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Amtrak promotes Northeast Corridor upgrades
As always with Amtrak, we taxpayers who never use it and expect no benefit, pay for it in full. I will predict massive cost over-runs, fleecing, money laundering, back room deals, favoritism, diversions, and corrupt business practices.
28 and 38 years? That’s ridiculously too long! Before even a quarter of those time amounts are done, these plans will have already been drastically changed (or completely eliminated) due to the constant fighting between politicians and political parties!
Rather than building more impractical high speed equipment, why not start on an Amcoach/Metroshell successor. The Amfleet equipment is older than the “heritage” equipment they replaced.
The resumption of Viewliner equipment production, whether tied to the Amcoach successor, or not is a priority if Amtrak is to do well enough to be a viable alternative to flying, riding a bus or driving.
It’s really awesome that Amtrak thinks that it can justify this much new capital being invested into an operation that has already cost $50 billion to achieve a market share of less than 2%, a load factor of 40% (itself proving conclusively that Amtrak is already heavily over-invested in this market segment–they can’t give away more than half the existing inventory, much less all the proposed new inventory), and an annual operating loss of more than a half billion dollars that increases year after year.
No rational investor would allocate ANY new capital to such a venture.
WOW 25 to 35 years from now!! It only took the Transcontinental Railroad 2 years.
Toronto, Canada. Well at least this plan is starting to happen…it should all happen much sooner…but lets be happy that the wheels are turning SLOWLY…Having just returned from France and rideing the TVG at 200MPH speeds cant wait to run New York- Washington at these speeds.
Market share of 2%??? Amtrak’s share of the New York - Washington air and rail travel market is 57%. For Boston - New York, it’s 37%.
I was wondering how the reliability plagued Acelas locos were going to handle this new high speed environment in light of the fact that the special maintenance unit has been disbanded!
The key here is a “projected 30 percent population increase by 2050.” By then, true high speed rail can and probably will play the dominant role in NEC intercity travel. Amtrak has already made a dent in East Coast air travel and rail’s share of passenger traffic will keep increasing. Meanwhile, highway crowding will only grow worse. These improvements in true NEC HSR can’t come soon enough. My congressman is among those who see this as an opportunity for public/private partnership or privatization. Maybe. But let’s not price this vital transportation option out of the market.
“2%” market share? “40%” load factor? Someone seems to be confusing the long-distance market share with the Northeast Corridor. Big difference.
Separately, the reporter’s reference to “electrical network” really means catenary and substations. The capability of the track exceeds the capability of the variable-tension catenary that was installed during the first third of the 20th Century.
Way to go Amtrak. Moving forward in faith. Looking forward to the new NEC. Too bad we can’t have it all done by 2020.
Apples and Oranges. That’s what Amtrak uses to compare ridership in the NEC. It is my understanding the Amtrak compares its total NEC ridership (NYC-DC, NYC-Phil. Balt,-NYC, and all other possible permutations) to the narrow sum of the Boston-LaGuardia, Reagan National-LaGuardia, and Reagan National-Boston Air Shuttle services only. Other combinations of airport trip ends, the growing inter-city bus ridership, and still substantial auto driver volume is not included. Amtrak’s mode share is not 2%, but it is not 57% either.
The NE Corridor already gets the lion’s share of Amtrak’s attention and investment. We need more attention, money and service on the long distance trains that are, after all, the only rational reason for a national train corporation. The NE states involved should cough up at least 50% of this $50 billion investment, freeing $25 billion for the rest of the nation!
It’s interesting reading all the nay sayers saying that Amtrak attracts only 2% of all travellers between Boston and Washington, DC. That’s alot of people on the trains! If I remember correctly, a governor from Massachusetts,( I don’t remember which one said) that if it wasn’t for the high speed trains, we’d have to build another airport! The budget for A, towmtrak can be seen by anybody. The budgets for highways are hidden in cities and towns. There is also a slight difference between the building of the transcontinental railroad and the Northeast Corridor. There has to be a Draft Enviormental Studies, Enviormental Study Impact, Hearings,buying land, homes,businesses, maybe eminent domain, getting approvals from cities, towns and governments. Because of this, this is why the rebuilding of the Northeast Corridor will take longer to build. As for cars, two words, GRID-LOCK!
Load factor of 40% on the NE Corridor?? I have never seen that… In fact, between New York and D.C., I have been on overflowing trains, despite the fact that supposedly all seats are reserved… It is quieter north of New York…
Way to go, USA. 4000 miles in China since 2008. I’ll be dead by the time we have 200, 400 if we’re lucky. I’m getting tired of the very substantial annual highway subsidy I make every year in exchange for very, very little for the train service I actually do use. Remind me again, exactly what am I getting for MY money?