Ray Suarez Tweets About NEC

[Triley]

If the "debris on the track" was the remains of a vehicle at a grade crossing or stuff that fell off a freight train or the result of vandalism, then I would expect there would have been a news story somewhere. Local TV news in Philly and Trenton should have covered it. Remember, in a battle between a locomotive and a truck, the locomotive always wins!

It doesn’t matter if there is a fatal trespasser strike, many passengers view any sort of delay as only Amtrak’s fault. Just reexperienced this exact scenario last Friday, unfortunately.

Just to note, there’d be no debris left behind from a vehicle, as there are no grade crossings between the New London/Old Saybrook area of Connecticut, to northern Virginia. The most likely suspect is either a tree, or even a large deer.

 

[PaTrainFan]

It is interesting that when reporting on train-vehicle accidents, the media wording is typically "train hits," or "train rams" car or truck, whatever the case may be. While that is technically true in most instances, the implication of the wording implies it is the train's fault, when the reality is usually much different.

 

[Exvalley]

It is interesting that when reporting on train-vehicle accidents, the media wording is typically "train hits," or "train rams" car or truck, whatever the case may be. While that is technically true in most instances, the implication of the wording implies it is the train's fault, when the reality is usually much different.

I’ve never understood why people get upset about this. It’s just the way we talk, and I have never known a single person who defaults to the assumption that the train was at fault.

 

[Cal]

I’ve never understood why people get upset about this. It’s just the way we talk, and I have never known a single person that defaults to the assumption that the train was at fault.

Because generally when people just see it while scrolling by or doing something else, they might not pay attention to the details and will hear that a train hit someone, not someone went in front of a train and got hit. So that can automatically just put it in their head, although not consciously, that the person isn't necessarily at fault.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Because generally when people just see it while scrolling by or doing something else, they might not pay attention to the details and will hear that a train hit someone, not someone went in front of a train and got hit. So that can automatically just put it in their head, although not consciously, that the person isn't necessarily at fault.

If this is a real problem then what actual harm is it causing? Is it better to use inaccurate terminology simply because it might sound less threatening to absentminded people? I've seen no evidence to corroborate this enduring but unsubstantiated myth that basic English harms Amtrak by confusing the feeble minded among us.

 

[JoeBas]

Just to note, there’d be no debris left behind from a vehicle, as there are no grade crossings between the New London/Old Saybrook area of Connecticut, to northern Virginia. The most likely suspect is either a tree, or even a large deer.

Or, if in an urban area, something heavy dropped from an overpass....

 

[MARC Rider]

Being the best known journalist is frankly meaning less and less as time goes on. Saying this as one of those illusive Millennials that is ruining everything, I haven't watched anything on PBS aside from one of the Presidential debates in several years.

This isn't just a millennial thing. I'm a Boomer, and I stopped spending time with the news media since I've retired, and it has sure made me feel better. Oh, I occasionally check out headlines, and I do want to keep myself apprised of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes heading my way, and I do check the weather. And I was checking the Covid stats for a while, but I've pretty much given up on the opinion writers, even the ones I agree with.

 

[Bostontoallpoints]

This is always amusing to me. People use Amtrak no matter what. People use public transit no matter what. People drive their car no matter what.



True.
That said, we did it before. 100 years ago, this country was largely non car centric. Many cities had great public transit, and having a car was largely unnecessary. And over the course of 25 or so years, it all changed....

One technicality. 100 years ago mass transit was mostly privately owned and built. Government took over the operations and slowly closed down the transit lines. I can remember when the MBTA shutdown the E line past Heath Street and shortly afterwards ripped up the trolley tracks to Watertown. I thought back then that the MBTA’s eventual goal was to run a bus company. Most cities in the U.S. achieved this goal through their government run transit agencies.

 

[jis]

Then again, if the government had not taken over the operations they would have shut down much earlier, when the private companies decided they could not run them and make enough money to make it sustainable. Of course regulations of fares did have a role to play in that. Indeed in New York even after government agencies took over, regulations of fares caused them to start shrinking things because enough funding was not provided to make up the difference between cost of operations and the farebox collection . So there were many culprits in the exercise.

There is a similar problem that Amtrak faces, so not much has changed. And of course there will be occasional delays no matter who runs the system, It is not like privately operated service operated perfectly either.

 

[Bostontoallpoints]

Then again, if the government had not taken over the operations they would have shut down much earlier, when the private companies decided they could not run them and make enough money to make it sustainable. Of course regulations of fares did have a role to play in that. Indeed in New York even after government agencies took over, regulations of fares caused them to start shrinking things because enough funding was not provided to make up the difference between cost of operations and the farebox collection . So there were many culprits in the exercise.

There is a similar problem that Amtrak faces, so not much has changed. And of course there will be occasional delays no matter who runs the system, It is not like privately operated service operated perfectly either.

WW2 stressed mass transit. War rationing meant people could only afford to ride the rails. Transit agencies were maxed out and did not have a time window for maintenance and repairs. War rationing also meant that materials for transit repairs were scarce. After the war the railroads were beat up and needed massive upgrades and replacing. 10 years later the Federal Highway Act came along and gave the railroads more competition along with air travel. Then the Postal Service dropped their train contacts and finished them off for good.