FRIENDS OF AMTRAK

[Ocklawaha]

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VIVA AMTRAK! Hell, it's all we've got.



FriendsOfAmtrak] Legislative Update Oct. 3, 2008
From: Craig O'Connell
To: Friends of Amtrak
Date: Fri Oct 03 18:06:19 2008
Dear Friends of Amtrak:

Here's a legislative update.

US Senate OKs $13 Billion Amtrak Funding Bill With 74-24 Vote -
October 1, 2008

The first Amtrak authorization bill since 1997 passed the U.S. Senate
by a large margin, 74 - 24. The bill would provide $13 billion for
Amtrak over five years.

As for the two presidential candidates ... Senator John McCain voted
NO on the measure. Senator Barack Obama voted YES. A NO vote is
against Amtrak. A YES vote is for Amtrak.

The legislation will "substantially change our federal policy toward
passenger rail travel," Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said. President
Bush had threatened to veto a previous Amtrak funding bill earlier
this year but the overwhelming margin in both chambers is large enough
to overcome a veto. The legislation authorizes $2.5 billion a year for
Amtrak, almost double its current federal funding level. The money
would cover operating and capital expenses, including equipment
purchases and railroad repairs. About $1.4 billion would help pay down
Amtrak's more than $3 billion in debt. About $1.9 billion would fund a
matching-grant program to encourage states to invest in rail expansion
and repair. The legislation also contains provisions designed to make
Amtrak's management more accountable, such as financial reporting
standard, and improve rail safety standards with "new" technology.

The bill requires a technology known as positive train control, or
PTC, on passenger trains and certain hazmat rail main lines by 2015.
The technology automatically stops trains that run a stop signal and
has been used on portions of the Northeast Corridor where Amtrak owns
the rail lines. Most rail experts would agree that the Sept. 12 train
crash in California that killed 25 people would probably have been
avoided had this technology been in operation. In addition, the bill
would cap worker shifts at 12 hours and would mandate



OCKLAWAHA