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Amtrak announces creation of new operating department business lines
This sounds like a good idea to me. Glad to hear the VP of Operations is shaking things up. I wonder why it takes 16 months to implement, though.
Didn’t Amtrak already do this once upon a time?
As for moving people, it will never be profitable until the playing fields are leveled and people become willing to pay the true cost of passage. Instead, we subsidize roads and airports, yet pretend like there’s no government handout to airlines (which have a hard time not going bankrupt) and buses (even though states are helping them, too). If government assistance to Amtrak is so reprehensible, let’s cut roads, waterways, and air travel funding to the same level as Amtrak’s so we can assess all modes equitably.
Jeffrey Guse, I am a normal person and I do not understand. So is Taxpayer funding for highways also 100% unconstitutional?
If the Libertarin party and its anti-tax people were around in the 1950’s, the Interstate highways system would have NEVER been built. Gas taxes alone did NOT pay to build the highways, but a lot of that money came from railroad property taxes. How come Reason Foundation is so deadly silent on repealing railroad property taxes?We’ll see if the Cato Institue even bothers to do any research on that, unless they find a way to twist the numbers againto support the interest of greed. If the teabaggers take over DC, our transportation system is going down to third world status.
The rigor is still there…16 months…that’s a long gestation period. Perhaps the term “profit snd loss” is misleading the public (and media) to continue believing a profit is attainable. It is not.
Let me translate the article into something normal people can understand: Amtrak is too big to fail because big government said so. The taxpayer funding will continue, depsite being 100% unconstitutional.
If Amtrak wants to succeed and be legitimate, it needs to start operating like a private small business, not a government monstrosity that can’t “fail” because it is continuously being bailed out by the taxpayer. This leads to more trains that never run on time, poorly maintained equipment, and deteriorating service. Amtrak is a textbook example of how government fails bigger, better, and faster than any business could ever hope to.
Given the scale of Operations as Amtrak’s largest Department, the potential benefits of a flatter, more accountable organization are enormous. This reorganization cannot be accomplished too soon. DJS is a highly regarded and effective manager who has the full confidence of Joe Boardman. I wish him every possible success as he proceeds with the urgency this task commands. RPC.
Amtrak service across Missouri has improved greatly. Some inexpensive siding-lengthening helped a lot (a no-brainer). Private companies such as American Airlines charge $500 (miniumum; $2,000 if you want ticket felxibility) to Springfield, IL from St. Louis and take far longer than train (under $50) because a change in Chicago is required. Now the private company dropped service altogether, and to a lot of other mid-size cities. And that’s despite airports and 72,000 FAA salaries paid for by taxpayers. What is Mr. Guse talking about?
Amtrak service across Missouri has improved greatly. Some inexpensive siding-lengthening helped a lot (a no-brainer). Private companies such as American Airlines charge $500 (miniumum; $2,000 if you want ticket felxibility) to Springfield, IL from St. Louis and take far longer than train (under $50) because a change in Chicago is required. Now the private company dropped service altogether, and to a lot of other mid-size cities. And that’s despite airports and 72,000 FAA salaries paid for by taxpayers. What is Mr. Guse talking about?
This sounds like something that Amtrak did in the 80’s or 90’s. And if I remember correctly, it failed.