The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger May 1995 Vol. XIII, No. 5 ISSN 1073-6859 Published by the Delaware Valley Association of Railroad Passengers in the interest of continued, improved, and expanded rail service for the present and potential railroad and rail transit passengers of southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and nearby areas. For more information about DVARP and good rail service, please contact us: P.O. Box 7505, Philadelphia, PA 19101 215-222-3373 contents: page 2 Schedule Change Alert: New NJ Transit train schedules in effect May 15 Some Amtrak schedules change (service cuts) June 11 Inside The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger... Special edition with this issue: The Future of Amtrak 1 SEPTA budgets continue to hold the line on service and fares but delay expansion again 3 On the Railroad Lines: Meadowbrook Station burns down; SEPTA ridership, on-time reports; DVARP takes sharper pencil to Newtown proposals to save them from naysayers. 4 Transit News Update: Center City trolley loop opens; CTD schedule change to bring summer streetcars on Girard Ave.; New bus service between Jenkintown and the Northeast. 6 South Jersey News: DVARP participates in TransAction Conference 7 Amtrak opens WWW site, DVARP puts NJ Transit train schedules on line 7-8 Dates of Interest, DVARP Directory 8 One DVARP Board seat vacant: nominations now being accepted for June election DVARP President: Donald Nigro Newsletter Editor: Matthew D. Mitchell for other officers and committee chairs, see page 7 entire contents copyright (C) 1995 DVARP Opinions expressed in The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger are not necessarily those of DVARP or its members. We welcome your comments: call 215-222-3373 No Surprises in SEPTA Budgets by Matthew Mitchell Proposed capital and operating budgets for SEPTA's fiscal year 1996 were released to DVARP and the public early this month, and hearings on them are being held as this newsletter goes to press. The budgets continue previously-stated policies of maintaining existing service in the face of anticipated cuts in Federal support for transit. While there is little bad news in the budget, there was little good news either. At press time, DVARP committees were evaluating sections of the budget and preparing a statement to be approved by the DVARP Board at the May meeting. The statement will then be delivered at public hearings May 22 through 24. This hearing testimony is one of DVARP's most important and least-noticed functions. These public hearings do not attract the audience or the media attention of fare increase hearings, even though the projects and initiatives being considered have a much larger effect on our region. Rail Expansion Delayed Again The Capital Program is especially newsworthy, as it discloses SEPTA's priorities for future projects. New this year in the budget document is a "commitment schedule" which actually attaches dates to specific projects. In it, we find out that all railroad service expansions, including Newtown and the 'Cross County Metro,' have been pushed off to the year 2002 at the earliest. Projects to be carried out in the intervening time are mostly for transit facilities and rolling stock. The only commuter rail projects which will be carried out in the coming year will be structural work from Suburban Station to 30th Street, and the expansion of parking facilities at a handful of stations expected to have increased patronage during the I-95 reconstruction. These projects are all modest in scope except the $14 million one at Cornwells Heights. Market St. El to be Reconstructed The biggest of the projects is purchase of new buses: 1240 of them for a total of $371 million. Second is a new project: reconstruction of the Market Street El, estimated at least $230 million. The cursory project description SEPTA released implies a 'replace-in-kind' project much like the current Frankford El reconstruction. Funding for the renovation of City Hall station ($25 million) and Frankford Terminal ($80 million) is programmed for next year. The multi-billion dollar Northeast subway extension is not included in the FY 1996-2007 program period. The commitment schedule places restoration of light rail infrastructure for North Philadelphia route 15, 23, 56 in the period 1996-2001. DVARP Statements Available On-Line Complete text of both DVARP statements will be made available on the internet, at DVARP's 'home page' (http://libertynet.org/ ~dvarp/dvarp.html). As usual, you will also be able to