Document DDRmVMZM46MYxB7XGBOyMnJgO

Total annual savings of $883,000 ate being realized by the discontinuance of eight short-haul trains in 1968, most of which served St. Louis. A case involving the discontinuance of another pair of trains is also pending. Two pairs of discontinued trains between St. Louis and Carbondale were replaced by a coordinated bus-tail service. Further savings were obtained by dropping three little-used sleeping car lines. On-train food service was testtucturcd during 1968 to meet our patrons' demands for low cost, light meal setvice. Six foodbar-coaches were introduced to provide chis type of setvice to our Mini-Corridor patrons. For longer haul operation, Panama Limited and Gty of Miami food services were also modified ro reduce costs. Sales efforts placed more emphasis on new attractive tour packages, including in dividual tours to Florida and group tours to Chicago, all designed to stimulate offpeak travel. JLEA Express followed the lead of the Pose Office Department, and shifted almost all express traffic into piggyback freight service. The heavy volume of bulk mail be tween Chicago and Memphis was trans ferred to the fast, all-piggyback train, and systemwide results showed piggyback Height service handling even greater vol umes of mail than in 1967. Revitalization of Suburban Service Late in December, 1968, the application of the board of trustees of the Chicago South Suburban Mass Transit District for a grant of $23.2 million received tentative approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The grant, if finally approved, will equal two-thirds of the estimated cosc of 130 new double-decked air conditioned suburban railroad cars to be leased to the railroad. As projected, the railroad will put up an advance rental payment of $12.5 million to provide the balance of the money for the purchase of the cars, expected to be delivered in mid1970. They will be owned by the mass transit district but the railroad will operate and maintain them. Eleven Chicago suburbs formed the Chicago South Suburban Mass Transit District to enable their participation in federal grants for mass transit projects which had been made available by Con gress under the Urban Mass Transit Act of.1964. 31