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Railroad Newsline for Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

BNSF ISSUES WINTER WEATHER DELAY ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL U. S.

Severe winter weather conditions are bringing extreme cold temperatures, snow and ice throughout the Southeast affecting rail traffic at various points on the BNSF Railway Company system. Icy roads, frozen switches and power outages have delayed rail operations throughout Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Texas.

Currently, BNSF personnel are working diligently by responding to various outages and maintaining track integrity in efforts to minimize customer delays.

However, customers may experience 48 hour delay on traffic moving through this region. - BNSF Service Advisory

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TRAIN ENGINE DERAILED IN WELD COUNTY, COLORADO

WINDSOR, CO -- The engine of a freight train derailed Monday due to ice build-up on or underneath the tracks, authorities said.

The derailment occurred at Highway 34, just west the Larimer-Weld County line.

Great Western Rail officials say the train was traveling 5-10 miles an hour when the engine jumped the tracks and landed along a snowy creek bed.

There were two train employees on board. Neither was injured. - KDVR-FOX31TV, Denver, CO

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UNION PACIFIC BOOSTS SPRB COAL SHIPMENTS TO NATION'S UTILITIES DURING 2006 - SETTING NEW ONE YEAR RECORD

OMAHA, NE -- To help meet the nation’s ongoing reliance on coal, Union Pacific moved 194 million tons of coal from Wyoming’s Southern Powder River Basin (SPRB) during 2006 – a new record for the railroad.

Compared with 2005, Union Pacific moved an additional 895 trainloads of SPRB coal during the past year – an increase of 15 million tons of coal, or enough to generate a year’s worth of electricity for nearly 2.5 million homes.

As train numbers increased during 2006, so did train size. UP trains transporting coal out of the SPRB averaged just over 15,000 tons each in the fourth quarter—an increase of 200 tons over last year’s average. Investment in capacity improvements and new processes helped UP achieve the increased tonnage.

"Our employees are stepping up to the challenge to help meet our nation’s crucial energy needs," said Jim Young, president and CEO. "Their ideas and dedication helped fuel the increases we experienced in 2006, and together we are continuing to develop new ways to handle rising demand."

Additional rail line improvements in Wyoming are expected to help boost capacity on the Joint Line owned by UP and BNSF. Future improvements – a fourth main line on Logan Hill and a third main line north of Reno Junction – coupled with the addition of 14 landing spots at the mines for trains, also are expected to increase Joint Line capacity.

According to data released late last year by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the U.S. Department of Energy, coal inventories at the nation’s electric utilities were expected to end 2006 at their highest levels in four years. On Dec. 21, 2006, the EIA reported coal inventories at the nation’s utilities stood at 125.6 million tons, up 27.9 percent over a year ago. In its Short-Term Energy Outlook released on Dec. 12, 2006, EIA said it expects inventory levels to rise again in 2007, reaching 138.9 million tons by the end of the year.

Also in December 2006, the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) reported that utilities have ample supplies of coal on hand for the winter season, and that NERC had removed the SPRB from its reliability watch list. - Gene Hinkle, UP News Release

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CN REACHES TENTATIVE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS WITH THE CANADIAN AUTO WORKERS

TORONTO, ON -- The Canadian National Railway is pleased to announce Monday that it has negotiated three tentative collective agreements with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union.

CN is withholding details of the labor settlements pending ratification. The CAW expects to begin the ratification process shortly; if approved, the four-year agreements would be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2007.

The CAW has approximately 4,000 active shopcraft, clerical, intermodal and owner-operator members at CN in Canada.

E. Hunter Harrison, president and chief executive officer of CN, said: "I'm extremely pleased that CN and the CAW negotiated these new agreements without labor disruption. I credit company and union negotiators for reaching settlements that will advance the interests of both parties and develop a better foundation for our future relationship. Now we can focus our energies on continuing to run the railway." - Mark Hallman, CN News Release

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VICTIMS OF DERAILMENT HANG ON

MINOT, ND -- It’s been nearly five years since a 112-car Canadian Pacific Railway train’s eastward journey abruptly ended outside a rural Minot, North Dakota, neighborhood.