obtain copies of the statements by sending your name, address, and $1.00 printing and postage cost to DVARP. From the Editor's Seat: Don't Miss The Opportunity Again At least one good thing can result from the transit strike: that is, if we let it. A lot of city residents had no transportation alternative but SEPTA's commuter rail lines, so they flooded the RRD with ridership. SEPTA management and railroad employees did a good job coping with the crowds, and other than the lines at Center City stations, the railroad made a good impression. We need to turn that temporary gain into a permanent one. For years, self-serving politicians and union leaders have been beating up on the railroad, saying it only benefits undeserving suburbanites, even though half of the lines run exclusively or predominantly within city limits. To these people, riding a commuter train is an act of treason. Is it any wonder that those lines in the city are the weakest in ridership, and always the ones threatened with shutdown in a financial crisis? Compare this to the positive, pro-active steps taken by City government in the 60's. "Operation Fox Chase" brought fast electrified train service to Northeast neighborhoods. "Operation Chestnut Hill" gave new trains and more frequent service to more neighborhoods. The commuter rail system was treated as the primary means of transportation, not a burden. SEPTA has made several 'positive moves to stress how the railroad benefits City residents, and to promote ridership on reverse-commute trips. City government in general, and the Mayor's Office for Transportation in particular, should reinforce this effort.--MDM Quotable: A railroad is a capital-eating machine. Amtrak's capital depreciation stands at two billion dollars since the start of 1971.... In the last 20 years of its operation, Amtrak has received a total of $2 billion from the Federal government. France and Germany have each spent $90 billion on rail in the last year alone. Amtrak's needs today are, in order, capital, capital and capital. We don't have enough money to replace our own fleet as it wears out, and certainly have no money to expand anything. Our improvement projects depend 100% on the goodwill of participating states: the federal government has contributed nothing to us. Ladies and gentlemen, no railroad in history has ever made back its total capital costs and operating expenses. Some railroads today make back their operating expenses only. But no railroad today, and no railroad in history, has ever made back its capital and operating expenses. Amtrak is required by law to do that task in five years. Amtrak was chartered by Congress as a profit-making corporation. Today we're 200 million dollars in the red. Amtrak's authorization to exist expired last October. Right now we are not authorized to exist, under Federal law. If we fail to make up our deficits, our assets will be seized by our creditors, as they have every right to do under the law. We will not be bailed out. Either Amtrak makes money or we will not exist in the next year. --Tom Downs, Amtrak President, at Amtrak Public Forum, Sacramento On the Railroad Lines... Report Proves Trains are Good Neighbors Did you see the Inquirer story of Sunday April 30: "Railroads bring the value home"? It told how commuter rail service not only improves the quality of life in our area, but also improves property values by an average of $6,000. That figure came from a study by Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia economist Richard Voith (who is now on the SEPTA Board). These facts make great talking points for w hen NIMBYs lash out against your trains. Want a copy of that article, which appeared in the Fed's Business Review, plus a copy of the Inquirer story? Just send us your name, address, and $1.50 for postage and copying. The Better to See You With SEPTA is fitting its Silverliners with 'ditch lights.' These are additional headlights, usually mounted low on the nose. Shining at a slight angle left and right of the tracks (they're aimed at the ditch), the lights make trains more visible as they approach grade crossings. Many other railroads are using ditch lights now too. Conrail's flash alternately when the engineer whistles for a crossing. R1--U. City Details Last month's ASCE tour of the new University City commuter rail station yielded a few more facts about the project. The project took 16 years from conception to opening. Initially, the station was to be built in conjunction with the Center City tunnel, but there was an eight-year slippage between final