"The Dining Car Problem"

[cocojacoby]

I posted this idea a while ago on another website:

The Entrepreneurial Chef - A Radical Dining Car Concept

Okay it's just an idea but what if Amtrak tries this?

Take one popular train like the Silver Meteor. Run it through to Boston in a Regional slot to generate some good major city press about this unique new opportunity to ride in a real railroad dining car.

Let four chefs bid on four slots (assuming 4 sets of equipment). Each chef gets to run one dining car turn. They have control of what to order and cook. They can get as creative as they want. They make the menus and they set their own prices. They can hire the servers they know are good or make it a family affair like many mom and pop restaurants. They must open for at least the traditional dining car hours but can also operate up to 24 hours if they want. They got a pretty good captive audience to sell to.

The entrepreneurial chef does not get paid by Amtrak but they get to keep any profits that they make. They get to run their own restaurant without the risk and expense. I am sure there are Amtrak chefs out there who have great ideas on how to run a dining car but never got the chance to do it. I can see a spirited competition between the four chefs generating some good press and having people riding certain trains just for each different culinary experience. Each chef could have his or her own specialty.

The cost to run the dining car for Amtrak would be little to nothing. Amtrak can proudly tell the story of the unique opportunity it has given to these hard working men and woman who toil very hard at their craft behind the scenes. I think this could be a pretty exciting opportunity for some hard working folks who would never get such a chance in their lifetime.

Could it work? Silver Star and Lake Shore Limited next if it does.

UPDATE: Eventually one Master Chef could be in charge of one entire name train (all consists) and he/she would have chefs under them to operate each consist as the Master Chef directs.

 

[jis]

One the issues that plagues food service accounting is the idea that food service needs to be its own profit center as if it operates independently of the train. It doesn't. It's dependent on the train and its passengers. Sitting at home, I can't decide let's go to the Amtrak Dining Car for dinner; I have to be on the train to patronize the dining car.

Instead of looking at it as its own profit center, it should be looked at in terms of how it improves the overall profitability of the train (keep in mind that a loss is just negative profit so I will refer to the financial bottom line as profit even when it's a loss). The presence of food service will stimulate transportation sales. I expect some people want food service available even if they don't plan to patronize it so it's available just in case they need it. If a train's profit is higher with food service (including all food service costs and revenue), then food service is worth providing even if when just the food service costs and revenue are considered, food service shows a loss. In such a case, while on paper more people have paid for transportation, their decisions say that part of what they paid for was to have food service available if they wanted it and some of that additional transportation revenue should be credited to food service.

The legal requirement requiring F&B to operate as a separate P&L and at least break even, is gone... dumped in the trashcan of history. Amtrak does not have to adhere by that piece of legislation championed by Mica with the basic clear intent of eventually destroying LD service.

So maybe we are beating a dead horse some more as far as the legal requirements go. OTOH, it is probably worthwhile beating Amtrak management on their head reminding them that they may be trying to still ride the dead horse, and should dismount and get on something more upto date, at least some live horse as the case may be..

 

[Tlcooper44]

I posted this idea a while ago on another website:

Okay it's just an idea but what if Amtrak tries this?

Take one popular train like the Silver Meteor. Run it through to Boston in a Regional slot to generate some good major city press about this unique new opportunity to ride in a real railroad dining car.

Let four chefs bid on four slots (assuming 4 sets of equipment). Each chef gets to run one dining car turn. They have control of what to order and cook. They can get as creative as they want. They make the menus and they set their own prices. They can hire the servers they know are good or make it a family affair like many mom and pop restaurants. They must open for at least the traditional dining car hours but can also operate up to 24 hours if they want. They got a pretty good captive audience to sell to.

The entrepreneurial chef does not get paid by Amtrak but they get to keep any profits that they make. They get to run their own restaurant without the risk and expense. I am sure there are Amtrak chefs out there who have great ideas on how to run a dining car but never got the chance to do it. I can see a spirited competition between the four chefs generating some good press and having people riding certain trains just for each different culinary experience. Each chef could have his or her own specialty.

