Meeting Report and Commentary

LOSSAN Board of Directors

Santa Barbara, CA, September 14, 2005

Reported by Paul Dyson, RailPAC director

Amtrak Surfliner #775 about to depart from the beautiful Santa Barbara station enroute to San Luis Obispo on September 15. Russ Jackson photo.

Perhaps it's the Santa Barbara weather and ambience but yesterday's LOSSAN Board meeting was the best attended and most constructive for a long time. All the member agencies were represented, including BNSF and Union Pacific, as well as many public officials from Santa Barbara and our comrades in arms with Coastal Rail Now. (The photo shows

For the first time I heard Board members (Jerry Rindone of San Diego MTS supported by Bea Proo of MTA, Jacki Bacharach of MTA, and John Shoals of SLOCOG) call for equity for California in the dispersal of Amtrak funding in exchange for our support for Amtrak's budget. At last the message is getting through that the NEC is sucking up all the funds.

Bill Bronte reported on the overall state of funds for transport and of the State in general. Diesel fuel price increases are affecting highway funds as well as transit. Caltrans operating costs have gone sky high and eaten into the highway budget. Bill foresees the likelihood of fare increases to cover diesel-powered commuter and inter city services. Bill also reported on the funding and progress of the triple tracking between L.A. and Fullerton on BNSF. A big hurdle to overcome is the cost of grade separations at Valley, Rosecrans/Marquardt and one other that I'll remember as soon as I've finished this report! The highways would be almost permanently blocked with track and 5 to 10 trains an hour so the seps have to be done, but cost up to $130 million each. Some of the funds previously earmarked for LAUS run through were taken for this project because all the engineering work had been done and the contractors could start immediately. I think Caltrans Rail fears that if they don't spend the funds right away they could disappear again. We must continue to press for LAUS funds.

Bill Bronte reported that a working group is defining the specification of the next generation of intercity passenger car, taking the best of the California and Surfliner cars and adding amenities such as WiFi communication. He warned that we could be as much as 5 years away from delivery of new equipment.

On the Federal front the Board is in favor of the approach of the Lott/Lautenburg bill. California's in place rail program should be at the top of the list for 80% matching federal funds for rail should this bill pass. Finally this will represent some measure of equity, and includes possible retrospective payments to match money spent in 2004-2006.

The fiasco of the LOSSAN corridor definition continues. A clerical error in an earlier bill caused the federal definition of the LOSSAN rail corridor to include only San Diego to Del Mar! Barbara Boxer's people were supposed to get it taken care of in the SAFETEA-LU bill but it was somehow deleted; no one seems to know why as it is completely uncontroversial. Attempts will be made to attach it to the next appropriations bill. This is urgent as this could hold up funding for corridor projects north of Del Mar. Please e-mail your comments on this to Barbara Boxer's office.

Liz O'Donoghue of Amtrak reported on the continued growth of Surfliner passengers and revenue, in spite of poor punctuality. She distributed a comprehensive report giving details of the causes of delays. About 34% is passenger train interference and 16% freight train. As you all know a delay early in the day, however caused, has a knock on effect on this predominantly single track line, so later delays may appear to be passenger train interference but are actually caused by whatever was the first delay of the day.

The IBI Group has been asked to add a Ventura to Santa Barbara commuter study to the LOSSAN north document it is working on. The latter is supposed to be a Strategic Plan but really reads more like another study. The commuter rail study duplicates a report prepared by Wilbur Smith for SBCAG (which I have strongly criticized). Will the studies never end?

SCAG presented data from a study on goods movement. There's still a lot of confusion about the interrelationship between freight movement in southern California and additional trains on the Coast Line. I'll submit an article to the editor of the Review in the near future which I hope will clarify this.

