at Trenton in order to access Metropark. Similarly, Metropark would have no westbound OSR service between 11:48 AM and 11:03 PM. Metropark, as with all of the
“One Seat Ride” stations between Newark and 30th Street Station Philadelphia, has no platform access to the “express” tracks that would most logically accommodate the service. In contrast, Trenton is served by all of the “One Seat Ride” trains in both directions. This is because many of the terminating and originating NJT/SEPTA trains at this location do not use the principal through tracks, Tracks 1 and 4, at this location. It is important to note that the conceptual “One Seat Ride” operating plan was developed without rescheduling any SEPTA, NJT or Amtrak service. Even the operating slots of NJT non-revenue trains were preserved, with the understanding that these can usually be slightly delayed or rescheduled without affecting a corresponding revenue train. The Study also looked at Penn Station New York (PSNY) operations, as well as yarding options in both the New York and Philadelphia areas. All trains can be accommodated at PSNY with the possible exception of Train 627. This train would need to “double berth” on Track 10, potentially limiting its potential to “grow” to a 12-car train.
SYSTRA found that seven train sets would be required to operate the service. Eliminating Train 627 and its turn, Train 648, as well as Trains 612 and 633, would reduce the rolling stock requirement to six train sets. A review of Sunnyside Yard [New York] capacity shows that sufficient capacity exists to accommodate the seven train sets required for proposed OSR service and still accommodate the separate Keystone Service equipment. (This is possible because it is proposed to position most of the overnight layovers of OSR equipment in Philadelphia instead of New York.) A review of Suburban Station capacity in Philadelphia finds that at least one track is currently open at all times, representing sufficient capacity for OSR train berthing. This does not necessarily mean that extended layovers of OSR trains can be accommodated within Suburban Station, however, and some deadheading to and from a support yard is likely to be necessarily whether maintenance tasks are scheduled or not. Overnight storage would need to be at one of the SEPTA yards or at Amtrak’s Penn Coach Yard, where the Clocker rolling stock is presently stored overnight.
Integrated Clocker / One-Seat Ride Operating Plan 1 Based on Updated Secaucus Transfer Station Operating Plan
Philadelphia to New York
Prev. Consist Train Train No. No. No. 1 {615} 622 2 {633} 624 3 {607} 628 4 {649} 640 5 [641] 642 6 {639} 646 2 [603] 602 4 [605] 604 1 [601] 648 6 [645] 606 2 [609] 608 3 [611] 656 6 [653] 652 1 [627] 610 7 {629} 612 3 [613] 614 Dep. Philadelphia 5:48A 6:44A 7:20A 7:50A 8:41A 9:54A 11:08A 12:43P 1:16P 2:37P 3:39P 5:19P 6:49P 7:49P 9:42P 10:30P Dep. Dep. N. Dep. Corn- Dep. Dep. New Prince-ton Phila-delphia wells Hts. Trenton Bruns-wick Jct. 5:57A 6:11A 6:26A 6:40A 6:53A 7:07A 7:22A 7:36A 7:29A 7:43A 7:57A 8:10A 8:25A 7:58A 8:12A 8:24A 8:36A 9:10A 10:24A 10:32A 11:43A 11:52A 12:06P 12:51P 1:04P 1:19P 1:28P 1:42P 1:45P 1:53P 2:04P 3:12P 3:21P 3:35P 4:14P 4:23P 4:37P 5:27P 5:50P 6:00P 6:12P 7:18P 7:26P 7:37P 7:57P 8:10P 8:25P 8:34P 8:48P 9:50P 10:03P 10:18P 10:27P 10:41P 10:38P 10:51P 11:06P 11:15P 11:29P Dep. Dep. Dep. NWK Metro-park Eliza-beth Airport Ar. Dep. New Newark York 7:13A 7:31A 8:08A 8:26A 8:49A 9:07A 9:04A 9:19A 9:46A 10:02A 11:03A 11:20A 12:36P 12:51P 2:12P 2:27P 2:28P 2:43P 4:05P 4:20P 5:07P 5:22P 6:37P 6:53P 8:04P 8:20P 9:16P 9:31P 11:10P 11:25P 11:59P 12:14A Next Train No. [601] [603] {611} [605] [607] [645] [609] [649] {627} [653] [633] [613] [639] [615] {629} {641}
12:15P 1:51P 3:44P 4:46P 6:19P 7:44P
12:25P 2:01P 3:54P 4:56P
8:43A 8:57A 9:40A 10:57A 12:31P 2:07P 2:22P 4:00P 5:02P 6:30P 7:57P 11:05P 11:54P
11:38P
11:48P
Charts from study final report
August 2003 page 5
Prev. Dep. Consist Train Train New No. No. No. York 5 1 2 4 5 6 2 3 4 6 1 7 2 3 6 1 {614} 641 [622] 601 [624] 603 [640] 605 [642] 607 [646] 645 [602] 609 {628} 611 [604] 649 [606] 653 {648} 627 {612} 629 [608] 633 [656] 613 [652] 639 [610] 615 6:15A 8:16A
Dep. Dep. NWK Newark Int’l. Airport 6:30A 8:31A 8:37A
Dep. Next Dep. Dep. Dep. New Dep. Dep. Corn- D e p . N . Ar. PhilaPrince-ton Train Eliza-beth Metro-park Bruns-wick Trenton wells Hts. Phila-delphia delphia Jct. No. 8:42A 10:31A 11:39A 1:52P 2:53P 6:44A 8:51A 10:40A 11:48A 6:52A 8:59A 10:49A 11:57A 2:09P 3:10P 7:05A 9:13A 7:13A 9:23A 9:36A 9:49A 10:36A 11:39A 12:48P 3:00P 4:01P 4:52P 6:01P 6:37P 7:03P 9:39P 12:03A 7:38A 9:59A 10:46A 11:48A 12:57P 1:27P 3:09P 4:10P 4:59P 6:09P 6:45P 7:11P 7:32P 9:48P 11:00P 12:12A [642] [648] [602] [604] {628} [606] [608] [656] {640} [652] [610] {612} {624} [614] {646} {622}
9:05A 9:20A 9:26A 10:05A 10:20A 10:26A 11:13A 11:28A 11:34A 12:11P 12:25P 12:31P 1:26P 1:41P 1:47P 2:27P 2:42P 2:48P 3:41P 4:46P 5:20P 5:44P 6:13P 8:07P 3:55P 5:01P 5:34P 5:58P 6:27P 8:22P 4:01P
12:11P 2:23P 3:24P 5:28P 6:02P 6:25P 6:54P 9:02P
10:10A 10:23A 11:12A 11:26A 12:21P 12:35P 1:01P 2:33P 3:34P 4:31P 5:40P 6:15P 6:40P 7:06P 9:12P 2:47P 3:48P 4:43P 6:27P 6:53P 9:26P
8:32P 10:54P 11:03P 11:12P
9:36P 9:50P 9:56P 10:28P 10:43P 10:49P
10:22P 11:26P
10:31P 10:43P 11:36P 11:50P
622 denotes existing Clocker service. {607} denotes consist turning at yard.
