First of all, I am shocked that Amtrak has had to send a stop work order on
the new viewliners when they so badly need new equipment. Of course there
are no plans for anymore Superliners and that is what would affect us. And
with Sheila Lee now supporting HSR that side of the equation is doomed
forever. Like I have said before..........ride em while u can because
November is coming.
The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail;
April 13, 2012A Companion Digest of Events, Opinions,
and Forecasts to
This Week at Amtrak
By J. Bruce
RichardsonUnited Rail Passenger Alliance,
Inc.
America’s foremost passenger rail policy institute
Jacksonville,
Florida • United States of America
Telephone
904-636-7739, Electronic Mail
in...@unitedrail.org •
http://www.unitedrail.orgVolume
2, Number 6
Founded over 35 years ago in 1976 by
the late Austin Coates, URPA is a nationally known policy institute which
focuses on solutions and plans for passenger rail systems in North America.
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in
Minnesota, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Virginia, Texas, New York, and other
locations. For more detailed information, along with a variety of position
papers and other documents and a compendium of This Week at Amtrak, visit the
URPA web site at
http://www.unitedrail.org.
URPA is not a membership organization.
For those
of us with something of a useful institutional memory, it’s like deja vu all
over again, as a celebrated sports figure once said.
Remember the heartburn and ultimate heartache that went into the design and
manufacture and subsequent legal battle over the Acela trainsets Amtrak uses on
the Northeast Corridor? It’s back, in a 21st Century
setting.
CAF-USA, an American fully owned subsidiary
of Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles of Spain – a worldwide know
manufacturer of passenger rail cars of all types – which is building nearly $300
million worth of new Viewliner-type cars for Amtrak in the form of sleepers,
diners, and baggage cars has reportedly received a “stop work” letter from
Amtrak.
Information provided to The Business and
Politics of Passenger Rail indicates CAF-USA was sent a stop work letter on
Friday, April 6, 2012. One of the reasons indicated was CAF-USA is far behind
meeting an agreed upon production schedule.
CAF-USA
has performed – and completed – other work in the United States for regional and
local transit agencies such as the City of Pittsburgh, and is currently working
on a contract for the Houston, Texas transit system. CAF-USA performs work at
it’s facility in Elmira Heights, New York. CAF-USA has actively bid on other
work in the United States, too, such as for New Jersey
Transit.
This is not the first time a
foreign-controlled passenger rail car manufacturer has run into problems
fulfilling American contracts.
Here are some
details:
• Southeast Pennsylvania Commuter Rail Authority (SEPTA) –
Silverliner V electrical multiple-unit commuter railcar purchase 2006-2010 – 120
units ordered from United Transit Systems, Masan, South Korea, in 2006. Three
complete new railcars built in Masan delivered May 2010, along with shells for
remaining order to be assembled in Philadelphia. Time elapsed from order to
delivery: nearly 4 years. This was considered an on-time delivery.
http://www.septa.org/media/short/2010/03-08.html•
Connecticut Department of Transportation/Metro North Railroad – M8 electrical
multiple-unit commuter car purchase 2005-2010 – CDOT/MNR specifications put out
to bid December 2005. Contract for 300 cars plus option on 80 more awarded
to Kawasaki, Inc., August 26, 2006. Manufacturer advised possible delays due to
steel shortages. First 38 cars to be built in Japan, remainder in Lincoln,
Nebraska. Eight car train for testing (without passengers) promised for late
2009, but did not arrive until 2010. An order of 100 production cars was
delivered in April 2012, and the first cars now are undergoing testing.
http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=1373&Q=307338http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,1052954http://talkingtransportation.blogspot.com/2009/08/new-rail-cars-delayed-fare-hike-promise.html•
Southern California Regional Rail Authority commuter car purchase 2007-2010 –
SCRRA awarded the Korean/Japanese consortium Rotem an order for 54 trailer and
33 cab cars, plus two options, each for 10 additional cab cars, on February 24,
2007. The cab cars incorporated new Crash Energy Management features never
before used on U.S. passenger railcars. The first cars were shipped at the end
of January, 2010, but problems were discovered and the cars underwent refitting
and testing before being allowed into service.
