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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMTWYarp CITY OF LAUREL MTWYarp DEDICATED TO PRESERVING, IMPROVING AND INCREASING RAIL PASSENGER SERVICE IN MONTANA AND WYOMING. NOVEMBER 2003 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE As you read this newsletter, you will feel my frustration of our efforts and what must be done.. I believe our project is just and will eventually become a reality, but it needs to be addressed constantly. There are things happening that must be responded to and there are those items that need to be at least known if not responded to, so as to know what is happening. We all know that the state, the counties, the cities as well as the nation are facing tough economic times. Therefore, we must keep faith that we will overcome. Now if we are to be ready to proceed when that time comes we must be active NOW. You will read in the next.article which is a report of what took place at our annual meeting. In there you will notice what was discussed about how we will be ready when the time comes if we keep our message and project in front of those that will help in getting us what is Warrt,~l and ,,eed in the state of Montana. We need sponsors of our cause, we need to build a bank account to do what needs to be done and we need each of you to do it NOW. We are a 501c3 non profit, tax deductible corporation which gives any donor the ability to deduct from their taxes their contribution or donation to us. We have come along ways since we first staCted four years ago, even though we still do not have more train passenger service, and we would like to keep us in the same position as we are now enjoying as time goes by. If you have someone who will give a donation our FID is 81-??????. The last article is a letter sent by one of our officers and is a sample for you to use to send now to our delegation. Montana/Wyoming Association of Railroad Passengers Annual Meeting Moose Lodge - 131 Calhoun - Billings, MT Sat. Oct. 4, 2003 - 1 lam Association Mtg. - Noon Luncheon- lpm Public Mtg., if Necessary Pres. Jim Green called the annual meeting of the MT/Wy Associaiton of Railroad Passengers (MT/WY ARP) to order at 11:1Sam. There were 12 people in attendance. Secretary Susan Wahl road the minutes from last year's annual meeting that wes held on Sat. Sept. 2002 in Columbus, MT. She also reported that the organization had a treasury balance of $2,147.43 last year and that we now have a current balance of $847.47. A motion was made, seconded, and those members present approved the reading of the minutes from the 2002 meeting. J. Green led a discussion on whether or not the organization should change its' name by removing Wyoming from the name. At the present, there doesn't seem to be much active interest from Wyoming to work towards preserving, improving, and increasing rail passenger service across the country and through Montana and Wyoming. It was also noted that the Wyoming VP had resigned from his position a year ago and that a replacement had not yet been found. After a lengthy discussion, a motion was made, amended, and passed to keep the name of the organization as is but to focus our efforts first on Montana and second on Wyoming. It was felt that there may be a better chance of expanding rail passenger service through Montana across the Southern route of the state instead of working on the route from Spokane to Billings (Laurel); through Wyoming (Greybull - Casper); and on to Denver when there is very little active interest from the residents of Wyoming. Jim will call a IJdmary contact in Wyoming that is interested in rail passenger service along with what this group is doing, however, this indMdual is not able to be as actively involved as he would like to be but he appreciates being kept informed. Jim will update him on the actions taken by the group at today's meeting. Comments were also made that the BNSF Railway is looking at the possibility of selling the Laurel - Greybull - Casper line to either another railroad or an interested business that would want to operate the line. Discussion ensued on the topic of S.1505 (American Rail Equity Act of 2003) which was introduced by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and co-sponsored by Senators Conrad Burns (R-MT), Trent Lott (R-MS), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). This legislation is a six-year bill that would authorize $2 billion a year ($12 billion total) for Amtrakoperations, and a total of $48 billion in tax credit bonds for capital projects. A Rail Infrastructure Finance Corp. would administer a trust fund to repay the bonds over 20 years. Also, a ~Federal Passenger Rail Office' in the DOT would recommend the capital projects. For those projects, states would provide a 20% match. It was brought up that either the President of CN or CP had commented about VIA Rail routing one of their trains from Edmonton to Shelby, MT to connect with the states. The topic of the 75t~ Anniversary of the operation of the 'Empire Builder" was discussed. J. Green said that the anniversary date is 6/29/04 and that he is proposing that the state of Montana, MT/WY ARP, and other interested parties, involve the schools across the Hi-Line in organizing and sponsoring an essay contest. The topic of the essay would be why Amtrak's ~Empire