APPENDIX D.-ST. LOUIS-SAN FRANCISCO RAILWAY CO. ESTIMATE OF ACTUAL SAVABLE LOSSES BASED ON COMPLETE DISCONTINUANCE OF PASSENGER SERVICE. REDUCED BY EXPENSES DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSION TO BE UNAVOIDABLE. ADJUSTED TO REFLECT KNOWN SAVINGS-Continued 1 Account 351, superintendence (traffic) and account 352, outside agencies, 327 ICC 439. 64,290 64, 290 9,480 1, 285, 297 1,549. 069 APPENDIX L CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, Hon. PAUL J. TIERNEY, Chairman, Interstate Commerce Commission, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I have noted with interest recent remarks of the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee in the Congressional Record of October 8, 1968, regarding the decline of the Nation's rail passenger service. Unfortunately, the Commission's legislative proposals set forth in the well considered and forthright "Report on Intercity Rail Passenger Service-1968" and introduced by me as H.R. 18212 were not acted upon in the 90th Congress before final adjournment. Nevertheless, the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee believes that the matters discussed in the Commission's report concerning the Nation's need for an adequate, balanced national passenger system require resolution. It is clear that the quantity and quality of rail passenger service within the Nation is rapidly declining. Effective programs to reverse this decline must soon be developed and implemented. It therefore seems to me that Senator Magnuson's call for the Commission to continue its constructive efforts in conducting an investigation of the costs of rail passenger operations and the means by which such expenses should be met has great merit. It would be my hope that in the process of such an investigation the Commis sion could ultimately lay to rest the issue of how much the railroads actually lose in conducting passenger service operations. Such a study, if commenced immediately, will be of considerable value to the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee in its consideration of appropriate legislation during the 91st Congress. I therefore endorse and commend to the Commission this request and trust that it will be met with favorable and prompt action. Thanking you, and with kind personal regards, I am, Sincerely yours, HARLEY O. STAGGERS, Chairman. INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION, Washington, D.C., October 18, 1968. Hon. HARLEY O. STAGGERS, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, DEAR CHAIRMAN STAGGERS: Thank you for your letter of October 15 supporting the recent proposal of Senator Magnuson and the Senate Commerce Committee, that the Commission conduct a study of the actual costs of intercity rail passenger service and the means by which such costs can be met or reduced. On behalf of the Commission, I affirmatively responded to the Senate Commerce Committee request on October 16. For your complete information, a copy of my letter to Senator Magnuson is enclosed. As my letter indicates, since the cost data specifically attributable to the curtailment of the passenger service operations is not currently maintained by any public or private body on a comprehensive or uniform basis, it is unlikely that answers to all questions involved in this issue can be developed. However, the Commission does believe that the initial phase of such a study can produce helpful information for the 91st Congress within a period of approximately six months by concentrating on those areas that can be completed within present budgetary and time limitations. The Commission will in the very near future initiate appropriate consultations with the Department of Transportation, the National Association of Regulatory and Utility Commissioners, carriers and labor representatives. We will, of course, keep you and the staff of your Committee advised of these activities. In order to adequately complete this undertaking, the Commission may require additional resources. In this eventuality, it would be my hope that your Committee could lend its considerable support with the appropriate congressional and executive offices to see to it that adequate funding is made available. Again, Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the Commission, permit me to express our deep appreciation for the continued trust and cooperation of the members and staff of your Committee. Sincerely yours, PAUL J. TIERNEY, Chairman. CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, Hon. PAUL J. TIERNEY, Chairman, Interstate Commerce Commission, DEAR CHAIRMAN TIERNEY: I thank you for writing me as you have done regarding your initiation of a study of the cost of operation of passenger service in which, among other things, you are going to seek to determine just what the increment or out-of-pocket costs may be. In such connection I assume that you will study the various applications for discontinuance of passenger trains which have been processed by the Commission, and to which the Commission has given its assent, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the savings which were claimed would result from each discontinuance actually were achieved by the railroad making such claims. Sincerely yours, HARLEY O. STAGGERS, Chairman. Hon. HARLEY O. STAGGERS, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, NOVEMBER 5, 1968. DEAR CHAIRMAN STAGGERS: You have inquired whether or not the Commission contemplates a review of the savings actually achieved by carriers through the elimination of passenger trains in comparison with the projected savings for those trains considered in discontinuance cases under Section 13a of the Act. Although the precise outline for the entire study will not be completed until additional meetings are held with participants, some attempt will be made to develop the actual savings for carriers which have completely eliminated passenger service in the recent past. The extent and ultimate value of this probe will be determined, in large part, by the reliability of available information on the changes which followed the elimination of the carriers' passenger operations Sincerely yours, PAUL J. TIERNEY, Chairman. Hon. PAUL J. TIERNEY, CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, Chairman, Interstate Commerce Commission, DEAR CHAIRMAN TIERNEY: I acknowledge your letter of November 5 replying to my letter to you of October 28 regarding your proposed study of the incremental or out-of-pocket costs of railroad passenger service. Your letter indicates that some attempt will be made to develop the actual savings for carriers which have completely eliminated passenger service in the recent past. This, of course, is not completely the thrust of my letter of October 28 for my inquiry there was the extent to which you would examine into the actual realization of the savings claimed in the applications filed with you for the elimination of specified passenger trains. Your letter states: "The extent and ultimate value of this probe will be determined, in large part, by the reliability of available information on the changes which followed the elimination of the carrier's passenger operations." This, of course, is the nub of the matter, that is the reliability of the information which has been furnished to you as to the savings claimed by the carriers in their argument for the discontinuance of certain passenger trains. I simply cannot conceive of a study by the Commission effectively encompassing this subject without consideration being given to whether the claims made to you on the record were actually realized by the carriers. It would seem to me that your own procedures would require the development of this information. Sincerely yours, Hon. HARLEY O. STAGGERS, HARLEY O. STAGGERS, Chairman. Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR CHAIRMAN STAGGERS: Your letter dated November 7, 1968, regarding the Commission's study of the incremental or actual costs of railroad passenger service points out one of the critical areas of this study-the reliability of cost data. Please be assured that the Commission will examine most closely all the information furnished to it by the carriers and other active participating groups during the course of the study. Within the limited time available for this study. we intend to evaluate independently the data supplied to us in various ways, including on the spot field reviews. Any improved techniques developed by the Commission's staff in analyzing and evaluating the data considered by us in the course of the study will be incorporated where appropriate into the continuing responsibilities of the Commission. We shall, of course, continue to keep you, the Members of the Committee and its staff currently advised of developments in this important undertaking. Sincerely yours, PAUL J. TIERNEY, Chairman. CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, Hon. PAUL J. TIERNEY, Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., December 30, 1968. DEAR CHAIRMAN TIERNEY: This will acknowledge your letter of December 2 in response to my earlier inquiry regarding the Commission's study of the actual costs of railroad passenger service. While I appreciate the information contained in this letter, I think that it still begs a definite response to my inquiry of October 28 and repeated in my letter of November 7, following your letter of November 5, as to whether or not the study which you are making of actual costs will include an appraisal of whether the savings claimed by railroads at the time they applied to you and you permitted the discontinuance of specific passenger trains, were realized by such railroads. Sincerely yours, HARLEY O. STAGGERS, Chairman. Hon. HARLEY O. STAGGERS, JANUARY 14, 1969. Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. DEAR CHAIRMAN STAGGERS: This responds to your letter of December 30, 1968. to former Chairman Tierney which relates to the Commission's investigation of intercity passenger service. You ask if the study will include an analysis of the actual savings achieved by the railroads through the elimination of specific trains compared to the cost savings claimed in discontinuance proceedings before this Commission. To a limited extent, the Commission will attempt to determine achieved savings for certain selected types of costs which were attributed by the carriers and or the Commission to the operation of specific trains that were later discontinued. However, this review will concentrate on those trains that represented the last intercity service of particular carriers. Any historical analysis of this type faces substantial problems in ascertaining the reliability of carrier presentations, particularly when the carriers were not required to maintain precise operational and financial records on the changes resulting from discontinuances. An analysis of the last trains of carriers, while restricted in scope, mitigates some of the difficulties inherent in trying to determine if particular savings were achieved and why they were or were not achieved. The entire Commission investigation will cover only some aspects of the intercity passenger train problem. It is limited in scope, time and resources. Hopefully our efforts will pave the way for more comprehensive action on the entire problem, such as was envisioned in H.R. 18212, which was considered by the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce in the 90th Congress. The major focus of the present study is to develop a realistic estimate of the annual net avoidable expenses which selected intercity carriers incurred as a result of providing intercity service during 1968. In short, we are trying to estimate the avoidable losses of a current level of service rather than the savings achieved by eliminating a service that no longer exists. The Commission hopes to have its findings completed by the end of the fiscal year. Prior to the completion of this investigation, consideration will be given to the feasibility of instituting past discontinuance reports by the carriers when a discontinuance case is decided. The information would be presented according to Commission requirements that would facilitate accurate analysis, and the Commission could review the submitted savings data on a relatively current basis. The selected use of such a procedure would be employed to provide information for the employment in future discontinuance cases. Sincerely, cc: Commissioner Tierney. VIRGINIA MAE BROWN, Chairman. CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, Hon. VIRGINIA MAE BROWN, DEAR CHAIRMAN BROWN: This will acknowledge your letter of January 14 regarding my previous correspondence with Chairman Tierney relative to the Commission's examination of what actually took place in the saving of expenses claimed by the railroads at the time they applied to you for the discontinuance of certain passenger trains. I note that to a limited extent you will attempt to verify whether certain such savings were achieved, but apparently are confining this to the last trains which were discontinued. Obviously this type of information is substantially different from that which would be developed in connection with the discontinuance of certain trains with passenger service still being maintained by the applying railroad. I regret exceedingly that the Commission is making no effort to ascertain whether the claim for savings in the applications which have been filed before it these past 10 years were actually realized by the applying carriers. Sincerely yours, HARLEY O. STAGGERS, Chairman. JULY 16, 1969. Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce, DEAR CHAIRMAN MAGNUSON: Transmitted herewith is the report entitled "Investigation of Costs of Intercity Rail Passenger Service" which responds to the request in your letter of October 8, 1968. The investigation analyzed eight intercity rail passenger systems: the Santa Fe, the C&O-B&O, the Great Northern, the Illinois Central, the Missouri Pacific, |