The derailment punctured and shattered tanker cars carrying 290,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia, which formed a cloud that quickly filled the calm 6-below night air.

Photo here: [www.in-forum.com]

Caption reads: Destroyed rail cars and debris are shown Jan. 21, 2002, in Minot, ND, after 31 cars of a 112-car Canadian Pacific Railway train went off the tracks. Associated Press photo.

Some residents panicked and fled. Others gathered with loved ones in basements and bathrooms to wait.

To varying degrees, thousands were injured Jan. 18, 2002, from exposure to chemicals. They suffered burns to their eyes, noses, lungs and upper respiratory systems. One man, John Grabinger, died from exposure to the toxic farm chemical.

“Five years after the derailment these people are having to cope with very serious injuries as well as the economic consequences of the injuries,” said Sarah Herman, a Fargo attorney working on claims against the railroad. “It is frustrating and sad.”

Tim Thornton, a Minneapolis attorney working for the railroad, said CP has “settled scores of cases,” including some last week. He refused to say how much the railroad has paid to injured residents to date, but jurors have awarded millions in a handful of cases that represent other similar claims.

The railroad admitted liability in those cases, but contends federal laws preempt it from hundreds of injury lawsuits filed against it. Thornton said Congress aimed to provide immunity for railroads because national interests outweigh private claims.

Lawsuits ongoing

The railroad still faces lawsuits at three levels of the federal court system -- the District of Minnesota, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether it will hear arguments on a narrowly defined issue regarding jurisdiction.

“It could go on for a long, long time, or it could come to a screeching halt,” said Thornton, who added that a win at the 8th U.S. Circuit and a refusal by the Supreme Court to hear an appeal would give the railroad what it wants.

Federal and state politicians claim a decision by U.S. District Judge Dan Hovland in Bismarck that dismissed a class action lawsuit against the railroad was flawed. They want corrective action in Congress and in the courts. Attorneys for Minot-area residents remain optimistic their clients will win in the end.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs have appealed Hovland’s decision to the 8th Circuit.

“We believe that ultimately, the justice system will not leave injured people without recourse, especially in a case such as this where the negligence and wrongdoing of the railroad was so egregious,” said Kristy Albrecht, a Fargo lawyer working on litigation against the railroad.

“This has been a long, frustrating process, but we believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we will keep working to get to that light,” she said.

“We’re all helpless until some of these legal issues are resolved,” added Mike Miller, a Fargo lawyer representing nearly 1,000 residents who are part of the class action suit. “My clients are very frustrated. They can’t believe the system should work like this.”

The cases may be moving slowly through the court system, but plaintiffs’ lawyers are encouraged by a Minnesota federal judge’s decision last week.

U.S. Chief District Judge James Rosenbaum ruled the railroad must allow plaintiffs’ lawyers to interview its computer forensics expert after learning about an e-mail referring to the railroad’s “tradition” of keeping few Minot-related e-mails.

The judge rejected claims by the railroad that the interview should wait and that destroyed evidence is irrelevant.

“This is kind of like a group of brigands deciding to rob a bank, only to discover that the bank failed and closed its doors the day before the robbers’ arrival,” Rosenbaum wrote of the railroad’s arguments. “The court must insure that any ‘tradition’ of destroying derailment-related documents be discovered and brought to an end.”

Thornton said the railroad plans to comply with the order.

By the end of 2007, the Federal Railroad Administration plans to release a study of tanker cars carrying hazardous materials, prompted by the wreck. The National Transportation Safety Board has made several recommendations to improve rail safety and inspections since the wreck.

But Minot-area residents want their day in court, and they want the railroad to take responsibility.

“Many are without adequate health insurance and suffer more because they cannot afford the medications they need to cope with the injuries they suffered from the derailment,” Herman said.

“Justice requires that individuals injured by the railroad’s negligence be made whole. Justice will also ensure that the railroad has incentive to operate safely in the future.” - Steven P. Wagner, The Fargo Forum

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STATES STEP UP TO FUND AMTRAK SERVICE, BUT WANT FEDERAL MATCH

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Pacific Surfliner, running from San Luis Obispo, California, down the coast to San Diego, is Amtrak's second-most popular route, with nearly 2.7 million passengers last year.

