BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 1225
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: padilla
VERSION: 4/9/12
Analysis by: Art Bauer FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: April 24, 2012
SUBJECT:
Interagency transfer agreement
DESCRIPTION:
This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
to enter into a transfer of services agreement with the Los
Angeles-San Diego (LOSSAN) Corridor Agency for the provision of
intercity passenger rail service in the corridor.
ANALYSIS:
Since 1976, Caltrans has been contracting with Amtrak for
providing intercity passenger rail service in the LOSSAN
Corridor. The initial service was between San Diego and Los
Angeles and later extended to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.
The institutional environment in which the trains operate is
complex. The trains operate over tracks that are owned by two
public agencies in San Diego County, the Orange County
Transportation Authority, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority, the Union Pacific Railroad (UP), and
the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad. In addition,
the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) acquired
the passenger rail rights between Fullerton and Los Angeles from
BNSF in the 1990s. This requires any passenger rail operator,
except Amtrak, to secure RCTC's concurrence before initiating or
increasing service in that segment of the corridor. Railroad
services operating in the corridor include freight provided by
UP and BNS, and commuter rail service by METROLINK in Los
Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and Ventura counties and by the
Coaster in San Diego County. In addition to the state-supported
service, Amtrak operates interstate passenger rail services to
Seattle beginning in Los Angeles. In the future, the segment of
the corridor from Burbank to Los Angeles and Anaheim will
include high-speed rail service. One segment of the corridor,
Commerce to Fullerton, is among the most heavily used corridors
in the country with over 100 trains daily traversing it.
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Currently, the number of passenger and freight trains is about
equal.
The LOSSAN Corridor is the second most heavily patronized Amtrak
corridor in the country, after the Northeast Corridor between
Washington-New York-Boston. About 6.7 million passengers travel
in LOSSAN corridor annually. Of those passengers, 2.6 million
use Amtrak, 2.4 million rely on Metrolink, and the Coaster
carries 1.7 million. The travelers are very different. The
users of Metrolink and Coaster are typically commuters. The
average length of a commuter trip is 30 miles, the average fare
is $6.69 and income of the commuters is $75,000 annually. The
Amtrak rider is typically a leisure traveler, students, or a
business traveler who uses the service intermittently. The
average length of the trip is 90 miles, the average fare is
about $21, and traveler's average income is $80,000 annually.
In addition to the LOSSAN Corridor, the state has funded Amtrak
service from Bakersfield to Oakland via Stockton and Martinez
since 1979. In 1991, the state contracted with Amtrak to
operate service from Sacramento to Oakland/San Jose. The
management of the service was devolved to the Capitol Corridor
Joint Powers Agency (CCJPA) in 1998 by an interagency transfer
agreement.
This bill is intended emulate the institutional relationship
between Caltrans and the CCJPA in the LOSSAN Corridor.
Existing state law:
1. Authorizes Caltrans to:
a. Contract with Amtrak for intercity passenger rail
service.
b. Program in the State Transportation Improvement
Program (STIP) 15 percent of the funds available for
interregional transportation improvements to intercity
passenger rail and grade separations.
c. Enter into contracts with motor coach operators to
provide feeder bus service to intercity passenger rail
service, provided the service does not require an
operating subsidy.
d. Provide marketing services for the intercity
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passenger rail program, acquire passenger cars and
locomotives, and take other actions to facilitate the
operation of the service.
e. Prepare a ten-year intercity passenger rail plan
updated every two years to be adopted by the California
Transportation Commission (CTC).
1. Authorizes Caltrans, subject to the approval of the
Secretary of Business and Transportation Agency
(Secretary), to enter into an agreement with a joint powers
board transferring responsibility for administering
intercity passenger rail service in a corridor.
2. Assigns Caltrans responsibility for operating intercity
passenger service for trains operating up to 125 miles per
hour.
3. Requires a joint powers board to submit an annual
business plan which is the basis of a budget request for
service.
4. Authorizes the Secretary to do the following:
a. Establish the level of state funding available for
operation of intercity passenger rail service in
available in each corridor in which service operates.
b. Allocate funds to a joint powers board consistent
with an interagency agreement that includes, among other
things, the level of service to be operated.
5. Authorizes joint powers agencies to augment state funds
at their discretion to expand service, address funding
shortfalls, or achieve agreed upon performance standards.
Existing federal law:
1. Authorizes states or state-created entities to contract
with Amtrak for intercity passenger rail service.
2. Requires states, according to a national cost allocation
process adopted by the Service Transportation Board, to pay
the full operating and capital cost for intercity passenger
rail service in which the service is less than 750 miles in
length beginning in October 1, 2013. Interstate service is
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exempt from this provision.
