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Meetings

MARP meeting March 20, 2010 in Detroit

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Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers
Member Meeting
Saturday, March 20, 2010
10:00 am

Grand Trunk Pub (formerly Foran’s)
612 Woodward Ave.
Detroit, MI 48207
517-782-1895
http://www.grandtrunkpub.com/

The Grand Trunk Pub, formerly Foran’s, is the site of the next MARP member meeting. Carmine Palombo, Director of Transportation Programs for SEMCOG, will provide an update on the progress of the Ann Arbor to Detroit Commuter Rail Demonstration Project.  This service is expected to open later in October this year, with stops at Metro Airport, Dearborn, and Ypsilanti. Q & A will follow the presentation. Also on the agenda is a report of a recent meeting of West Michigan business leaders and legislators concerning a proposed re-route Pere Marquette route. Also anticipated is a report on what Amtrak President Joseph Boardman had to say about the photography policy, as well as other matters discussed at the March 6 Trains Magazine Townhall in Chicago. Coffee and donuts will be available. 

Following the meeting, members are invited to enjoy lunch on their own tab at the pub, which was once the Grand Trunk Railway ticket office and has Michigan historic landmark status.

The pub is located on the east side of  Woodward just north of Congress or just south of Campus Martius. Some parking is located in front or you can park and take the People Mover to the financial District Station. It’s about a block and a half walk from there.

Michigan Association of Rail Passengers
Announcements, News, Ridership statistics

Big ridership gains on Blue Water and Wolverine trains

The Blue Water and Wolverine services each posted impressive ridership
numbers during the month of February. 

The Wolverine experienced a 13.5% increase over the previous year’s performance.  The Blue Water also experienced an increase of 9.2% followed by the Pere Marquette that inched past last February’s ridership by 0.2%.

Ticket Revenue for each of the Michigan services was healthy with the Wolverine increasing revenue by 18.5% followed by the Blue Water and Pere Marquette with increases of 13.4% and 10.3%, respectively.

Therese G. Cody at the Michigan Department of Transportation said the recent inclement weather in the Midwest (Illinois and Michigan) travel market, coupled with higher fuel prices had a positive impact on corridor ridership and ticket revenue.

All 3 trains in Michigan were above Amtrak budget:
Train                  Budget$            Budget%    Actual$        Actual% 
Wolverine            $953,675           16.9%        $1,115,021   18.5%
Blue Water          $233,602           12.0%        $261,593      13.4%      
Pere Marquette    $172,205            6.4%         $183,239      10.3%
NBM 09 #’s were not taken into consideration in the above #’s
Ridership statistics

Michigan Amtrak ridership stats for February 2010

  NATIONAL RAILROAD PASSENGER CORPORATION (AMTRAK)  
                     
  SUMMARIZED FY 2010 MICHIGAN RIDERSHIP AND REVENUE RESULTS*  
                     
  COMPARATIVE SUMMARY – MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2010 VERSUS 2009  
                     
  MONTH  ENDED FEBRUARY 28, 2010 VERSUS 2009  *  
                     
  Ridership *   Ticket Revenue (In Dollars) *  
   February   February  Increase/(Decrease)    February   February  Increase/(Decrease)  
Corridor/Service  2010  2009 Amount Percentage   2010 s009 Amount Percentage  
                     
Blue Water 9,421 8,624              797 9.2%   $261,593 $230,717  $     30,876 13.4%  
                     
Pere Marquette 6,441 6,430               11 0.2%   $183,239 $166,094         17,145 10.3%  
                       
Wolverine 33,437 29,471           3,966 13.5%   $1,115,021 $940,663       174,358 18.5%  
Total 49,299 44,525           4,774 10.7%   $1,559,853 $1,337,474  $    222,379 16.6%  
                       
                     
  FOURTH MONTH OF STATE FISCAL YEAR –  PERIOD ENDED FEBRUARY 28, 2010  
                     
  Ridership *   Ticket Revenue (In Dollars) *  
Corridor/Service    Year-To-Date FEBRUARY 28, Increase/(Decrease)      Year-To-Date FEBRUARY 28, Increase/(Decrease)  
  2010 2009 Amount Percentage   2010 2009 Amount Percentage  
                     
Blue Water 55,250 54,145           1,105 2.0%   $1,730,559 $1,635,123  $     95,436 5.8%  
                       
Pere Marquette 37,656 41,383          (3,727) -9.0%   $1,094,913 $1,148,617        (53,704) -4.7%  
                         
Wolverine 171,120 180,178          (9,058) -5.0%   $6,159,648 $6,128,465         31,183 0.5%  
Total 264,026 275,706 (11,680) -4.2%   $8,985,120 $8,912,205  $     72,915 1%  
                     
                     
                     
                     
* Per February 2010 Ridership and Revenue Report (FY10)                
Ridership statistics

