(The following story by Brad Cooper appeared on The Kansas City Star website on December 1.)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The hammer is coming down on freight trains that block Amtrak passenger trains from running on schedule.
President George W. Bush has signed a new law giving federal authorities the power to investigate and fine freight railroads for not giving priority to passenger trains.
On-time performance is a needling problem for Amtrak passengers nationwide, especially in Missouri where tardy trains between Kansas City and St. Louis have contributed to declining ridership in recent years
Amtrak trains were at least 30 minutes late almost one-third of the time in 2007-08, state figures show.
The new law allows the federal government to start an investigation if Amtrak’s average on-time performance is below 80 percent for two consecutive quarters. The definition of on-time has yet to be determined.
A fine could be levied if authorities conclude that the delays resulted from a failure to give preference to Amtrak.
Nationally, freight traffic is supposed to give preference to Amtrak trains running on tracks owned by the railroads. But a recent federal report found that some railroads’ dispatching practices violate these rights.
The U.S. Department of Transportation report also found that track maintenance and a shortage of rail capacity also contribute to delays.
In Missouri, Amtrak operates on tracks owned by Union Pacific, which runs 50 to 60 freight trains a day on the same 283-mile route between Kansas City and St. Louis.
Union Pacific said it gave preference to Amtrak.
“Union Pacific railroad has never given Amtrak trains … second priority to freight trains. We just have not done that,” said Mark Davis, a spokesman for Union Pacific.
“Do unforeseen circumstances happen that delay those Amtrak trains? Yes. Do we try to move those Amtrak trains as quickly as we can to get them on time? Yes, we do.”
But there has been disagreement about that at the Missouri Department of Transportation, which pays for the Amtrak service. State officials said sometimes Amtrak trains received priority and other times they did not.
In spring 2007, Amtrak was beset by delays when Union Pacific put more freight trains on the Kansas City-St. Louis route because of flooding on freight-only tracks farther north.
At that time, MoDOT officials said Union Pacific wasn’t giving Amtrak trains priority. Union Pacific said it did everything it could to restore service as quickly as possible.
MoDOT lobbied for the change in the federal law.
Amtrak officials won’t comment directly on whether their trains are getting preference, but they did pinpoint reasons for the delay.
“Some of the delays our trains have faced can be eliminated by better dispatching,” spokesman Marc Magliari said. “But infrastructure maintenance issues are another major cause of delays.”
Amtrak has been in a dispute with Union Pacific over so-called “slow orders,” which force trains to reduce speed on tracks that need work.
Last year, Amtrak and Union Pacific announced an agreement that capped the slow-order delays on routes operated by Union Pacific, including the one in Missouri. The goal was help more Amtrak trains run on time, but Amtrak is now seeking arbitration on the deal.
Federal figures show more slow-order delays on Union Pacific tracks nationwide than the other major railroads that host Amtrak.
Nationally, slow orders can force Amtrak to run trains at speeds as low as 10 mph even though some trains are capable of 79 mph, the transportation department reported.
Earlier this year, the Missouri General Assembly approved $5 million for track improvements, and the federal government kicked in an extra $3.3 million.
The money will go toward construction of a new 9,000-foot siding just west of California, Mo. The siding will allow trains to pass each other without stopping, which should reduce Amtrak delays. The state also wants to extend an existing siding in Knob Noster.