DJ Mitchell of BNSF and Jerry Wilmoth of UP presented some compelling statistics regarding the need for additional capacity in Southern California, (and in my view throughout the state). I think for the first time many of the elected officials and Board members present really understood the complexities of the situation and the fact that a line on a map doesn't necessarily mean capacity to run passenger trains. UP feels that the Coast Line is not only an important artery in itself but also represents strategic spare capacity in the event of engineering works, congestion, or earthquake damage to the Tehachapi route.

During a break in the meeting I had the opportunity to speak to Mayor Pro Tem of Santa Barbara Roger Horton and Council Member Helene Schneider. Both are members of the recently formed rail sub committee for the city. I had the chance to explain to them the dynamics and value of making LAUS a run through station. It's very gratifying when officials understand the value to the corridor as a whole of large capital projects outside their own district.

What does this all mean to RailPAC? First of all I'd say that after this meeting, and thanks to a great degree to the participation of the freight railroad representatives, the Board and staff are far better informed of all that will be required in the future to continue to develop this rail corridor. I believe too that there is a more positive attitude with the feeling that federal and state funds could be available for the many projects needed to upgrade the line, improve punctuality and journey times.

I firmly believe, and I hope RailPAC members concur, that the railroads are vital arteries of commerce for both freight and passenger service. I believe I heard both UP and BNSF indicate that they are willing to cooperate with state agencies to provide access for more passenger trains as long as their capacity is not impaired. I'd like to go a step further and suggest that a modernized Coast Line, with more sidings and double track, modern signaling etc. will enable Union Pacific to be more competitive. Perhaps once again they'll be able to offer service on some of the shorter routes within California where over the years the business has been lost to truck. At the same time we can have our Coast Daylight and more and faster Surfliners, and Santa Barbara commuter trains.


