It’s official Amtrak Employees have been notified Today, Aug. 27 that Amtrak Mail and Express is to be ending. All M&E activities are to be ended by early October 2004.[^]
How many Cars does Amtrak have to sale around 300 to 600 Cars. I much money it amtrak get from the sale of these Cars?
If this is true, it is truly sad. I heard the rumor (which is what I’m calling it until I see it on the news wire or Amtrak page) about roadrailers being ended, but haven’t heard of the MHC’s leaving us. Hopefully this is just a misunderstanding of the story. Though I’m happy I got some good shots of the three rivers going through altoona with a long line of MHC’s and Roadrailers in tow, before they are gone.
Andrew
Just a rumor.
About the time Mr. Gunn was being named to head Amtrak, Trains Magazine had an article about him. He indicated at that time, he intended to get rid of all head end business and concentrate on passengers. I believe his position was that head end loses money. This was in an issue of Trains about 9 months ago I think. But having just moved, I can’t locate the issue.
It is the Newswire Today Aug.30 about amtrak to end Mail and Express in October.[:)]
Mr. Claytor must be turning in his grave
Simple, Who would dare to think that less revenue is a bad thing
Hmm, I never thought of Graham Claytor as wanting to run Amtrak as less than a profitable enterprise…
I guess I’m missing something…
LC
Oh do pardon me ladies and gentlemen, I do believe that I have used the wrong word when less should be more. [banghead]It must be Monday
I hope Amtrak buy more Viewliner sleepers, dining cars, and Lounge cars all in Viewliner. I hope amtrak doesn’t waste this extra money from the sales of these cars. How many cars does amtrak have about 300 to 600?
disclaimer- This post contains no facts! it is merely opinion!
with amtrak leaving the mail and express haulinig businss (ok so lied earlier, but this is the only fact from here on out) Would amtrak consider terminating the three rivers at pittsburg instead of chicago. Here’s my train of thought. Most riders get off before pitt., The three rivers is haabitually late. The closest to being on time I’ve seen is justt under an hour late. There are stations that service the lake shore limited an hour away of each stop of the three rivers. Ie. Three Rivers stops in Akron Ohio, Lake shore stops in cleveland 1 hour drivinig time at most. So couldn’t Amtrak save money by getting rid of this duplicate route? A route that in my opinion only stayed becaus of the MHC’s and Roadrailers
Andrew
I recall from several years ago of being held on the EB Texas Eagle in Dallas for about 30". The time was to add or subtract M&E equipment.
No M&E was added.
Did M&E turn a profit? Never saw anything either way.
Did this discourage passengers? This was only Dallas,but had to happen elsewhere.
It is a shame for Amtrak to pull out of M&E. The passenger train should carry anything it can carry. This is just adding to the forever downward spiral of the American mainline passenger train 
It just makes Amtrak a bit smaller so it is easier to kill. Realy sad and stupid.
According to the 2005-2009 Plan the count on express cars would drop from 462 to 200. I don’t know if the 200 were to remain to complete contracts or as some sort of hedge or other uses. The 2004-2008 Plan list 665 Road Railers with dispostion plans not noted. I’d assume Amtrak now has a plan for disposal.
How much money will amtrak make by the sale of them 665 Roadrailers and 462 Boxcars say 100 to 130 Million Dollars??[?]
Whereas the passenger operation is just raking in the dough?! If Amtrak follows the same logic for its passenger operations as it did for the M & E, what will they do for fun next?
What ever happened to the axiom that freight makes money, passenger operations lose money?
I thought Amtrak should be in the Express and Mail business years before they did and wrote so, including a letter to Mr Hemphill at TRAINS (which was not published) . But if Mr. Gunn says it is a money looser and interferes with good passenger service, I believe him. He is a professional. He has a hard job. Hopefully the freight railroads in some cases where there is capacity on existing trains or to add new fast ones, will move in on this business. The Road Railer seems a natural and I would be very surprised in Triple Crown (NS trucking subsidiary) is not looking at the business opportunities.
I realy have a problem with Amtrak not able to make money with M&E. In fact I even the fancy European passenger trains don’t have a kind of M&E. Airlines carry cargos to help the bottum line, so does Greyhound and other intercity busses. Trains have more capacity then these other modes, but for some reason passengers train must only carry passengers ?!?!?!? The “excuse” is that it doesnt make money.
In the good old days prior to May 1, 1971, mail and express was usually relegated to secondary trains or dedicated mail and express-only schedules without passengers. Most of the first-line trains carried little to no mail (one RPO at most) and no express.
Express traffic was handled by REA, who had their own infrastructure to handle pickup and delivery, sorting and all of the other related functions. Thr operating railroads just had to move the cars. Amtrak, on the other hand, had to do everything itself, which drives up costs. Amrtrak also has a pretty skeletal route structure to be operating an express service, anyway.