NYS Turbo's Update....

[AmtrakerBx]

AMTRAK PRESIDENT PROMISES TO PLACE NEW TURBOLINERS IN SERVICE: Amtrak President David Gunn promised to put two Turboliner trainsets that have been rebuilt by the state at SuperSteel Schenectady into service within 90 days, state Transportation Commissioner Michael Boardman said Tuesday. The commitment was made during a meeting between Gunn and Boardman on Monday. The meeting between the two men was designed to open a dialogue between Amtrak and New York over rail service in the state. While the two men agreed to shelve most of the specific issues, they had a very good exchange on policy issues, Boardman said. The commitment from Gunn to put the "Turbos" into service is significant, Boardman said. Amtrak's reluctance to employ the five-car trainsets on the Empire Corridor has been a source of irritation with state officials. In November, Boardman went public with a letter to Amtrak Chairman John Robert Smith outlining the state's dissatisfaction with Amtrak and accusing Amtrak of trying to sabotage the Truboliner project. Under an agreement with Amtrak, New York is spending $98.5 million to refurbish seven RTL-III trainsets that were originally built by Rohr Industries in the mid-1970s. Each five-car trainset consists of two Turbopower cars, two passenger cars, and a cafe car. The Turbopower cars are able to carry passengers, with one being configured for business class and one for coach. One train is finished and tested, while another will soon be ready. Amtrak officials say they need to have more spare parts on hand, more manuals, and more time to train crews before putting the 264-seat trains into service. As part of the deal, Amtrak was supposed to spend a matching sum to renovate railroad tracks, including adding a second track between Schenectady and Rensselaer, to make high-speed train service practicable. The bottom line, Boardman said, is that Amtrak's financial situation is so precarious that while the railroad would like to follow through it can't. "The difficulties that Amtrak is having in terms of maintaining their finances makes it difficult for them to continue to progress on high speed rail improvements to tracks and signals," Boardman said. Amtrak officials were not available to comment on the meeting on Tuesday. Because of Amtrak's financial situation, he and Gunn set aside discussions of issues specific to the Empire Corridor and financing and instead talked about policy issues that the state could help Amtrak with, Boardman said. "We don't want to see another situation like we had last June when Amtrak was threatening a shutdown, affecting the economy of New York City and the ability to access the Northeast corridor with rail service," Boardman said. Also on Tuesday, Amtrak announced fare cuts for long-distance travel. Under the program, a ticket from the Rensselaer, N.Y., Amtrak station to Chicago would go from $84 to $64. The rollback program does not effect travel along the Empire Corridor which runs through New York State. (Albany Business Review via Andy Kirk - posted 1/09)