602 denotes proposed One Seat Ride trip. [603] denotes consist turning at station. {615} denotes consist for previous/next service day.
Providing OSR into Suburban Station also offers great potential for both business and tourist interests in Philadelphia. Weekend patronage on NJ Transit’s trains that formerly required a passenger transfer to access Manhattan has increased many-fold since the trains began to run directly into Manhattan. The North Jersey/ New York City area could be a huge market for the Delaware Valley if a more attractive rail alternative was available. SYSTRA developed a conservative demand estimate for this new service, 1924 one-way passengers. “This represents about 120 passengers per average train, assuming 16 one-way trips per day. Because this ridership estimate includes no induced demand (i.e. trips not presently taken by rail but potentially created because of attractive fares and service), it should be viewed as minimum potential demand. This estimation is based on an $25 one-way fare, priced slightly above the $21 intercity bus fare but significantly less than the $48 Amtrak Acela Regional fare.” Vukan Vuchic, like DVARP, is confident that such a service would attract motorists from their cars in droves. I-95 congestion continues to grow worse. The study report noted, “Anecdotal evidence presented by the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers (DVARP) suggests that many potential passengers chose to drive between Philadelphia, northern New
Jersey and New York rather than take the train. This is because the lowest non-discounted Amtrak fare ($48) is relatively high and the alternative choices of intercity bus or SEPTA/ NJT involve much longer trip times and are inconvenient. A new “one seat” commuter rail service could induce significant travel demand not currently captured by rail.” At one committee meeting, DVARP President Don Nigro stated that nowhere in the United States are there two such exceedingly populated regions in such close proximity. Vuchic added, “Nowhere in the world!” The report offers a comparison of spring 2003 costs per mile based on selected recent Amtrak fares. “The table shows that the peak and off-peak Philadelphia-NYC fares are the highest fares on the Northeast Corridor, on a passenger-mile basis, of any comparable station pairs. The table also shows that Northeast Corridor Amtrak fares are substantially higher than fares on other routes around the nation.” The report also rightly notes, “Amtrak train loadings on the Northeast Corridor tend to be highest between Philadelphia and New York; Amtrak considers the fact that a passenger between Philadelphia and New York may use a seat that would more profitably be sold to a passenger traveling between, say, Baltimore and Stamford.” So, Amtrak prices the fare between
Amtrak Fares For Comparable City Pairs
(Adult Unreserved Coach – March 2003)
Fare NEC Station Pairs Comparable Dist. (mi) in Distance to Phila.-NYC Off-peak Boston Westerly, RI 87 $39 Boston Mystic, CT 96 39 New York Old Saybrook 108 42 New York New Haven 75 36 Philadelphia New York 91 48 Philadelphia Baltimore 94 43 Washington Newark, DE 98 45 Washington Aberdeen 71 31 Other Major NEC City Pairs Philadelphia Washington 135 $45 Boston New Haven 156 48 Empire Corridor New York Rhinecliff 89 $29 New York Hudson 114 37 New York Albany 141 43 Other Corridors Chicago Milwaukee 86 $20 Seattle Portland 186 29 Los Angeles Oceanside 87 15 Los Angeles Solana Beach 104 19 Los Angeles San Diego 129 24 Oakland Sacramento 89 14 Peak $41 42 51 41 52 44 48 32 $51 55 $33 42 50 $20 36 15 19 24 14 Cost/mi Off-peak $0.45 0.41 0.39 0.48 0.53 0.46 0.46 0.44 $0.33 0.31 $0.33 0.32 0.30 $0.23 0.16 0.17 0.18 0.19 0.16 Peak $0.47 0.44 0.47 0.55 0.57 0.47 0.49 0.45 $0.38 0.35 $0.37 0.37 0.35 $0.23 0.19 0.17 0.18 0.19 0.16
Philadelphia and New York accordingly. The October 2001 issue of the DVARP newsletter reported that NJ Transit is going to take over the Amtrak “Clocker” trains in 2006. These trains are the vestiges of the frequent Clocker service that the Penn Central operated between New York City and Suburban Station prior to the Amtrak takeover. While today’s few Clockers operate between 30th Street Station Philadelphia and New York, they serve mostly passengers who board in New Jersey. NJ Transit pass holders are entitled to ride the Clockers. Few passengers board the Clockers in Pennsylvania. For them, the fare is just as high as for Amtrak’s other Regional trains, but these trains are slower because of the more frequent stops, long consists, and few pulling locomotives. If the OSR commuter rail service is to become a reality, it is likely that NJ Transit would be the operator and that the service would be an expansion of their planned Clocker service. In addition to the powerful ALP-46 locomotives, NJ Transit is acquiring new low-
profile (14’ 6”) bi-level coaches. Rather than starting in NJ Transit’s new yard under construction in Morrisville, PA, the trains could originate in Suburban Station. While NJ Transit’s planned number of consists for the replacement Clocker service could not yield 16 or 14 roundtrips a day, the marginal cost to start them in Philadelphia and run a mid-day roundtrip is relatively small. In fact, the study offers just such a short-term recommendation: Identify a realistic startup or demonstration Service Plan that supports at least a minimum viable service using suitable equipment that will realistically be available. Such a service might, for example, consist of two morning and two evening round-trips plus a mid-day round-trip. Hold discussions with NJ Transit, Amtrak and SEPTA to identify operating and cost issues associated with such a plan, on either a demonstration or ongoing basis. One thing is for sure: If the OSR commuter rail service is to become a reality in any sort of form, it will require the support of Penn DOT and Governor Rendell.