Builder" is important to your city and/or county. The winners~ along with their parents, would be given a free train ride courtesy of Amtrak between stations across Montana. Jim said he hopes that Amtrak will operate a spec'al train from Mips. to Searde in which it would be in Montana on June 29, 2004. There may also be special celebrations at all the Montana station stops iq which cake and drinkwould be offered in recognition of this significant date. Those in attendance felt that this was a good Elea and that the MT/WY ARP should be involved in whatever caPacity the group could participant !n. ~Jim sa!d that he would keep the members informed on this, and other plans,:that: would~take place next year to celebrate this event. There was talk about the current inadequate length of some of the station platforms in Montana and how Amtrak's crews must stop twice just to let off passengers. This takes up additional dwell time that could be reduced if the train only had to stop once to board and detrain passengers. Further discussion was had on how various entities own the stations, platforms, and other appurtenances that need to be maintained. Some of these groups include the BNSF, Amtrak, the respective city, and even a historical society. With so many different groups involved, it makes it difficult to come up with an agreement for funding as well as who is responsible for actual repairs or enhancements at these station locations. J. Green told the group that in order to continue his duties as a NARP Director to be able to attend one of the two annual NARP Board of Directors Meetings, as well as attend the annual NARP Reg!on 8 Meeting, ~h~t b~w0ul_d ne~d_help with funding for the-trips tb attend th~s~ m ~etings. Prop0sal§ we~ Offered th~;i-th~s~ ~e~[J~s~ be-con~/eyed in a future newsletter. It was further suggested that we include specific language in the newsletter and in a promotional flyer that states the fact that the MT/WY ARP is a 501(c)(3) organization in which dues and contrioutions are tax deductible. A final discussion point had to do with the future of the organization and what we can do to build membership and raise funds for the operation of our group. J. Green said that we need to find a new Treasurer account the current one is unable to fulfill his duties. We need to come up with economical ways to increase membership to the MT/WY ARP. Doug Campbell from Miles City promoted the suggestion of having a booth at the Montana AgrkTrade Exposition (MATE) show in Billings which is scheduled for Feb. 19 - 20 - 21, 2004. While the price for booth space is somewhat expensive for a non-profit advocacy group such as ours~ we could possibly share that booth with the area railroads' Operation Lifesaver d spay J Green offered to contact Rick Flinkwho' is involvedw~ operationLifesaver (OL) for the BNSF Railway as well as Montana Operation Lifesaver to see whether or not a joint arrangement could be agreed to~ to have. OL and MT/WY ARP share a booth at the MATE show next year. This show draws thousands of people from both : Montana and Wyoming and would be an excellent forum to grow our membership, it was further offered that the group attends local functions at the malls and other locations that are having special functions; scheduled throughout'the year, to promote our e>dstence and to build membership.. Doug said we need to become more visible throughout the state in an effort to promote the cause of what our organization stands for and what we would like to do. Som · ideas include pens and pencils with our organization's name and phone number shown. We could utilize caps, which we already have some, as well as put together an informational flyer to spread throughout the state. This flyer would explain the purpose of our group as well as offer an application form that interested indMduals could tear off and mail in with their dues. The meeting ended at 2pm. Respectively submitted, Dear Senator Burns: This letter is to let you know I fully support the Hutchinson "Amtrak or nothing" bill presently being considered by Congress. As the recording eecretary of MTWY Association of Rail Passengers, my interest is more than of a passing nature. Leaving aside for the moment my lifelong love of trains, please consider how important rail passenger service is to our country. It makes no sense to have our transportation system entirely dependent on airplanes and cars, and to a smaller extent, buses. We all know what happened to airports and airplanes after g111. Foming Amtrak to become privately owned and requiring subsidies from those states wanting to continue rail service will essentially mean the end of passenger rah service in America. The amount of money contained in the Hutchinson legislation, both direct tax dollars and the bonding authorization, will go a long way towards solving the problems created by Congress when Amtrak came into extstonce thirty years ago. Our transportation system, in all forms, is heavily subsidized by taxpayers. Cars, trucks and buses mn on roads built with tax dollars. Airports are owned, almost exclusively, by public agencies funded by tax dollars. The airlines are heavily subsidized by tax dollars. Our nation depends on reliable transportation in all forms and that can only be accomplished in a public/private relationship. Why would anyone believe only passenger rail service