Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Service Opportunities Todd Stennis Director, Government Affairs August 16, 2012
Amtrak then and now On our opening day in 1971, Amtrak operated 184 trains Today, even after numerous route modifications and system cutbacks, we operate 305 daily trains Daily train densities on Amtrak s national system, 2011 2
Amtrak Today 8 annual ridership records in the last 9 years 44% more riders last year than in 2000 Cut our debt in half since 2002 79% farebox recovery best for a passenger railroad in the U.S. We operate services for 15 state partners (OK, TX, NC, VA) 3
Every day on Amtrak We run trains over a 21,200 mile system more than half of them at 100+ mph 4
Ridership is growing Amtrak Annual Ridership Riders 31,000,000 30,000,000 29,000,000 28,000,000 27,000,000 26,000,000 25,000,000 24,000,000 23,000,000 22,000,000 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Fiscal Year 5
Growth across the board FY 2011 the best year for state-supported and short distance routes with 14.8 million passengers (up 6.5 percent vs. FY 2010) Specifically, 20 of 27 routes in this category set new ridership records In FY 2011, long-distance trains had their best ridership in 16 years with 4.5 million passengers (up 1.1 percent vs. FY 2010) Specifically, 4 of 15 routes in this category set new ridership records But for weather and construction, the Amtrak ridership numbers would likely have been even better In FY 2011, Amtrak collected an all-time record of nearly $1.9 billion in ticket revenue (up 8.5 percent vs. FY 2010) 6
The Sunset East Sunset Limited On-time Performance Year Eastbound Westbound 2002 16.2% 17.6% 2003 22.4% 29.9% 2004 1.3% 7.2% 2005 4.5% 9.8% 2006 12.3% 17.8% 2007 7.0% 20.0% 2008 22.4% 31.8% 2009 75.8% 82.7% 2010 88.5% 86.6% 2011 75.2% 84.6% March, 1993 first coast-to-coast service introduced Los Angeles to Miami By 1997, service curtailed to Orlando, OTP continued to deteriorate anyway Frequent bus substitution (passenger inconvenience cost $378K in FY 05) 21 hour trip time from New Orleans-Jacksonville Number of passengers whose trip was east of or through New Orleans fell 44% between 2000 and 2005 (53K to 29K) Strategic challenges Tri-weekly service Frequent bus substitution required to prevent delays to next day service Large expense related to dark territory (247 miles) Longer than any other segment Amtrak operates over Restricts speed to 59mph A third of the route 7
Sunset East since 2005 Aug 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina did extensive damage to CSX infrastructure along Gulf Coast Service has been suspended since that time (but not cancelled, which keeps door open for restoration) Restoration costs will be significant, including: Operating costs Capital costs, including Stations ADA work (new DOT and Amtrak guidelines on compliance/level boarding) PTC (requirements will take effect in 2015, per 2008 PRIIA legislation) Host railroad costs 8
PRIIA plan All dollar values in M Option 1: Restore Option 2: Extend Option 3: Implement Dir Cost Cap/Mob Cost Riders Pass Revenue $10.8 $32.7 53K $6.0 $20.9 $24.0 $57.6- $96.6 $57.6- $96.6 96K $9.2 79K $5.6 2008 Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act required a plan for restoring service Submitted to Congress on time (July 16, 2009) Improved trip times are possible Amtrak plan presented 3 options: Restore tri-weekly Sunset Limited service Extend City of New Orleans east Implement daily stand-alone overnight service 9
Capital & Mob Cost Caveats Capital and mobilization costs $10.7M station restoration $600K improvements at Sanford maintenance facility $20M PTC installation $1.4M -$2.3M (training and qualification for T&E crews) $24M - $63M equipment acquisition for Options 2 & 3 Caveats All costs are in 2009 dollars, and have not been updated Preceding estimates do not include costs associated with new ADA rules on level boarding Sanford station project ($3.2M in FY09 dollars) has already been accomplished 10
Challenges for restoration Peter Lewis photo Funding Capital and Operating funding must be identified in order to implement a service New Mandatory requirements: Positive Train Control ADA requirements, including level boarding policy 11
A solution that serves the region Key questions: What is the best service solution? How will it be funded? Rail must be a component of the larger regional transportation solution The operating scenario must address the region s needs A clear blueprint must be presented to state leaders and Federal representatives We are happy to help enable that conversation 12
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