# Skoropowski to the FEC



## The Davy Crockett (Mar 17, 2012)

I was goiing through 'Trains' Newswire and noticed that Gene Skoropowski was named Senior Vice Presidient of Passenger Development at FEC and will report to Jim Hertwig, FEC's president and CEO.

I'm not familiar with exactly what he did for the Capitol Corridor, but from what I know, it seems like pax trains rolling on the FEC got a step closer, with him aboard.


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## jis (Mar 17, 2012)

Good news for FEC passenger service and the Space Coast!


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## MikefromCrete (Mar 17, 2012)

Skoropowski is credited with doing a great job while running the Capital Corridor, so this is good news for the upcoming Amtrak service down Florida's east coast.


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## AlanB (Mar 17, 2012)

The Davy Crockett said:


> I'm not familiar with exactly what he did for the Capitol Corridor, but from what I know, it seems like pax trains rolling on the FEC got a step closer, with him aboard.


Gene Skoropowski is largely credited with taking the Capitol Corridor operation from a fledgling 8 daily trains and 463,000 annual riders to the 32 daily trains and 1.5 million riders a year. And he did that in just 10 years! Gene was also responsible for getting considerable cooperation between the CCJPA (entity that runs the Capitol Corridor) and UP. Perhaps one of his biggest achievements was the policy of making sure that people knew what happened & why, as well as what would be done (if anything could be) to fix things when a problem occurred. Without fail, any time there was a major problem with the service, there was Gene apologizing to customers and explaining what went wrong.

One of Amtrak's bigger complaints has often been a lack of information both during and after a problem. On the Capitol Corridor that is not an issue, thanks to Gene!

I don't know that Gene would want the top spot at Amtrak, but there are many railfans out there (including this one) who would support Gene's becoming Amtrak's President.

So yes, having Gene with the FEC and in charge of passenger operations is a very good thing!


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## Ryan (Mar 22, 2012)

MikefromCrete said:


> Skoropowski is credited with doing a great job while running the Capital Corridor, so this is good news for the upcoming Amtrak service down Florida's east coast.


Not Amtrak service, you mean. 

Looks like FEC is going to do it on their own, and it sounds like they have the right man for the job.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/22/2707688/florida-east-coast-industries.html


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## jis (Mar 22, 2012)

Ryan said:


> MikefromCrete said:
> 
> 
> > Skoropowski is credited with doing a great job while running the Capital Corridor, so this is good news for the upcoming Amtrak service down Florida's east coast.
> ...


The Miami - Orlando FEC plan and the Miami - JAX - New York plan are not mutually exclusive. Bith can happen and actually the latter becomes easier to do with station costs being shared.


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## Anderson (Mar 22, 2012)

Yes, but doing both invites a food fight. Amtrak has never had to regularly run a train on the same route as a regular private passenger operation, and FEC might get obstructive about direct competition.

I've mulled this over, and the best bet for both would probably be for Amtrak to simply pull a set of through cars off their LD trains and hitch them to an FEC corridor train, either "renting" a pull from the FEC or paying them a percentage on the run (or however operations like this were done "back in the day"...for example, how was the division done on the California Zephyr?). Note that Amtrak expects adding the service to be a net boost to revenue, so there's probably room to negotiate.

Dealing with food service will be a pain in the rear (especially with sleeper passengers expecting a meal of some sort), but Amtrak might (under such an operation) be able to _not_ deal with food service south of JAX under some arrangements (and just reimburse FEC for sleeper meals on a voucher basis).

Edit: Ok, I thought up a precedent: How was revenue, etc. handled on the Crescent/Sunset through sleeper? That seems to be the best comparison.


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## jis (Mar 22, 2012)

You guys just have fertile imagination on overdrive greased by good conspiracy theories of deep desire in FEC and Amtrak to pick pointless fights.


