There's a lot to tackle in this thread so we'll take it in no particular order.
You may want too keep those comments to yourself, about employees showing you confidential documents... It could cost someone their job.
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Seriously? And how is my post going to cost someone their job when I don't (and would NEVER) give out the names of said employees... doesn't make any sense. Get a life.
Were someone in management to take in interest, it probably wouldn't be that hard to figure out.
We get it, you're deeply hurt by Amtrak taking your toys away, but telling an employee to "get a life" when they express a concern about fellow employees should be beneath you.
Yep, "management" is going to be able to figure out which out of thousands of ticket agents called me on my personal cell phone from their personal cell phone to tell me the news... Seriously?
Maybe Whooz' favorite secret agent Patrick Lynch will be put on this one... (anyone remember those posts!)
Rtabern, you can afford to have a cavalier attitude because you have nothing to lose. While it is true that they may never be able to find your source (if they even bothered to search), it still puts the rest of the people under the gun. I know for a fact the previous regime had a corporate presence on TO and Railroad.net. Letters were sent to the employees homes about posting information found on the INTERNAL intranet. Termination is possible if the IG got involved. I don't know what would happen if the IG or law enforcement demanded the identity of an employee on this board but it hardly seems worth it. That is why so many former employees have vanished over the last couple of years. While I'd like to think the current regime isn't as obsessed with privacy and images, the policy still stands (and if you're an employee that hasn't seen it for some reason, send a PM so you can see exactly what you're up against.).
So, Rtabern, if someone tells you something from an internal source, perhaps you should take a cue from people that "drop hints' *cough cough*, say nothing until it becomes public (like Anderson) instead of blurting out that people are showing things you aren't supposed to see. Such an act has the potential to put this board under the watch as well and even if it doesn't, the other side affect is information that was previously easy to find has been buried under levels of clearance or in some cases, has been removed from the intranet. This doesn't help anyone.
That being said, I think we are seeing the previous discussed concepts from the
Greenville, SC (GRV) to be Unstaffed Effective June 15, 2017. Notably:
I noticed one thing about the previous regime. While they lobbied Congress for support, you rarely saw them approach them for additional funds between appropriations. You rarely saw them saying 'if we don't cash now, we'll have to shut down this or that." As such, something has to give. Even though Amtrak has managed to find funds for certain things, each year is costs more and more to accomplish the same things. Each day, the cars grow older and require more (specialized) maintenance. Each year, the ties grow older and more costly to maintain. Each year, the P-32AC/DMs get older and since GE stopped making parts for them, they become more expensive to maintain and repair. Each year, the tunnels and infrastructure surrounding NYP grow older with more trains operating on them ever. Yet, funds are flat.
What to do?
One of the easiest targets is labor. How much are you getting for the labor that you are providing? While I agree that some of these cuts will definitely impact ridership, the people making these decisions are looking at it from a cost center point of view. Period. It is easy for them since they are not actually passengers. Additionally, you'll find that most rail providers aren't top heavy with actual railroaders. They are top heavy with employees with financial backgrounds, focused on the bottom line. That doesn't necessarily make them bad railroaders but it does mean they may not understand "the product." During the last years of the Boardman tenure, you saw an influx of airline employees moving into key positions. They still think like airline employees and it shows. They were also fixated on the short to medium distance passengers and a lot of the policies show it. However, they were given a mandate:" this is the money you have...work with it and see how we can survive. " As such, they may not even be interested in what the product "was" or "could be" and may go with "this is all it is going to be or we'll run out of money."The vision lurches from year to year based upon the funds granted. That is no way to run a railroad.
Unfortunately, the long distance traveler may be the victim when it comes time to the budget. Rtabern's letter spells it out in spades. What is the cost? What "provable" revenue does it generate? I don't know why these cars need so much maintenance but assuming it isn't a ploy, would we rather spend money on these cars or the engines that pull them?
Personally, I think it is a mistake to whittle away at the amenities. This was done before and it didn't work out. Trains don't have an advantage of speed like a plane nor do they have the cost structure of a bus. So, what exactly is Amtrak bringing to the table? It should be something memorable to justify the costs. It should be something to bring you back. It should be something to make you say "do you remember that time?" Otherwise, what is the point? If you wanted to ride a bus on steel wheels, then you might as well ride an actual bus.
Maybe Tricia is right! As Amtrak continues to cut station personnel, maybe they should mothball the new baggage cars as well. How much revenue are they generating?
I think I will continue the rest of my rant in the CEO thread.
and figured out that the LSL has the most profitable sleeper cars in the system -- apparently it attracts the least price-sensitive clientele. It's also documented to have the largest coach passenger usage of the dining car of all the trains.