design and the start of construction. Construction was delayed due to discovery of a high water table at the site not far from the Schuylkill. Removal of contaminated soil and the stormy winter of '94 also caused delays. R3--One Station Burns... A fire of suspicious origin claimed another SEPTA station April 18: the Meadowbrook station in Abington. Trains were delayed all day; four were annulled. The station contained a Post Office branch. SEPTA has not yet announced any rebuilding plans. ...Another Restored A big celebration was held in Lansdowne as the picturesque station there was rededicated, more than four years after it was struck by fire. Credit neighbors in the Delaware County borough for their tenacity in demanding that SEPTA rebuild it. SEPTA Ridership Stats Six-month data (July to December) ridership (000s) change Surface (bus) 53,321 +0.9% Subway-Elevated 27,129 +1.9% Light Rail 4,714 -1.9% City Trans. total 85,164 +1.1% Red Arrow 6,149 -1.0% Frontier 1,022 -1.8% Suburban Total 7,171 -1.1% RRD Total 11,097 +16.4% SEPTA Total 103,432 +2.5% RRD Weekday Ridership by Line: December 94 vs. December 93 R1 Airport 2,617 +19.2% R2 Wilmington 6,878 +11.7% R3 Elwyn 7,713 -6.7% R5 Paoli 19,541 -3.3% R6 Cynwyd 248 -2.5% R7 Trenton 8,473 +9.1% R8 C.H. West 4,968 -14.9% PRR total 50,438 R2 Warminster 6,416 +15.7% R3 West Trenton 7,498 +11.5% R5 Doylestown 10,762 +11.8% R6 Norristown 4,656 +8.7% R7 C.H. East 4,388 -1.3% R8 Fox Chase 3,922 +17.4% RDG total 37,642 RRD total 88,079 +4.4% SEPTA Regional Rail Division On-time Performance March April At Suburban Station 90.3% 91.6% At Final Destination 88.8% 87.4% Peak 86.4% 82.5% Off Peak 89.3% 89.6% Trains Canceled 0.1% 0.3% Trains over 15 minutes late 1.8% 1.7% Individual Lines R1 Airport 97.1% 95.1% R2 Wilmington/Warminster 92.7% 92.0% R3 West Trenton/Elwyn 83.2% 78.4% R5 Doylestown Parkesburg 87.1% 86.5% R6 Cynwyd/Norristown 89.6% 91.2% R7 Trenton/Chestnut Hill East 85.6% 82.8% R8 Chestnut Hill West/Fox Chase 87.5% 86.8% courtesy SEPTA, Libertynet Newtown Efforts Continue DVARP President Donald Nigro and Commuter Rail Committee Chairman John Pawson continue to refine various proposals for restoring commuter rail service to Newtown, and submit them to planning staff at SEPTA. The thrust of DVARP's efforts is to reduce the projected cost of the project to the point where SEPTA agrees that restoring the trains is a good investment. What that likely means is some compromises in the scope of service. No reverse-commute, and only limited off-peak service would be provided at first. The reverse-commute issue has a big impact on signaling costs, and a peak-oriented service would carry more passengers per train. As ridership grows, service can be added, in the same manner as most other commuter service restorations in the U.S. Some proposed stations would be eliminated, both to cut capital costs, and to speed up the trains. The full text of the proposal is available from DVARP, both online at (http://libertynet. org/~dvarp/docs/newtown) and in printed form. (please send your name, address, and $2.00 to cover copying and postage) Latest Newtown News SEPTA is analyzing DVARP's 'optimized variation' of the Dual Powered Alternative. Good preliminary news: while DVARP had estimated that the optimization would cut operating expenses in half, SEPTA has found that the optimization would cut operating expenses by two- thirds. Furthermore, the required net annual subsidy (including the impact on the R2 and R3 lines) is $388,940: not much more than what the current Newtown shuttle bus requires ($300,000). However, the optimized plan does not give significant reverse peak service, therefore, the Newtown shuttle bus could not be eliminated completely. It could be scaled back to a $40,000/year Newtown to Bethayres run. Two reverse peak bus round trips would complement restored Newtown rail service in a cost-effective manner. In recent weeks, the Newtown Greenway Coalition has repeatedly and publicly stated that is does not oppose restoration of rail service between Newtown and Fox Chase. In addition, the governing body of Bryn Athyn has explicitly stated that they along with their constituents are not opposed to the restoration of Newtown service provided that the line is not electrified.--DN The Hidden Subsidies: More Automobile Pork The Federal Government is spending $170 million for R and D of so-called "intelligent" transportation systems. General Motors, and big engineering companies like Bechtel and Parsons Brinkerhoff will be the beneficiaries of this boondoggle. The goal is to design "separated lanes" on which computer-controlled vehicles can travel at 120 mph. Maybe DVARP should try to get some of this money--we know of a real intelligent transportation system that does all that right now... it's called a train.