On the Railroad Lines
Budget Balanced, Ridership Bad
SEPTA finished its 2003 fiscal year June 30, and reported a small surplus, despite the fiscal crisis earlier this year. Both revenue and expenses were below budget estimates this year, but only by 0.4%. One significant cause for concern is the sharp increase in system wage and benefit costs. SEPTA’s June financial report revealed that that spending was up 11.4% in 2003 compared to the same month in 2002. Reasons included increased health insurance and other fringe benefit costs, and wage increases in the back-loaded labor contracts signed in 2001. Prospects for fiscal 2004 took a turn for the worse when the report revealed a slump in SEPTA commuter rail ridership. Total ridership for the year was down 2.1 percent, while an increase of 0.6% had been forecast. The poor ontime performance of the entire railroad over the past year (see June/July DVRP) probably has a lot to do with the decline. passengers to access trains, since the track has been shifted away from the construction site. • The restaurant at Jenkintown station has quietly reopened as Station Grille. Parking signs were replaced, so you should assume restrictions on use of the spaces nearest the station are being enforced again.
R2Churchman’s Parking Expansion
Crews are preparing for the construction of the new parking lot at Churchman’s Crossing.
R8Single-Tracking Proceeds
R1High Platform Nearly Done
Reconstruction of the Melrose Park station has progressed to the point where part of the new high platform on the inbound side is in use. Temporary platforms are in service for
Despite the concerns of DVARP and city officials, SEPTA has started work to isolate the Fox Chase line from the parallel freight tracks of CSX Corporation, leaving a key three-mile segment of the line as single track. As explained in the December 2002 DVRP, single-tracking the Fox Chase line reduces capacity and hurts scheduling flexibility, as well as threatening the already-bad reliability of the service (Fox Chase service was on time only 89 percent of the time in 2002-03).
Transit News Update
Trackless Service Threatened
A public hearing will be held September 16 on the temporary conversion of Route 29 in South Philadelphia from trackless trolley service to diesel buses. Diesels have been working the route several months because of the demolition of the Tasker Homes housing project at the west end of the line. The buses are operating on a detour route on Dickinson St. The project is expected to last 31/2 years, causing many to think this portends a permanent elimination of trackless service on this route. Also fueling the speculations is SEPTA’s proposal to extend the route 3/8 mile east to the Pier 70 shopping area on Delaware Ave. The extension is a good idea, since lots of people are traveling to the complex to work or to shop, but there is fear that the route extension will be used by SEPTA as an excuse to permanently eliminate the trolleybuses. The thought is that when the
page 8
Tasker Homes construction is over and it’s time to return the trackless vehicles to the route, SEPTA will say it will be a disservice to the public to stop serving Pier 70 and turn the route back at Front Street where the wires end now. So DVARP will ask SEPTA to commit in next year’s capital budget to use this construction period to extend the wires to Pier 70. The hearing will take place at Barrett Nabuurs Community Center, 2738 Dickinson St, beginning at 6:30.
