Omnibus Spending bill FY18

[user 14106]

Here is the Amtrak funding in the FY2018 omnibus bill just unveiled:

- Northeast Corridor Account - $650,000,000
- National Network Account - $1,291,600,000 including PTC funding.

Once again (and as many suspected) Congress ignored Trump administration's call to cut Long Distance funding.

Gateway not directly funded, but some of the money from the NEC capital funding increase can be used for projects toward that purpose and reportedly there are some potential other transportation sources/grants within the bill they could try to apply for as well.

If it passes tomorrow those will be the amounts for the rest of the year.

 

[CraigDK]

Here is the Amtrak funding in the FY2018 omnibus bill just unveiled:

- Northeast Corridor Account - $650,000,000

- National Network Account - $1,291,600,000 including PTC funding.

Once again (and as many suspected) Congress ignored Trump administration's call to cut Long Distance funding.

Gateway not directly funded, but some of the money from the NEC capital funding increase can be used for projects toward that purpose and reportedly there are some potential other transportation sources/grants within the bill they could try to apply for as well.

Thanks, I hadn't seen a breakdown that mentioned specifically Amtrak's funding.

 

[afigg]

Limited information on the deal to provide some of the previously expected funding for NEC Gateway from The Hill: House poised to vote on $1.3T spending bill.

A deal on the Gateway tunnel-and-rail project connecting New York and New Jersey. The project can receive up to $541 million in federal funds, far short of the $900 million that Congress originally authorized and that Trump opposed.

However, if I am interpreting the reports correctly, the allocation of the $541 million for the NEC will be under the control of the Department of Transportation, so the Trump Administration could choose to put all of the funds to other NEC projects if they really want to delay Gateway even longer. More info and details on the deal should come out over the next day or two. NEC Gateway may have to wait until next fiscal year appropriations to get proper sustained federal funding. Which I expect will be easier to get through the House since odds are good of a change in which party controls the House next January (figuring FY2019 will be continuing resolutions through early 2019).

 

[TinCan782]

From today's USA Today ...

Amtrak gets nearly $2 billion in federal spending bill, despite Trump criticism and accidents

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/21/amtrak-gets-nearly-2-billion-federal-spending/447301002/

 

[Blackwolf]

From today's USA Today ...

Amtrak gets nearly $2 billion in federal spending bill, despite Trump criticism and accidents

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/21/amtrak-gets-nearly-2-billion-federal-spending/447301002/

Have to love the cynical, negative spin that a rag like USA Today puts on passenger trains.

 

[Lonestar648]

Again the Congress effectively kicks the bucket down the road again. I am thrilled that the funding is in the bill, but wish money was allocated to bring Amtrak to a decent operation where they can attract business and maybe do what no other National public system has done, break even, or show a profit.

 

[cpotisch]

While I am thrilled that Amtrak is getting decent funding this year, this feels like they're just treading water. $1.7B is enough to keep Amtrak running, but doesn't allow for much improvement in equipment and infrastructure. If Amtrak got, say, $3 billion, they could buy new equipment, expand the route map, improve service, etc. Until then, service and infrastructure will see very minimal improvements and upgrades, and there's not much that can be done about it.

 

[zephyr17]

While I am thrilled that Amtrak is getting decent funding this year, this feels like they're just treading water. $1.7B is enough to keep Amtrak running, but doesn't allow for much improvement in equipment and infrastructure. If Amtrak got, say, $3 billion, they could buy new equipment, expand the route map, improve service, etc. Until then, service and infrastructure will see very minimal improvements and upgrades, and there's not much that can be done about it.

So what else is new?

Amtrak just getting enough to survive, never enough to thrive is the way it's been since 1971.