The cost to run the dining car for Amtrak would be little to nothing. Amtrak can proudly tell the story of the unique opportunity it has given to these hard working men and woman who toil very hard at their craft behind the scenes. I think this could be a pretty exciting opportunity for some hard working folks who would never get such a chance in their lifetime.

Could it work? Silver Star and Lake Shore Limited next if it does.

This idea would certainly match their current advertising campaign of the rails being a unique travel experience. Be cool to see a silver service run up to Boston (instead of having to do a somewhat ridiculous connection in either NYP or WAS).

 

[jruff001]

I have also read and heard in various places that the LD trains are not as unprofitable as popular train ideology says.

Yes, you will "hear" that a lot in the foamer world. You'll also hear conspiracies about how Amtrak is cooking the books and wilfully violating accounting laws as part of a plot to kill LD trains.

Many people are saying it . . .

 

[jruff001]

I don't think that the old railroads made a mistake in offering fine dinning. According to the book on Railroad Diners they usually lost money but the object was to promote the companys image and provide the kind of meals many of the pullman passengers would have enjoyed if they went to a good restaurant near where they lived.

A lot of that marketing effort for the dining cars was aimed at executives who traveled by train in the pre-airline days. The thinking was if a VP of Acme Widgets was riding the train from NY to CHI on Taggart Transcontinental RR and enjoyed the trip, he would consider shipping his widgets on TTRR as well.

Not many titans of industry take business trips on LD trains these days.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

I think everyone is aware that the Ocean is suspended, and although it has been suggested as a model for single-night Amtrak trips in other threads, the content in this thread was someone asking a question, a partial answer to that question regarding staffing and firsthand support (including mine) for that answer. However, it is an example of how to serve what is essentially a flex meal.

Exactly!

This is Breakfast served westbound on the Ocean departing Ste-Foy at 6:30am. The Bacon, Eggs and Roast Potatoes were prepared by a caterer 24 hours earlier, chilled and put aboard in Halifax. Then reheated in convection ovens and re-plated. The toast, coffee and juice are freshly prepared and BTW.....a very good meal. It's all in the presentation

(The Ocean is not running due to restriction at the Quebec/New Brunswick Provincial Border.....and even more restrictive measures at the Nova Scotia Border so I don't think VIA really has any option. The Ocean will be back as soon as those restrictions are lifted)

 

[jiml]

I posted this idea a while ago on another website:

The Entrepreneurial Chef - A Radical Dining Car Concept

Okay it's just an idea but what if Amtrak tries this?

Take one popular train like the Silver Meteor. Run it through to Boston in a Regional slot to generate some good major city press about this unique new opportunity to ride in a real railroad dining car.

Let four chefs bid on four slots (assuming 4 sets of equipment). Each chef gets to run one dining car turn. They have control of what to order and cook. They can get as creative as they want. They make the menus and they set their own prices. They can hire the servers they know are good or make it a family affair like many mom and pop restaurants. They must open for at least the traditional dining car hours but can also operate up to 24 hours if they want. They got a pretty good captive audience to sell to.

The entrepreneurial chef does not get paid by Amtrak but they get to keep any profits that they make. They get to run their own restaurant without the risk and expense. I am sure there are Amtrak chefs out there who have great ideas on how to run a dining car but never got the chance to do it. I can see a spirited competition between the four chefs generating some good press and having people riding certain trains just for each different culinary experience. Each chef could have his or her own specialty.

The cost to run the dining car for Amtrak would be little to nothing. Amtrak can proudly tell the story of the unique opportunity it has given to these hard working men and woman who toil very hard at their craft behind the scenes. I think this could be a pretty exciting opportunity for some hard working folks who would never get such a chance in their lifetime.

Could it work? Silver Star and Lake Shore Limited next if it does.

UPDATE: Eventually one Master Chef could be in charge of one entire name train (all consists) and he/she would have chefs under them to operate each consist as the Master Chef directs.

The problem would be keeping the style of cuisine "centered" enough to appeal to a wide range of people. It might be awkward if the one overnight you're spending on the train was Thai-Asian Fusion night (for one example) and that's not your "cup of tea". If the restaurant you frequent or the hotel you're staying in has a specialty in the dining room you have the option of going somewhere else. On the train - not so much.