News compiled by Matthew Mitchell and correspondents: John Dawson, Tony DeSantis, Don Nigro, Creighton Rabs, Owen Robatino Additional news from CSND Railnews Network, NARP, National Corridors Institute, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer Printed on recycled paper. The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger
Reforming the SEPTA Citizen Advisory Committee:
Waking Up a Sleeping Dog
by Dennis Winters A small group of SEPTA’s Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) member reformists are attempting to ensure that the CAC fulfills the mission the General Assembly originally had in mind when it created the body. CAC Secretary, Dennis Winters, a mayoral appointee who joined the Committee in 1997, is leading the charge to legitimize the Committee’s membership and reform the operation of the group. Winters, presently nearing the end of the six-year term limit established by both the enabling legislation and the CAC’s Bylaws, will be leaving the CAC in November. Although he began taking issue with the fact that many members of the CAC had overstayed their term-limits (by over a decade in at least one instance!), Mr. Winters is making a last-ditch effort to see that the CAC operates according to state law and its own Bylaws. There are three issues that Mr. Winters and several other CAC members take with the present operation of the Committee. The first involves honoring the six-year term limit the General Assembly placed in the legislation that created the CAC. It has been widely abused for years with eight currently serving members on the CAC over the six-year maximum, including one member from Chester County thirteen years over the limit! The fact that these members are still on the CAC is largely due to the lack of interest in the CAC and its mission on the part of the Mayor and the appointing officials in the four suburban counties. For instance, since Mayor Street was elected only one appointment has been made to the CAC to represent the City in spite of the fact that five seats have been vacant for several years and five additional members have exceeded the 6-year term limit. Unbelievably, out of an entitlement of seventeen members, Philadelphia only has seven members in good standing serving on the CAC at the present time Furthermore, of those seven, three have terms that expire by the end of 2003. Unless immediate attention to appointments is taken my Mayor John Street, as of January 2004, Philadelphia may have as few as four members in good standing on the Committee! The second matter concerns itself with the free passes given each CAC member every month. Not only have the members serving beyond the six-year maximum continued to receive the monthly Trailpass ($163.00 value), but also the gift of a free pass every month can have a powerful “chilling effect” on attempts to confront the General Manager on hard issues. Since joining the Committee, Winters has maintained that the money that goes into the passes each month would be better spent in staffing the CAC to enhance its performance on behalf of SEPTA’s riders. Mr. Winters says the General Assembly endowed the CAC with some broad powers that have not been used for over a decade. “With an Executive Secretary,” Winters points out, “at least the CAC could be kept up to speed on developments internal to SEPTA and real public involvement could be expedited through the CAC’s own hearings.” In addition, Winters, who volunteers on many boards, committees, and task forces states he was willing to serve on the CAC simply because of his interest in holding SEPTA accountable to its customers, and that he, being car free, would have been using most of SEPTA’s transit services without the free pass anyway. “I hate to say it, but too often I have gotten the impression from a few CAC members that they wouldn’t be there except for the pass,” Mr. Winters lamented. Winters wondered how anyone could represent transit riders if they weren’t already using, and paying for, the services. Finally, Mr. Winters and other members of the CAC are concerned with attendance at CAC meetings. The Bylaws call for members to attend most plenary, of whole committee, meetings of the CAC every month, and also attend the monthly meeting of at least one of the two permanent subcommittee meetings. Winters said that many current members of the CAC do not attend either subcommittee meetings and that some members miss so many plenary meetings that they are really offering little to the committee. He said less discretion needed to prevail in “excusing” absences. “It doesn’t really matter what the reason is for missing too many meetings,” Mr. Winters pointed out, “Missing a critical number of meetings translates into a diminished ability to represent SEPTA customers.” Winters assured DVARP that he was not raising these issues simply because his official status on the Committee is nearing its end and it’s merely a “case of sour grapes.”
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“I have repeatedly raised these issues since becoming a member of the CAC in 1997 only to have my concerns ignored both inside and outside the CAC itself. And don’t get me wrong, there isn’t a person serving on the CAC that I do not like personally. Nor do I lack respect for the knowledge of transit issues each of them has brought to the CAC. I just believe the state law should be followed as it relates to service on the CAC, or it should be changed,” Mr. Winters said. “Personally, I don’t even believe in term limits. I assume, however, the General Assembly thought the 6-year maximum term of service would guarantee fresh points of view from SEPTA’s customers,” he continued. Winters also indicated that because his interest in SEPTA and the quality of public transportation will not end in November, he intends to continue his advocacy on behalf of transit riders at future meetings of the CAC simply as a member of the public.
CAC Apathy Problem Not New
I too served on the Citizen Advisory Committee, from 1987 to 1990, when I moved from the city to the suburbs. While the committee had a number of dedicated and knowledgeable members at the time, it also had many of the same problems Dennis Winters describes in his article. A few members—not as many as now— were past the expiration of their terms, while we had plenty of vacancies, especially for Philadelphia representatives. A core of about ten to twelve key people, many from the suburbs, did all of the work. But there were a few excellent appointees from the city like Dick Voith, Lorraine Brill, and Dave Horwitz, among others. The rest were deadwood; you never heard from them unless their TrailPasses were late. It looked like many of them were not appointed to the committee because they were driven to help improve public transit, but because they represented some important ethnic or neighborhood constituency to which the Mayor wanted to dispense a perk. Since membership was never up to full strength, especially from the city, transit issues got very short shrift. So it was there I focused my efforts, quickly becoming chairman of the Transportation Subcommittee. Part of the subcommittee’s responsibility was to monitor responses to the comment cards CAC members submitted. The cards let members report problems with operation of specific buses or trains, bring unsafe or unpleasant situations at stations to management’s attention, or make suggestions to improve service. Management was under specific orders to respond to each card, so the card system served as a way for riders to make SEPTA accountable. But apathy on the part of CAC members resulted in the submission of a small number of cards, and the
