Officials on track to settle Amtrak dispute

By Gordon Dickson

gdickson@star-telegram.com

IRVING -- State officials say they may have found a way to fix a dispute between Amtrak and the Trinity Railway Express over the future of passenger train service in North Texas.

If there is a breakthrough, Texas would avoid the embarrassment and the financial hit of sending $7.2 million in unspent federal stimulus funds back to Washington. The Recovery Act money was awarded to the state in 2010 to move Amtrak, which uses the congested Union Pacific line through Arlington for its daily Texas Eagle service, to the less crowded TRE line in Northeast Tarrant County.

A resolution could also kick-start efforts to bring 200-mph bullet trains to Texas by 2020, several officials said.

Bill Glavin, Texas Department of Transportation rail division director, said his agency is stepping in and asking the Federal Railroad Administration to obligate the $7.2 million in federal funds to the state. That agreement, Glavin said, would be signed only by officials from the state Transportation Department and Federal Railroad Administration.

That move would obligate the money before a federal deadline of Aug. 31, preventing the money from being sent back and reallocated to other projects, he said. It would also buy time for Amtrak and TRE to resolve their differences over who should shoulder legal liability on the TRE line.

Amtrak and TRE could sign a separate agreement later, clearing the way for construction to begin on double-tracking the TRE line to make more room for Amtrak trains.

"They seem to be amenable to it," Glavin said of the federal rail officials. "I think we're going to get there. I think there's a 90 to 95 percent chance we'll have this resolved."

Legal liability

Glavin is among several hundred experts and dignitaries at a four-day Transportation Summit this week in Irving. High-speed rail is a big topic, and several speakers said they're optimistic that a bullet train connecting Dallas-Fort Worth to Houston can be built by 2020.

The first step would be moving Amtrak's Texas Eagle service -- which connects Dallas-Fort Worth to Chicago and San Antonio -- onto the TRE line.

The TRE is a commuter service co-owned by Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority that could rather easily accommodate Amtrak passenger trains on its tracks -- the old Rock Island line, which is rarely used by freight trains.

The state was awarded $7.2 million in federal Recovery Act funding to pay for that move two years ago, but the money remains unspent because Amtrak and TRE disagree about liability.

At issue is who would be legally liable in the event of injury or property damage on the rail line.

Amtrak has denied assertions that it wants TRE to assume legal liability for Amtrak trains running on the TRE line.

Instead, Amtrak only wants an agreement in which it takes on "liability for our equipment, passengers, and crew -- regardless of fault," Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.

State law limits how much a public agency such as TRE can be held liable. Generally, the limit is $250,000 per person or $500,000 for each single occurrence for bodily injury or death.

Because of that cap, Amtrak doesn't want to be exposed for liability over what TRE could pay out, which could be a hefty sum in the event of a rail disaster.

Big payouts

Amtrak may have reason to be concerned about this level of exposure.

A 2004 New York Times investigation concluded that Amtrak, the nation's only coast-to-coast passenger rail line, had paid $186 million for accidents blamed either entirely or mostly on factors outside Amtrak's control. During that time, Amtrak received billions in subsidies from Congress -- and although the rail line had insurance, it didn't cover most of those costs, the investigation found.

Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970 to relieve freight railroads of the obligation to carry passenger trains. Freight railroads have traditionally required Amtrak to indemnify them for accident claims.

Despite growing concerns among supporters of passenger rail that Texas could lose the $7.2 million grant if a deal isn't reached by Aug. 31, transportation officials in the region say there's no cause for alarm.

Gordon Dickson,

817-390-7796

Twitter: @gdickson

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