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   DOT Secretary Norman Mineta's planned press conference in Sacramento Thursday, March 31 has been switched to the State Capitol at 11am in press room 1190. 

   On March 30 Mineta rode a Caltrain from Millbrae to San Francisco and then held a press conference. Rail advocates have noted that Mineta is calling his conferences on shorter and shorter notice, quite possibly in an effort to avoid large groups of Amtrak supporters who are opposed to his proposals that they say would mean the death of the rail passenger system. 

   National Association of Railroad Passengers President George Chilton wrote a letter to Mineta, which NARP released yesterday. An excerpt from that letter follows:

"... we are gravely concerned that in its zeal to
achieve 'Amtrak reform,' the Administration has rushed to embrace a plan that is not grounded in reality, ignores critical issues, addresses the
wrong problems and proposes 'solutions' that, if implemented, would lead not to the improvement but to the demise of all intercity passenger train
service in the United States. 
   "Phaseout of all federal operating support
jeopardizes not only interstate services but many so called 'state supported' intrastate routes that currently receive federal support. Loss
of reasonably priced liability insurance and indemnification arrangements as well as affordable access to the privately owned rail network,
stations, platforms and parking lots is also a very real possibility.
  "Because the consequences of wrong decisions are so serious--and potentially irreversible--it is essential that the Administration proceed with great caution and prudence."

  Here are some excerpts from that document:

The Administration is Out of Touch with the American People:

  In poll after poll and ballot initiative after ballot initiative, the American people are telling their government that they want more passenger train service not less. Reliable polls over a period of time show that 70% of Americans believe we should have a national passenger train system and are willing to pay for it. The Bush Administration should be smart enough to recognize that funding Amtrak and passenger train expansion is a sure fire political winner. 

  Improved and expanded passenger train service is important to America’s mobility, economic development, freedom of choice and quality of life. The Administration should encourage intelligent discussion about creative ways to accomplish that goal.  Its use of propaganda and disinformation to promote a flawed plan that would probably result in the elimination of all intercity passenger train service runs counter to the desires and interests of most Americans. The Administration needs to reverse course, quickly. 
                                  * * *
  Mineta claims (prepared remarks, Chicago, IL, press conference, Feb. 14): 
“Amtrak cannot spend money on new, innovative services that people want, because it is spending so much money running trains that nobody rides between cities that nobody wants to travel between.”
  Facts: 
  * Amtrak’s long distance routes to which the Secretary refers are in fact heavily used.  In 2004, Amtrak’s long distance trains carried an average of 364 passengers per trip and accounted for nearly one half of Amtrak’s total passenger miles. Average passenger loads exceeded 170 – more than those on most airline flights.
  * The 16 long distance routes do not impose a huge financial burden that prevents Amtrak from developing new services. The Federal Railroad Administration estimates the cost of maintaining these services at less than $200 million a year. 
  * The Northeast corridor alone costs $1.2 billion a year to operate and maintain. Amtrak’s network outside the Northeast (which includes both regional short distance corridor services as well as interregional long distance routes) requires only $300 million more.
  * Amtrak’s network outside the Northeast generates 70% of total system passenger miles but represents only 20% of annual federal funding needs. When you get 70% of the value for just 20% of cost, that’s a sound investment, not waste.