This bill :
1. Authorizes the LOSSAN Corridor Agency to enter into an
interagency transfer agreement with Caltrans for assuming
all responsibility for administering state funded intercity
passenger rail service in the corridor on or before
December 31, 2013.
2. Requires the Secretary to report to the Legislature on
or before January 31, 2014, in the event that an acceptable
agreement has not been executed, with an explanation of the
reasons that the agreement was not reached and
recommendations for developing an acceptable agreement in
the future.
3. Specifies that the term of the transfer agreement with
the LOSSAN Corridor Agency will be for five years, but may
be extended by mutual agreement.
4. Prohibits the state from requiring a corridor agency to
use local funds to augment service or to fund shortfalls
when agreed upon performance standards are not reached.
5. Requires that cost for categories of service shall be
controlled by the cost allocation procedures established by
Amtrak in accordance with the federal Passenger Rail
Investment and Improvement Act of 2008.
6. Stipulates that this bill is only operative if the
members of the LOSSAN Corridor Agency amend the joint
powers agreement to expand the agency's authority to enter
into an interagency agreement.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose . The LOSSAN Corridor Agency is proposing to
become an agent of the state by entering into an
interagency transfer agreement with Caltrans to manage the
operation of Amtrak services with existing state resources
in order to better coordinate schedules and other operating
matters with the commuter rail services provided by
Metrolink and Coaster. The author points out that the
LOSSAN corridor parallels two of Southern California's most
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heavily congested freeways, Interstate 5 and Highway 101,
through six counties: San Diego, Orange County, Los
Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. The
line provides an alternative to driving these corridors and
benefits southern California in terms of increased
mobility, congestion relief, and decreased greenhouse gas
emissions.
2. Background . In the last 35 years, the number of
intercity trains funded by the state resources operating in
the LOSSAN Corridor has increased from 1 to 11 round trips
between Los Angeles and San Diego on weekdays, of which 5
are extended to San Barbara. Two of the Santa Barbara
trains provide round trip service to San Luis Obispo. There
are also five round trips daily from Los Angeles to Santa
Barbara. Since the beginning of service, $1.152 billion
has been invested in the corridor. Of that amount, $746
million, or 65 percent of the investment, has been state
funds. The next largest investor in the corridor has been
local governments, with $188 million, about 16 percent of
the funds. The remaining 20 percent of the investment has
been from federal sources, Amtrak, and the private
railroads. Caltrans has been responsible for managing the
investment program.
Even with the investments in the corridor, the track and
signaling system in the corridor from Ventura County to San
Luis Obispo is antiquated. In San Diego County, there are
segments of the corridor that remain single track. Lack of
double track and inadequate signaling reduces system
capacity and reliability of service.
3. LOSSAN Corridor Agency . The LOSSAN Corridor Agency is
currently made up of nine members: Caltrans, Los Angeles
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, North County
Transit District, Orange County Transportation Authority,
San Diego Association of Governments, San Diego
Metropolitan Transit System, San Luis Obispo Council of
Governments, Santa Barbara County Association of
Governments, and the Ventura County Transportation
Commission. The agency advises Caltrans on Amtrak services
and facility improvements for the corridor. Legislation
enacted in 1996, provided an opportunity for the LOSSAN
Agency to create a joint powers group to assume
responsibility for the LOSSAN intercity passenger service
by December 31, 1996. An agreement with Caltrans could not
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be reached, because the local agencies were unable to reach
a consensus on the structure of the corridor agency. The
responsibility for the service remains with Caltrans.
This bill establishes a deadline of December 31, 2013 for
the LOSSAN Agency to enter into an agreement with the state
to devolve the service.
4. Caltrans' role . Caltrans' Division of Rail is the
largest state rail agency in the country. It has earned
this distinction by managing the largest state-contracted
Amtrak service. Caltrans has managed the $2.8 billion
statewide capital improvement program for the intercity
passenger rail program. About eight percent of the STIP
funds are dedicated to interregional rail, for which
Caltrans is responsible for programming. Caltrans funded
and is managing the design and construction in
collaboration with BNSF of a third new track and signal
system, costing $165 million, between Los Angeles and
Fullerton. This will significantly improve system capacity
and reliability for both passenger and freight service.
With funds provided from Proposition 116, the Clean Air and
Transportation Improvement Act of 1990, Caltrans managed
the development and design of a bi-level (double deck)
intercity passenger rail car. Last year, the Federal
Railway Administration designated that car, referred to as
the "California" car, as the only bi-level car in the
country eligible for federal funding. Caltrans is managing
a $552 million project for the procurement of 135 bi-level
cars. Depending on the final bid, Caltrans will acquire
about 40 cars. The rest are for Illinois, Iowa, and
Missouri. Next year, Caltrans will manage the procurement
of 27 locomotives, of which 6 are for California. The
total value of this acquisition is expected to be $130
million.