• Minneapolis Metro
light-railcar purchase 2001-2004 – In January 2001 Minneapolis Metro ordered 14
Bombardier Flexity light-rail cars for the opening of its Hiawatha Line in 2003.
As Opening Day approached, Metro ordered six more of the same design. The first
car sets arrived in June 2003, and were tested and accepted before the line
opened in June 2004. The remaining cars were delivered on schedule.
And, then there was the front page of the Chicago
Tribune of Thursday, April 12, 2012 (yesterday). Reporters Jon Hilkevitch and
David Kidwell told the world the administration of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
and the Chicago Transit Authority engaged in private discussions for a $300
million no-bid contract with Bombardier Transportation – which is manufacturing
the CTA’s new railcars – to build and operate a rail car overhaul facility on
vacant city and CTA land.
The Tribune reports the
talks went on for 10 months to create a public-private partnership, but ended
when the Tribune disclosed Bombardier has defective-part problems with the
ongoing production of 706 new rail cars under a contract for taxpayer monies of
$1.14 billion. Bombardier was forced to recall 54 rail cars it had already built
and delivered to the CTA and stop production on about 650 other cars because CTA
inspectors determined Bombardier was installing defective rail car wheel
assembly parts made in China.
The defective parts
installation and recall were reported exclusively by the Tribune on March 8,
2012.
These episodes together point to a difficulty
state or regional or local passenger rail agencies – indeed, Amtrak, too – have
in securing high performing contracts for the procurement of new rolling stock.
This is a problem which besets both public and private
operators.
Perhaps the unpleasant part is America
continues to lead the world in technology and industrial know-how for
manufacturing freight cars – what’s the problem with passenger rail cars? We saw
the failure of Colorado Railcar, but that was mostly a self-inflicted management
problem.
We saw Amerail, which manufactured the
original Amtrak Viewliner order, but they disappeared into foreign-owned and
controlled Alstom. Pullman Standard’s last hurrah was the Amtrak Superliner I
equipment, decades ago. Bombardier built the Superliner II equipment. The Budd
Company, builder of the Sherman Tanks that masquerade as passenger cars for VIA
Rail Canada and some for Amtrak that have lasted in continuous service for over
half a century and are still going strong, now is out of the passenger rail car
business, and builds parts for automobile bodies.
Where is the next generation of American passenger car builders? Where are the
small builders which can grow to handle the coming orders, and meet contract
specifications and on-time delivery? It’s not just a matter of technology – it’s
a matter of pride, work ethic, and desire to create a lasting product which will
proudly carry a builder plate with a name which will last for
decades.
Where are these people? If the new surge of
passenger rail in America is going to get running, it’s going to be up to an
American manufacturer – with American interests – to make it
happen.
United Rail Passenger Alliance has
an updated homepage and some materials on the web site have been reorganized for
ease of use. We invite you to visit
www.unitedrail.org to see the
changes.
Gil Carmichael, former FRA Administrator
during the Bush I years, and former Chairman of the Amtrak Reform Council, as
well as the Founding Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Intermodal
Transportation Institute at the University of Denver has started a new series of
reports, entitled the Gil Carmichael Report, Investing in Interstate 2.0. The
reports are free, informative, and a must read for anyone serious about the
future of railroads in the United States. Contact the report distributor at
ge...@jdmandassociates.com for your
very own
copy.
___________________________________________________
J. Craig Thorpe, noted Amtrak and railroad illustrator is available for all
railroads, railroad-related companies, and organizations for his dramatic
illustrations on a custom basis. Mr. Thorpe’s impressive gallery of work and
contacts for engagement may be viewed on his web site, which is listed
below.