RailPAC Contacts Publications Issues Meeting Reports 2005 Reports 2005-11-16 Capitol 2005-11-10 San Joaquin 2005-11 Announcement 2005-10-24 Bay Area 2005-09-21 Capitol 2005-09-14 LOSSAN 2005-09 Coast and TAMC 2005-09-08 San Joaquin 2005-07-14 San Joaquin 2005-07-11 TAMC 2005-06-25 CASHRA 2005-06-16 LOSSAN 2005-06-15 Capitol 2005-05-30 TAMC 2005-05-12 San Joaquin 2005-04-27 Coast Rail 2005-04-19 LOS-SAN 2005-03-11 San Joaquin 2005-02-16 Capitol 2005 Annual 2005-01 San Joaquin 2005-01 Monterey Membership Links	Meeting Report and Commentary LOSSAN Board of Directors Santa Barbara, CA, September 14, 2005 Reported by Paul Dyson, RailPAC director Amtrak Surfliner #775 about to depart from the beautiful Santa Barbara station enroute to San Luis Obispo on September 15. Russ Jackson photo. Perhaps it's the Santa Barbara weather and ambience but yesterday's LOSSAN Board meeting was the best attended and most constructive for a long time. All the member agencies were represented, including BNSF and Union Pacific, as well as many public officials from Santa Barbara and our comrades in arms with Coastal Rail Now. (The photo shows For the first time I heard Board members (Jerry Rindone of San Diego MTS supported by Bea Proo of MTA, Jacki Bacharach of MTA, and John Shoals of SLOCOG) call for equity for California in the dispersal of Amtrak funding in exchange for our support for Amtrak's budget. At last the message is getting through that the NEC is sucking up all the funds. Bill Bronte reported on the overall state of funds for transport and of the State in general. Diesel fuel price increases are affecting highway funds as well as transit. Caltrans operating costs have gone sky high and eaten into the highway budget. Bill foresees the likelihood of fare increases to cover diesel-powered commuter and inter city services. Bill also reported on the funding and progress of the triple tracking between L.A. and Fullerton on BNSF. A big hurdle to overcome is the cost of grade separations at Valley, Rosecrans/Marquardt and one other that I'll remember as soon as I've finished this report! The highways would be almost permanently blocked with track and 5 to 10 trains an hour so the seps have to be done, but cost up to $130 million each. Some of the funds previously earmarked for LAUS run through were taken for this project because all the engineering work had been done and the contractors could start immediately. I think Caltrans Rail fears that if they don't spend the funds right away they could disappear again. We must continue to press for LAUS funds. Bill Bronte reported that a working group is defining the specification of the next generation of intercity passenger car, taking the best of the California and Surfliner cars and adding amenities such as WiFi communication. He warned that we could be as much as 5 years away from delivery of new equipment. On the Federal front the Board is in favor of the approach of the Lott/Lautenburg bill. California's in place rail program should be at the top of the list for 80% matching federal funds for rail should this bill pass. Finally this will represent some measure of equity, and includes possible retrospective payments to match money spent in 2004-2006. The fiasco of the LOSSAN corridor definition continues. A clerical error in an earlier bill caused the federal definition of the LOSSAN rail corridor to include only San Diego to Del Mar! Barbara Boxer's people were supposed to get it taken care of in the SAFETEA-LU bill but it was somehow deleted; no one seems to know why as it is completely uncontroversial. Attempts will be made to attach it to the next appropriations bill. This is urgent as this could hold up funding for corridor projects north of Del Mar. Please e-mail your comments on this to Barbara Boxer's office. Liz O'Donoghue of Amtrak reported on the continued growth of Surfliner passengers and revenue, in spite of poor punctuality. She distributed a comprehensive report giving details of the causes of delays. About 34% is passenger train interference and 16% freight train. As you all know a delay early in the day, however caused, has a knock on effect on this predominantly single track line, so later delays may appear to be passenger train interference but are actually caused by whatever was the first delay of the day. The IBI Group has been asked to add a Ventura to Santa Barbara commuter study to the LOSSAN north document it is working on. The latter is supposed to be a Strategic Plan but really reads more like another study. The commuter rail study duplicates a report prepared by Wilbur Smith for SBCAG (which I have strongly criticized). Will the studies never end? SCAG presented data from a study on goods movement. There's still a lot of confusion about the interrelationship between freight movement in southern California and additional trains on the Coast Line. I'll submit an article to the editor of the Review in the near future which I hope will clarify this. DJ Mitchell of BNSF and Jerry Wilmoth of UP presented some compelling statistics regarding the need for additional capacity in Southern California, (and in my view throughout the state). I think for the first time many of the elected officials and Board members present really understood the complexities of the situation and the fact that a line on a map doesn't necessarily mean capacity to run passenger trains. UP feels that the Coast Line is not only an important artery in itself but also represents strategic spare capacity in the event of engineering works, congestion, or earthquake damage to the Tehachapi route. During a break in the meeting I had the opportunity to speak to Mayor Pro Tem of Santa Barbara Roger Horton and Council Member Helene Schneider. Both are members of the recently formed rail sub committee for the city. I had the chance to explain to them the dynamics and value of making LAUS a run through station. It's very gratifying when officials understand the value to the corridor as a whole of large capital projects outside their own district. What does this all mean to RailPAC? First of all I'd say that after this meeting, and thanks to a great degree to the participation of the freight railroad representatives, the Board and staff are far better informed of all that will be required in the future to continue to develop this rail corridor. I believe too that there is a more positive attitude with the feeling that federal and state funds could be available for the many projects needed to upgrade the line, improve punctuality and journey times. I firmly believe, and I hope RailPAC members concur, that the railroads are vital arteries of commerce for both freight and passenger service. I believe I heard both UP and BNSF indicate that they are willing to cooperate with state agencies to provide access for more passenger trains as long as their capacity is not impaired. I'd like to go a step further and suggest that a modernized Coast Line, with more sidings and double track, modern signaling etc. will enable Union Pacific to be more competitive. Perhaps once again they'll be able to offer service on some of the shorter routes within California where over the years the business has been lost to truck. At the same time we can have our Coast Daylight and more and faster Surfliners, and Santa Barbara commuter trains.
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