Amtrak ridership stats for February 2010

October-February FY10
                       
    Ridership Ticket Revenue
          % change vs.         % change vs.  
NEC Spine FY10 FY09 Budget FY09 Budget FY10 FY09 Budget FY09 Budget
1 – Acela   1,263,458 1,256,527 1,212,034 +0.6 +4.2 $171,847,522 $175,283,254 $168,740,188 -2.0 +1.8
5 – Northeast Regional   2,885,786 2,800,134 2,670,853 +3.1 +8.0 $183,181,886 $182,048,531 $173,645,425 +0.6 +5.5
99 – Special Trains   5,130 3,470 4,600 +47.8 +11.5 $466,400 $618,299 $517,000 -24.6 -9.8
Subtotal   4,154,374 4,060,131 3,887,487 +2.3 +6.9 $355,495,808 $357,950,084 $342,902,613 -0.7 +3.7
State Supported and Other Short Distance Corridors                    
3 – Ethan Allen   19,364 19,271 18,427 +0.5 +5.1 $965,116 $988,875 $944,521 -2.4 +2.2
4 – Vermonter   34,793 31,644 30,453 +10.0 +14.3 $1,910,872 $1,766,380 $1,703,111 +8.2 +12.2
7 – Albany-Niagara Falls-Toronto   141,774 136,447 133,900 +3.9 +5.9 $8,095,376 $7,859,049 $7,724,999 +3.0 +4.8
9 – Downeaster   179,240 178,292 184,554 +0.5 -2.9 $2,468,954 $2,418,814 $2,561,914 +2.1 -3.6
12 – New Haven-Springfield   146,821 133,067 126,886 +10.3 +15.7 $4,071,965 $3,908,282 $3,736,951 +4.2 +9.0
14 – Keystone   514,703 501,598 488,073 +2.6 +5.5 $11,041,788 $10,651,669 $10,369,935 +3.7 +6.5
15 – Empire (NYP-ALB)   391,925 374,150 369,683 +4.8 +6.0 $15,487,926 $15,258,245 $15,079,213 +1.5 +2.7
20 – Chicago-St. Louis (Lincoln Service)   210,923 191,414 192,988 +10.2 +9.3 $4,925,446 $4,323,692 $4,366,952 +13.9 +12.8
21 – Hiawatha   301,301 292,645 289,703 +3.0 +4.0 $5,441,799 $5,312,683 $5,272,247 +2.4 +3.2
22 – Wolverine   171,120 180,178 178,643 -5.0 -4.2 $6,159,648 $6,128,465 $6,095,097 +0.5 +1.1
23 – Chicago-Carbondale (Illini/Saluki)   106,595 110,337 110,019 -3.4 -3.1 $3,148,371 $3,079,612 $3,069,422 +2.2 +2.6
24 – Chicago-Quincy (IL Zephyr/Carl Sandburg)   81,486 81,968 81,680 -0.6 -0.2 $1,983,874 $1,905,841 $1,899,498 +4.1 +4.4
29 – Heartland Flyer   25,873 26,235 25,892 -1.4 -0.1 $564,512 $569,760 $563,020 -0.9 +0.3
35 – Pacific Surfliner   985,637 1,001,041 982,691 -1.5 +0.3 $18,092,482 $17,529,606 $18,032,668 +3.2 +0.3
36 – Cascades   317,653 269,461 300,556 +17.9 +5.7 $9,785,651 $7,605,000 $8,627,700 +28.7 +13.4
37 – Capitol Corridor   617,187 672,307 655,537 -8.2 -5.9 $9,135,367 $9,234,590 $9,577,389 -1.1 -4.6
39 – San Joaquin   384,870 370,202 363,967 +4.0 +5.7 $12,062,133 $11,502,867 $11,839,466 +4.9 +1.9
40 – Adirondack   40,222 36,044 34,572 +11.6 +16.3 $2,078,886 $1,849,136 $1,776,226 +12.4 +17.0
41 – Blue Water   55,250 54,145 53,473 +2.0 +3.3 $1,730,559 $1,635,123 $1,619,018 +5.8 +6.9
46 – Washington-Lynchburg   43,660 – 17,090 – +155.5 $2,711,994 – $1,080,668 – +151.0
47 – Washington-Newport News   172,307 168,822 165,905 +2.1 +3.9 $9,471,540 $9,425,084 $9,288,797 +0.5 +2.0
54 – Hoosier State   12,644 12,063 11,927 +4.8 +6.0 $298,247 $260,020 $256,930 +14.7 +16.1
56 – Kansas City-St. Louis (MO River Runner)   61,238 53,804 52,316 +13.8 +17.1 $1,447,290 $1,198,774 $1,166,004 +20.7 +24.1
57 – Pennsylvanian   85,182 80,069 78,122 +6.4 +9.0 $3,427,626 $3,230,358 $3,161,089 +6.1 +8.4
65 – Pere Marquette   37,656 41,383 41,230 -9.0 -8.7 $1,094,913 $1,148,617 $1,146,648 -4.7 -4.5
66 – Carolinian   118,115 117,328 113,134 +0.7 +4.4 $6,109,054 $6,198,683 $6,028,391 -1.4 +1.3
67 – Piedmont   29,733 30,284 42,611 -1.8 -30.2 $496,513 $503,134 $719,746 -1.3 -31.0
74-81 – Buses   – – – – – $2,580,695 $2,830,628 $2,787,178 -8.8 -7.4
96 – Special Trains    28,092 24,870 34,430 +13.0 -18.4 $1,776,510 $1,308,043 $1,826,152 +35.8 -2.7
Subtotal   5,315,364 5,189,069 5,178,462 +2.4 +2.6 $148,565,107 $139,631,028 $142,320,948 +6.4 +4.4
Long Distance                    
16 – Silver Star   158,360 148,066 145,042 +7.0 +9.2 $11,390,019 $10,998,692 $10,950,962 +3.6 +4.0
18 – Cardinal   37,889 42,810 41,710 -11.5 -9.2 $2,162,371 $2,497,972 $2,478,737 -13.4 -12.8
19 – Silver Meteor   139,684 132,054 129,774 +5.8 +7.6 $13,500,710 $13,461,809 $13,434,695 +0.3 +0.5
25 – Empire Builder   202,326 200,777 214,538 +0.8 -5.7 $17,839,451 $19,008,350 $20,772,512 -6.1 -14.1
26 – Capitol Ltd.   79,157 83,446 81,159 -5.1 -2.5 $6,299,943 $6,739,993 $6,663,675 -6.5 -5.5
27 – California Zephyr   135,533 139,619 138,445 -2.9 -2.1 $14,081,879 $14,482,740 $14,327,490 -2.8 -1.7
28 – Southwest Chief   120,678 122,930 121,562 -1.8 -0.7 $13,563,862 $14,694,736 $14,525,426 -7.7 -6.6
30 – City of New Orleans   85,007 73,846 75,186 +15.1 +13.1 $6,302,707 $5,664,893 $5,767,373 +11.3 +9.3
32 – Texas Eagle   104,988 100,040 100,716 +4.9 +4.2 $7,765,597 $7,636,011 $7,688,931 +1.7 +1.0
33 – Sunset Ltd.   33,202 29,497 29,494 +12.6 +12.6 $3,419,047 $3,194,772 $3,194,465 +7.0 +7.0
34 – Coast Starlight   172,434 161,056 160,168 +7.1 +7.7 $12,677,637 $12,187,466 $12,116,779 +4.0 +4.6
45 – Lake Shore Ltd.   135,350 130,352 135,489 +3.8 -0.1 $9,726,168 $9,173,464 $10,251,095 +6.0 -5.1
48 – Palmetto   66,771 63,572 61,818 +5.0 +8.0 $5,026,817 $4,783,081 $4,742,131 +5.1 +6.0
52 – Crescent   108,691 108,745 105,013 -0.0 +3.5 $10,448,093 $10,325,301 $10,051,322 +1.2 +3.9
63 – Auto Train   96,411 91,821 91,069 +5.0 +5.9 $23,691,088 $24,850,122 $24,666,312 -4.7 -4.0
Subtotal   1,676,481 1,628,631 1,631,183 +2.9 +2.8 $157,895,388 $159,699,402 $161,631,905 -1.1 -2.3
                       
