Mineta Says Alaska Knows How to Run a Railroad

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

Seems to me there are some good reasons why the Alaska experience could be replicated in the lower 48 and some good reasons why not. Comments?

dd

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Secretary Mineta Says Alaska Knows How to Run a Railroad; Cites Operation As Example to Follow
ANCHORAGE, Ala., July 5 /PRNewswire/ – Alaskans know how to run a railroad and their success could serve as a model in the drive to reform Amtrak and save inter-city passenger rail, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said today during a visit to an Alaska Railroad terminal in Anchorage.

“The Alaska Railroad has developed an innovative service that has made it the only passenger railroad in the nation that doesn’t require operating subsidies,” Secretary Mineta said.

Mineta took a ride on the railroad that he has often cited as a model during his campaign this year to reform Amtrak. He has been pushing Congress to give states control of routes and federal dollars for capital investments, while promoting competition and an end to what he has called Amtrak’s “dysfunctional monopoly.”

“Here in Alaska, you know how to run a railroad. We hope someday to share this state’s success with the rest of the nation before it is too late,” the Secretary said.

Mineta said the Alaskan railroad has demonstrated a willingness to innovate, running long distance trains that combine first-class travel cars owned and operated by cruise lines, while continuing to serve commuters and local residents across the state.

In addition, he said, the railroad’s sound business model has allowed the company to cover the cost of operations while partnering with the federal government to share the cost of new tracks and other capital needs.

That is not the case with Amtrak, which loses $908 million a year on long distance trains, according to Mineta. Also, the company loses up to $150 million running café and dining cars, and food and b

2

This from BLET National President Don M. Hahs:

CLEVELAND, July 6 – The statement issued by U.S. Transportation Secretary
Norm Mineta on July 5 regarding Amtrak and the Alaska Railroad is pure
bunk.

The Alaska Railroad is primarily a freight carrier and comparisons between
its miniscule passenger operations and Amtrak are completely without
merit.

If Mineta wishes to compare apples to apples, then I suggest he visit
France or Japan where passenger rail is fully funded and supported by
their respective governments. Passenger rail in those countries should
serve as a model of what Amtrak could be. Instead, the Bush Administration
treats Amtrak like a redheaded stepchild.

In spite of Bush Administration attempts to kill Amtrak by not funding it,
the U.S. House of Representatives is doing its best to see that Amtrak
remains an important part of our nation’s transportation system.

3

This from NARP:

National Association of Railroad Passengers
Phone 202/408-8362, fax 202/408-8287
900 – 2nd St., N.E., Suite 308
Washington, DC 20002-3557
narp@narprail.org
http://www.narprail.org

MINETA’S MISLEADING ALASKA/AMTRAK ANALOGY

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - #05-21
Contact: Ross Capon, David Johnson 202/408-8362

In yet another attempt to obscure the truth about intercity passenger rail, Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta issued a news release (carried on PR Newswire, presumably at government expense) misrepresenting the relevance of the Alaska Railroad to rail passenger service in the lower 48 states.

The Alaska Railroad, whose primary business is hauling freight, does not run long-distance trains. Its longest passenger run, between Anchorage and Fairbanks, is only 356 miles and 12 hours long, in daytime (8:15 AM to 8:15 PM). For eight months (September 13–May 13), service on this route is one round trip per week. Because “Denali Star Train” (summer) and “Winter Aurora” (rest of the year) traverse some of the world’s most dramatic scenery, the route is “spoon-fed” cruise trip passengers in large numbers. None of this is very relevant to overnight trains in the Lower 48, where runs are much longer and the main business is transportation, not scenic cruises.

Apparently hoping the public will ignore the above, the DOT release says: “Mineta said the Alaskan railroad has demonstrated a willingness to innovate, running long distance trains that combine first-class travel cars owned and operated by cruise lines, while continuing to serve commuters and local residents across the state.”

NARP Executive Director Ross B. Capon commented, “If the Alaska Railroad is a model in the drive to reform Amtrak, reform may mean shrinking Amtrak’s national network to a single, 350-mile-long route.”

Mineta refers to "an average of $214 to subs

4

Looking at any map of Alaska, it is easy to see the Alaska railroad’s “sucess” for serving it’s once a week travellers-there are almost no four-lane highways which extend beyond city centers. If Amtrak ran in the lower 48 and there were no four lane highways, this discussion of an “end of Amtrak” would never take place. And who are these mythical “commuters” Mineta speaks of?

5

Mineta’s butt or rather Mineta’s a butt. That’s what I think of him.

6

This is President Bu***rying to persuade us all that Amtrak is a waste, him and mineta should screw their heads back on straight.

7

I fully agree with the previous posters - but I would like to point out one way that it could work. Mineta states:

"In addition, he said, the railroad’s sound business model has allowed the company to cover the cost of operations while partnering with the federal government to share the cost of new tracks and other capital needs. "

If the federal government shared the trackage costs of ALL the track that Amtrak runs on (not just the NEC), that would significantly improve Amtrak’s business model.

dd

8

MIneta is bent on his mission to wipe out Amtrak’s subsidies. It should not be surprising that as a typical bueracrat he would make these types of unrealistic comparisons.