This bill shifts operating responsibility to the LOSSAN
Corridor Agency, but maintains the state's responsibility
for STIP preparation for the rail program and equipment
acquisition.
The committee may wish to amend the bill to require that
conventional intercity passenger rail equipment be uniform
throughout the state. This ensures that there is common
pool of intercity equipment throughout the state, which can
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facilitate maintenance and equipment utilization. This
proposed amendment does not affect local decisions
regarding commuter equipment.
5. Commits state to funding LOSSAN service . This bill
requires the state to continue funding the LOSSAN Corridor
Amtrak trains at the service level agreed to in a transfer
agreement with the LOSSAN Corridor Agency for five years.
At the current appropriation level, this is about $27
million annually. It shifts, however, the responsibility
for managing the contract with Amtrak to the LOSSAN
Corridor Agency. Existing law requires the LOSSAN Corridor
agency to submit its annual budget request to Caltrans,
which in turn prepares a budget change proposal to the
Department of Finance for inclusion in the state budget.
6. State rail network versus regional rail network .
Caltrans operation of the LOSSAN Corridor has ensured the
service is integrated into a statewide rail network.
Because there is no intercity passenger rail service across
the Tehachapi Mountains, Caltrans provides connecting bus
service from Los Angeles to Bakersfield, where there is a
connection to the San Joaquin Valley trains. There are
about 30 round trips daily between the 2 cities, with the
service providing about 400,000 trips a year. These trips
are integral to the success of the San Joaquin service.
To ensure that the LOSSAN Corridor Amtrak service continues
to be part of the statewide rail network, the committee may
wish to amend the bill to prevent the termination of bus
service contracted for by Caltrans to connect LOSSAN
Corridor service with the other state-provided Amtrak
service, unless the bus service no longer conforms with the
performance requirements of existing law. Existing law
prohibits an operating subsidy and requires the bus fares
to cover the operating costs.
7. Goal of LOSSAN Corridor Agency . The goal of the LOSSAN
Corridor Agency is to improve the overall performance of
the corridor to the benefit of both commuter and intercity
services. This is to be achieved by integrating the Amtrak
and the commuter services, principally through schedule
coordination. If not managed carefully, there is a
potential risk of the Amtrak service being subsumed into
the commuter program. Amtrak service has been very
successful, in part, because of the constraints on
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operating subsidies. Caltrans has emphasized maintaining
as high a revenue yield per passenger as possible.
To this end, the state-supported Amtrak service secures
about 60 percent of its operating cost from fare revenues.
This compares to 42 percent for Metrolink and about 25
percent for Coaster.
To protect the economic viability of the Amtrak service,
the committee may wish to amend the bill to require the
Amtrak service to maintain a ratio of fare revenues to
operating cost of no less than 58 percent.
8. Issues of management . The success of the Capitol
Corridor service, in the opinion of many observers, has
been due to a staff that is experienced with managing
passenger rail services and that recognizes the concerns
freight railroads have with passenger services using the
same facilities. To this end, the committee may wish to
amend the bill to require that the LOSSAN Corridor Agency
retain an individual to manage the contract with the state
with previous experience operating or managing intercity or
commuter passenger rail services.
9. Incorrect intent language . Beginning on page 3, line
18, there is intent language written as operative language.
Specifically paragraphs (b) (1), (b) (2), and (b) (5)
include operative language. It is unnecessary to convert
these paragraphs to operative because existing law
addresses the subject in the paragraphs. The committee may
wish to delete these paragraphs from the bill and to amend
paragraphs (b) (3) and (b) (4) as conventional intent
language.
10. Technical amendments . The following technical
amendments are requested by the sponsors:
a. Page 5, line 7, add a cross reference to section
14031.8 (g).
b. Page 5, lines 26 to 27 change December 31, 2013 to
June 30, 2014 and January 31, 2014 to June 30, 2014.
c. Page 8, line 23, delete "not precluded" and add
"authorized under".
d. Page 9, line 15, strike "comprised" and added
"composed"
e. Page 9, line 17, correct name of the LOSSAN
Corridor.
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POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
April 18, 2012)
SUPPORT: LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency (sponsor)
Amtrak
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority
Orange County Transportation Authority
Sacramento Regional Transit District
San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission
San Valley Regional Policy Council
Ventura County Transportation Commission
OPPOSED: None received.