could operate independently?. I want to share a story with you from my childhood. When I grew up in Southern California in the 1940's and 50's, there was a marvelous transportation system called the PacifiC Electric Red Cars. A person could travel from the San Femando Valley down to the beaches of Orange County, into downtown Los Angeles and to all point's east and wast. My father went to work every day on the Red Car. Sadly, this system was dismantled with the collusion of the auto industry, big oil and the tire manufacturers. These folks wanted roads built and cars sold. The Pacific Electdc cars were taken out on the Pacific Ocean and dumped overboard. And the point of this story? Guess where the transit system in Los Angeles County runs most of their trains? The old Pacific Electric right-of-waysl Dismantling the Amtrak system both commuter and long distance will probably require that it be resurrected sometime in the future. Why not make it a viable alternative now to cars and airplanes? Add the feeder lines needed to Justify long distance trains, improve and increase the rolling stock and make the entire system an integral part of our overall transportation network. I recognize that you,have Supported the Empire Builder line that crosses the top of our state, but that line is not enough to sewe the population of Montana and the ad~jac~en.t states. With an additional southern line that would .stretch f_rom SpoEane; W~ to~F~rg-d, ND,~"6-ur Eo~tifdents wiS~Id have access to the entire Amtrak system ~ith0'~t ha~i~ to drive 275 miles to ride the Empire Builder. Students, visitors seeking recreational opportunities in Montana and just plain travelers would beneffi from an additional rail line across a southern route. There is another beneffi to this piece of legislation. Livingston has one of the largest facilities in the United States available to repair, rebuild and build-from-scrstch passenger cars and support stock. The immense amount of work required to bring our trains up to a safe standard, along with adding new rolling stock, could generate 250-300 jobs in Livingston alone. I sincerely hope you will support the Hutchinson bill so that Amtrak can continue to grow into a rail system the entire country can point to with pride. .Perhaps Rep. Kennedy would like to start with the Empire Builder in his state for Amtrak cuts. I hope advocates acr°ss the Minn. will let Mr. Kennedy here from them. (Ray Dunbar ) CREDITLINE: The Associated Press & Star Tdbune ~ HEADLINE: Mayor tells New Yorkers to stiff Kennedy ~ WASHINGTON - New York City has not been kind to Rep. Mark Kennedy this month. First, the Minnesota Republican had to fork over a case of Gluek beer and No Name Steaks after losing a bet to Rep, V'ito Fossella, R-N.Y., on the Minnesota Twins-New York Yankees playoff series, which New York took, 3-1. Now, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Republican, is urging New Yorkers not to contribute to Kennedy's campaign. Kennedy was one of four House Republicans who Bloomberg said should not receive contributions because, he said, they vote against the city's interests. Bloomberg aides cited Kennedy's attempts to cut funding for Amtrak. Kennedy declined a request for an interview, but his spokeswoman, Robin Feldman, said Kennedy "loves New York and always has." "Amtrak reform is about cutting wasteful mutes and concentrating resources where they make sense," she added. Aides to Bloomberg also cited House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado and Rep. Chadie Norwood of Georgia as representatives who have voted against the city's Interests. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO HELP US? MT/WY ASSOCIATION OF NON-PROFIT ORG RAILROAD PASSENGERS U.S. POSTAGE PAID 2110 WINGATE LANE PERMIT NO. 471 BILLINGS, MONTANA 59102 BILLINGS, MONTANA 406-652-1339 jimabiff~.earthlink, net THIS EDITION OF THE OFFICIAL NEWS FOR "MT/WY ARP ' IS WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE FO~?O~ING BUSINESS WE ASK YOU TO SUPPORT THEM!! WE NEED MORE LIKE THEM. WE NEED MORE TO PAY DUES, OR BE A SPONSOR, OR FIND THEM FOR US. WE WANT TO CONTINUE THE NEWSLETTER. PLEASE HELPH ii!! Train Passenger Stuck In Toilet After Losing Phone NEW YORK - A man trying to fish out his cell phone from a commuter train toilet got his arm stuck, forcing the train to stop and causing delays throughout the rail system. Thousands of commuters were delayed and several trains were rerouted while rescue workers tried to pull him out, a Metro-North Railroad spokesman said Thursday. Edwin Gallart, 41, of the Bronx, dropped his cell phone in the toilet of his Mount Vernon-bound train shortly after it left Grand Central Terminal during rush hour on Wednesday, Metro-North spokesman Dan Brucker said. The ffain was held at a station after a passenger heard Gallart's cries for help. When train workers failed to pry Gailarffs arm free, police officers and firefighters were called in to use a blowtorch to break apart the stainless steel toilet Meantime, all 600 passengers aboard the train were put on other trains and all northbound trains had to be rerouted, causing significant delays and thousands of dollars in additional costs for Metro-North, which might seek damages from Gallart, Brucker said. Galla~s home telephone number was unlisted and he couldn't be reached for comment. Ray Dunbar - Texas