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Inspector General urges Postal Service to look at moving mail by rail
“Reeked the benefits.” That’s a new turn of phrase!
Maybe try bringing back a modernized RPO unit train. Of course this comes at a time where most major routes are busting at the seams already.
How about reaped the benefits? Unless those benefits really do/did smell then they would reek.
Well Amtrak now has some nice new baggage cars and four trains between New Jersey and Jacksonville. Would seem like a good place to experiment with the concept.
Here we go again…capacity versus opportunity. Then there is the disappearance of the passenger train largely due to a loss of mail contracts in the past…here we go again. It seems no one can make their minds up on a long term basis. Between carrying federal mail and Amtrak could some wheeling and dealing be accomplished with Class One’s? Then again delaying Amtrak would be compounded with delay of the mail. Seems ripe for going nowhere as a concept.
I assume they are talking about bulk mail movements and not first class nor sorting en route. I would like to see surveys and information about such in addition to just bulk. I feel there is a place in railroading for first class mail and something to say about sorting in the likes of RPO’s. I am not expecting my father’s Oldsmobile by any means, nor should anyone else, but it has to be considered in 21st Century terms and technology. And if it would be a good way to interface again with passenger train service, then all the better.
Why can Yellow Roadway, UPS, Fed Ex, J.B. Hunt and on and on find long term success with intermodal and outperform the USPS? It’s called trucking lobbyist and poor management.
The way mail is sorted today, a RPO would be out of the question, as right now the USPS is closing many sorting facilities due to automation, loss of business, and consolidation. For shipping the mail the rails would be an excellent choice. I think TOFC would be the best way to go, though.
I’d suggest using Amtrak to carry the mail to help their bottom line (there are still express cars from the last attempt rusting in the yard in New Orleans and elsewhere), but one wonders about all the serious delays on Amtrak because of the freight railroads’ obvious congestion problems.
France has dedicated TGV (high speed) trains only for mail. They are yellow with “La Poste” on the sides. Maybe Amtrak could have dedicated mail trains between Boston. NYC and DC, run them at night when there is no passenger service. Just like the, ummm, French.
Everyone’s missing the point here, and so is the USPS…the solution already exists…RoadRailers. Yes, dedicated RoadRailer trains for the USPS, the combination of rail and trucking in one vehicle. Unfortunately the USPS doesn’t have the proper leadership to implement such a strategy.
Not surprising that a career USPS drone would resist any sort of change. Sort of explains why they are in the mess they’re in, doesn’t it! “But that’s not the way we’ve always done it”!
Another idea…when Amtrak receives the new Acela trainsets, strip the old ones and use them for mail and overnight delivery service. Don’t need trucks in Boston as South Station is adjacent to the main Boston PO. If they ran nonstop between Boston and NYC its a 2.5 hour trip at night…heck each train could do a round trip each night. That would compete with FedEx and others between the two cities. Or am I waaayyy off base?
Nathan Anderson, the main Boston PO is going to be moved to a place several miles away to make room for the expansion of South Station.
If I recall correctly, Amtrak stopped hauling mail about 10 years ago because it was a money losing operation.
You might want to read 'Amtrak Jettisons Mail Contracts" in the October 2004 in Railway Age Vol. 205 Issue 10, p16
USPS does an outstanding job with parcel post these days. Has anyone bought stuff from individuals on eBay? Last year USPS delivered to me a variety of stuff I had bought on eBay. Normal delivery was 3-4 days max from anywhere in the country weekends included. And USPS was tracking all of it. The worst I saw was a package going from Pasco, Wa to SW Arkansas go via New Hampshire. USPS still delivered that misrouted pacage in 4 days from when it was posted.
USPS using rail is a no brainer. I might add last winter UPS and FedEx both had problems with rail thru Memphis whilst USPS did not(USPS was trucking stuff). I would also point out that USPS had very little problems with Amtrak.
Rgds IGN
Except railroads do not have the capacity to move anything over any distance that requires a fast schedule. UPS is pulling loads off the rails as fast as they can hire drivers. Even loads that have the weekends to travel are not making sorts on time.
In L.A. the Terminal Annex is next door to LAUS. Why did Amtrak give up on MHC’s ? was it because of a regime change?