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coverage of the system was limited. Just two or three members submitted the bulk of the reports. Another tool CAC never took full advantage of was its statutory status. They are about as close to an official riders’ advocate as we have, so their opinion should in theory carry extra weight with hearing examiners and with the SEPTA Board. But CAC is heard from in public hearings much less than DVARP is. CAC also has the moral (if not legal) authority to call top SEPTA managers in to their meetings and bring them to account. But we’ve not heard anything from them even through all the railroad meltdowns of the past year. As Dennis suggests, some CAC members aren’t giving the riding public the representation they deserve. Others are too afraid of challenging management and risking their access (or their free passes). And the elected officials don’t care enough about the quality of our SEPTA service to take the CAC seriously and make sure it is up to full strength. Statutory riders’ committees are working well in other cities, with New York being an excellent example. Visit www.pcac.org to see reports on some of their recent activities. I’d love to see reform of the CAC, and a new level of commitment and professionalism by its members and the politicians who appoint them. —MDM
Volunteers Wanted! You can help with the effort to get more and better rail service Complete the form found in the center of this newsletter and mail or fax it to DVARP
The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger
Train Travel Ideas
Every year, we pick out some interesting train trips you can take. Sometimes the train itself is the attraction, and sometimes it’s the destination that’s of note. As usual, this year’s selection includes trips both near and far, with big city and scenic country destinations. We start close to home, with the fabulous new National Constitution Center, opened last month on Independence Mall (5th and Arch Streets, www.constitutioncenter.org). Besides telling you of the history and debates that shaped our form of government, the exhibits invite you to become a more active participant in our civic affairs. It could be just the thing to inspire you to get involved as our state and federal legislators decide on funding for SEPTA and the future of Amtrak. Go this fall, and get to know the Constitution Center, the new visitor center on Independence Mall, and the new Liberty Bell pavilion opening soon. Then when friends and relatives come to visit, you’ll know all about the sights and scenes, so you can be their tour guide. Sports, food, and shopping: that’s a pretty good combination you can access from the #7 subway in New York. Buy a $7.00 one-day Metrocard when you arrive at Penn Station, then take the 1, 2, 3, or 9 train to Times Square, where the 7 train starts. Look out the window when the subway surfaces in Queens to see Amtrak’s huge Sunnyside yard complex. Then ride to the next-to-last stop, Shea Stadium, to see the Phillies beat the Mets (www.mets.com). Or go to the USTA National Tennis Center for the US Open August 25-September 7 (tickets and information at www.usopen.org). Both venues are also adjacent to the Shea Stadium stop of the LIRR Port Washington Line (visit www.mta.info for information on all New York bus, subway, and commuter rail lines). After the game or the tennis match, get back on the subway and ride back to Sunnyside, Queens. The 46th Street station would be a good place to start exploring this neighborhood where immigrants from all around the globe mix with native New Yorkers. You might have a hard time choosing between Korean or South American or Italian restaurants just to name a few, or a classic diner. Then visit a Turkish coffee shop or stock up on groceries and gifts from Ireland or maybe Pakistan. But keep your eyes open when you get
August 2003
by Matthew Mitchell back on the 7 train. You might find the mystery woman Phillies pitcher Randy Wolf is looking for. I have another mission for chowhounds: take a trip to Maine on Amtrak’s new Downeaster service, and find out who serves the best fried clams between Boston and Portland. I’m not talking about the tough little clam strips you can get lots of places here in Philadelphia, but real clams, just shucked, then battered and fried to order. Have them with beer if you like, or maybe lemonade, but remember it’s not “soda” on the Seacoast, it’s “tonic.” When to go? In summer you can escape the heat and humidity here, but you might go in early October instead for prime fall foliage. When you’re not eating, you could visit the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport (www. trolleymuseum.org, the nearest Amtrak station is Wells). The museum’s vast collection includes classic Broad Street and Market-Frankford subway cars, some Brill Bullets, and a pair of the 1972 “State of the Art Cars” the US Department of Transportation had built to demonstrate modern transit technology and design. When you take the Downeaster, remember it departs from North Station in Boston, while all other Amtrak trains stop at South Station. The most convenient way to make the connection is to get off the train from Philadelphia at Back Bay instead of South Station. The MBTA Orange Line is immediately adjacent: ride it six stops inbound to North Station. If you continue on Amtrak to South Station, you’ll need to transfer at Park Street or Downtown Crossing to get to North Station. Want to see a variety of trains and buses closer to home? Come to the Delaware Transportation Festival, Saturday, September 27, in Wilmington, Delaware (www.dupontriverfest. com/dtf.htm). It’s part of the DuPont Riverfest, so there’ll be lots of things for the whole family to see and do. At the Wilmington Amtrak station, you’ll find displays by Delaware DOT, the Delaware Bicycle Council, AMTRAK, and other transportation organizations, a room full of toy trains and railroad memorabilia, and steam and diesel trains you can see up close. SEPTA will offer rides down to Newark too.