 

[Ziv]

I know there are complexities I am not aware of, but it would be great if Amtrak could dedicate just $100Mn a year over the next 4 or 5 years and buy an additional 20 cars and 2 locomotives each year to build additional capacity by scheduling more frequent trains on the more popular routes. I am not sure what routes have the highest percentage of seats sold, but that would be a good place to start. The Lincoln Service, the Lynchburger, the Blue Water, the San Juaquins & the Hoosier are all mentioned as being the highest growing routes in an Amtrak article I read the other day, but I am not sure how up to date that is. Getting old routes back would be nice, but it is possible that adding additional rolling stock and more frequent trains may be as good as we can expect in the near future.

I wish my hometown train, the Empire Builder, had sufficient demand to schedule a second train a day departing from both Seattle and Chicago. It would be cool to hit some of the scenic parts at different times of the day. But I am not sure that the demand is there.

 

[jis]

I have posted the entire text of the Bill at http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/72569-text-of-the-consolidated-appropriations-act-2018/

I chose to post it there since its scope is way beyond Amtrak. The THUD section of it covers not only Amtrak, but also Transit, which forms part of the source of potential funding for Gateway, which in itself in some sense is more of a Transit project than an Amtrak Project. As we have discussed elsewhere, if there was no NJTransit there would be no need for Gateway, or at least not as pressing a need.

 

[cpotisch]

Can someone remind me what Gateway is? It rings a bell but I'm blanking.

 

[Chey]

Can someone remind me what Gateway is? It rings a bell but I'm blanking.

See the quote in the middle of afigg's post above.

 

[afigg]

Can someone remind me what Gateway is? It rings a bell but I'm blanking.

Really big project for NYC-NJ to build two new Hudson River tunnels, the South Portal Bridge, expand to 4 tracks between NWK and NYP, Moynihan station (I think it is included when the $30 billion price tag gets discussed) and in the later phases, Penn Station south with new tracks and platforms for NJT.

Website for the project with info: http://www.gatewayprogram.org/

To avoid confusion with other "gateway" infrastructure and rail projects, I try to remember to refer to it as NEC Gateway. Although NJ-NYC Gateway ($$$$$) would work as well. For example, other "gateway" projects that include Amtrak include the Virginia Atlantic Gateway which will add 3rd and 4th tracks between the Long Bridge and the Occoquan river in the next few years (

 

[CraigDK]

Can someone remind me what Gateway is? It rings a bell but I'm blanking.

Long AU thread on Gateway...

 

[cpotisch]

Thanks everyone for the info.

 

[GBNorman]

USA Today reports that the FY 18 Spending Bill is a "done deal" and on its way to President Trump, who has no reasonable alternative but to sign it.

The reporting notes the LD trains with this quote taken from the Administration's Budget request:

Amtraks long-distance trains do not serve a vital transportation purpose and are a vestige of when train service was the only viable transcontinental transportation option,

Well, I have to say that considering Amtrak is getting $1.9B, I have to note that the LD's are the most profitable trains on the System.
Because they roll, their pork benefits numerous legislative districts, which means that as pork goes, they are mighty cheap providers of such.

 

[user 14106]

There's a couple different sources they can go after in the bill for gateway money. I think this was somewhat done deliberately to give them a path forward but to avoid funding it directly and risk a Trump veto. As jis mentioned they can seek grants from Transit related sources due to the many commuter rail trains. And also they got nearly double the amount in the subsidies for the NEC that they got last year so some of that money could be used as well. The Northeast Corridor subsidies are exclusively used for capital projects related to rolling stock and NEC infrastructure since they make a "profit" on the operational side.

On the National Network side they basically got level funded with some special PTC funding. I'm assuming this funding is to help them finish equipment their locomotives and remaining state-supported track that Amtrak owns where its not yet operational unless there is also funding in there for to help host railroads that host Amtrak finish faster. Text seemed unclear on what they meant by "PTC funding"

 

[user 14106]

Oh it looks like based on that article by GBNorman there is a seperate 250 million line item to help host railroads with PTC so the part in the national network for PTC must be for Amtrak itself.

 

[Skyline]

From today's USA Today ...

