Hotline #684

The earliest that this Hotline service will be converted to a 900 number now is Hotline #686 of September 13. We regret any confusion that may be resulting from the numerous postponements of this service change.

Five people were killed in a New York City subway crash the morning of August 28, just after midnight. The southbound #4 IRT night-time Lexington Avenue local was crossing over from an express track to a local track entering the 14th Street-Union Square Station and derailed, causing the train to strike the tunnel's steel support beams and breaking two of the ten cars in half. The exact cause of the derailment is still unclear, but passengers and the train's conductor reported that the motorman had been driving erratically -- over-shooting two station platforms and driving very fast. The motorman was uninjured and fled the scene. He was arrested five hours later near his home in the Bronx and charged with five counts of second-degree manslaughter.

The motorman was tested and found to be legally drunk. An empty crack cocaine vial was found in the motorman's cab. However, he tested negative for cocaine. Nevertheless, that has caused the National Transportation Safety Board to call for more jurisdiction over transit systems. In December 1989, after the tragic, drug-related Amtrak wreck at Chase, Md., the DOT issued random drug-testing rules for all safety-related positions in the rail, air, maritime, and trucking industries. However, a U.S. Court of Appeals threw out the UMTA rules covering the transit industry in March 1990, after transit worker unions filed suit.

The New York City Transit Authority, which operates the subways, has testing programs for new hires and promotions, but always with advance notice to the employee. The motorman involved in this wreck had tested negative on those tests. New York City transit unions have now come out in favor of random drug testing.

The Lexington Avenue IRT lines are among New York's busiest, being the main link between Grand Central and Wall Street. The line will be closed at least until September 3 while structural damage is repaired. A substitute bus service was swamped on August 28 and proved inadequate. Transit officials issued a gridlock warning, telling automobile drivers to stay away from a four-mile section of Manhattan's East Side.

Congress returns on September 11. There has been no indication during the recess that the House Public Works surface transportation reauthorization bill, H.R.2950, with its nickel gas tax increase, has gained any more support. That may be good, because that bill does not provide states the flexibility to spend Highway Trust Fund money on Amtrak capital projects, the way the Senate bill did. Public Works Chairman Robert Roe (D.-N.J.) and Majority Leader Gephardt (D.-Mo.) appeared before the National Governors' Association this month to promote the gas tax increase, but got a cool reception. Some Democratic governors even told Gephardt that they prefer the Senate bill. It seems the governors do not want more gas taxes without spending down the trust fund, something Congress has been reluctant to do for budget-balancing reasons.

This month, Amtrak wrote to city officials in Winnemucca, Nev., Benson, Ariz., and Lordsburg, N.Mex., none of which have station facilities and all of which have very low ridership, stating that Amtrak service would have to end in those places in April unless at least a platform is built in each place. Amtrak said it could not justify building the platforms itself because of the low ridership.

Travelers on Amtrak trains in Canada should be warned of possible delays at customs points over Labor Day weekend. A Canadian postal strike appears to be spreading to other government sectors. Canadian Customs officials are not allowed to strike, but have threatened significant work slowdowns as a means of protest at airports and border crossing points.

Rail labor rank-and-file is beginning to voice its dissatisfaction with the aftermath of the freight strike in April. In July, the Transportation Communications Union voted their president, Richard Kilroy, out of office, and on August 22, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers did the same to their president, Larry McFather. Other leaders will be up for re-election soon.

A special Maryland House-Senate committee reporting on a two-month study on transportation in that state has made some negative recommendations on light rail. The committee calls the Bethesda-Silver Spring light-rail line "too expensive" and calls for a cheaper alternative, without elaborating on what that means. They also recommend cutting $36 million from the cost of the Baltimore light-rail line by cutting out plans for an extension north from Timonium to Hunt Valley, where extensive development has taken place over the last several years. On a more positive note, the committee recommended extending MARC commuter service to Frederick.

The governments of six Central American republics and the governments of Spain, Germany, Austria, and Italy are making plans to rebuild and connect the several separate Central American rail lines. Their goal is to link the Atlantic and Pacific seaports, as well as to link Mexico with Panama. The project will take 20 or 30 years. It is interesting that Central America had to go to Europe for aid, rather than to the United States.