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Delaware Valley Rail Passenger Vol 10 No 04
1972 - 1992 DVARP Twentieth Anniversary
1892 - 1992 Philadelphia Electric Streetcar Centennial
The
Delaware Valley
Rail Passenger
April 7, 1992
Vol. X, No. 4
Published by the Delaware Valley Association of Railroad Passengers in the interest of continued, improved, and expanded rail service for the present and potential railroad and rail transit passengers of southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and nearby areas.
For more information about DVARP and good rail service, please contact us:
P.O. Box 7505,
Philadelphia, PA 19101
215-222-3373
President: Chuck Bode for other officers and committee chairs, see page 7
Inside The Delaware Valley Rail PassengerÉ
2 RailWorks Day 1: Reports from the front lines.
Amtrak strike temporarily averted
3 SEPTA Operating Budget threatens rail service in City
On the Railroad Lines:
4 Alternative service for RailWorks? SEPTA still opposes it.
5 Do structural deficiencies prevent SEPTA from achieving efficiency?
6 Transit contracts: Two settlements, but will the Board approve them?
7 Up and Down the Corridor. Rep. Roe to retire. DVARP Directory
Meetings of Interest. includes SEPTA Operating Budget hearing locations
Schedule Error: Broad-Ridge & Market East Passengers
Passengers who use the Broad-Ridge Spur (including R2, R3, R5 rail commuters to or from the Market East area should be aware that all printed timetables for the subway branch are incorrect. Most trains are no more than two or three minutes earlier or later than scheduled times, but to be sure of your connection, allow 10 extra minutes when traveling north. If you intend to make a southbound connection, look for the two-car Ridge train being passed by your express train or waiting across the platform at Girard. If you donÕt see it, continue to City Hall and transfer to the Market-Frankford Line. Watch for reprinted timetables in the next two weeks.
RailWorks Guide Update
Late-arriving information to add to your copy of Surviving the Shutdown
Hours of the south entrance to City Hall subway station: Monday-Friday, 11 am-7 pm.
We continue to urge passengers to go all the way to the front of southbound Broad St. trains to find less crowding.
The subway is much less crowded after 6:00 pm. On the R7 Trenton Line, it is reported that there are more seats available on early-morning trains.
SEPTA is working on a through-fare solution for senior citizens making subway connections to reverse-peak trains. Peak fares apply in both directions on the subway, while reverse peak senior fare on the RRD is only $1.00.
Railworks: Day 1 Report
Qualified Success at Fern Rock
SEPTA management pulled out all the stops to smooth the path of the thousands of commuters who transferred to the Broad Street Subway today, the first working day of the shutdown of the Ninth Street Branch core of SEPTAÕs ex-Reading commuter rail system. Some four dozen SEPTA personnel lined the transfer route to direct passengers and answer questions. News reporters also flooded the station, turning ordinary commuters into celebrities for a day.
For the most part, the exodus from train to subway was successful; but overcrowding was the rule at the peak of the rush hour. Human traffic jams backed up the Fern Rock Òcattle chuteÓ when commuter trains arrived without a waiting Broad St. train. Subway trains were packed full when the thousands of everyday subway riders at Olney joined the rail commuters. Together, they caused extra crowding at City Hall. At City Hall, more SEPTA people were stationed to direct commuters to the most convenient exit, by PA system, bullhorn, and individual attention. That individual attention was the key to todayÕs successes. It must be kept up all week and through the month if ridership is to be maintained through the six-month shutdown period.
Elsewhere downtown, many passengers heeded SEPTAÕs advice to use Race-Vine station, while a moderate amount continued to Walnut-Locust. Significant problems were reported on the Broad-Ridge Spur line to 8th and Market, the result of scheduling errors. Some passengers missed their northbound connections when Ridge Ave. trains pulled out ahead of times printed in commuter timetables. SEPTA says it is aware of the problem and will reprint timetables in the next two weeks.
R6, R7, R8 Lines: Mixed Results
In all the hoopla at Fern Rock, the three lines which were shut down completely were overlooked by some. Most R6 Norristown passengers rode shuttle buses. Complaints were received that buses were late and hours of service too narrow, but plenty of capacity was available. Information misunderstandings complicated the problems.