But one thing sets it apart from most other trains run by the federally funded passenger railroad: It's paid for by the state of California.

California is among 14 states that fund corridor service that Amtrak wouldn't otherwise provide.

On Tuesday, Sens. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Trent Lott, R-Miss., are expected to announce the introduction of legislation that would, among other things, encourage more state investment in Amtrak by making federal matching funds available.

The sweeping bill -- similar to one that passed in the Senate 93 to 6 last year but was never voted on in the House -- calls for $12 billion in federal funding for the next six years. Many Amtrak supporters believe it has a better chance this year with Democrats in control of Congress.

But one aspect of the bill is relatively uncontroversial. The idea of matching funds for state investment in Amtrak is one that both supporters and critics of the railroad have embraced -- and something states like California believe is long overdue.

As for Amtrak itself, "states are our future," President Alex Kummant told The Associated Press last week. He said a matching program for capital investments, along with making Amtrak "more user-friendly" for states, is essential if Amtrak is to capitalize on growing demand for intercity rail.

Even without such matching funds, states have been stepping up. The biggest player, California, currently contributes $73 million for the Pacific Surfliner and two other trains it runs jointly with Amtrak.

Illinois last year doubled its annual subsidy to Amtrak to $24 million. The increase followed several years of double-digit growth in the number of riders on routes connecting Chicago with St. Louis, Carbondale, IL, and Quincy, IL, and allowed Amtrak to offer much more frequent service.

Other states that subsidize Amtrak service are Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

Outside of Amtrak's busiest route -- the northeast corridor from Boston to Washington - the state corridors are the biggest success stories. They provide a stark-contrast to the railroad's long-distance trains, which many critics believe should be eliminated because they are costly and attract comparatively few riders.

State involvement is healthy, "as opposed to having our trains totally planned by a centralized, monopolistic, Washington, DC, organization," said Joseph Vranich, a former Amtrak spokesman who is now one of its most vocal critics.

But states can only do so much without the availability of matching funds for capital improvements, said Jason Tai, director of public and intermodal transportation for the Illinois Department of Transportation.

"Unlike other modes of transportation, be it highways, transit or even waterways, there is no dedicated substantial funding for rail. There is an unlevel playing field," Tai said.

The Lautenberg-Lott legislation would allow states to fund capital rail projects with up to 80 percent federal funds. States would continue to pay operating costs, but their arrangements with Amtrak would become more standardized. Currently, each state operates under separately negotiated agreements.

"If the federal government wants to get out of the operating business, this seems to me a reasonable way to do it," said Will Kempton, director of the California Department of Transportation.

Kempton and Tai said any legislation that is passed should take into account past investments by states, so that those that did step up to fund Amtrak in the past are not penalized. They said one way to do that would be to provide them with a more generous match in the beginning.

Kempton said California would be eager to take advantage of any available capital funds.

"We're not just sitting on our laurels," he said. "We're looking at expanding service." - Sarah Karush, The Associated Press, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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BROKEN RAIL BLAMED FOR CORN SPILLAGE AFTER TRAIN DERAILMENT

GENESEE, WI -- About 800 tons of corn was spilled when 10 freight cars on a Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co. train derailed and overturned earlier this month. The accident occurred in Genesee, Wisconsin's Sunset Park near Sunset Drive and Highway DE on January 5. The load was taking the grain from Horicon to Janesville. No one was injured during the mishap.

According to investigators, a broken rail is being blamed for the accident--which may have been damaged during the unusual winter weather. The track is about 100 years old in the area of the accident.

The rail company said the damage was so great that eight of the 10 derailed cars, weighing 30 tons each when empty, could not be salvaged. The wreckage will remain by the side of the track until someone makes a bid to the railroad company to scrap them.

A large vacuum made for grain was used to clean up the spilled corn, which was then transferred in trucks to a local grain elevator so that it could be reloaded onto freight cars for reshipping. - Wisconsin Ag Connection

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RAILROAD MUSEUM HAS NEW DIRECTOR

ASHWAUBENON, WI -- Jacqueline Frank is the director of education and programs for the National Railroad Museum.

