Ten senators from seven western states have asked President Obama to name a westerner to the Amtrak board of directors – someone who could represent the west’s passenger rail needs as Amtrak looks skeptically at restoring a second daily train through Denver.
Amtrak Press Statement
CHICAGO — “Amtrak was willing to help bring the ski train back after Iowa Pacific Holdings (IPH) could not arrange with Union Pacific (UP) to provide train crews to operate a ski train over UP owned tracks, as UP had in the past. We worked for three months on a plan to run these trains for IPH while not putting our scheduled intercity passenger trains – and U.S. taxpayers – at risk.
“Two days before Amtrak planned to operate a test train for IPH and five days before the start of its season, IPH could not provide to Amtrak a federally certified safe train to operate and adequate insurance. IPH has not been able to supply locomotives with adequate power and brakes to even test their rented railcars back and forth into the mountains. Nevertheless, since October IPH sold tickets for a schedule they knew could not be met even in the best circumstances.
“IPH had many things to put in place before the ski train could become a reality and their failure to execute their own plans is why this train never left the station.”
Iowa Pacific Holdings, which had proposed to take over operation of the Ski Train to Winter Park from Denver Union Station, cancelled those plans on Monday, 7News KMGH-TV reports.
Iowa Pacific Holdings has not been able to reach an operational agreement with Amtrak, which was to provide crews to operate the train.
Amtrak filed a response to Iowa Pacific Holding’s request for an injunction that asked the federal court in Denver to force Amtrak to run Iowa Pacific’s resumption of the Ski Train from Denver to Winter Park.
Among other things, Amtrak says the locomotives and passenger cars Iowa Pacific wants to use failed a federal safety inspection, that union Pacific has yet to consent to allow the service on its tracks and that federal staffing rules require a second crew that Amtrak does not have to operate the train.
You can read Amtrak’s reasons for opposing the request here.
Amtrak Press Release
STATEMENT FROM AMTRAK
ON IMPASSE TO REACH FINAL OPERATING CONTRACT
FOR SKI TRAIN TO WINTER PARK, COLORADO
CHICAGO — “Iowa Pacific Holdings, LLC (IPH) does not have an agreement with Amtrak to begin operation of the ski train service between Denver and Winter Park, Colo., on December 27, 2009.
“Amtrak was first asked in August to consider operating the train for IPH. Although since that time Amtrak has engaged in negotiations with IPH to supply the locomotive engineers and conductors to operate the train equipment provided by IPH over tracks owned by Union Pacific Railroad, no final contract has been reached due to unresolved issues related to staffing requirements, passenger railcar equipment, and liability.
“Additionally, Amtrak has not received notice that IPH has achieved compliance with all applicable federal rail safety regulations.
“It is unfortunate that IPH marketed and sold tickets for the ski train without first making certain it was able to provide the service.”
Map outlines the estimated $38 million in costs to upgrade tracks that would allow reinstatement of the Amtrak Pioneer train service between Denver and Seattle.
CDOT has asked Amtrak to clarify whether five western states including Colorado would be asked to subsidize $33.1 million in annual operating losses to reinstate daily Pioneer train service between Denver and Seattle.
The state’s modal programs manager at CDOT, Tom Mauser, also questioned the estimated $470 million in capital upgrades that Union Pacific Railroad gave to Amtrak for a draft study on the reinstatement, noting that Amtrak had run Pioneer service over the same Wyoming Overland route as recently as 12 years ago.
“Given that the Pioneer operated over the Overland route just 12 years ago, the high capital costs in Option 2 ($470 million) seem to go beyond what is required to restore the same service,” Mauser wrote in comments submitted to Amtrak.
Amtrak train photo from the United Rail Passenger Alliance web site.
Amtrak says that restoring the former Pioneer daily train service between Denver and Seattle would be hugely expensive but it would work “aggressively” to reinstate if federal and state officials can find funding to subsidize it.
Amtrak at the same time throws cold water on the prospects of reinstatement, upsetting advocates of the plan in Colorado and elsewhere.
Amtrak said the farebox recovery ratio of the new Pioneer would be the lowest of all 15 current Amtrak long-distance routes for the route options that have the western end of line in Portland. And the ratio would be the second-lowest of all if service were extended up into Seattle.
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