Plenty of shuttle buses were available for R7 Chestnut Hill East passengers; expanded R8 Chestnut Hill West service carried the added load well, though trains were more crowded than usual. R8 Fox Chase passengers were disappointed with the quality of service on the City Transit routes substituting for their trains. One passenger told DVARP he was going to demand a refund for his TrailPass because of the ÒdisgustingÓ ride on the Frankford El.
Flash: Day 1 Ridership
Ron DeGraw of SEPTA reported that 5,400 passengers used the Fern Rock transfer on shutdown day 1. The comparable pre-shutdown figure was not immediately available, but DeGraw said SEPTA figured 80 to 85 percent of the total ridership on the six lines did use the alternate service this morning.
These early returns should not be used to gauge the success or failure of the RailWorks detours. It is likely that some passengers who are dismayed with the service will leave, while others who hear that the alternatives are working will come back. Next monthÕs DVRP will bring you an update.
Compiled by DVARP from reports by Tom Borawski, Mike McEnaney,
Bob Bodan, Matt Mitchell, and Betsy Clark
Bush Halts Amtrak Strike
Appointment of a Presidential Emergency Board under the Railway Labor Act delayed a threatened Amtrak strike for 60 days. The mandated cooling-off period expires June 2, at which time Amtrak workers are allowed to walk out. An Amtrak strike would halt service on those SEPTA Regional Rail Lines not already affected by the RailWorks project.ÑChuck Bode
SEPTA Budget for Fiscal 1993: Continued Rail Retrenchment
While the impending rail shutdown gathered most of the attention, SEPTA announced that hearings on its proposed FY 1993 Operating Budget would be held next month. Prominent in the hearing notice are three proposals to cut rail transit service in the City. Hearings on these proposals are to be a part of the budget hearing.
SEPTA proposes Òpossible mode changesÓ which could permanently eliminate rail service on the three remaining surface streetcar routes: 15, 23, and 56. Late night trolley service on the Subway-Surface Lines would be replaced by diesel buses. In a move which flies in the face of SEPTAÕs efforts to help commuters cope with the ÒRailWorksÓ project, mid-day and Saturday service on the Broad-Ridge Spur is to be eliminated.
The other shoe has dropped. The cuts now proposed by SEPTA do to rail service in the City what was done to commuter rail service here in the 80Õs. Suspension of rail service to points like Newtown and West Chester was first said to be ÒtemporaryÓ but become more permanent with each passing day. Restoration of rail service to Pottstown and Quakertown is no more than a few token lines in a capital plan.
While dozens of other cities in North America expand their rail services, SEPTA is the only one continuing to cut and cut and cut. The only difference between SEPTA and its railroad and transit predecessors is that SEPTA eliminates services to avoid rebuilding assets, while its predecessors kept service running while deferring maintenance.
Other issues to be addressed in the hearings are DVARPÕs annual demand for better documentation of how SEPTA spends over 600 million public dollars,
DVARPÕs committees are now preparing statements for these important hearings. You can get involved with the committees by calling their chairpersons (see directory on page 7) or DVARPÕs main number, 215-222-3373 for meeting schedules and details.
You can also get involved by testifying at hearings in your area, or sending written testimony to the Secretary to the Board, SEPTA, 714 Market St., Philadelphia, 19106; or contacting elected officials and asking them to present statements opposing continued cutbacks in rail service.ÑMatthew Mitchell
Schedule of public hearings: see page 7
On the Railroad LinesÉ
R2
WorkÊCompletedÊinÊGlenside
Several minor repair projects were recently completed by SEPTA in and around Glenside. At the station, decayed shed eaves were replaced, depriving the resident pigeons of a favored roost. The small steel and plexiglas shelter on the outbound side received new lighting and a new coat of paint. Meanwhile, other crews have finished their work shoring up the abutments of the R2-R5 bridge over Keswick Ave.ÑMatthew Mitchell
R5
BethlehemÊBranchÊBlockage
Last December, Bucks County transportation planner Dave Johnson was quoted in the Lansdale Reporter as saying, "If there's a tremendous amount of local interest it (Bethlehem Branch service) could become a higher priority. But judging on the past failures of bus routes, the area has not grown enough to support rail service." No comment need be made about the speciousness of using bus routes (which get stuck on Route 309 as everyone else does) to judge the viability of rail service.ÑTom Borawski
Detour Service for RailWorks: Second Meeting with SEPTA
by John Pawson
Efforts to get SEPTA to accede to the concept of a continued one-seat train ride for most passengers affected by ÒRailWorksÓ have revealed that many government people are highly concerned about the SEPTA railroad shutdown. DVARP member and Ventur-Rail principal Bob Bodan, DVARP President Chuck Bode and DVARP Commuter Railroad Committee Chairman John Pawson have attended several meetings on the subject with SEPTA Board members and county and state legislative leaders.
We have advised them of the calamitous economic effects of the shutdown on SEPTA, the passengers, and the region. Costs that would be imposed on each of these three groups threaten to equal or greatly exceed $10 million. A detour service could be provided for less than $10 million. Following the January DVARP-SEPTA meeting (reported in February DVRP), another meeting was held on March 25 for Ventur-Rail to present a plan. Bodan and Pawson attended; and the SEPTA staff was represented by Deputy General Manager Howard Roberts, Assistant General Manager (Railroad Division) Jim Palmer, and Chief of Operations Chuck Thomas. Ventur-Rail made two major changes in the DVARP January plan to meet SEPTA objections: the "onerous" (SEPTAÕs language) transfer at 30th Street Station was replaced by direct operation into Penn Center Suburban Station, and the number of R6 via Zoo Junction trains was reduced with emphasis on a train-to-train transfer at Ivy Ridge.
Under the proposal, Ventur-Rail would provide and maintain the extra railcars and diesel locomotives. The locomotives would be obtained from other commuter railroads to move some of SEPTA's present 35 push-pull cars. SEPTA would operate the trains using crews that otherwise would be underutilized in the RailWorks service reductions.
Diesel trains to Penn Center
Two methods of operating a number of morning-peak inbound and afternoon-peak outbound trains to and from Penn Center were proposed:
1. Diesel trains, after reaching the 20th Street and Kennedy Blvd. tunnel portal, would coast downgrade into one of the four 13-car stub-end tracks an Penn Center station. A SEPTA AEM-7 electric locomotive stationed at the end of the track would push the accumulated trains to the yard at 30th Street. In the afternoon, the electric would push the trains out of the underground station to some point nearby where the diesel engines could be turned on. The unfilled cars and locomotive would return to Penn Center for another train loading.
2. Penn Center station would be equipped with ventilating shafts and fans, and the stairs would be enclosed in the manner of the diesel-operated underground commuter-train terminals in Chicago, Toronto and Montreal. Most of the Penn Center trackage at the station platforms lies under streets or sidewalks. Cost and time estimates are being obtained by Ventur-Rail. Avoiding the shuttling movements of the electric locomotives would increase the number of trains which could be operated into and out of the station. Alternative one could be phased into alternative two.
Reaction from SEPTA seemed mixed but most critical from the RRD. The basic desirability and feasibility of running diesel-trains from Penn Center was not contested, nor was the peak-hour availability of Conrail trackage needed (all of which either is double-track or has an alternate route available). ÒSafetyÓ concerns were voiced concerned coupling and uncoupling of trains in the Penn Center-30th Street area despite that fact that train consists routinely have been adjusted there and elsewhere for many years. The meeting ended with no specific invitation from SEPTA for further discussion.
Since the meeting, DVARP and Ventur-Rail have continued to press the necessity of continued detoured train service on a number of fronts.
Can Economic Reality be Expected of TodayÕs SEPTA?
by John Pawson
In the bigger picture, the reaction of SEPTA officials at the March 25 meeting (see page 3) is another instance which shows the inappropriateness of SEPTA's present organizational structure and its confused sense of mission.
Under that structure, the ÒlineÓ Assistant General Managers do not head their respective divisions in the normally assumed sense. Those persons have no direct economic incentive to act to retain their customers, to serve the needs of their divisionÕs markets, nor to assure that revenue, operating subsidy, and capital outlays are spent to maximum effectiveness. Neither do they have the authority to do these things.In the private corporate analogy, these AGMs are in effect only Òplant managers.Ó
Published SEPTA material suggests that the four line AGMs (for Railroad, Suburban Transit, (city) Subway-Elevated, and (city) Surface Divisions) are responsible only for running and dispatching vehicles and crews, for maintaining rolling stock and fixed plant, and for part of certain station functions. For everything else that the RRD and other divisions need, control lies elsewhere. The AGM-RRD and his counterparts have no authority nor responsibility for the critical matters of vehicle overhaul, new vehicle design or procurement, capital planning and improvements, operations planning and scheduling, marketing, fares and fare structures, or the many and subtle interactions of these factors with each other or with the operating responsibilities which the AGMs already have now.
All these important functions are still centralized. For instance, the schedule maker has a boss to please who is nowhere near the AGM-RRD in the organizational chart. Obviously it takes lobbying and horse-trading to get things done. Little wonder that SEPTA staff persons express to us frustration with the complex bureaucracy with which they must deal. With so much effort needed, many things are not done optimally for the RRD and its customers.
What is accomplished tends to be done in the manner of the dominant part of SEPTA, City Transit, which covers two-thirds of SEPTAÕs operating budget and accounts for the largest segment of its employees. A relatively ÒcaptiveÓ ridership, a tradition of strong political involvement in decision-making, and a philosophy that social considerations can and should outweigh the customer's desires are at odds with a far different environment in the most outlying areas of the City and in the suburban counties where RRD predominates.
When in 1983 the SEPTA transit bureaucracy absorbed the commuter rail function from Conrail, and many railroad staff and line employees left for more attractive prospects, the political clout of the railroad was slight. In the press, SEPTA officials made the railroad into a Òwhipping boy.Ó It was nearly transmuted into a rapid-transit system, SEPTAÕs third ÒHigh-Speed Line.Ó
Thus it is not surprising when RailWorks was being planned in 1985-86 the passenger detour plan which was given sanction was the one which benefited the Broad Street Subway and city transit services. One is led to assume that in order to get staff political support for RailWorks, the railroad people had to agree to Òdo something constructiveÓ for the subway.
Today, similar pressure seems to be building to expand the Railroad Control Center project into one that benefits City Transit as well. SEPTAÕs Chicago commuter rail peer, Metra, is building a control center for its roughly 500 mile network for $10 million. SEPTAÕs railroad control center for about half that number of route miles originally was estimated to cost $19 million (an all-too-common kind of disparity).
SEPTAÕs house organ, SEPTA Lines, in Fall 1991 candidly tells us that all of the authority's control centers might be added to itÑwhether necessary and economic or notÑin order to generate Authority-wide staff support for the project! The project cost is estimated now at $30-50 million. When many fingers are allowed into every pie, the pies get bigger and more expensive. We taxpayers look enviously at MetraÕs organizational simplicity and economy.
Even in operations SEPTAÕs urban orientation has deleterious effects on RRDÕs marketability. A study of Metra train operations shows that its rush-hour speed advantage over Chicago's highways largely is based on MetraÕs physical and political ability to run most of its peak trains as expresses which go rapidly and reliably without stopping in the first five to ten miles from the downtown terminals.
SEPTA, however, generally doesnÕt do that. With non-marketplace, urban-centered, politically-motivated considerations prevailing here, Metra may be allowed to Òfly,Ó but SEPTAÕs rail commuter service, even during rush hour, emphasizes local stops and mostly local trains. Even the few so-called expresses are delayed by local trains and by an excess of local stops. As a result, RRD often is not time-competitive with automobiles and vans.
The point that the RailWorks subway/bus detour debacle makes strikingly clear is that the market and political environments of RRD and STD demand quality, businesslike performance, rather than provision of basic social service. Consequently, RRD and STD must somehow be insulated or removed from the pervasive cityÑtransit influence.
At minimum, most of the remaining vertical staff functions in SEPTA need to be divided and parcelled out among the operating divisions. The divisional AGMs must become fully enabled and fully empowered to run their distinctive divisions under the BoardÕs control.
ItÕs no coincidence that such a leaner type of organization at SEPTA would resemble the better practice in medium-to-large private enterprises which have a variety of product lines. In fact, some form of modal of subregional specialization is also in effect in nearly every other multimodal metropolitan transportation authority; hardly anywhere else is public transport so centrally controlled as it is in and by Philadelphia.
CTD
Back-LoadedÊContractÊForÊTWUÊ234
SEPTA and its City Transit Division workers agreed to a three-year contract literally in the 11th hour before a threatened strike. In order to get through this fiscal year and the next without an increase in wages and the SEPTA deficit, management agreed to terms which some observers believe to be too generous in the long-term.
State Sen. Vince Fumo (D-Phil.) led the opposition to the deal, saying that the City and State cannot afford the increased subsidies needed to pay for it.. Opponents are also afraid that the package will set a pattern which the City government cannot afford to follow in negotiations with its unionized workers. The opponents have urged Mayor Rendell to have his SEPTA Board representatives veto the contract. TWU has threatened to walk out immediately if the agreement is killed.ÑMDM, CB
STD
RedÊArrowÊSettles,ÊFrontierÊWithoutÊContract
SEPTA reached agreement with Suburban Transit Division employees represented by the UTU. The deal is patterned after the City Transit Division settlement which provided pension increases and second and third-year wage increases in exchange for no wage increase the first year.
Frontier Division workers, also represented by TWU Local 234, are working without a contract. A strike is possible if negotiations break down. A strike would be catastrophic to SEPTAÕs RailWorks alternative service; R6 and R7 shuttle buses are operated by Frontier Division.ÑMDM
Up and Down the Corridor
News of other Northeastern Commuter Rail and Rail Transit Services
L.I.: Amtrak Delays New Service, Double-Deck Trains Unsuccessful
Long Island RRÕs trial of double-deck commuter cars is yielding the same results as a previous test four decades ago. No reorder for the cars is planned. Elsewhere on the Island, Amtrak is running into problems implementing its planned through service from Albany to Port Jeff. The East River Tunnels are the rub; Turboliners have difficulty making it up the steep tunnel grades.
Transit Loses Another Friend in Congress
Representative Robert Roe has announced his retirement from Congress. The New Jersey Democrat used his powerful subcommittee chairmanship to help preserve Federal support of mass transit from Administration onslaughts.
Dates of Interest
Environmentalists for Public Transit: Tue. Apr. 14, 5:30 at Clean Air Council, 311 South Juniper, room 603, Philadelphia. Info: Sara Nichols, 215-545-1832.
SEPTA on Site (Suburban Transit): Wed., Apr. 15, 7:30 to 9:30 am and 3:30 to 5:30 pm at 69th St. and Norristown.
DVARP General Meeting: Sat., Apr. 18, noon to 3:45 at Lansdowne Public Library.
Earth Week: April 19 to 25. Transportation Day: Tue. Apr. 21.
SEPTA Citizen Advisory Committee: Tues., Apr. 21, 5:45 pm, in SEPTA Board Room.
SEPTA Board Meeting: Thu., Apr. 23, 3:00, in SEPTA Board Room, Third Floor, 714 Market St., Philadelphia.
Primary Election (Pennsylvania): Tue. Apr. 28.
Clean Air Week: May 4-8
Delmarva Rail Passenger Association: Mon. May 4, 7:00 at Legislative Hall, Dover, DE.
Info: Doug Andrews, 302-995-6419.
SEPTA Public Hearings on Proposed FY 1993 Operating Budget:
Wed., May 5, 1:30 pm, at Bucks County Courthouse, Doylestown
Wed., May 5, 7:00 pm, at Montgomery County Courthouse, Norristown
Thurs., May 6, 1:30 pm, at West Chester Senior Center, West Chester
Thurs., May 6, 7:00 pm at Delaware County Govenrment Center, Media
Fri., May 7, 11:00 am and 6:00 pm at Holiday Inn, 1800 Market St., Philadelphia
Try Transit Week: May 11-15
Environmentalists for Public Transit: Tue. May 12, 5:30 at Clean Air Council, 311 South Juniper, room 603, Philadelphia. Info: Sara Nichols, 215-545-1832.
IEEE Vehicular Technology Society: Wed., May 13, at University of Pennsylvania, Topic: CETC: the Next Step. Info: Harvey Glickenstein, 215-569-1795.
Listings are based on information provided to DVARP. Members are advised to contact the sponsoring group to confirm time and place.
DVARP Telephone Directory
215-222-3373 DVARP main number (answering machine on this line)
215-222-3373 Chuck Bode, President and Light Rail Committee
215-552-8873 Tom Borawski, Vice-President-Transportation
215-222-3373 Robert H. Machler, Vice President-Administration
215-386-2644 Sharon Shneyer, Vice President-Public Relations
215-782-8826 Mark Sanders, Treasurer
215-659-7736 John Pawson, Commuter RR Committee (6 to 9 pm, please)
215-885-7448 Matthew Mitchell, Transit Committee and Ninth St. Task Force
215-353-0930 Bob Bodan, Octoraro Task Force