In this newly created position, Frank will be responsible for developing educational programs for all age groups and coordinating volunteer efforts.

Frank began her duties with the museum on Jan. 2.

A Green Bay native, Frank earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
She also earned a master's degree in history with a museum studies certification at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Her professional museum career began in 1994 working at Heritage Hill State Historical Park in Allouez. Frank has also served at UW-Milwaukee's Golda Meir Library Archives and the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay.

As a volunteer, Frank contributes time as a director of the Brown County Historical Society and as the archivist for the Richie-Ritche Memorial Association in Weyauwega. - The Green Bay Press-Gazette

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AIR BRAKE ROLLS OUT HIGH TECH RAIL BRAKE SYSTEM

WATERTOWN, NY -- The city where the airbrake was developed is home to a company continuing to lead the world in railroad braking technology.

The production of airbrake systems for rail cars and locomotives in Watertown goes back to 1876 when Fred W. Eames established the Eames Vacuum Brake Company. In 1890 the company was renamed the New York Air Brake Company.

In 2006 five NYAB engineers, Bryan McLaughlin, John Allen, Kevin Root, Dale Stevens and Jon Marra, received a patent for a train braking system that dramatically improves safety and efficiency. Additionally, the new integration train brake system reduces stress on car couplers resulting in longer equipment life.

The technology integrates electronic control with traditional pneumatic braking.

Traditional pneumatic braking is accomplished in daisy chain fashion. Braking is applied to the first car in a train, then the second and so on down to the last car.

With electronically-controlled pneumatic (ECP) braking, force is applied to the brakes of all cars in the train simultaneously.

During a briefing at NYAB last October, Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Joseph Boardman called ECP brakes “the most significant development in railroad braking technology since the 1870s.” - WWTI-TV50, Watertown, NY

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TRAINS COLLIDE, EXPLODE IN KENTUCKY

IRVINE, KY -- A collision between four runaway train cars and one engine caused a spectacular explosion and led authorities to evacuate some homes and businesses in Estill County.

There are no reports of fatalities or injuries, and, according to police accounts, the collision was caused intentionally to stop the runaway cars, one of which was carrying a dangerous chemical.

According to CSX and Kentucky State Police, four cars broke loose from a CSX train just southeast of Winchester around 11:05. Gary Sease, a CSX spokesman in Jacksonville, Florida, said the four cars rolled out of a siding at the Patio community. The cars rolled about 20 miles to Irvine before the collision.

Sease said the cars hit two engines, an account that contradicted officials at the scene. Sease said the runaway cars was carrying Butyl acetate, a flammable liquid used in the manufacture of lacquers, photographic films and plastics. The other three cars carried plastic pellets.

After the cars broke free, the railroad contacted a station near Irvine and had engineers pull one engine away from the station and into the line of the breakaway cars, said Chris Lanham of the Kentucky State Police.

The engineers then abandoned the engine. The railroad wanted to stop the runaway cars before they reached Irvine or the train station, Lanham said. The collision, which took place northwest of Irvine near the Kentucky River, destroyed the four cars and the engine, and sent up a thick plume of black smoke.

Lanham said, that according to firefighters on the scene, the collision sent some fuel or other chemicals into the river, which was on fire for a while. State emergency management officials, however, said the river wasn’t affected.

Police evacuated about 20 nearby homes and two businesses -- a coal tipple and a Carhartt factory. Residents of Irvine were advised to stay indoors.

The National Transportation Safety Board is on the scene. - The Lexington Herald-Leader

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STUDENTS HONORED FOR AMTRAK DEPOT WORK

Photo here: [www.thepaper24-7.com]

Caption reads: The Paper photo by Rick Holtz. Monon Railroad Historical-Technical Society President Frank Van Bree (front row left) recognized the hard work of Dr. Helen Hudson and three of her students Eric Hutson (middle row), Jess Meyer (back row left) and Natalie Davis Saturday morning at the societies’ January meeting. Hudson’s classes from Crawfordsville High School were recognized for this work on the Crawfordsville Amtrak Station.

LINDEN, IN -- Three Crawfordsville High School students were recognized Saturday at the Monon Railroad Historical-Technical Society for their class's work on the Crawfordsville Amtrak Station.