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SEPTA and DART buses on display at the Delaware Transportation Festival Photo: Matthew Mitchell
A block away at Riverfront Park will be entertainment, rides and amusements, and carnival food favorites (How about some deep-fried Oreos???). But that’s not all. There’s much more down at the Port of Wilmington. You can take a water taxi down the Christina River, or a free DART shuttle bus down to the port. On display there will be a variety of buses from SEPTA and DART, trucks and other DelDOT maintenance equipment, racecars; the Kalmar Nyckel, Delaware’s tall ship; a fireboat, and other boats too. Plan to stay the whole day, because there’s so much to see and do. My dream trip for next summer would be to the Tour de France. Next July, Lance Armstrong will go for an unprecedented sixth victory in the greatest of all bicycle races. As a spectator event, the Tour is unique. People take a week or three of vacation just to follow the Tour, camping out alongside the road, particularly at the famous mountain climbs in the Pyrenees and the Alps. They’ll paint words of encouragement on the roadway for their favorite riders (someone please paint a keystone for Lancaster County native Floyd Landis, one of Armstrong’s US Postal Service teammates). And if you’ve ever been to the Manayunk Wall for the US Pro championship, you’ll know how close a view you’ll have of these great athletes. Since I don’t think I can take three weeks off work, maybe I’ll have to settle for a ride over to Manayunk next year. —MDM
Your news tips are always welcome! Phone 215-RAILWAY or e-mail them to DVARP
By Bob Machler Harry Hyde, one of the three original founders of DVARP, died at Bryn Mawr Hospital July 18, after a short illness. It is fitting that a description of Harry and his early involvement is made for the benefit of more recent members. Harry was born in a family that lived in West Philadelphia and later moved to Upper Darby. His family included his parents, older sister Edna, and younger sister Caroline (recently deceased). Harry served in the Army during World War II and afterwards (1943 to 1946) in the South Pacific. His unit, I believe, served occupation duty in Guadalcanal, the Philippine Islands and later Japan. Harry remarked to me once that the first thing that the occupation forces did was to get the railroads running again in top-notch condition. After his military service he joined Chapter 918 of the American Veterans Committee and ran for Congress. Harry continued his activist role for progressive reform interests. He completed college and received a master's degree from Temple University. His family moved to Bryn Mawr during the late 1940s. He worked on a project basis for different firms as a technical writer, but later obtained a regular full time job with RCA in Camden, NJ. He continued to live in the Bryn Mawr area and commuted by public transportation to and from his job. When he and a fellow activist, Irv Lipsitz, decided to do something about saving South Jersey train service in 1972 they did a statistical study on passenger train service and created an ad hoc group called the Delaware Valley Citizens Committee for Better Transportation (or “Deltran” as I nicknamed it later) as an official cover for this project. Deltran was given publicity by the “Phantom Rider” columnist of the Philadelphia Daily News. Both Harry and I had independently joined NARP and met on a Baltimore to Gettysburg rail trip sponsored by NARP back in 1971. During the course of a conversation while traveling back to Philadelphia we decided to make Deltran a continually active pro public transportation group. We decided to take on the job of printing seashore schedules because the PRSL, Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines, failed to do so; also putting ads in local periodicals to encourage
The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger
Harry Hyde Jr.: 1925–2003
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people to use trains and to join NARP, Deltran, and later DVARP. Weekend train outings to the shore were sponsored on the opening and closing of the season along with two midsummer trips. Coffee, fruit juices, cookies etc. were served along with a distribution of pro-rail educational literature. Later, two educational trips to Pottsville were sponsored. Harry invited a speaker from the Schuylkill Valley Nature Center for the second trip. (These were the good old days when SEPTA had non-electric as well as electric service.) It was back during the second trip of our first summer of our sponsoring trains to the shore that the idea of DVARP was created to deal directly with rail issues. Deltran continued to deal with transit issues including transit safety. Deltran was perhaps the first to suggest having radiophones for bus drivers. Testimony was presented at public hearings. As for DVARP, interest in the organization grew and completely overshadowed Deltran. Harry, who was the original chair of both organizations, went with the flow of interest and started our meetings off officially representing DVARP’s interests. After all of DVARP’s business was taken care of, there was usually a five minute break and we then discussed Deltran topics which were now primarily pertaining to local bus problems. Harry always did this work with dedication to the cause. Once DVARP was up and standing on its own, Harry went back to his more general interests and activism. This was done by the group he founded called CCDV, Concerned Citizens of the Delaware Valley. CCDV advocated a wide variety of progressive causes. CCDV supported, networked with and publicized groups that promoted better environment, consumer issues, and nonpartisan voter education. They included nonpartisan “Meet your Candidate” forums, volunteer phone operations during public television fundraisers, and obtaining speakers for senior interests. Harry was also a member of the Regional Citizens Committee of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Committee, and encouraged me to join too. But Harry never forgot his interest in DVARP, and was proud and pleased with the progress and dedication by newer and younger members. Succeeding Harry as chair were John Pawson, Charles Bode and finally Don Nigro. During a visit to the hospital before his passing, Harry
August 2003
remarked to me as to what wonderful accomplishments DVARP had achieved, particularly by Don Nigro (president), Matt Mitchell (newsletter editor) and other more recent supportive members. He also remarked about the recent miracle of our now having an official downtown office accomplished by Don Nigro’s persistent dedication. He often came to DVARP board meetings and continued to support DVARP financially through membership and occasional donations. Harry was always a very friendly, tolerant outgoing person. While his political orientation was liberal, he got along with and I should add was an often very good friend with people of different views. Harry’s friends included George Wallace supporters, Libertarians, etc.; and always Harry was respectful to a fault of different points of view. Harry, a nice fellow and personal friend, will be greatly missed. At Harry’s request, no immediate public funeral arrangements were made. However, he had indicated to his family, rabbi, and myself on occasions that he would appreciate a memorial service. His relatives are hoping to arrange this by the end of September or early October. What did I learn from Harry? A lot of little things that added up together represented quite an education: organizing skills, publishing flyers, newsletters etc. One significant item stands out: his concept of “no-fault disagreement.” No-fault insurance and no-fault divorce are familiar concepts to most of us. Harry defined “no-fault disagreement” as the thought that we can strongly criticize another person’s ideas and thoughts in a respectful though firm way and still not lose our liking or love for the person. I found this concept useful when writing letters to the news media when dealing with controversies. And today I still see that spirit and collegiality in DVARP, as it works for the riders’ interest in an alwaysconstructive manner. —RHM
Pennsylvanian a Success Again
Amtrak reported that over the last five months, the Pennsylvanian had the greatest yearto year ridership increase of any train on the system. The 98% gain is attributed to Amtrak’s February decision to put the train back on its old schedule, and restore its eastern endpoint to New York City. Previously, the train had departed Philadelphia and Chicago in early morning hours to accommodate mail and express shipments.