Amtrak gets nearly $2 billion in federal spending bill, despite Trump criticism and accidents

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/21/amtrak-gets-nearly-2-billion-federal-spending/447301002/

Have to love the cynical, negative spin that a rag like USA Today puts on passenger trains.

It's a fake newspaper masquerading as journalism. From its inception, McPaper.

 

[user 14106]

USA Today reports that the FY 19 Spending Bill is a "done deal" and on its way to President Trump, who has no reasonable alternative but to sign it.

The reporting notes the LD trains with this quote taken from the Administration's Budget request:

Amtraks long-distance trains do not serve a vital transportation purpose and are a vestige of when train service was the only viable transcontinental transportation option,

Well, I have to say that considering Amtrak is getting $1.9B, I have to note that the LD's are the most profitable trains on the System.

Because they roll, their pork benefits numerous legislative districts, which means that as pork goes, they are mighty cheap providers of such.

I've never understood why Amtrak including its long distance routes is so controversial for some. Compared to some of the other pork in there like over a billion for a border wall not to mention some of the gazillions of dollars that goes into defense projects some of which the military even outright says they don't need but that legislators want for their districts, the long distance trains seem like a bargain and at least its a service that benefits regular people including people with a fear of flying. For people that don't like flying (like myself) its a great alternative to driving. As irrational as the fear of flying is, it is still very real for people that deal with it. The times I've flown have come with a period of extreme anxiety and stress prior to the trip where the convenience of it is just not worth it.

 

[Lonestar648]

Is it because Amtrak by law can't defend itself through lobbing, so is easy pickings?

 

[jis]

USA Today reports that the FY 19 Spending Bill is a "done deal" and on its way to President Trump, who has no reasonable alternative but to sign it.

The reporting notes the LD trains with this quote taken from the Administration's Budget request:

It is FY 18 not FY 19. The process for FY 19 budget has not started yet. What we are seeing is the final appropriation for FY 18.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

 

[neroden]

I know there are complexities I am not aware of, but it would be great if Amtrak could dedicate just $100Mn a year over the next 4 or 5 years and buy an additional 20 cars and 2 locomotives each year to build additional capacity by scheduling more frequent trains on the more popular routes.

The essential problem is that most carbuilders don't really want to look at orders of less than roughly 100 cars / year. CAF excepted. That said, $100Mn/year might buy that if not for "unique in the world" FRA regulations...

I am not sure what routes have the highest percentage of seats sold, but that would be a good place to start. The Lincoln Service, the Lynchburger, the Blue Water, the San Juaquins & the Hoosier are all mentioned as being the highest growing routes in an Amtrak article I read the other day, but I am not sure how up to date that is. Getting old routes back would be nice, but it is possible that adding additional rolling stock and more frequent trains may be as good as we can expect in the near future.

I wish my hometown train, the Empire Builder, had sufficient demand to schedule a second train a day departing from both Seattle and Chicago. It would be cool to hit some of the scenic parts at different times of the day. But I am not sure that the demand is there.

Yeah. There's definitely demand for a second St. Paul - Chicago train, though (and a place to turn it around and service it). There's demand for another Chicago-Upstate NY-NYC train, as I've mentioned before, and for a direct Chicago-Pittsburgh-Philadelphia train.

 

[GBNorman]

USA Today reports that the FY 19 Spending Bill is a "done deal"

It is FY 18 not FY 19. The process for FY 19 budget has not started yet.

I totally stand corrected, Mr. JIS, and have edited the quoted post to correctly reflect such. To think that Congress and the President were addressing a budget during the timeline needed for the Agencies to develop their plans and programs in an orderly manner was naivete on my part.

 

[west point]

This 2018 budget passed has only 6 + months to go. The extra money was not anticipated so Amtrak has been spending by FY 2017 rates. Now Amtrak has a "windfall" spending rate to fulfill the budget appropriation ?

Maybe extra work at NYP and CAT and track on NEC ? LD repair of Out of service equipment ?