Railroads

Vocal supporters of Amtrak were surprised that its funding assistance from the federal government did not come up in the debate between Vice President Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday night.

Republicans in the House have attacked the approximately $1 billion subsidy Amtrak has received since it was created by Congress in 1971 for much of the 2012 election year. In sharp contrast, Biden's fondness for the national passenger rail service is such a large part of his "regular guy" political brand that despite being in Congress for all by three years of Amtrak's existence he is often referred to as "Amtrak Joe."

But when Biden and Ryan were face-to-face Thursday in Danville, Ky., neither man was on board for any Amtrak discussion. 

A pair of New Jersey Democrats in the Senate touted Amtrak’s ridership record Wednesday, arguing that the new passenger high showed Congress should invest in the national passenger rail service instead of threatening to cut its funding.

Amtrak announced Wednesday that it carried 31.2 million passengers on its trains through the Sept. 30 end of the 2012 fiscal year.

Republicans in the House have argued for most of that time span that Amtrak’s rail service, which is subsidized by Congress, should be privatized. But Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Mendenez said Wednesday afternoon that the record ridership showed Amtrak needed more money from lawmakers, not less.

“The record number of travelers choosing Amtrak is a testament to the reliability and convenience of our national rail system,” Lautenberg said in a statement released by his office. 

Amtrak carried more passengers in its 2012 fiscal year than any previous year in its history, the company said Wednesday.

Republicans in the House have hammered Amtrak for being "inefficient" for most of the year, and have promised to continue railing against the company after the November elections.

But the national passenger rail service announced Wednesday that it carried 31.2 million passengers through the Sept. 30 end of the 2012 fiscal year, a record high for the railway.

"We are proud to have served more than 31.2 million passengers this year, setting a new ridership record," the company said in a tweet. "Thank you for choosing #Amtrak!" 

The departments of Transportation and Homeland Security and Amtrak are combining forces to catch human trafficking victims who are riding the rails, officials said Thursday.

The Obama administration agencies and the national passenger rail service said they would put 8,000 “frontline” employees on Amtrak trains to look for signs of passengers being trafficked against their will.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday that it was important to ensure the system wasn't being exploited for this purpose. 

“We cannot let the American transportation system be an enabler in these criminal acts,” LaHood said in a statement. “In addition to today’s partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and Amtrak, we are working with all modes of transportation to help stop the flow of human trafficking. Raising awareness can save lives, and we all have a responsibility to keep an eye out for these activities.”

Your morning transportation speed-read:

A United Airlines flight from Raleigh to Chicago was turned back because of a disagreement between flight attendants.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is installing charging stations for electric vehicles.

Traffic deaths in New York City are increasing.

Los Angeles, Calif.'s Metrolink commuter railway is adding trains because of the impending "Carmageddon II" highway shutdown.

Amtrak will test running trains on its Acela line at higher speed this week, the company said. 

Acela trains currently have a maximum speed of 150 miles per hour, but Amtrak said Monday it would run empty trains in four places on the route at 165 miles per hour. 

The tests will allow the company to evaluate the possible of increasing the speed of the trains to 160 miles per hour, Amtrak said. 

"The tests will utilize high-speed Acela Express equipment and will measure the interaction between the train and the track, rider quality and other safety factors," the company said in a news release. 

The AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department (TTD) is calling for Republicans to stop holding hearings criticizing Amtrak.

Republicans in the House have promised to hold at least three more hearings about Amtrak in a campaign the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has reportedly called a "holy jihad" against wasteful spending by the national passenger rail service.

But AFL-CIO TTD President Ed Wytkind said Monday that it was Republicans in the House who were the ones being wasteful.

"Rep. John Mica (R-FL) continued his 'holy jihad' against Amtrak, its 30 million riders and thousands of employees last week by holding his 10th hearing in the 112th Congress demonizing Amtrak," Wytkind wrote in a blog post on the union's website.

"The last three by the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee focused on what Mica thinks is wasteful Amtrak spending," he said. "Speaking of waste, let me point out that the committee has spent more than 20 hours in hearings — paid for by taxpayers — to make this case. ... Enough already — we’ve seen this movie and each sequel is worse than the previous one."

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Friday was the end of a "pretty big week" for the advancement of high-speed railways in the United States. 

In a blog post on the Department of Transportation's website, LaHood touted grants given to North Carolina and Virginia to increase the speed of trains running between Washington, D.C., and Charlotte, N.C. 

The grants, which total about $100 million dollars, will move "forward on President Obama's vision of American high speed rail in the Southeast," LaHood said. 

Republicans in the House promised Thursday to continue scrutinizing Amtrak through the lame-duck session at the end of the year. 

For a second consecutive week, the GOP-led House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee met to criticize the national passenger rail service. This week's topic was the approximately $1 billion in subsidies Amtrak has received annually from the federal government since it was created to replace a network of independent railways in 1971.

Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) said the panel's examination of Amtrak was just getting started. 

"I'm very committed to reforming passenger rail service," he said, promising there would be at least three more hearings this Congress about Amtrak's finances and operations. 

“Taxpayers have been footing the bill for Amtrak’s gravy train for over forty years, and all they’ve gotten in return for their $40 billion investment is an inefficient, costly, Soviet-style passenger rail system," he added in a statement after the meeting.  

Your morning transportation speed-read: 

The Federal Railroad Administration has approved the construction plan for the first leg of a controversial proposed high-speed railway in California. 

Flight cancellations on American Airlines have spiked since the airline has gone through its bankruptcy proceedings. 

Air Canada is launching a low-cost subsidiary. 

German automaker Volkswagen has reported that sales of its Passat model have surpassed other midsize cars this year.