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Indiana issues discontinuance notice for ‘Hoosier State’ service
There’s a surprise.
A ‘train-off’ in the 21st Century. How retro.
It makes sense, they are still getting a train free 3 times a week via the Cardinal. Why would they pay when they can still get it free, albeit 3 times a week.
It seems that the hope of developing a complete network of city-pair passenger trains focused on Chicago is to slowly be chopped down piece by piece…Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, they fall one by one…
The problem is we the people are sick and tired of having to pay higher taxes, supporting more parasites! So, a nice “perk”, like Amtrak service, is caught up in a nasty fight over limited resources it cannot win. People voted to stop escalation of taxes, and they have to be heard and obeyed.
Why would the FRA order Indiana to become a railroad? Another federal order that does not make much sense to me.
In two words, politics and control. They bring out both the best and worst of an administration, depending on one’s politics and view of what level of control is necessary to achieve political objectives. My view, as a conservative Republican, is Indiana is governed by a Republican, who may be a Presidential contender, and the state leans center-right in politics. So Indiana is going to be made an example of what happens when “crossing” a Federal Government agency. In/about 2013, the Obama Administration’s DOT gave money to Illinois and California to buy locomotives and cars for state-supported rail services. Care to guess the politics in those states? North Carolina is a showcase for state run services, but if my memory serves me correctly, that service was developed prior to the Obama Administration and the appointment of Charlotte, NC, mayor Anthony Foxx as Secretary of Transportation. The NC service has continued to flourish under both state Democratic and Republican administrations. In another venue, what is happening to Indiana would be grounds for an anti-trust lawsuit.
It would be nice if Indiana could continue month to month while they challenge this decision in court. It seems that this service is caught in the crossfire between conservatives looking or an excuse to discontinue it and liberals who want to preserve Amtrak’s monopoly. However, in order for the Hosier State to become a viable alternative for most people, it needs to be speeded up considerably. More frequent service and extension to Cincinnati or Louisville wouldn’t hurt either.
Could we have a replay in every other state that funds is own under the PRIIA 209, like say NY, IL, and CA. And if not, why not?
The NARPies ought to be shaking and quaking in their safety shoes and their dress shoes. After 45 years of Antrak and passenger rail advocacy, it’s come to this rather than IN seeing the value of adding service and doing the natural extension to Cincinnati.
Peter, are you similarly excised over “Essential Air Service” and actual outright gifts of the federal purse to sugar companies in Florida?
Think of the Hoosier State’s loss to Indianapolis as Bluegrass State railfans do in Louisville after the loss of the Kentucky Cardinal 13 years ago. But daily Thruway service remains! Cheer up, Hoosiers; you may still leave the driving to somebody else!
This underscores once again the issue money loosing passenger trains face. As long as they’re dependent on government for funding, the operation is going to be subject to the whims of politicians and the winds of politics. If passenger trains were fully funded through the farebox, there would be little the government could to to stop it. Still, if there is justification for government funding, then a metric should be established to determine what that funding should be. Roads and airports get funding almost without question, and as long as that is the case there’s no reason why passenger trains need to be singled out for no funding at all.
What a mess. The state of the Hoosier State is why little of substance gets done in this country anymore. Furthermore, I truly do not understand what the FRA ruling means. What are they talking about? Several states have contracts with other 3rd party entities and are not railroads? This is an absurd ruling by the FRA and needs/should be challenged.
Britt Reid, would you please explain how you figure we’re getting the Cardinal “Free”. We still have to buy a ticket to get on the train, just like you buy a ticket to get on an airplane. The only difference is that the government pays for the airports you lounge and eat in, while Amtrak has to build and maintain it’s own stations. The airplanes are dispatched by Air Traffic Controllers, paid by the Federal Government, while the railroads pay for their own dispatchers. So tell me how we can take the Cardinal, or any other train, FREE OF CHARGE!
Allen, I think he means that it is free to the state of Indiana. The state does not pay a subsidy for the Cardinal as it does for the Hoosier State. But, you are right there is no such thing as a free Amtrak ride. For even if you use Amtrak Guest Rewards points you stil have to pay the federal taxes that go to subsidize the service.
Indiana is a state that tries to get things done on the cheap. However, Indiana seems to have no problem spending money for new roads like the I-69 extension south of Indianapolis from Evansville, which is why the southern portion of this route was deliberately built first, so they could force completion of the northern section just south of Indianapolis.I suppose they need money for the Illiana Toll road, too, while shoving much needed bridge repairs and road maintenance on the back burner. The roads in Indiana have taken a beating this past winter and they are full of potholes again because of cheap fixes just like having another layer of asphalt over the exisiting one full of potholes.
The best way to restore daily train service to Indianapolis is to get Amtrak to start running the Cardinal daily, let along quad-weekly. If Amtrak added Monday departures from both New York and Chicago, the Cardinal could easily go quad-weekly without the need for additional equipment. The weekly Monday night layover in Chicago, and the two day (Monday and Tuesday) layover from Sunday night’s arrival would be reduced to a single night instead. Also, the Monday departures would come in handy during long holiday weekends when Monday is a holiday.