--MDM "The Hidden Subsidies" is an occasional series dedicated to shedding light on imbalances in our present transportation policy. Did You Notice? DVARP's Matthew Mitchell was quoted extensively in a story in the May/June issue of Amtrak's on-board magazine, Express. Mitchell, veteran of a year's commuting from Philadelphia to Washington on Amtrak, gave tips for working on the train. LRD--Summer Trolley Service on 15 Summer construction work near 49th St. will cause replacement of Route 10 streetcars with diesel buses. The trolleys will be shifted to Route 15 for the season, giving Girard Avenue riders the speed and comfort of rail service. *Shuttle buses will replace the Route 13 Yeadon-Darby extension during summer track reconstruction work. *Trolley Fare reports that the Federal ADA law is the reason SEPTA had to stop running two-car trains on the Subway-Surface Lines. The letter of the law states that all trains of more than one car must include one wheelchair-accessible vehicle. 51 Service is "Welcome" The Center City trolley loop begins weekend service this month. Officially designated Route 51, the trolley is called the "Welcome Line" as both an invitation to visitors and a reference to Philadelphia's history. William Penn's ship was called the "Welcome." A 50 cent fare is being charged for single trips on the line. Like the Route 76, transfers and SEPTA passes are accepted too. The service will run Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm this month, and go to a seven-days-a-week schedule next month. SEPTA's durable PCC streetcars will provide most service for the line; the antique Peter Witt car will also be in operation. LRD boss Kim Scott Heinle was quoted in newspaper interviews as seeing the Bainbridge St. to Noble St. loop as only part of the ultimate line. The present loop is short, and gives direct service to few visitor attractions. Extensions to the South Street entertainment area and the Zoo are widely talked about, while another intriguing idea is for tie-ins to Philadelphia's Afro-American history on a North Philadelphia trolley route segment. CTD Subway-El--Subway Plan Moving Forward The Philadelphia City Planning Commission's report on a possible rapid transit extension for Northeast Philadelphia is in the final draft stage. Project Manager A ndrew Lenton responded at length to comments from DVARP and from community organizations. DVARP's main concern was that insistence on an expensive subway or elevated extension would jeopardize the entire project. Without endorsing any alternative, DVARP suggested a commuter rail extension which could begin service much sooner and at less cost than a rapid transit extension. (See June, Sept., Dec. 1994 DVRP) Roosevelt Boulevard emerged as the preferred routing, and subway alignment preferred over elevated. There was strong support in Olney and the Lower Northeast for a connection to the Broad Street Subway which would serve their neighborhoods. A member of the project advisory committee raised the idea of extending the Frankford El to Harbison Ave., where passengers could transfer to the new line. That plan emerged as one of the three given highest priority. If and when the report is accepted by the Commission, the next stage is a complete alternatives analysis/major investment study, mandated by law. It is at this stage that Lenton says commuter rail and other alternatives, including a combined highway/transit project put forth by Philadelphia Streets Commissioner Lawrence Moy will get full consideration.--MDM CTD Bus--New Cross-County Service The long-awaited "X-Plus" bus route may go into service next month, pending approval of the SEPTA Board. Residents and elected officials from Northeast Philadelphia and the Jenkintown area have long been agitating for an extension of the limited-service Route X, which presently operates from Chestnut Hill to Glenside and Jenkintown. The expanded route will travel on Township Line Rd. and Cottman Ave. into Northeast Philadelphia. Promoters of the new service say senior citizens and other riders in both Montgomery County and Philadelphia will make good use of the bus for medical appointments (Medical College Hospital is along the route) and shopping (Glenside is the resale shop capital of the Delaware Valley). If the service expansion is approved, the line will