Amtrak's Hoosier State train

[Ken Weller]

from today's Lafayette Journal & Courier: (May 6, 2013)


How to improve Hoosier State? More trains, please

Written by Chris Morisse Vizza
May. 05 jconline.com

 
They ride for different reasons, but several Hoosier State passenger rail customers agree on one thing.

Scheduling more Amtrak trains on the line between Indianapolis and Chicago would make the service more user-friendly and draw more riders.

Allison Fohr of Lafayette said she rides the train twice a month to see a girlfriend in Chicago.

“I like that it’s consistent,” Fohr said. “I’ve never gotten on a bus that was less than a half hour late. The train is always here by 7:35 a.m. I’ve never had a problem.”

Fohr said other Purdue University students want to take the train but don’t like the current schedule.

“I think the main concern is people are done with classes on Friday and want to go that night, not wait until Saturday morning,” Fohr said.

“Sometimes it would nice if there was a morning and evening train (to Chicago) every day.”

Lafayette riders board the train for Chicago at 7:30 a.m. four days a week. Riders from Chicago arrive in Lafayette at 10 p.m. four nights a week.

Combined with the long-distance Cardinal rail line, which runs between New York City and Chicago, the two trains provide daily service with stops in Indianapolis, Crawfordsville, Lafayette, Rensselaer, Dyer and Chicago.

The schedule is one of several issues the Indiana Department of Transportation is considering as it weighs the estimated $4 million annual cost of taking over the 196-mile route from the federal government.

Congress eliminated funding for the Hoosier State and other routes shorter than 750 miles in 19 states effective October 1.

Before the Indiana General Assembly adjourned in April, Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek, added language to the budget allowing INDOT to fund passenger rail service, if it chooses to.

The key, Hershman has said, is to increase ridership and make the route pay for itself. An engineering consultant is evaluating how Indiana might make that happen.

Business and government leaders in Tippecanoe County hope the study shows a positive return on investment.

“This goes back to the Good to Great program that Greater Lafayette Commerce sees as critical to the well-being and enhancement of this community,” said Arvid Olson, quality of life committee chairman.

“Point six of the Rebecca Ryan study is to have robust and reliable access to Indianapolis and Chicago. It’s vital to retaining young people, the next generation of residents.”

Last month, the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation union surveyed 500 residents in the 4th Congressional District to assess the level of support for Amtrak service.

Seventy-seven percent of the respondents favored state funding of $2.9 million to keep the Hoosier State and continue daily Amtrak service. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

Regular riders want to know the future of the Hoosier State, according to Joe Krause, the community volunteer who helps passengers board in Lafayette.

“They ask if it’s going to continue or if there is something they can do to help,” Krause said.

Passengers who boarded the train Friday morning said the service is good but could be better.

Cory Reynard of Lafayette was riding north to watch an afternoon Cubs game. He said the round trip price was cheaper than the cost of driving, parking and paying tolls.

“I was surprised to find only one train in the morning and one at night,” Reynard said.

“That’s the only reason I’m spending the night in Chicago. I can’t risk missing the train back. I guess they could add a second train on busy days or weekends.”

Kristin Cleven of West Lafayette said she rides the Hoosier State when she’s not traveling with her family. Having grown up in Norway, Cleven values mass transit and uses it when she can.

“I wish there were more frequent trains and faster trains where Amtrak had priority,” Cleven said.

“The train is usually on time but sometimes it’s delayed one hour waiting for a freight train. That’s not good if you have an appointment or a flight to make.”

Anthony Irvin of New Orleans rides the Hoosier State twice a month to get to and from his job as a semi-tractor driver for Swift Transportation in Indianapolis.

“The seats are comfortable, and I like that they’ve got power,” Irvin said, referring to the smartphone in his hands.

How could the service be improved?

“Probably have more than one train a day,” Irvin answered. “One in the evening and one in the afternoon.”

[Ryan Rybarczyk]

Amtrak service between Indianapolis and Chicago to continue

[Ken Weller]

from today's Lafayette Journal & Courier (Dec-31-2013):


Not all Tippecanoe County commissioners aboard Amtrak funding deal
Written by Chris Morisse Vizza
Dec. 30 jconline.com
 
On a two-to-one vote on Monday, the Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners Monday approved a one-year contract to share the costs of operating the Hoosier State train route with six cities and the Indiana Department of Transportation.

The state, county and cities served by the 196-mile passenger rail line between Indianapolis and Chicago agreed in October to pick up the $2.7 million annual cost of running the four-day-a-week train after the federal government stopped funding Amtrak routes shorter than 750 miles.

Combined with Amtrak’s three-day-a-week long-distance Cardinal, the trains provide daily passenger rail service.

Operating and equipment expenses were estimated at $3.8 million for the line that carries about 37,000 passengers a year. Riders pay $22 for a one-way trip, $80 short of the actual cost, according to an INDOT study.

