I appreciate the concern that the issues plaguing Amtrak: poor OTP, poor management of cancelled trains due to maintenance and the lack of overall physical infrastructure of Amtrak's cars and right-of-way are all valid reasons why I, and many others, should be upset over with Amtrak versus diner-lite.
I guess my reason for my doom-and-gloom outlook for Amtrak regarding diner-lite isn't so much the fact that the food service will change, but rather the one specific thing Amtrak has total direct control over has finally been broken and the choices that Amtrak has made in the name of "reform" have caused huge losses for the railroad is terms of passenger ridership and customer loyalty.
Poor on-time performance is the major issue that leads to passengers saying "never again" when it comes to Amtrak. We all know about freight railroads and their politics regarding incentives, true cost of running Amtrak trains, etc. Amtrak does have a place in the issue of OTP, but doesn't have the legislative or executive support to really carry-out a plan to deal with this issue. That should be an Amtrak corporate priority when it comes to their reauthorization bills, but the management is too focused on protecting themselves versus the company's and its customers' best interest. As for equipment, well, quite frankly, that's Amtrak's fault. Period. Viewliners are, and were, pieces of junk when they were introuduced over 10 years ago. Using Amfleet cars to operate long-distance trains with that were specifically designed for the NEC has run these cars into the ground. Compounded with a lack of a meaningful maintenance plan due to overall rolling stock shortages systemwide, the entire single-level train fleet is being held together with duck-tape and baling wire and, as we saw last week, is on the verge of falling apart beyond repair.
You talk about a crossroads. That's the omen I speak of. In Amtrak's last 20 years, everytime it came to a crossroads, the company ALWAYS made a choice that has caused more harm than good, if any good came at all. Amtrak management today is at the crossroads of looking at three major issues: lack of viable equipment, the operating relationship with the freight railroads that continue to grow beyond their current capacities and the reality that the government is truly interested in "reforming" Amtrak.
Equipment: there is no money to buy and make ready viable single-level railroad coaches, sleepers and diners. Without a ready stock of equipment, management will take the easy road. Truncate routes versus seeking alternatives. Easy, cheap and non-controversial in the current political arena outside the NEC.
On-time Performance: the railroads want more from Amtrak regarding the cost of running trains, especially on time. That won't happen. Amtrak doesn't have the money. Even the friendly Amtrak railroads are facing the issue that increased traffic is forcing them to make decisions regarding what customers they wish to keep and seek. Every railroad will seek to drop Amtrak if running their trains forces even the friendly freight railroads to make such choices. Amtrak's decision: truncate routes that are under stress from freight congestion. Won't seek alternative routes as the company is prohibited in creating "new routes." When a train gets cut, the service is gone.
The Government: The biggest problem of all. It is stated that if Amtrak wanted to cut the trains, they do it without the bells and whistles of modifying equipment, making service changes, etc. Well, that can't be done. Believe it or not, the most cost effective and least expensive way to kill the labor issue is to suffocate the labor force in a slow and steady pace. If Amtrak were to just cut the service in one big swipe, you'd get the issue of C-2. I've already explained what this is in a previous post. If you cut the service in a systematic way, as with the diner-lite, phased in sleeper abolishments and elimination of train attendants in the coaches, you take people off the payroll a little at a time. Slowly but surely, more and more people get off the Amtrak payroll through furlough without being eligable for C-2 because the company hasn't "cut a train." Then, when you get it down to about 100 people out of the 10,000 that exist now (mostly LSAs working the single food service car), you can change the rules with the Railway Labor Act (since the last remaining people are not even enough to get the union's attention, let alone Congress). This is the plan. No secret agenda. The President's own budget message for FY 07 makes the comment that 900 million is to "manage the reforms already in place."
That's the OMEN I speak of. When you have the attitude that "it's just diner food," then the government and the Amtrak Board wins. You give them an inch, they'll take a mile. Then next year they'll say "it's just checked baggage," Amtrak supporters say "well we still have the train!" Then they soon come after your sleeping car, then the Amtrak passengers riding on corridor trains get polled: Would you support cutting sleepers for a cheaper fare between WAS and NYP? They say "Yes," Amtrak cuts the sleepers in the name of "economic logic" as it has been stated for its primary customer base, at least based on the books it submits to Congress and the DOT Inspector General. Show losses in the sleepers, they'll be gone even if they bring in about a 1/3 of the company's total revenue.
This is the agenda in place. Amtrak has already been to the crossroads, the road they've chosen is the one listed above. No secrets. Managers within the company already know this; they've been threatened to keep their mouths shut about the whole thing so those who don't believe such things are possible will continue to doubt the company's true agenda about shutdown. Diner-lite is just the first of many "public" shows of the company's plan to end the long distance trains. They're hoping that people won't complain or make a big specticle over it. They just want to run the passengers off and quietly, without press, have train cancellations for "various" reasons and let the trains ride into the sunset, just like the Sunset has east of NOL. They dissappear, the bulk of America don't really know it happened and as time passes, few will take note that the trains just don't come back. It's the perfect way to end a government program: no press, no elected officials making political promises to "save the trains," and it just goes away without fanfare.