become Route 77, and start up June 18 or 19. Schedule Change Highlights Summer schedules go into effect on SEPTA's City Transit Division June 18. Visit Market East or Suburban Station, or one of SEPTA's sales or customer service offices to pick up new schedules, or phone 215-580-7777. Here are some of the more important changes: *Rerouting of the 18 bus in Wadsworth and Wyndmoor is pending Board approval (DVARP asked that the rerouting be postponed until a plan for better integration of bus and train services could be worked out) *Extension of Route X from Jenkintown to Northeast Philadelphia and renumbering to 77, pending Board approval. (see above) *Evening Route 25 trips will serve Spring Garden El station. *Minor service increases for Route 47/47M, 57; minor cuts on 16, 31. New spur route for 32. Bus Prices Increase NJ Transit has purchased 171 city transit buses from Nova Bus (formerly TMC, once GM's bus division). Nova's $254,000 per bus was the only bid received. Bus prices have increased by almost fifty percent since 1990, mostly because of Federal mandates on emissions and equipment for the disabled. Voice- and visual stop announcement systems are now required equipment, as are wheelchair lifts. SEPTA is budgeting $300,000 per bus for its future purchases. Credits News compiled by Matthew Mitchell and correspondents: Howard Bender, John Dawson, Bob Machler, Bill Mulloy, Don Nigro, Bill Ritzler Additional news from USENET, Mobilizing the Region, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Trolley Fare. Special thanks to J. Thomas Collins, John McGee, and Alan Wickersham of SEPTA, Silas Warner, and the NJ Transit Planning Dept. Your news tips are always welcome! Phone 215-222-3373, message box 3 or mail them to DVARP TransAction `95 TransAction, billed as "New Jersey's Premier Transportation Conference", convened in Atlantic City on April 5th and 6th. The conference provides those who have an interest in New Jersey transportation issues with the opportunity to find out about the most recent events, technology, and legislation affecting the industry. Most interesting to this author was a "Specialized Session" presentation conducted by Conrail. William Rich presented the Conrail perspective about joint operation of freight and passenger service on trackage that Conrail owns. The Conrail view is as follows: 1) Conrail believes that commuter rail service is necessary. 2) Conrail wishes to be a good corporate citizen. 3) Conrail has a policy team for passenger rail with sub-teams for specific issues. These teams report directly to the President of Conrail. 4) Conrail does not want to make or lose money due to the operation of passenger rail on trackage it owns. 5) Conrail is constantly assessing the category of its track, including primary lines, secondary, running track, etc. Rich stated that there were four issues to be resolved between Conrail and any potential operator before rail passenger service can begin: 1) Compensation. A trackage rights agreement, with appropriate compensation [money] provisions, must be secured. 2) Operations. Conrail must determine the impact to Conrail customers, scheduling, and capacity. Some intercity line-haul operations are near capacity with existing physical plant. Access to customers via rail sidings at customer preferred schedules should not be disrupted. Commuter trains stop frequently while freight does not, generating the potential for delays. 3) Safety and Engineering. Mixing freight and passenger service increases the complexity of dispatching. Crash barriers should be placed between parallel passenger and freight tracks. Issues of signal system compatibility must be addressed. 4) Liability. Liability should be the responsibility of the passenger operator regardless of the amount or party at fault. The potential for a multi-million dollar settlement exists wherever passenger services may operate. The Massachusetts legislature has approved liability protection for the MBTA Worcester extension. Conrail is seeking nationwide legislation on this issue.