Commissioners David Byers and Tom Murtaugh voted to spend $25,000 a month in economic development income tax revenues for 12 months from Oct. 1 to Oct. 1, 2014. The total cost would run to $300,000 for the period.

The county’s share would increase to $32,500 a month if all of the parties to the contract agreed to extend the agreement until January 31, 2015.

The lone no vote came from county commissioner John Knochel, who said there are other needs just as pressing within the county.

“To think that Tippecanoe County would invest $25,000 a month, I think is ludicrous,” Knochel said before he voted.

“How many people out there do we have that are living on gravel roads that maybe we couldn’t hard surface them, but we could certainly chip and seal a lot of roads for $25,000 a month over the length of time this contract is going to be running?”

Byers, the commission president, said he could see both sides of the issue, but would vote yes.

“I also know we give just as much money to businesses that come to this community, whether it be job training to move in here, and I feel that’s a roll of the dice, too,” Byers explained.

“The thing that I am willing to stand behind is there is a time limit, and if they don’t perform, we don’t keep paying.”

Murtaugh, who has represented the county during the contract negotiations, said an oversight board will be pressing for service improvements during the coming months.

“The key is to make the investment in marketing it, and make it reliable in performance with somewhat of a fare increase that can make it profitable,” he said.

Paul Wright, of West Point, questioned Murtaugh about the contract, the cost to taxpayers and the practicality of improving the Amtrak service.

“I might agree with you if you were in partnership with any entity that had a reliable background of operating something at a profit, and Amtrak is not that entity,” Wright said.

Ken McCammon, and Arvid Olson, both of Lafayette, urged the commissioners to approve the contract.

Olson cited INDOT’s Dec. 20 announcement that it would request proposals from contractors interested in running the Hoosier State.

“The pressure on Amtrak to improve is very real,” said Olson, chair of the Greater Lafayette Commerce committee that supports the rail service.

“Amtrak knows they have not been given a blank check. What they’ve been given is a line to improve.”

In West Lafayette, the board of works on Monday approved the city’s rail service contract with INDOT. The council previously voted to allocate $16,667 a month or $200,000 during the initial 12-month cost-sharing period.

Mayor John Dennis emphasized the goal of improving the service, attracting more riders and generating more revenue to cover operating costs.

“It’s not like we are writing a check and walking away,” Dennis said.
“We have an operating board with the power to suspend payment and terminate the contract if steps are not taken to improve the service, create a more viable product, generate more revenue and be more competitive.”

The contract between the local governments and INDOT stipulates the state will pay $128,424 a month or a maximum of $1.5 million annually for the line.

Lafayette will pay $16,667 a month or $200,000 for one year, the same amount as West Lafayette.

Crawfordsville will pay $10,046 a month or a total of $120,550.

Rensselaer will pay $1,500 a month, totaling $18,000.

Beech Grove, where the Amtrak rail car maintenance shops are located, will contribute $16,625 a month or $199,500 for the year through in-kind services to the Amtrak facility.

Indianapolis will pay $25,000 a month or $300,000 of its federal transportation dollars for the year.

The town of Dyer opted to not participate.

[Ken Weller]

more from Lafayette J&C (today, 6-13-14):


Amtrak’s next stop viability? Clock is ticking
Ron Wilkins, rwilkins@jconline.com 3:27 p.m. EDT June 13, 2014

(Photo: File photo/Journal & Courier )
 
Four private companies proposed ways to improve the Hoosier State passenger rail line from Indianapolis to Chicago, and the winning vendor should be announced in the next week or two.

But the continuation of the partnership between local and state government and funding for the service is not set in stone after Oct. 1, when an agreement hammered out last year to keep the rail line running expires.

“Where do we want rail to go, and where do we think rail should go?” state Rep. Randy Truitt, R-West Lafayette, said Thursday during a call from a passenger rail conference in Kansas City. “How are we going to pay for it? It’s going to take money, and it’s going to take vision.”

Amtrak announced last year that it would end funding for passenger lines shorter than 750 miles. The decision put the future of the Hoosier State, which runs from Chicago through Lafayette to Indianapolis four times a week, in jeopardy.

Combined with Amtrak’s long-distance Cardinal, which operates between Chicago and the East Coast three times a week, Amtrak provides daily service through Lafayette and Indianapolis.

Lafayette, West Lafayette and Tippecanoe County, along with Crawfordsville, Rensselaer, Indianapolis and Beech Grove, agreed to split the $1.5 million bill to keep the Hoosier State running if the state picked up the other $1.5 million. That agreement ends in the fall.

“They all said if it doesn’t get better, we can’t keep throwing money at it,” said Bob Zier, director of multimodal program and planning for Indiana Department of Transportation.

Local officials also pressed Amtrak for improvements in its service as a condition for future funding. Amtrak, however, missed many of the metrics the governments set before it, Truitt and Zier said.

There was an expectation of improved passenger cars, WiFi service, and at least some modest food service on board. They also expected the trains to leave and arrive on time and increase ridership, which hasn’t happened, Zier said.

