Fw: This Week at Amtrak/Business and Politics of Passenger Rail April13, 2012

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John Frank

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Apr 12, 2012, 8:34:55 PM4/12/12
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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.
jf
 
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 7:11 PM
To: TWA
Subject: This Week at Amtrak/Business and Politics of Passenger Rail April13, 2012
 
The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail; April 13, 2012

A Companion Digest of Events, Opinions, and Forecasts to
This Week at Amtrak

By J. Bruce Richardson

United 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.orghttp://www.unitedrail.org


Volume 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=307338
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,1052954
http://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.

    Subscribers to This Week at Amtrak automatically receive a subscription to The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail; subscriber lists are maintained simultaneously for both publications, and neither publication can be subscribed to exclusively.

    If you are reading someone else’s copy of The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail, you can receive your own free copy each edition by sending your e-mail address to

fre...@unitedrail.org

    You MUST include your name, preferred e-mail address, and city and state where you live. If you have filters or firewalls placed on your Internet connection, set your e-mail to receive incoming mail from t...@unitedrail.org; we are unable to go through any approvals processes for individuals. This mailing list is kept strictly confidential and is not shared or used for any purposes other than distribution of The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail, This Week at Amtrak, or related URPA materials.

    All other correspondence, including requests to unsubscribe should be addressed to

bruceri...@unitedrail.org

    Copies of The Business and Politics of Passenger Rail and This Week at Amtrak are archived on URPA’s web site, www.unitedrail.org and also on www.todaywithjb.blogspot.com 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 904-636-7739
bruceri...@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org


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Richard L. Friedman

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Apr 13, 2012, 1:10:11 AM4/13/12
to sunset-li...@googlegroups.com
As usual with BS from Bruce, I was confused.  I am sure it's all Amtrak's fault for everything bad with passenger service, which is why the stop order is bad, but then Bruce goes on to tell us that problems with car construction is endemic in the passenger car biz, so all are such problems because of Amtrak?

Or is it OK for Amtrak to do as other passenger car users have had to do?

Or is this just more meanderings from the brain cavity of BR?

--- On Thu, 4/12/12, John Frank <jfra...@comcast.net> wrote:
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