--WR NJT Ridership (courtesy NJT Planning Department) Rail lines continued to lead NJ Transit's ridership growth. Overall, it was up 5.0 percent in the first half of fiscal 1995. This exceeds the growth in employment in New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia, so the gain is even more impressive. The Atlantic City Line recorded a 9.1 percent increase, best on the system. It will probably grow even more this year with the expansion of service to Philadelphia. Commuter ridership on the A.C. line increased 11.2 percent. Northeast Corridor Line ridership growth has strengthened to 4.2%. Off-peak ridership grew even more: 8.8%. PATCO reported a 0.6 percent ridership gain over FY 1994. On the bus side, NJT ridership is up by 3.8 percent. The usual breakdown of North and South Jersey data was unavailable at press time. In New York, TA ridership was up 3.6 percent. All the increase came on the subways; bus ridership was down slightly. Long Island Rail Road ridership was up 2.0 percent, Metro-North up 4.8 percent. PATH gained 4.6 percent NJ-ARP supports Modified PATCO At its March meeting, the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers endorsed 'Modified PATCO' as its preferred mode for Gloucester County--the same decision DVARP made. No preference was yet expressed for Burlington County, where DVARP is seeking either commuter rail or modified PATCO options which would offer a one-seat ride to Philadelphia. DVARP appreciates support from all interested parties as we lead the fight to effectively expand passenger rail service in South Jersey. New Amtrak Ticket Machines Amtrak is working on a new kind of ticket machine for passengers boarding at unstaffed stations like many on the Harrisburg Line. The machine will hav e a two-way video system so people can see a ticket agent from a nearby station and get help if necessary. Passengers paying by credit card will get their tickets from the machine. Passengers paying by cash or check will get a boarding pass and then pay the conductor. With this system, those who pay on board will be able to use more of Amtrak's special fares. Amtrak Goes Online The information revolution continues to pick up speed; and the national passenger railroads of the U.S.A. and Canada have joined it. Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada each opened world-wide-web information pages on the internet last month. While both railroads are to be commended for their new marketing initiatives, there are obvious flaws in execution. The VIA page still contains numerous mistakes; while the Amtrak page is missing the schedule and fare information most needed by passengers. Volunteer efforts, like DVARP's project that placed complete Amtrak schedules online, are being continued until the administrators of the official sites get their acts together. Where to Surf All of these pages are just one click away when you log on to DVARP's home page: DVARP home page: http://libertynet.org/~dvarp/dvarp.html Amtrak Schedules: http://libertynet.org/~dvarp/Amtrak/ Amtrak's Online 'Station': http://www.amtrak.com/ VIA schedules: http://www.mcs.net/Canpass/canpass.html VIA Online information: http://www.viarail.ca NJT Now Online, Too Meanwhile, DVARP has added complete NJ Transit train schedules to the Libertynet site. Volunteer Bob Scheurle typed in the data for us. The URL for direct access to NJT information, including fares and a list of stations and lines, is: http://libertynet.org/~dvarp/NJT/readme.html As more and more of this information comes online, let DVARP be your guide. Soldiers of Steel Celebrated In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II, the National Railroad Heritage Preservation Symposium will look at the crucial contributions the railroads made to victory. The four-day course will be held June 15 through 18 at Penn State-Altoona. The non-credit program includes tours of museums and Conrail locomotive and car shops, presentations from military and rail historians, and social events. The tuition of $350 includes lodging and meals. This Symposium would make a great mini-vacation. For information and registration (the deadline is June 9), phone Penn State Altoona's Continuing Education Office at 814-949-5048. Tour Overbrook A special inspection trip of the new SEPTA Overbrook Shop will be held by the Philadelphia Railway M.U. Car Club June 6. Non-members are welcome to join the tour, but advance reservations are a must. The $20.00 cost of the trip includes a buffet dinner at the shop. Phone Linda Brink at 607-324-4570 for reservations: the deadline is June 2. Vacancy on DVARP Board Nominations are now being accepted to fill a vacant seat on the nine-member DVARP Board of Directors. The remaining Directors will hold the election at the June DVARP meeting, and the elected candidate will take office immediately, serving for the rest of the year. The seat became vacant on the resignation from the Board of former DVARP President Chuck Bode. Any DVARP member in good standing may nominate him or herself; there are no geographic restrictions or districts in