Useful links for the passenger train
world (No new links have been added since the last edition):
www.passengerrail.org – Association of
Independent Passenger Rail Operators
www.herzogcompanies.com – Herzog
Transit Services, Inc.
www.keolis.com – Keolis Rail
Services/America
www.railamerica.com – RailAmerica,
Inc.
www.fecrwy.com – Florida East Coast
Railway
www.ratpdev.com – Ratp Dev
www.veoliatransportation.com –
Veolia Transportation
www.spartansolutions.org – Spartan
Solutions LLC
www.durangotrain.com – Durango &
Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
www.cumbrestoltec.com – Cumbres and
Toltec Scenic Railroad
www.rockymountaineer.com – Rocky
Mountaineer Railtours
www.viarail.ca – VIA Rail Canada
www.transport2000.ca – Transport Action
Canada
www.transport-action.ca/ontario
– Transport Action Ontario/Canada
http://highspeedrail.ca – High Speed Rail
Canada
www.tampaunionstation.com – Friends
of Tampa (Florida) Union Station
www.larail.com – Private passenger railcars for
individual hire in Southern California
www.americanrail.com – American Rail
Excursions, Inc.
www.newrivertrain.com – New River Train
Excursions/Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society
www.bombardier.com – Bombardier, Inc.
www.hamilton-associates.com –
Hamilton & Associates, Inc.
www.iowapacific.com – Iowa Pacific
Holdings, LLC
www.rhbohannan.net – R.H. Bohannan &
Associates, LLC
www.tgaassoc.com – Thompson, Galenson and
Associates
www.worldbank.org – World Bank
www.aar.org –
Association of American Railroads
www.du.edu/transportation –
Intermodal Transportation Institute, University of Denver
www.amtrak.com –
Amtrak
www.dixielandsoftware.com –
Privately provided Amtrak train status map
www.dot.gov – United States Department of
Transportation
www.volpe.dot.gov – Volpe Center
www.fra.dot.gov
– Federal Railroad Administration
www.unitedrail.org – United Rail Passenger
Alliance, Inc.
www.APRHF.org – American Passenger Rail Heritage
Foundation
www.azrail.org – Arizona Passenger Rail
Association
www.colorail.org – Colorado Rail Passenger
Association
www.railpac.org – Rail Passenger Association
of California & Nevada
www.swrail.org – Southwest Rail Passenger
Association
www.fcrprail.org – Florida Coalition of Rail
Passengers
www.nmrails.org – Rails, Inc., New Mexico
passenger rail advocacy group
www.railvermont.org – Vermont Rail Action
Network
www.texasbytrain.org – Texas
Coalition
www.texasrailadvocates.org – Texas
Rail Advocates
www.TXARP.org – Texas Association of Rail
Passengers
www.dot.ca.gov – Caltrans/California Department
of Transportation
www.dot.state.fl.us – Florida Department
of Transportation
www.SunRail.com – Central Florida SunRail
Commuter Railroad under construction
www.tri-rail.com – South Florida Tri-Rail
Commuter Railroad
www.dot.state.il.us – Illinois Department
of Transportation
www.PassengerRailOK.org – Passenger
Rail Oklahoma
www.PassengerRailKS.org – Passenger
Rail Kansas
www.PassengerRailTX.org – Passenger
Rail North Texas
www.bytrain.org – North Carolina Department of
Transportation, Rail Division
www.virginiadot.org – Virginia Department
of Transportation
www.armstrong.edu/Initiatives/passenger_rail_study/train_about
– South by Southeast passenger rail project
www.railroaddata.com – Railroad Internet
web site information consolidator
www.trainweb.com – Railroad Internet web site
information consolidator
www.usa-by-rail.com – Informative route
guide paperback book for the Amtrak system
www.americabyrail.com – America By Rail,
rail tour operator
www.jcraigthorpe.com – Noted Amtrak and
railroad illustrator and artist J. Craig Thorpe
If
you would like to have your company or organization’s Internet web site link
listed here, submit it for consideration to
bruceri...@unitedrail.org.
Inclusion will be at the sole discretion of the publisher, and the publisher
reserves the right to exclude any company or organization for any purpose. This
list is not intended to be a complete list.
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Copies of The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail and This Week at Amtrak
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where other rail-related writings of Bruce Richardson may also be
found.
URPA leadership members are available for
speaking engagements.
J. Bruce Richardson
President
United Rail
Passenger Alliance, Inc.
Jacksonville, Florida
USA
Telephone
904-636-7739bruceri...@unitedrail.orghttp://www.unitedrail.org
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