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Amtrak’s long-distance service at crossroads
What next? Amtrak faces this situation every budget year.
I have traveled coast to coast on Amtrack long distant trains
and they are great…You see a lot of the country and its like
a Hotel on wheels…Try it sometime and enjoy a great way to
travel and have fun doing it.
Where exactly in the Constitution, Article 1, Section 8, or any of the Amendments, does it say that transportation services are the responsibility of the Federal Government? The most I can find is roads and bridges. Taken to the logical conclusion when applied to railroads, then the Federal Government could legally take over all the track and right of way in the country. But running the trains would fall to the private sector. Just as airlines and bus companies are fully in the private sector. Of course, this is something Boardman and the rest of Washington, District of Corruption can’t figure out or unwilling to admit due to their socialist agenda. And the same goes for a good portion of the railfan community. For many, probably because they have never read the US Constitution. The “uneducated” farmer can read the Constitution. So can the “stupid redneck” gun owning member of the NRA.
Sell Amtrak to the states, liquidate it, or sell it to private investors if any can be found. Amtrak is a failure. Always has been. Always will be. There was a reason why the freight railroads were willing to donate track space and time for Amtrak. There is no money in passenger service and they were too afraid of big government to tell off big government and simply drop the passenger trains. If Amtrak was so profitable, private investors would be putting out bids to buy it.
Socialism. Ideas so good they have to be made mandatory.
John Kneiling once, on some particular railroad project, remarked that the rate of progress reminded him of a soap opera - it takes ten episodes for a character to go from one room to the next. So it is with Amtrak’s project to procure new long distance passenger equipment. If after 40 years, it’s news from Amtrak that the national government should be responsible for the long-distance passenger train network, then we have a bigger problem than procuring more passenger equipment.
John Kneiling once, on some particular railroad project, remarked that the rate of progress reminded him of a soap opera - it takes ten episodes for a character to go from one room to the next. So it is with Amtrak’s project to procure new long distance passenger equipment. If after 40 years, it’s news from Amtrak that the national government should be responsible for the long-distance passenger train network, then we have a bigger problem than procuring more passenger equipment.
Flown for years and now feel rail is more relaxing than dealing with the TSA at airports.
Amtrak should consider ordering single-level passenger cars for the entire system as well as the eastern U.S. Single-level passenger cars are more flexible in their deployment and do not have the disadvantage of height restrictions.
Once again through sleeping car service will be feasible between the Northeast and the Southwest and West coast. Furthermore, people with disability can have access to the whole train as do able bodied passengers. They would no longer be confined to their lower level accomodations in each car.
In view of the far more important matters at hand, Amtrak is going to have to accept being the political plaything it has sadly become.
Typical “Catch 22” scenario: uncertain to no funding; no plans; no clue; and no ideas. Then our magnificent Congress can’t understand “why” Amtrak can’t run on its own and make a profit.
Decide on a realistic national route system, what’s needed to run and support such an effort, fund it, order the equipment necessary, and quit playing games. We’re a laughing stock of a nation for our feeble efforts at running the railroad.
Same story, different date. I will file next to daily Sunset, Dallas to Birmingham service, and Las Vegas service
I really hope that the long distance trains can stay around. I know that Amtrak is always worried about losing federal money. I wonder if they could get some of their money for the long distance trains from the individual states the trains run through. Several states already have agreements with Amtrak to pay for some of the cost of the shorter trains running though them.
Given the tremendouse rise in popularity of long- distance trains,(around 44%)
there is a real need for new equipment. Unfortunately, there are a lot of troglodytes, particularly the Tea Tard types, refuse to smell the coffee
and recognise the fact, American travelers WANT passenger trains.
The Amtrak Reform law passed in the declining days of the Bush Administration shifted all operational costs for routes unde 750 miles to the states effective October 1, 2013, while theoretically insuring that the long-distance, nationl network trains would remain a Federal responsibility.
This made the corridor routes fairly safe from Libertarian threats, (to the extent the states agree to pay, which seems safe for 2013/14 except in Indiana and possibly Pennsylvania and/or Oklahoma), but left the really essential national network, which generates 43% of total Amtrak passenger miles, a naked target as suggested in Don Phillips’ article.
The public’s use of long-haul trains has grown three times faster than overall population when adjusted for earlier route reductions and otherwise twice as fast. This despite no new long-distance equipment in over 15 years and far too many cars parked for lack of cash to repair wreck-damage. And despite business lines like sleepers that are frequently sold out months prior to departure. Phillips correctly identifies Amtrak’s greatest dilemn. It lacks the equipment to meet the demand already on offer from the public. Far from running empty, its trains are far too often full with little ability on Amtrak’s part to expand consists to meet demand.
We have a Federal Government because there are some issues that transcend local state purvey/cooperation. Amtrak is the classic example.
In the 1971/76 era of Amtrak the original LAKESHORE LIMITED failed after less than 15 months because it was dependent on a multi-state support agreement. The May 1, 1971 Amtrak network failed to include any service on the former New York Central mainline west of Buffalso thru Cleveland and Toledo all the way to Chicago. But within weeks service resumed on the promise of NY, PA, OH, IN and Il to pay the added costs. But of course this never happened.
The states could not agree on a formula to divide the subsidy. Should it be mileage or
Mr. Guse,
How can you possibly believe that air travel has no
government aud?
Mr Guse,
How can you possibly believe that air travel ( airports-including
ATC systems, controllers, runway maintenance, snow removal,
etc.) is free of government subsidy?
Airlines put hardest on the gov. teat.
So sad that the Republicans want to kill rail service. Amtrak is “on a roll” with greatly improved service and the opportunity to grab a significant portion of long distant business travelers with wifi and cell phone service. I’ve taken to commuting from SF to LA and turning a roomette into a mobile office. Absolutely a fantastic way be productive.
It may be time for some sort of compromise to be worked out for each long distance corridor. Using the CA Zephyr as an example, Salt Lake City is served in both directions in the wee hours of the morning. Perhaps a solution would be daytime service from Emeryville to Reno with another consist providing daytime service between Reno and Salt Lake City. Reno would shoulder a lot of the cost, but its casinos would benefit from the service. NV, CA &/or UT would also provide support. Other segments that might be similarly developed would be SLC-Grand Junction, CO, Grand Junction - Denver and the original Zephyr route, Denver-Chicago. The service would probably be all coach with a cafe-lounge. Rather than sleepers for long distance trips, hotel/motel accommodations would be available at the end-point cities.
It’s too bad guse doesn’t understand the word socialism. Also, a country that spends 2 billion+ a day on a bloated imperial military can give Amtrak 2 Billion a year to improve service and infrastructure.
The idea of splitting a Chicago-West Coast route into five segments certainly would not appeal to travelers who want to cover the entire distance–four nights instead of two en route? This is reminiscent of travel by stagecoach, with stops overnight.
As to subsidization of travel, the bus companies do not maintain their own roads, nor do the airlines provide all of the services necessary to make air travel safe.
When I find that I have to book a sleeper months in advance, and hear that the younger generation would rather be on the internet than owning a driving a car, there is obvious need. More cars, more people, more ticket sales.