Amtrak Total   11,146,219 10,877,831 10,697,132 +2.5 +4.2 $661,956,303 $657,280,514 $646,855,466 +0.7 +2.3
News

Englewood flyover work to begin this year

From Trains Magazine

Published: Friday, March 05, 2010
CHICAGO – Officials Friday gathered at Chicago’s busy junction at Englewood to announce that work will begin later this year on a 2,000-foot flyover. The bridge will carry Metra’s Rock Island District commuter route over the Norfolk Southern main line that is shared with Amtrak trains from Michigan and the East Coast.U.S. Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee; Chicago Mayor Richard Daley; U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin; U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois; and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn stood in front of the diamond as Amtrak train No. 365 from Port Huron, Mich., formed a moving backdrop for the announcement.

The $133 million project will begin late this year and will be completed by 2012, Lipinski said. He added that the project is the linchpin of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency program. CREATE is a project to alleviate congestion in Chicago by building new bridges, connections, and better signals at critical junctions.

Amtrak Board Chairman Tom Carper said at the announcement the project will eliminate the single biggest source of train delays for Amtrak in the Midwest. He said that the railroad’s number one driver of customer satisfaction is on-time performance.

The junction sees 78 Metra, 46 freight, and 14 Amtrak trains each week day. The project is expected to employ about 1,500 people and will eliminate about 7,500 hours of delay on the Metra Rock Island district.

TranSystems, the company that built Kansas City’s Argentine and Sheffield flyovers, has been selected to build the flyover.

The project has been planned since 2002. – Matt Van Hattem and Jim Wrinn

http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=6444