Crawfordsville seniors Natalie Davis and Jess Meyer, along with junior Eric Hutson were invited to the society's January meeting where the students received the Monon Golden Spike Award. Meyer and Hutson accepted plaques on behalf of Matt Kelsey and Paul Utterback.

Society President Frank Van Bree told the three students in attendance that the society would make sure that the other students participating in the project would receive some sort of award.

Dr. Helen Hudson said that the renovation project began when Crawfordsville High School received a grant allowing students to have laptop computers. She said that for the students to receive the laptop computers, they had to participate in problem-based learning.

Hudson said that close to 100 students have been involved in the project since its inception. 55 students are currently working on the project.

Hutson said that he got involved in the project because he did not want it to fade away after one or two classes graduated. He said that he understood that as the students involved in the project graduated, others would have to step up and keep it going.

"I wanted to make sure the project kept going," said Hutson.

Hudson said that the two classes found community problems and looked for solutions. In spring of 2005, the classes decided to cleanup the area around the Crawfordsville Amtrak Station.

Davis said that the classes took out 50 to 60 bags of trash for their first clean up.

"The station was full of junk and trash," said Hudson. "We made it a miniature park that the whole city could use."

Hudson said that she made sure the classes did more than just clean up the area around the station. She made the classes learn the history of trains in Crawfordsville.

Hudson said that on Halloween the train station was vandalized. Davis said that papers were burned and feces were spread around the station.

"(The vandalism) was a hard blow," said Hudson. "Someone did it on purpose," said Davis. "It was no accident."

The students were not discouraged by the actions of a few people.

"It convinced us on the need of better lighting," said Meyer.

On April 28, Hudson's class is sponsoring "C'vlle Rides the Train." Davis said that that will be a day for Crawfordsville people to ride the train and spend a day in Chicago.

"It will be a great way to encourage citizens of Crawfordsville to ride the train," said Davis. - Rick Holtz, The Paper of Montgomery County (Crawfordsville, IN)

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EXPERTS PLAY DOWN ROLE OF SPEED IN TRAIN DERAILMENTS

Canadian National Railways engine 9606 accelerated to unstoppable speeds in the mountains of British Columbia last June, but it was Karen Hunt's life, 40 kilometers away, that came to the screeching halt.

Her common-law husband, Don Faulkner, a 59-year-old conductor and life-long railroader, frantically tried to bring the careening train under control as it went faster than the posted speed limit on one of North America's steepest railway grades, but there was nothing that could stop it from plunging into the Fraser River below.

Mr. Faulkner and engineer Tom Dodd, 55, died that day.

"It's changed my life," Ms. Hunt said this week from her home in Savona, B.C. "A derailment affects not only the trainmen who have to go back on that run, but it affects families, it affects friends, it affects the community, it affects my new grandson who was just born."

As the number of high-profile derailments across the country continues to climb year after year, the questions of how fast those trains were going and whether speed limits need to be reduced across the country have never been too far behind.

In fact, the number of derailments fell significantly last year.

There were 134 main-track derailments in 2006, down from the 193 in 2005, 152 in 2004, and 149 in 2003, according to statistics provided by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the independent agency that investigates rail, air, marine and pipeline accidents.

But whether dozens of cars jump the track, or just one, the debate about slowing things down in the name of safety is always reignited by those who come face to face with the disaster of a derailed train.

The Jan. 7 derailment of a CN train in Montmagny, Que., highlighted the fact that the speed limit for the 121-car freight train hurtling only meters away from some homes -- and their inhabitants -- was 96.6 kilometers an hour. On a nearby residential street, cars travel at 50 kilometers an hour.

Even though the train was traveling within its limit and no one was injured, many are beginning to question the safety of the current limits for semi-urban areas. Among them is federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon, who called last month for an independent panel to conduct a full review of the Railway Safety Act.

"There is obviously something going on, as we can see with derailments happening more frequently lately," said Natalie Sarafian, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cannon. She said the act, which regulates everything from speed to what goods can be transported, was last revised a decade ago.

"The minister noticed that there needs to be something done . . . to improve the safety and security of Canadians."