 

[Larry H.]

A lot of that marketing effort for the dining cars was aimed at executives who traveled by train in the pre-airline days. The thinking was if a VP of Acme Widgets was riding the train from NY to CHI on Taggart Transcontinental RR and enjoyed the trip, he would consider shipping his widgets on TTRR as well.

Not many titans of industry take business trips on LD trains these days.

No Doubt that is a consideration.. But if rail is to become and alternative to flying and gains a proper place in transportation once again, then maybe more of the company men would be riding the rails. How about all the rich CEO's of internet and other new energy sources, shouldn't they put there money where there mouth's are? I guess though they all haver their own CO spewing planes and will leave the energy saving to the rest of the poor population?

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Not many titans of industry take business trips on LD trains these days.

Titans of industry were traveling private rail cars back in the day. Just like they are traveling in private planes today.

Nobody is asking for a return of the Turquoise Room. We are asking for the return of a Denny’s / IHOP quality.

 

[cocojacoby]

The problem would be keeping the style of cuisine "centered" enough to appeal to a wide range of people. It might be awkward if the one overnight you're spending on the train was Thai-Asian Fusion night (for one example) and that's not your "cup of tea". If the restaurant you frequent or the hotel you're staying in has a specialty in the dining room you have the option of going somewhere else. On the train - not so much.

There is a kind of built-in protection there. If the food doesn't sell the chef makes no money. I got a feeling any Amtrak chef knows what sells and what doesn't. If he was cooking Flat Iron Steaks all night I bet you it will be on the menu.

 

[me_little_me]

Waste of time discussion because none of the real facts are known (or have not been revealed here):

(This all refers to traditional service before the introduction of any flex dining)

Did Amtrak fund the meals at their full retail price i.e. do they assign $25 of the fare to the diner for a meal listed as $25?

If not the above, did they fund the meals at full price minus the profit they made from a coach passenger for the meal i.e. for the cost of food, the operational cost of the car (cost of the train /# of cars), the cost of the servers and chef?

If not the above, what did they fund the meal service at?

How much lost opportunity occurred because Amtrak ran out of food when they could have fed more coach passengers? They do it all the time on cafe food. That's the stupidest mistake of all - not making money from customers because you ran out of product!

Does Amtrak even know those numbers?

The only "fact" I have heard is that Amtrak only funds meals actually eaten so the funding passengers who skip a meal does not go to the diner's benefit. Should that be the case or should the diner be credited with so much per passenger or so much for each passenger meal whether provided or not? Arguments for both sides but makes a big difference to the diner's "profitability".

Would the diners be better managed if there was an executive assigned to try and make more money so as to come up with some creative ideas? That would include having more flexibility on each route, possibly eliminating central buying in favor of local, having longer serving hours with early bird and late meal specials for coach passengers, etc.

There is no way to tell whether any portion of any services provided make a profit without knowing the cost of the service itself and the total intake of the service.

Then there is the loss leader concept. Do I include items that cost money but that do not make a profit to increase the primary business to reduce loss or increase profits? AGR is an example. It makes no money itself but if it encourages loyalty and more travel, then it is worth having it as a loss leader.

Amtrak has made repeated attempts to reduce sales by denying coach passengers access to the diner even for less than full routes or diner occupancy (e.g. breakfasts, first and last meal of many trips) in the recent past, eliminated "specials" to encourage coach passengers to eat in the diner or for takeout to their seat), etc. Amtrak gives away opportunities to make money because their only aim is to reduce cost, not reduce loss or make a profit.

So what is gained by discussing the topic other than more "Let's see how many postings we can make and how far afield we can go from the topic's purpose" discussions until it degrades into another discussion of flex meals or how airline A compares to Airline B on their quality?

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Waste of time discussion because none of the real facts are known (or have not been revealed here):

(This all refers to traditional service before the introduction of any flex dining)

Did Amtrak fund the meals at their full retail price i.e. do they assign $25 of the fare to the diner for a meal listed as $25?