Board representation. Nominations will close at the start of business of the June meeting, to be held June 18 in Center City Philadelphia. Candidates will have an opportunity to make a brief statement before the election is held. Nominations will be accepted in person at the meeting, or in writing, either to the DVARP mailbox or to President Donald Nigro. Nominees are responsible for ensuring their nomination is received before the deadline. Up and Down the Corridor News of other Northeastern commuter rail and rail transit services Compromise on Metro Platforms The dispute between Washington Metro and Federal bureaucrats is over. WMATA had been ordered to tear out all its unique granite platform edges and replace them with standardized edges with bumps to warn blind passengers. Metro officials and representatives of the blind objected, saying the existing edge provided better warning (its very smooth edge contrasts with bumpy tiled platforms) and would be prohibitively expensive to replace. In the compromise, grooves will be milled into the existing edges to give them a distinct texture. DVARP Phone & Voice-mail Directory DVARP main number (voice mail line) 215-222-3373 1.Bill Mulloy, Transit Committee 215-222-3373 2.John Pawson, Commuter RR Comm. 215-659-7736 (6 to 9 pm please) 3.Matthew Mitchell, Newsletter Editor 215-885-7448 4.John Dawson, Amtrak Committee 215-222-3373 5.Sharon Shneyer, External Affairs 215-386-2644 6.Robert H. Machler, Vice-President 215-222-3373 7.Bill Ritzler, South Jersey Committee 609-869-0020 9.Don Nigro, President 609-869-0020 Betsey Clark, Volunteer Coordinator 215-222-3373 Computer e-mail (internet) dvarp@libertynet.org World-Wide Web http://libertynet.org/~dvarp/dvarp.html Dates of Interest Delmarva Rail Passenger Association: Thu., June 1. Call Ken Berg, 410-648-5961, for more information. Deadline for June newsletter material: Fri., June 2, to Matthew Mitchell or in DVARP mailbox. Philadelphia Railway M.U. Car Club Tour of SEPTA Overbrook Shop: Tues., June 6. Train leaves Suburban Station Track 0 at 5:45 pm. Fare $20.00 includes buffet dinner. Reservations required. Phone Linda Brink, 607-324-4570 for reservations: deadline June 2. Amtrak service cuts take effect June 11. DVARP Transit Committee: Wed., June 14, 5:30 to 6:30 at 30th Street Station, south concourse exit opposite Post Office. Call Bill Mulloy, 215-222-3373, message box 1, for more information. DVARP Commuter Rail Committee: Wed., June 14, 5:30, location to be announced: call John Pawson, 215-659-7736, between 6:00 and 9:00 pm for location and other information. SEPTA RRD riders welcome. NJ-ARP Meeting: Wed., June 14, 6:30 pm at Chatfield's, Gladstone, NJ. Phone 908-727-3173 for info. National Railroad Heritage Preservation Symposium--"Extraordinary Efforts: The Role of the Railroad in World War II": Thurs.-Sun., June 15-18, at Penn State Altoona Campus, Altoona PA. Tuition $350 includes room and meals. For further information and registration, phone 814-949-5048. DVARP South Jersey Committee: Sat., June 17, 11:00, at 104 Edison Ave., Collingswood NJ. DVARP Amtrak Committee: Sat., June 17, 12:00, at Suburban Station west end concourse, near SEPTA Passenger Service office. Please call John Dawson, 215-222-3373, message box 3 to confirm place. DVARP General Meeting: Sat., June 17, 1:00 to 4:00 at Temple University Center City, 1616 Walnut St., Philadelphia. New SEPTA City Transit schedules go into effect June 18. SEPTA On Site (Suburban Transit): Wed., June 21, 7:30 to 9:30 am and 3:30 to 5:30 pm at 69th St. Terminal, and 7:30 to 9:30 am at Norristown Transportation Center. SEPTA Board Meeting: Thurs., June 22, 3:00 at SEPTA Board Room, 714 Market St., Philadelphia. Philadelphia Trolley Coalition: Sat., June 3, 12:30 at Italian Oven Restaurant, 7700 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia. Call Joel Spivak, 215-755-7717, for information. NJ-ARP Meeting: Wed., July 12, 6:30 pm at Pufferbelly Restaurant, Lindenwold. Phone James Ciacciarelli, 908-727-3173 for more information. DVARP General Meeting: Sat., July 15, 1:00 to 4:00 at Temple University Center City, 1616 Walnut St., Philadelphia. Rail to the Fair Train to Delaware State Fair (Philadelphia, Claymont, Wilmington, Newark, Dover to Harrington (Fairgrounds) and Seaford DE): Sat., July 22. Phone Delaware Transit Corp., 1-800-652-5600 or 302-577-2025 for schedule and reservations. Listings based on information provided to DVARP. Contact sponsor to confirm time & place. Call 215-222-3373, message box 3, to add your event to this calendar. ---end---