Hopefelly Mineta will be gone after the 2008 election.

9

I agree with all of that, and also add again, that Mineta in addition to overstating the per passenger subsidy, never includes LAND USE in his figures. Land ain’t cheap. If Amtrak were closed down, the investment in new lanes and new airports and even new highways would require hundreds of billions to restore the mobility that Amtrak gives.

10

Next news release from Mineta will probably be his
comparing our Rocky Mountaineer or the American Orient
Express to Amtrak.

I would like to see a comparison of the Via Rail & Amtrak
operations and subsidies. Taking into account the susbidies
route miles, Staff, comunities served, relationship with
freight lines, on-time performance, quality of service,
rolling stock inventories & state of same, unions etc. etc.

This is but a few of the things I can think of
But if Mineta & others wound make a detailed comparison
with Via Raid and then with Overseas rail lines, I believe
his remarks would be more note worthy and perhaps
be more credible.

Mineta and his like should do a some travelling on Amtrak,
Via Rail & then foreign lines & meet with Management
of the above to get a proper perspective of the Amtrak
situation.

Perhaps if Mineta traveled by train & talked to the passengers
he would find out, the demographs, Ages, where they
boarded, destinations, income, why they take the train,
and their opinions of Amtrak & last but not least their
views on Bush & mineta trying their utmost to abolish Amtrak.

11

Can you imagine a bean counter having a vacation on a Carnival Lines cruise boat and then saying that the Staten Island Ferry could be a money maker instead of subsidized if it was like the cruise boat?

12

The guy just doesn’t seem to have any self-respect…that he can just say such ridiculous things - knowingly - and not have it bother him is worrisome.

13

Are there any examples of cruise line or other vacation/tourist carriers or destinations with Alaska railroad style passenger agreements in the lower 48?

dd

14

I agree with Don. To have a top government official trying to compare Amtrak to the AAR and thengrossly over state the losses incurred by Amtrak is just pathetic. Either he has no grasp of the situation, or for some reason is being compelled to put out this drivel. Amtrak is only a small part of the business of the Department of Transportation, but is the way DOT is dealing with Amtrak any indication of the competency of the rest of the operation?

By the way, comparing Amtrak to VIA might provide some insight, but do not forget that Canadian businesses do no have to pay for employee health care. Amtrak does.

Jay

15

Alaska DOES know how to run a railroad. It is Mineta that doesn’t have a clue.

16

One thing that no one has pointed out is that the Alaskan railroad is fully funded by the DOT. If you ever see pics of the the emblems on the sides of the cars and the loco’s, you’ll see the FRA’s emblem along with the railroad’s emblem. Gee…you think the Alaskan railroad is getting more or less money than Amtrak. They seem to be buying new equipment, while Amtrak struggles to maintain it’s aging fleet. NOW…TELL THE AMERICAN PUBLIC THE “T R U T H”!!

GLENN
A R E A L RAILROADER!!![:D]
A R E A L AMTRAKER!!![^]

17

That’s because we have have 1 tier public healthcare. VIA’s reliability is quite high but costs to keep that way pay off because ridership is quite high which keeps the cost of the investment of reliability low if not making a profit.

Try explaining this to the the yahoos in power though is like trying to teach a rock to sing.

18

If they force their plan through for state subsidies,then we in Ohio will not have any passenger rail at all.This corrupt and bankrupt state couldn’t subsidize a parking lot,let alone any kind of rail.And all the “corridor studies”(Cleveland-Columbus-Cincy) have all been shot down in favor of unneeded road projects that don’t improve a *** thing.They wouldn’t even consider existing track and equipment(Cuyahoga Valley Scenic) for any commuter or passenger rail.

19

This is amazing!

No one replying to this topic has grasped the key difference between the Alaska Railroad operations and Amtrak operations.

No one from BLET, no one from NARP, no pro-Amtrak posters have gotten it.

The key difference is this: The AAR is a state owned railroad. Therefore, the ROW is owned by the public via the structure of a publicly owned corporation, not a private entity. Thus, the Alaska Railroad passenger services are not hindered by the disdain of a private freight railroad.

This is the only real ommission from Mineta’s statement of comparison. Otherwise, he is right on the ball. In terms of federal support, a publicly owned corporation (or a similar corporate structure) is in better position to receive federal support than a private entity. The Alaska Railroad does not have to pay property tax on the ROW. I would guess that a certain portion of the State’s fuel tax goes to the Alaska Railroad Corporation for infrastructure improvements.

Seems that the way to run passenger trains that cover their costs is to reduce the infrastructure cost to a point where there is that enigmatic compatibility with other transportation modal infrastructure, otherwise known as “equalization”. Then, allow them access to anywhere their market demands, e.g. no obstinate bottlenecking.

If one reads between the lines, one can ascertain that there may be something coming up on the horizon. References to federal aid for track improvements is a signal that such aid is also possible down here in the lower 48, if the ROW ownership structure is similarly aligned to better reflect public desires.

20

I just have one Question?
Does Mineta know how to tie his shoes without his Mothers help yet?
When progresses past that stage then we can teach him to read and in another twenty years maybe he will be able to talk knowledgably about passenger trains and the Alaska Railroad in particular…