The panel is expected to present its report in the fall.

Jean-Guy Desrosiers, mayor of the town of 13,000, sat down with CN last Thursday to demand again that the speeds of trains passing through Montmagny be reduced. (A similar request after 15 CN cars jumped the track there in 2004 was made to no avail.)

This time, they agreed to a temporary reduction, even though CN said a broken bolt hole on a switch component, and not speed, was the cause of the accident.

Tom Thompson, assistant vice-president of operations at CN, notes that speed is very rarely determined to be the cause of derailments.

Of the 134 main-track derailments in Canada last year, CN reported 76 of them. But Mr. Thompson stressed that's still a drop from 103 in 2005.

"If [the train operator travels within permissible limits], I would go on the record as saying we are not going to have a derailment caused as a result of speed," he said. "The norm is that our main-track derailment causes deal with an equipment or mechanical causation."

So why the decision to reduce speed limits near Montmagny?

"For public confidence. . . . Until we have firmly established cause to our own satisfaction internally at CN, we are complying with the wishes of the locality to reduce train speeds," he said.

Even so, permanent reductions in speed limits may not be the answer to keeping trains on the tracks, according to railway safety experts.

Speed limits, which are regulated by Transport Canada, are currently calculated based on track curvature, grade, steepness, sightlines and conditions like repairs or weather.

Peter Rayner, an internationally renowned expert on rail safety, said there is nothing unsafe about trains traveling at speeds of up to 160 kilometers an hour.

The maximum permitted speed in Canada is 105 kilometers an hour. In fact, the former British Rail operations manager said, Canada's railway speed limits are consistent with those in the United States, Britain and mainland Europe, and fall within standards of the International Union of Railways.

"Providing a train runs within the permitted speed with the vehicles and tracks well-maintained, how fast you're going shouldn't have anything to do with a derailment."

Further to that, he doesn't think what is in the train -- "it could be milk, it could be acid" -- should determine speed, either.

Clarence Woudsma, a freight-train analyst at the University of Waterloo, said that at a time when environmentally friendly ways of transporting goods is a top priority, putting the brakes on trains would hurt more than just an industry.

"You could make the operation extremely safe by having it travel at super-slow speeds, but you would basically kill its economic efficiency."

CN's Mr. Thompson looks at it from another perspective. "In the end, the only productive way to run a railroad is to run it safely," he said, noting that derailments cost the private company "millions" every year.

"We have no interest, both from our bottom line and what it costs us for that derailment, to the disruption it gives and what it does to our reputation. There's just nothing in it for us to be anything but as safe as we can be." - Unnati Gandhi, The Toronto Globe and Mail

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TRANSIT NEWS[/b]

[b]METRO STRIVES TO EASE FARE SHOCK

HOUSTON, TX -- To work out the expected bugs and soften the shock to transit riders, Metro says it will phase in its new fare structure and "Q Card" payment system over several months and hopes to complete the changeover this summer.

Photo here: [images.chron.com]

Caption reads: A new Q Card-operated ticket vending machine awaits activation at the MetroRail boarding platform at Metro's Downtown Transit Center, 1900 Main at the Pierce Elevated. Metro is predicting its new payment system will be ready to use in the summer. Houston Chronicle photo by Steve Ueckert.

"We're planning a rolling start rather than dumping an entire new system on patrons at once," said Metropolitan Transit Authority spokeswoman Raequel Roberts.

"It's just such a massive thing that to start Feb. 4 (the previously announced date) and expect everybody to be on board would have been too overwhelming," she said. "We don't want people getting on the bus and having all kinds of problems."

Metro announced last year that the new fare structure and stored-value Q (for "quick") Cards will replace the complex existing system of discounts and passes. Because of those discounts, the average fare per ride is 48 cents. That average will rise under the new structure as Metro attempts to increase the portion of its revenue that comes from the fare box.

After a series of meetings among Metro staff and consultants to review equipment performance and plan the rollout strategy, Metro vice presidents George Smalley and Erik Oistad laid out the tentative schedule Friday.

To start with, Metro has recruited about 600 riders from all parts of the transit system -- including local bus, Park & Ride bus, MetroRail and MetroLift -- as part of an eventual sample of 1,000 who will use the new cards and report any glitches.