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## The Davy Crockett (Mar 25, 2012)

From the All Aboard Florida website:



> What kind of train will it be? Have you selected the equipment?*No train operator *or rolling stock has been selected yet. (emphasis added)


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## George Harris (Mar 25, 2012)

Anderson said:


> I've mulled this over, and the best bet for both would probably be for Amtrak to simply pull a set of through cars off their LD trains and hitch them to an FEC corridor train, either "renting" a pull from the FEC or paying them a percentage on the run (or however operations like this were done "back in the day"...for example, how was the division done on the California Zephyr?). Note that Amtrak expects adding the service to be a net boost to revenue, so there's probably room to negotiate.


Ever heard the expression, "Borrowing Trouble?"

That sounds like much of what you are doing here. "Back in the day" there were multipe examples of through running of power, diners, and everything else. An outstanding example would be the Chicago to Florida fast three, City of Miami, South Wind, Dixie Flagler, which after the Dixie Flagler was discontinued became the fast two. These trains all operated on the FEC in Florida where they were turned over to the ACL. At Waycross they went three different ways with no other common point, even to each operating out of a different station in Chicago. (The South Wind and Dixie Flagler both went through Nashville, using the same station, but using different routes into and out of the city. The South Wind and Dixie Flager both went through Birmingham but stopped at different stations.) After through cars to Tampa and to St. Petersburg became part of the mix, equipment to these points became part of sections of the West Coast Champions (Bill Haithcoat, tell me if I am wrong here) to those points. In addition to the Forida East Coast and the Atlantic Coast Line, railroads involved were the AB&C (later to be part of the ACL), the NC&St.L (later to be part of the L&N), the L&N on two different routes, C&EI, Pennsylvania, Illinois Central, and Central of Georgia. Should not forget the C&WI in approach to Dearborn Station. Also, there were such other things as the Illinois Central trackage rights over the GM&O, Southern, and Frisco between Jackson TN and Birmingham, the L&N use of the Southern Railway bridge at Decatur AL, and probably some other odds and ends I have either forgotten or never knew.

Saying all this to say that arrangments involving multipe railroads in operation of trains of any and all types has a really long and convuluted history.


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## Anderson (Apr 1, 2012)

George Harris said:


> Anderson said:
> 
> 
> > I've mulled this over, and the best bet for both would probably be for Amtrak to simply pull a set of through cars off their LD trains and hitch them to an FEC corridor train, either "renting" a pull from the FEC or paying them a percentage on the run (or however operations like this were done "back in the day"...for example, how was the division done on the California Zephyr?). Note that Amtrak expects adding the service to be a net boost to revenue, so there's probably room to negotiate.
> ...


On the one hand, I get what you're saying. On the other hand...the question becomes whether FECI thinks they're going to turn a profit on the overall operation and ends up seeing Amtrak as potential competition. At the _very_ least, if FECI initiates JAX-MIA corridor service, I'd expect some sort of deal coming up involving not fighting each other on fares (since going D/R from JAX-MIA would probably come close to wiping out any reason for Amtrak running the service on their own).


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## jis (Apr 2, 2012)

Anderson said:


> On the one hand, I get what you're saying. On the other hand...the question becomes whether FECI thinks they're going to turn a profit on the overall operation and ends up seeing Amtrak as potential competition. At the _very_ least, if FECI initiates JAX-MIA corridor service, I'd expect some sort of deal coming up involving not fighting each other on fares (since going D/R from JAX-MIA would probably come close to wiping out any reason for Amtrak running the service on their own).


Let me try this one more time....A one or two per day LD train from New York to MIA at odd times is no competition for an hourly or better corridor service with more frequent stops when it comes to convenience of corridor passengers.

Even if JAX-MIA has only two per day FEC service they could restrain Amtrak from selling tickets for travel within that segment or enter into a revenue sharing agreement for such segments, as part of the condition for conveyance of the Amtrak train over that segment. Indeed there are so many win - win ways of handling this, that I cannot imagine that two reasonable outfits would fight over this. What does FEC have to lose in a situation where they get to collect extra revenues for just allowing an additional train or two through with reasonable restrictions so as not to cannibalize their own franchise?

Methinks you are still trying to dream up troubles where there ought not be be any. Are you a member of the legal profession by any chance?


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