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Amtrak President David Gunn dropped the express freight service last year. DVARP, NARP, and other rail advocates complained about how the old schedule was quite passenger-unfriendly, and now those complaints have been heard and acted on. The controversy over scheduling for the Pennsylvanian, particularly whether its daytime stops would be made in Pennsylvania or Ohio has been a thorny problem. It illustrates one of the biggest drawbacks to the Bush Administration’s proposal to break up Amtrak and shift responsibility for planning and funding intercity rail service to the states. Because of the inevitable schedule conflict, it would be quite difficult to get both Ohio and Pennsylvania to support the train, and neither state would likely be willing to pay its entire cost. In the absence of such an agreement, the train would be gone if the Administration has its way.
Editor At Large
Birth of a Salesman
Last month, I sold my old car, and through the magic of the Internet, I found a buyer in Missouri (or more specifically, the buyer found my car). When he called me up to talk about earnest money and arranging to come see and hopefully pick up the car, I heard opportunity knock. He started thinking out loud about getting to Philadelphia, so I suggested he and his wife take Amtrak instead of driving or taking a plane. I pointed out all the advantages of taking the train for this particular trip. The scenery and the chance to relax are always advantages, and Amtrak fares are usually cheaper than airfares. This was especially true for my buyer, since not only did he want to go the next week, but also he was probably going to need only a one-way ticket. To go by plane would have been exorbitantly costly; and then there was all the security suspicion he and his wife would arouse with their one-way tickets—never mind they were senior citizens from small-town Missouri. I also made sure to tell him how Amtrak would be better than driving. It’s lot safer, which registered with the buyer since his wife had just walked away from a head-on collision that totaled their old car (and that’s why they were willing to come all the way to Pennsylvania to buy a car like that one). And if they came here by car, they’d
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have to drive both their old and new cars back to Missouri instead of traveling together. It ended up being a real easy decision for those nice folks, but they never would have considered riding Amtrak if I hadn’t brought up the idea. Now the Ann Rutledge was hours late, and they had to stay overnight in Chicago and arrive here a day late (that’s another story); but other than that, they had a good trip, and they ended up buying the car, so we all lived happily ever after. Then a few weeks later, my wife and I went to a Phillies game at the Vet. On the way home, we got off the subway in Center City so I could stop by the DVARP offices and pick up my mail. As we came up the steps from the subway, a man from out of town spotted the Phillies shirt I was wearing, and asked if he could park his car at the stadium. I replied “yes, but you’re really much better off taking the subway instead.” I then explained that parking was tight because of the new construction down there, and that even on a good night it was going to take a long time just to get from the parking lot to the expressway. Plus there’s all the aggravation, especially for someone not familiar with the city. And then there’s the fact that SEPTA tokens for two are a good deal cheaper than stadium parking. But the key thing was to tell this guy how easy it would be to take SEPTA to the game. Go underground here at Walnut Street, go that way (point) to the station, buy tokens from the cashier or the machine, and get any train going that way (point). Ride it all the way to the last stop, and follow all the other Phillies fans. Can’t miss it. I don’t know if that guy ended up on the subway, or even going to the game, but I did my part. It’s rail advocacy in its most literal sense— and in its most effective sense too: one to one. It’s also easy, and there’s no real commitment necessary. You just have to watch out for the opportunity. Then when you see it, think about what that potential rail passenger’s needs are. For the folks from Missouri, it was a safe trip and not having to spend hours behind the wheel or spend as much to get here as they would to buy the car. For the visitor in Center City, it was getting up the nerve to take the subway, and feeling confident he wouldn’t get lost or otherwise run into problems. When you explain how taking the train could fill the person’s needs, you’ve got a good chance of convincing them to actually do it.