“That service can’t be improved with the rail conditions we have from Indianapolis to Chicago,” Zier said. Indianapolis to Chicago is a 5-hour, 10-minute trip under current conditions because of the rail conditions and sharing of tracks with freight lines, which have priority.

The requests for proposals might remedy some of those problems, Zier said.

“The people who we’re looking at think they can do it for about the same, maybe less with new cars and Wi-Fi,” Zier said. Food service also might be available, he said.

At least two of the plans have piqued Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski’s curiosity.

“There were a couple proposals I didn’t feel were good for the community,” Roswarski said, “but there were two proposals I thought were very, very good. I thought they did have potential.”

Truitt said he’s excited about the passenger line’s future here.

“The people who have bid on this RFP (request for proposals) have come up with new ideas and new ways of doing things,” Truitt said.

Zier said an administrative review panel must approve the recommended proposal, and then the governor’s office must sign off on it before INDOT can announce which vendor the state is going to use.

Once the vendor is approved, the real challenge begins. It takes big money and governmental cooperation to improve a rail line, Truitt and Zier said.

After the vendor is selected, advocates of passenger rail likely

will spend the summer and fall pressing local and state lawmakers to renew their commitment to the passenger rail line, including the financial support needed for a viable line.

State Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, an alternate on the state budget committee, said she plans to press House and Senate committee members to support the proposal.

“I’m just hoping it will continue and the interest will be there,” she said. “I think we have really to try hard to make this work.”

Klinker believes passenger rail will need subsidies from local and state government to survive. Without that support, the rail line’s future is questionable.

Like Klinker, Truitt and Zier both are convinced that passenger rail is critical for the future of the communities along the lines.

“This is where we’re going,” Zier said. “There’s got to be investments by the state.”

 

[Ken Weller]

from the Lafayette Journal & Courier: (11-9-14)


State ends negotiations with Amtrak alternative

Chris Morisse Vizza, cvizza@jconline.com 7:54 p.m. EST November 8, 2014

The Indiana Department of Transportation has ended contract negotiations with Corridor Capital LLC to provide passenger rail cars, marketing and other services for the Hoosier State line between Indianapolis and Chicago, said INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield.

Wingfield did not comment as to why negotiations were terminated.

But he said the state is looking at its options to continue the service after the Jan. 31 expiration date on INDOT’s contracts with Amtrak and the communities along the route.

“INDOT is requesting pricing from Amtrak to continue as operator after January 31, minus certain elements of the existing service that Amtrak is providing, such as rolling stock, onboard services and marketing,” Wingfield said.

Amtrak is working with the state, but the clock is ticking, spokesman Marc Magliari said.

“Amtrak submitted a contract renewal in April for the current service model and has offered to work with the state on other viable models used in other states,” he said.

“However, time is growing short to resolve many open questions for daily passenger rail service to continue from Feb. 1 and onward.”

The state, cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette along with Tippecanoe County and four other communities served by the 196-mile line have poured $2.7 million into the line since Oct. 1, 2013, to keep it operating after Congress eliminated funding for Amtrak routes shorter than 750 miles.

INDOT said its goal was to continue the service and find an independent contractor that could overcome constant delays, run trains at more convenient times, provide amenities such as Wi-Fi, attract more riders and operate the train more cost effectively than Amtrak.

In June, INDOT selected Chicago-based Corridor Capital as the most responsive of four proposals submitted to operate the route. Corridor Capital posted information on its website heralding the “reinvention of the Hoosier State.”

INDOT and Corridor Capital were silent on Oct. 1, the day the two parties expected to have an operating agreement in place.

Instead, Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman rode the line from Indianapolis to Chicago, and announced the company would provide free Wi-Fi, a business-class car and light snacks as a goodwill gesture during the last three months of the contract extension.

Boardman also predicted that Amtrak would still be operating the train because Corridor Capital had not sealed the deal with the state.

Arvid Olson, the Greater Lafayette Commerce member who has championed the economic benefits of keeping the train going, lamented the latest development more than four months after negotiations between INDOT and Corridor Capital began.

“It creates genuine pressure on INDOT and the stakeholder’s ability to improve the Hoosier State beginning on Feb. 1, 2015,” he said.

Without improvements during fiscal year 2013-2014, ridership on the four-day-a-week Hoosier State fell 8 percent and revenue dropped 10 percent on the Hoosier State, according to Amtrak.

If there is concern at the city level, elected leaders aren’t showing it.

“INDOT continues to evaluate all of its options to ensure the continuation of the Hoosier State and improve service,” Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said.

“The good news is that contrary to all the rumors, INDOT is very interested in passenger rail,” West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis said.

The mayors and Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tom Murtaugh have expressed concern about continuing to fund a service that has not been upgraded.

State Rep. Randy Truitt last month said he will introduce legislation that would take the financial burden off the communities and place it squarely with the state.

With this latest wrinkle, it remains to be seen if INDOT can find a rail service provider that has available passenger cars and get the legal details worked out with Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration by Feb. 1.