This cross-section of riders, dubbed "Q Boosters," are being issued Q Cards with $10 of stored value on them and will receive partial refunds for charging the cards up again when that runs out, Smalley said.

Oistad said these riders will use the new system and fill out forms about their experiences.
Among other things, they'll be surveyed about use of the card readers on buses, error codes they may observe in the reader window, whether they were able to transfer within a route, and when and where they rode.

The group also will test new fares, Smalley said. "If you're a student, for instance, the fare will go up from 25 cents to 50 cents, and we're testing to make sure the card reads 50 cents."

Vending machines in place

All Q Boosters should be on the job by Feb. 4 and will continue to report during the phase-in.
Also by then, Oistad said, new ticket vending machines will have been installed at all MetroRail stations. Q Card readers, which deduct fares from the cards' stored value, are already installed on Metro buses and will be on trains.

The new rail ticket machines, like the present ones, will accept cash, credit and debit cards to issue single-ride tickets for $1. The popular 24-hour passes that provide a day of rides for $2 are being discontinued.

The ticket machines also can be used to add stored value to Q Cards.

The next phase, starting in early March, will widen the program to large employers, such as government, corporations and hospitals, that sponsor transit rides for their workers.

About 10,000 riders take part in such programs now, Oistad said. "Participation will be voluntary on the part of the sponsor and will be drawn largely from Park & Ride customers," he said.

Unlike the Q Boosters, these riders will not be obliged to fill out reports, but the group will be large enough that major glitches should come to Metro's attention, Oistad said.

Flexible deadline

After any kinks are worked out, it will take about 30 days to extend the changes to the system, Oistad said.

"We will announce a date for full conversion and launch an aggressive public awareness program to get the Q Cards and Metro Money (disposable fare cards with a fixed value) into the hands of our riders," he said.

Officials would not set a date for that, but Smalley said it will probably be this summer.

"Our CEO, Frank Wilson, has made it crystal clear that the most important thing is the convenience of the customer and that if we encounter something unexpected, we are not going to rigidly adhere to a particular date at the expense of the customer," Smalley said.

"Ridership has been on an upswing, and we want to keep it going in that direction."

In November, however, Metro's Chief Financial Officer Francis Britton told the agency board that ridership will likely fall by around 11 percent when the changes occur.

Some riders are likely to be discouraged by the unfamiliar payment system, and fares for many will increase even though the base fare for local buses and MetroRail will remain $1.

What about old cards?

Several Houston Chronicle readers have asked what will happen to their time-activated passes and stored-value cards when the changeover occurs.

This is a substantial group. Last year, Metro sold 9,283 of its 365-day passes, whose cost varies with trip length and discounts for particular groups.

Metro stopped selling the passes Oct. 1 and will do the same for shorter-term ones as the change date nears. "Individuals will be able to come to the Metro ride stores and exchange their cards, but there should be enough overlap so that you can use (the shorter-term passes) to the end," said David McMaster, director of customer service and sales for Metro.

McMaster said value remaining on the cards when the changeover occurs will be credited to the customer.

For example, he said, if a rider paid $1,000 for a 365-day pass and half the time had expired, there would be $500 in credit remaining. - Rad Sallee, The Houston Chronicle

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CTA RIDERSHIP UP SLIGHTLY IN 2006

CHICAGO, IL -- Chicago Transit Authority ridership inched up 0.5 percent overall in 2006 from the previous year, with a relatively strong gain on trains offset by a drop-off in bus customers, the agency reported Monday.

CTA trains provided 195.2 million rides last year, up 4.5 percent from 2005, the transit agency said.

Buses, which account for two-thirds of total CTA ridership, provided 298.4 million rides in 2006, a 1.6 percent reduction from 2005.

The half-percent increase overall on buses and trains boosted CTA ridership to its highest level since 1993 and continued a string of ridership increases in eight of the last nine years, officials said.

An improving economy in recent years, creating more jobs in the region, has fueled the ridership increases.

Statistics show that many new transit customers are choosing rail travel to avoid worsening traffic congestion that slows buses and bunches them up on their routes.

