Amtrak Service Reductions

[Amtrakfflyer]

Exactly think Allegiant they only fly 2-3x weekly but they make it obvious what days they do as does Spirit.

heck, even the worst airlines in the world are able to provide a calendar view of service availability including different fares available on each day. But not Amtrak. It is still trying to get into the 21st centurky while apparently regressing in actuality towards the 19th century.

 

[Qapla]

Amtrak has never suggested reducing the schedule will increase ridership. They are primarily to reduce costs ... I only want to point out the purpose and expected result is not to increase ridership, which has been mentioned twice now.)

Be that as it may - they also said that the determining factor when they would return to a daily schedule is when bookings increase ... without good connections bookings will decline, not increase. As bookings decline the so-called "saving" will disappear. The 3x week schedule was a bad idea when they tried it before to "cut costs" - it didn't save money then and it won't save money now

 

[jis]

I am surprised that people refuse to see that this is mostly an exercise of Amtrak management holding Congress over a barrel. They don't really care whether bookings increase or decrease. They are counting on "we the traveling public" beating up on Congress to come up with the money to enable restoration of full service and adequately funding the infrastructure. If that fails then I don't think Amtrak management has any qualms at all about washing their hands off of the whole thing and letting whoever else wants to run it do so, and without adequate money there will be no one with half a brain that will walk into that quigmire, and Congress will be stuck requiring to come up with the funds required legally to shut the thing down. So either way they will have to come up with a substantial sum of money. The hope is that they will be pushed into continuing to fund and run it, yet another time. This is my current cynical position.

 

[ShiningTimeStL]

https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/intercity/fourth-in-a-series-amtraks-impossible-demands/
I don't know how much more clearly you can lay it out than this. I don't understand how anyone can trust or believe anything Flynn or his people say anymore.

 

[Thunder]

Remember when everyone said if we dump Anderson and things would be good? I remember.

i also remember telling those same people they need to dump SG along with him.

Put Gallagher in as CEO. Or at least replace SG with him.

 

[railiner]

Remember when everyone said if we dump Anderson and things would be good? I remember.

i also remember telling those same people they need to dump SG along with him.

Put Gallagher in as CEO. Or at least replace SG with him.

Brian Gallagher? How's he doing? Back running trains on the Empire?

 

[Thunder]

Yes he is! He’s just as fiery as ever I told him I’d love to see him on the board or in charge.

he asked “ what did I ever do to you?”

 

[jis]

Brian Gallagher? How's he doing? Back running trains on the Empire?

Brian is doing fine. I exchange messages with him from time to time.

 

[OBS]

Yes he is! He’s just as fiery as ever I told him I’d love to see him on the board or in charge.

he asked “ what did I ever do to you?”

Sounds exactly like Brian!

 

[railiner]

Brian is doing fine. I exchange messages with him from time to time.

I had the good fortune to spend a good deal of time with him on the Autumn Excursion up the River Line...he 'held court' for most of the trip in the first car, where I was seated...

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

I just attempted some fake bookings to test out the schedules and noticed something interesting. The corridor restorations, such as additional frequencies in the Midwest and the resumption of Vermont service, seem to be overly optimistic with cancellations occurring as the travel date nears if necessary. Meanwhile, the LDs are showing tri-weekly schedules indefinitely, despite the fact that a summer 2021 restoration would be within the booking period.

 

[niemi24s]

A few days ago, Arrow showed the Hiawatha and Michigan Services returning to their pre-Covid levels on 1 Mar 2021. But the states served may have a hand in that.

 

[Thunder]

We are running 383 packed now. Well with the half capacity restrictions anyway. Been running over 100 daily now due to WIU is my guess.

i am expecting us to start 382-381 again sooner rather than later.

depending on Pritzker that is

 

[Siegmund]

We are running 383 packed now. Well with the half capacity restrictions anyway.

I think that's the case for much of the national system - the Empire Builder was "selling out" regularly starting in June.

That's what I find hardest to stomach about the current cuts. Yes, they are losing money because of the virus - they could get some of it back by putting on extra coaches if they had them! - but demand has been very strong. It's very different from the early 70s years when they ran triweekly in winter because of low demand... that ended as they built traffic up.

 

[jruff001]

That's what I find hardest to stomach about the current cuts. Yes, they are losing money because of the virus - they could get some of it back by putting on extra coaches if they had them! - but demand has been very strong. It's very different from the early 70s years when they ran triweekly in winter because of low demand... that ended as they built traffic up.

Wait - you don't believe the very low Covid-related ridership numbers?

 

[Siegmund]

I believe that trains ran nearly empty in April and May.

I am under the impression that since midsummer many/most trains have sold out their 50%-capped capacity over at least part of their runs, i.e., current ridership is as high as can be achieved until the virus comes under control.

I only see the Empire Builder go past on a regular basis - can tell you it expanded to its normal "summer length" (2nd sleeping cars added) in June. Random pics on the internet suggest the other long-distance trains regained their normal consists around the same time, after doing the one-coach-and-one-sleeper thing in the spring.