The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger
So let’s all think of us as part of the sales force for Amtrak and public transit. We don’t have to be pushy, and we shouldn’t overlook the
problems with Amtrak and SEPTA in particular. But we can make the most of opportunities as they come. —MDM
Dates of Interest
Meeting times and locations can be subject to change: call sponsors to confirm. DRPA Board Committees: Thurs., Sept. 4, 5:00 pm, at One Port Center, 2 Riverside Dr., 11th Floor, Camden, NJ WILMAPCO Council: Thurs., Sept. 4, 6:30 pm at 850 Library Ave., Suite 100, Newark, DE DVRPC Regional Transportation Committee: Tuesday, Sept. 9, 10:00 am at Bourse Bldg., 111 S. Independence Mall East, 8th Floor, Philadelphia. Contact Don Shanis at dshanis@dvrpc.org for more information. NJ Transit Board Meeting: Wed., Sept. 10, 9:00 am at One Penn Plaza East, 9th Floor, Newark, NJ Rail-Volution 2003—Building Livable Communities with Transit: Annual conference September 11-14 in Atlanta. For more information visit www.railvolution.com or call 503-823-7737. ITS Rail Applications Workshop—Best U.S. and Overseas Practices: Thurs. and Fri., Sept. 11 and 12 at Park Hyatt Hotel, Philadelphia. Meeting will discuss applications of intelligent transportations systems technologies to transit and commuter rail. For more information, visit www.apta.com or call 202-496-4845. New SEPTA transit schedules take effect in September. WILMAPCO Public Advisory Committee: Mon., Sept. 15 (tentative), 7:00 pm at 850 Library Ave., Suite 100, Newark, DE DVRPC Regional Citizens Committee: Tue., Sept. 16, 12 noon at DVRPC, Bourse Bldg., 111 S. Independence Mall East, 8th Floor, Philadelphia. Contact Candy Snyder at csnyder@dvrpc.org for more information. SEPTA Public Hearing on Route 29 Detour, Extension, and Operation with Diesel Buses: Tues., Sept. 16, 6:30 pm at Barrett Nabuurs Community Center, 2738 Dickenson St., South Philadelphia. DRPA Board Meeting: Wed., Sept. 17, 10:00 am, at One Port Center, 2 Riverside Dr., 11th Floor, Camden, NJ SEPTA Board Committees: Thurs., Sept. 18, Administration at 11:00 am, Operations at 1:00 pm, at 1234 Market St., Philadelphia NRHS Philadelphia Chapter Meeting: Fri., Sept. 19, 7:30 pm at Jefferson Alumni Hall, 1020 Locust St., 2nd Floor, Philadelphia. For more information call Bill Gardner at 215-632-7016 th DVARP Amtrak Committee: Sat., Sept. 20, noon at Food Court, One Liberty Place, 16 and Market Sts. DVARP General Meeting: Sat., Sept. 20, 1:00 pm at DVARP office, 1601 Walnut St., Suite 1129, Philadelphia Amtrak/DelDOT Monster Mile Express to NASCAR race in Dover: Sat., Sept. 21. Call 1-800-USA-RAIL for information and reservations. South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization: Mon., Sept. 22, 11:00 at City Hall, Vineland. SEPTA Citizen Advisory Committee: Tues., Sept. 23, 5:45 at SEPTA Board Room, 1234 Market St., Mezzanine level. SEPTA Board Meeting: Thurs., Sept. 25, 3:00 pm at 1234 Market St., Mezzanine Level, Philadelphia DVRPC Board Meeting: Thurs., Sept. 25, 2:00 pm, at Bourse Bldg., 111 S. Independence Mall East, 8th Floor, Philadelphia Delaware Transportation Festival: Sat., Sept. 27, 10:00 to 5:00 at Wilmington Amtrak Station and Port of Wilmington. Many free activities and exhibits for the entire family. For more information, visit www.deldot.org or www.dupontriverfest.com/dtf.htm APTA Annual Meeting: Sept. 28-Oct. 2 in Salt Lake City. For more information visit www.apta.com. National Association of Railroad Passengers Fall Board Meeting: Oct. 18-19 in New Orleans. For more information, call NARP at 202-408-8362. Railway Age “Passenger Trains on Freight Railroads” Conference: October 21-22 in Washington. For more information, visit http://www.railwayage.com/conference/ Rail Users’ Network Annual Conference: Nov. 14-16 in Washington. For more information, call Richard Rudolph at 207642-5161 or e-mail railusersnetwork@eudoramail.com APTA Light Rail Conference: Nov. 16-19 in Portland OR. For more information, visit www.apta.com To add your event to this calendar, phone DVARP at 215-RAILWAY or e-mail calendar@dvarp.org
August 2003
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DVARP Meeting Schedule
• • • Saturday,September 20, 1:00 to 4:00 at DVARP offices, 1601 Walnut St., Suite 1129 (Medical Arts Building), Philadelphia. Building entrance on 16th St. If entrance is closed, use annunciator or phone 215-RAILWAY. Saturday, October 18, 1:00 to 4:00 at 1601 Walnut St. Saturday, November 15, 1:00 to 4:00 at 1601 Walnut St.
SEPTA On-Site
Regional Rail Division: Fri., Sept 5: R8 Allens Lane Thurs., Sept. 11: R2 Prospect Park Thurs., Sept. 18: R8 Lawndale Thurs., Sept. 25: R5 Overbrook All meetings 6:30-8:30 am Transit Divisions Thurs., Sept. 2, 7:30-9:30 am Juniper (Subway-Surface) Thurs., Sept. 4, 6:30-8:30 am Snyder (Broad St. Subway) Tues., Sept. 16, 6:30-8:30 am Allegheny (Broad St. Subway) Tues., Sept. 30, 7:00-9:00 am Darby Terminal (Suburban bus) Wed., Sept. 31, 6:30-8:30 am Frankford (Market-Frankford) See SEPTA page in Metro or www.septa.org for updates
DVARP Directory
Center City Office
1601 Walnut St., Suite 1129 Philadelphia, PA 19102 office hours by appointment
Don Nigro Tony DeSantis Regina Litman Michael Greene Patricia Nigro Tom Cooper John Dawson Tony DeSantis Michael Greene Bob Machler Scott Maits Matthew Mitchell Donald Nigro Patricia Nigro Paul Murray Brad Pease Jonathan Senker Tony DeSantis Patricia Nigro
Telephone
Philadelphia office: 215-RAILWAY Fax: 215-564-9415 South Jersey office: 856-869-0020
nigro@dvarp.org desantis@dvarp.org litman@dvarp.org greene@dvarp.org nigro@dvarp.org cooper@dvarp.org dawson@dvarp.org desantis@dvarp.org greene@dvarp.org machler@dvarp.org maits@dvarp.org mitchell@dvarp.org nigro@dvarp.org nigro@dvarp.org murray@dvarp.org pease@dvarp.org senker@dvarp.org newsletter@dvarp.org mail@dvarp.org
Electronic Mail
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The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger