Jamie Foster

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 17, 2018
Contact: Betsy Cantwell, GoRail
202-808-3233, bcantwell@gorail.org

CALIFORNIA RAIL DAY HIGHLIGHTS RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE, BENEFITS

Advocates underscore how California communities benefit from freight rail’s commitment to infrastructure.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, April 17, 2018 – Rail officials and advocates, led by the California Short Line Railroad Association (CSLRA), gathered at the Capitol in Sacramento today to discuss California’s freight railroads, their role in moving the state and local economies, and current legislative proposals that would affect railroads at the state level.

California’s 26 freight railroads move millions of tons of freight each year, connecting California ports, businesses and customers with domestic and international markets. The state’s two Class I railroads, BNSF and Union Pacific, plan to collectively spend over $350 million in California on their infrastructure and operations in 2018, bringing their total investment in the state to just under $2 billion in the last five years.

The state’s many short line railroads, which are often locally owned and operated, are vital to the communities through which they operate. CSLRA discussed a number of state legislative issues today, including ACA 22, or the “Middle Class Fiscal Relief Act.” CSLRA opposes the proposal because it would represent one of the largest tax increases in the state’s history, adding to an already high corporate tax rate and discouraging corporations from locating in California, which would negatively impact most of CSLRA’s member companies.

“From San Diego to Shasta, from San Francisco Bay to the Sierra Foothills, short line railroads haul a wide variety of products: everything from imported goods in containers to agricultural products, lumber to petroleum products, and even passengers on a few tourist operations,” said CSLRA Executive Director Don Norton.

Freight rail is also fundamental to California’s flourishing intermodal industry, which ranks first for tons of intermodal cargo entering and exiting the state. Working in concert with California’s ports, trains reduce congestion and pollution while providing efficient and cost-effective connections for California’s goods movement industry. Without rail service, according to a 2017 report by the California Department of Transportation, container flows through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach would be reduced by 38 percent and truck traffic would increase by 44 percent.

Railroads’ private investments not only bolster efficiency across the network, they also enhance safety and promote the development and use of innovative new technologies. Ultrasound track technology, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and positive train control are just a few of the innovations railroads deploy to make a safe network even safer.

“At the core of California’s intermodal infrastructure is freight rail, which is also the nation’s only privately funded transportation mode,” said Nate Kaplan, California State Director for GoRail. “While many of our highways, waterways, runways and other publicly funded infrastructure have been starved for cash, freight railroads doubled down in recent years with record investments in track, equipment and technology to hold up their end of the intermodal bargain.”

California’s 26 freight railroads operate over 4,800 miles of track and employ 8,877 in the Golden State. Intermodal shipments comprise the majority of freight rail shipments both beginning and ending in California.

About GoRail

GoRail is a national non-profit grassroots organization that unites rail stakeholders with community leaders and the public in support of rail solutions to tomorrow’s transportation challenges. Every additional ton of freight moved by rail instead of over our congested highways means more jobs and a stronger economy, less pollution and cleaner skies. GoRail provides a forum for concerned Americans to make it clear to members of Congress that the rail policy decisions they make on Capitol Hill have real impacts back home in their communities.

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Betsy Cantwell
Communications Director
GORAIL
425 3rd Street SW, Ste 940
Washington, DC 20024
202.808.3230
bcantwell@gorail.org
facebook.com/gorail
twitter: @gorail

CSLRA members and friends:

The following email text from LA Rail describes a major policy shift affecting movement of all privately owned passenger cars on Amtrak –

Dear fans, friends, and travelers of LARail.com,

Over the last several days, Amtrak has made some draconian announcements which could permanently end our ability to operate our vintage railroad cars. The folks in Washington DC have issued a moratorium on the drop-off and pick-up of private cars at all intermediate station stops on the system where trains have less than 30 minutes of scheduled “dwell time.” This means, with few limited exceptions nationwide, our railcars will only be able to operate between major endpoints on the Amtrak System (Los Angeles to Seattle, Los Angeles to Chicago, Los Angeles to New Orleans, etc.). This means no more trips to Lamy/Santa Fe, nor Whitefish, possibly no Portland, San Antonio, Denver, or St. Louis. At this point, all Amtrak long distance service hangs in the balance. We are also in imminent danger of losing the ability to travel on day trips to San Diego, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara.

We urge you all to PLEASE email or call your US representatives and senators and make some noise in support of Amtrak on our behalf. We also ask that you call for the removal of Executives Anderson and Gardner as the leaders of Amtrak. They are largely responsible for the theory that private cars aren’t worth bothering with if they could potentially delay a train. Trains are often delayed by mechanical problems, freight train interference, long stops for large crowds of passengers, signal problems, etc. It’s not often at all that Amtrak trains are delayed by private cars. Limiting our destinations means fewer choices, fewer trips and greater expenses. Political pressure is the only solution so please give us a hand.

Finally, LARail.com is operating what could be a last-chance opportunity to travel on a long-distance Amtrak train by private railcar. We depart this Friday evening at 10:00 PM from Los Angeles with stops in San Antonio, St. Louis, and Kansas City returning to Los Angeles on April 8th. This trip, which was not previously advertised to the public, still has 4 spaces remaining for sale in 2 roomettes for single travelers and one double bedroom which holds two travelers. Price per person is $4,400. We encourage you to join this mellow and friendly group on what could possibly be the end of an era for private railcar trips.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your time and your patronage over the years. We CANNOT do this without you – our loyal fans. This situation is still developing and we will try to keep you all updated in the coming days and weeks. If you have questions, comments, concerns, or would like to join us on the trip mentioned above, please call John Caestecker – owner of Silver Splendor – today (Thursday) at 949-366-0329 or tomorrow (Friday) at 714-292-9316.

Sincerely,

The LARail.com Family

Exciting news concerning this year’s train trip: Instead of holding this trip on November 8 – 9 as an overnight round trip between Los Angeles and San Diego, it will run as a day trip departing from and returning to San Diego on Monday November 12. We will still run on the scenic portion of the Surfliner route between San Diego and Los Angeles. Here’s the best part: The ASLRRA Central-Pacific meeting will convene in San Diego at 1700 on November 12, so this year it will be super-easy to attend both events. In fact, CSLRA will be inviting ASLRRA attendees to join us on the train trip, creating new networking and social opportunities. The trip will be held on an 8-car BNSF business car consist, so there will be plenty of room for this trip to be larger-than-usual. We will also hold a pre-trip cocktail reception on the San Diego waterfront from 1630 – 1830 on Sunday November 11, again with ASLRRA attendees invited to join us.

Watch your email and the CSLRA web site for additional information. We anticipate opening event registration in mid-April. We look forward to seeing you on the trip!