From tonights NBC News:
But they are taking off where good service is provided, California and the NEC.
I thought it was a nice piece, in general. I think that most of the country is ignorant of the fact Amtrak even has a train that goes 150 mph. My favorite line was “elsewhere Acela is only allowed to go 135 mph”. Lots of nice shots from the cab of an Acela of trains whizzing by at pretty good speed. Most Americans outside of the NEC have no idea…
Completely agree with the video. But I live in the Northeast Corridor.
Even here, it’s the ancient overhead wires and mixing Acelas with local Commuter Trains that holds back full speed over the entire route. Or in othe words, MONEY.
They have to go where you want and when you want and they do not for the most part nor are they easy to get to and from.
People are not flocking to passenger trains for a variety of reasons. Clearly, cost is a factor. One side of a multi-sided coin is the cost to improve the system to make it an attractive alternative to driving or flying. Another side is the real cost of gasoline. And a third is the ability of the country to pay for a better rail system.
Until the real cost of congestion, as opposed to the fancied costs argued by passenger train advocates, equals the cost of improving the system or building new systems, the economic justification for doing either is not there. Economic justification can be calculated using hard and soft dollars.
In addition, until the real cost of motor fuels gets a lot higher than they are now, most people in most areas of the country will choose to drive as opposed to getting on a train or any other form of public transport.
According to the Energy Information Administration, the cost of a gallon of gasoline in 1981, when adjusted for inflation, was equal to $3.29 in today’s dollars. Factor in gains in average fuel efficiency – 21 mpg today compared with 15 mpg to 16 mpg in 1981 – and we’re spending less on gasoline today: less than 3% of gross domestic product compared with 4.6% in 1981.
At a national average of nearly $3.50 per gallon, the real cost of gasoline has surpassed the 1981 high. But not by nearly as much as many people think. And even at $3.50 per gallon, it consumes considerably less than 4.6% of the gross domestic product.
It appears that we are a long way from justifying the cost of expanded or new passenger rail systems based on the cost of gasoline. It comes back to what I have said all along. Passenger rail may be justified where highway and air congestion is great.
A relief valve for highway congestion was the driver for selling the Dallas Area Rapid Transit referendum to the voters. I worked on the campaign. So I have a little i
So Samantha…when will we see commuter rail in San Antonio ala http://www.asarail.org
It seems to me the title of this forum is somewhat misleading. Passenger counts are up, in some cases substantially. New services have been added in California, Illinois, Michigan and elsewhere, partially funded by nonfederal sources.
However, I think Amtrak is coming up against some real physical constraints. Among other things, there doesn’t seem to be many more cars that can be recycled, in particular in the Superliner series. Train lengths may be limited by platform lengths. The number of trains that can be run is limited by a freight network that in many cases is having capacity problems. I’m sure others could add to this list.
I don’t have a dog in this fight; I happen to live in the only contigious state that has never seen an Amtrak train (and probably never will). For those of you who happen to be in more favorable conditions for train service, I think it is in your court to insist on the kind of funding that would overcome the current shortcomings.
NBC screws up again… NOT 33 Years old… Geneises are about 5-13 years old…Acela trains may be slow but it is also the added luxury that you are paying for…Try craming in a Airline seat or over crowded commuter trains on the same line or driving US 1
I wonder which oil company PR department Samantha works for?
…only railfan would assume that train = locomotive.
Looks like you screwed up again, too. Even worse than NBC (who probably got their numbers from their Kummant interview)
Amfleet I is 31-33 years old
Amfleet II is ~30 years old
Superliner is ~25 years old
Horizon is ~ 25 years old
Diners are ~60 years old
Baggage cars ~50 years old
Genesis is 12+ years old!
AEM7s are 29 years old.
Is 33 years so horribly off?
Samantha’s numbers are dead-on and her analysis is meaningful - IMHO.
Anecdotally, it works for me, too. I make 4x what I made in 1980 and drive a car that got 17 mpg back then and have a similar one now that gets 22 mph now. Gas is only 3X what is was then. So, I am working fewer hours per day to pay for gas to drive X miles than I did back then.
Given the facts, I’d expect Americans to be driving more now per person than they did in 1980. That’s true, too, isn’t it?
Well Phoebe Vet, your lucky. and so was I.
I started my working years in 1955 at $1.95 an hour — Gas was .17 cents per gallon. One hours pay bought 11 1/2 gallons of gas. My first NEW car cost $2,000. When I retired 47 years later with a six figure salary gas was about $2.50 a gallon. An hours pay would buy 23 gallons of gas.
BUT what about today’s Entry Level Employee? At $7 an hour he can’t even buy 2 gallons of gas for an hour’s labor. I will not pay to work if he must drive. Recessions/depressions start at the bottom of the income ladder and spread up.
I think the difference is that 50 years ago, entry level, minimum wage employees did not live 20 miles from work and need a car to get there. Cheap gas over the intervening years seems to have changed how and where we live. Maybe, it’s time for another change…
Why are all the out of service passenger not being returned to service? Its time for a supplemental appropriation from congress to see the results of more available capacity. Wonder how many more airline, bus, and car people would come if they could get a reservation. I couldn’t get anything NY - Wash except regional for Friday.
oltmannd
You are comparing the prices at the end of a similar explosive growth in prices caused by the oil embargo. Only 7 years earlier than the year you chose, gasoline was 35 cents a gallon. That makes today’s price TEN times the price then, and climbing.
In 1974, I bought fuel oil for home heat 3 times. The first time I paid 17 cents a gallon, the second time I paid 55 cents a gallon, and the third time I paid 95 cents a gallon.
So, instead of looking at the single year that makes the BEST comparison for the oil company, lets compare oil prices to the day before we invaded one of the major oil producers and tore down their infrastructure. How many gallons could you buy with an hour’s pay THAT day, compared to now?
I don’t think it will make any difference how high the cost of a gallon gets. It could be $25 a gallon next month and I’ll give everyone one guess why most people will not get on a train (it’s kind of a trcik question to test your logic). Any takers?
Talk about answering your own question.
I think it will make a difference and the American people will clamor for better train service —soon!
I don’t know where Samantha works, but every time I have read something she has written, her numbers makes sense; and her explanations of accounting issues are technically correct.