But that pattern could change when extensive track work begins in April on the Red Line, the CTA's busiest rail route, along the North Side between the Addison and Armitage stops.

The work, which will also affect service on the Brown and Purple/Evanston Express Lines until late 2009, is expected to double travel times for many rush-hour train commuters, the CTA said.

The transit agency is advising riders of the three rail lines to avoid crowded station platforms and packed slow-moving trains by switching to CTA buses and Metra trains. - Jon Hilkevitch, The Chicago Tribune

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CHINATOWN IS NEXT ON MUNI'S LIGHT RAIL LIST

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- With the opening of MUNI’s 3rd Street light rail line, the transportation agency can now focus on plans to bring underground service to Chinatown. MUNI Director Nathaniel Ford said the next big project is still years away, but the central subway plan will make a big impact on the city’s mass transit ridership.

“That population is a transit friendly population. It's a significant improvement in terms of our mobility in the city," Ford said. "We're right in the middle of the transit effectiveness study. I think there's great promise at the end of that process, which will clearly examine our entire transportation network, looking for opportunities for us to be more effective and efficient."

While the study is being conducted MUNI is working on a complete overhaul of existing schedules and routes. The overhead wiring project that caused several delays through the West Portal tunnel in recent months is also close to completion.

As far as funding, Ford said the agency is close to a balanced budget. Ford took over MUNI’s top position one year ago come Wednesday. - KCBS-740AM, San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, CA

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SALT LAKE CITY EMBRACES LIGHT RAIL, EXPANSION: FACTORS DRIVING ITS SUCCESS MISSING FROM THE VALLEY

SALT LAKE CITY, UT -- When light rail opened here seven years ago, people lined up around the block. From the first day, the trains carried more people than were forecast for 2025.

Seats are still scarce as the boxlike trains thread through downtown. On a bitter cold day last month, they filled up with office workers heading north and construction workers and retail clerks going south. Lines of trains waited for Utah Jazz fans. Families flocked back from a downtown mall with armfuls of gifts.

Residents of the Salt Lake area have embraced light rail to a degree that few imagined.

Its popularity would seem a harbinger of crowds to come when the Valley's trains begin to roll in late 2008. The Salt Lake and Phoenix areas are similar, as both lie in the mountain West and are car-dependent.

But the Valley lacks some of the factors that drove the acceptance of light rail in Salt Lake. A need to prepare for the Olympics, for one. And the pervasive influence of the Mormon Church, which promoted the transportation alternative.

Still, it took opening day to win over many skeptics. That buy-in has turned the region into a rail showcase.

The area has voted for five light-rail extensions, including to places that once shunned rail. One was a suburban county where 88 percent of voters backed President Bush in 2004. The first time they were asked to vote on rail, 60 percent backed it.

So far, Salt Lake has invested $2 billion in local funds as part of a plan to build 50 miles of light rail and 120 miles of commuter rail.

Over the next 75 years, suburbs are planning to put residents of big luxury homes into trains, while uranium plants and Superfund sites are becoming stations and station communities.

Like Phoenix, Salt Lake is conservative, tax-averse and fond of the open vistas and open roads. It's also growing rapidly, and despite a $1.6 billion investment in freeways, traffic jams abound.

Initially, "I thought the money (spent on rail) should be spent on roads," said Denis Nordfelt, former police chief and now mayor of fast-growing suburb West Valley City.

The City Council voted against light rail. Now the city of 120,000 is getting an extension and voting to tax itself for the benefit. Nordfelt led the charge after seeing TRAX, the light-rail system, keeping throngs of Winter Olympics fans off the freeways in 2002.

"I was a true convert at that time," he said. "Crow doesn't taste too bad if you put enough salt on it."

Larry H. Miller also became a devotee of rail. One of the nation's top-10 car dealers, he owns the Utah Jazz. He supported rail but was not thrilled to pay for stations in front of his downtown basketball arena and his suburban office. Now he does ads for TRAX and sells train tickets inside the arena.

During a recent visit, dozens of riders and residents, politicians and planners talked of the same thing: Once people got past their fear of the unknown, light rail took off like a Western brush fire. - Sean Holstege, The Arizona Republic

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