If not the above, did they fund the meals at full price minus the profit they made from a coach passenger for the meal i.e. for the cost of food, the operational cost of the car (cost of the train /# of cars), the cost of the servers and chef?

If not the above, what did they fund the meal service at?

How much lost opportunity occurred because Amtrak ran out of food when they could have fed more coach passengers? They do it all the time on cafe food. That's the stupidest mistake of all - not making money from customers because you ran out of product!

Does Amtrak even know those numbers?

The only "fact" I have heard is that Amtrak only funds meals actually eaten so the funding passengers who skip a meal does not go to the diner's benefit. Should that be the case or should the diner be credited with so much per passenger or so much for each passenger meal whether provided or not? Arguments for both sides but makes a big difference to the diner's "profitability".

Would the diners be better managed if there was an executive assigned to try and make more money so as to come up with some creative ideas? That would include having more flexibility on each route, possibly eliminating central buying in favor of local, having longer serving hours with early bird and late meal specials for coach passengers, etc.

There is no way to tell whether any portion of any services provided make a profit without knowing the cost of the service itself and the total intake of the service.

Then there is the loss leader concept. Do I include items that cost money but that do not make a profit to increase the primary business to reduce loss or increase profits? AGR is an example. It makes no money itself but if it encourages loyalty and more travel, then it is worth having it as a loss leader.

Amtrak has made repeated attempts to reduce sales by denying coach passengers access to the diner even for less than full routes or diner occupancy (e.g. breakfasts, first and last meal of many trips) in the recent past, eliminated "specials" to encourage coach passengers to eat in the diner or for takeout to their seat), etc. Amtrak gives away opportunities to make money because their only aim is to reduce cost, not reduce loss or make a profit.

So what is gained by discussing the topic other than more "Let's see how many postings we can make and how far afield we can go from the topic's purpose" discussions until it degrades into another discussion of flex meals or how airline A compares to Airline B on their quality?

Not sure why you posted an angry emoji on my post about keeping a chef?

But I do agree there are too many unowns.

“How would you run a profitable dining car?”

Well what route? Am I getting a set amount of money from the sleeping car tickets sold? Can I plan on sleeping car and coach attendants to actually deliver to-go meals for me? Do I have to use Amtrak’s existing contracts with multiple middle men or can I create my own supply chain?

 

[Dakota 400]

In this history of passenger rail the dining car was not there to make money but to accommodate the passengers and entice them to choose one route over another. Today there is no competition for LD passenger rail but if there is any plan to boost LD ridership; Amtrak needs to consider that a key selling point is providing fresh food and some amenities for the sleeper passengers.

You are correct. If one recalls the ads for the Super Chief, UP's City of...trains, the 20th Century Limited, the Broadway Limited, etc., there was some emphasis on the amenities, the service, the dining available on those trains.

Lots of good ideas and discussion on this thread. There is no one "right" or "wrong" answer to the dining car problem.

Amtrak's marketing and routes need to make people want to choose Amtrak over other modes of transportation.

 

[me_little_me]

Not sure why you posted an angry emoji on my post about keeping a chef?

But I do agree there are too many unowns.

“How would you run a profitable dining car?”

Well what route? Am I getting a set amount of money from the sleeping car tickets sold? Can I plan on sleeping car and coach attendants to actually deliver to-go meals for me? Do I have to use Amtrak’s existing contracts with multiple middle men or can I create my own supply chain?

I answered you in a PM. Questioning an emoji belongs there IMHO.

 

[jis]

You are correct. If one recalls the ads for the Super Chief, UP's City of...trains, the 20th Century Limited, the Broadway Limited, etc., there was some emphasis on the amenities, the service, the dining available on those trains.

AFAIR none of the food service was complementary though. Most likely the operating company decided that they will provide food service (possibly as a competitive imperative) and contracted with some outfit to do the provisioning etc. and then set a price list to collect part of the cost from the actual consumer and possibly ate some cost as part of the cost of operation of the train presumably covered from general ticket revenues.

 

[Dakota 400]

AFAIR none of the food service was complementary though

The passengers paid for each meal. In my limited experience during that era, there was nothing complimentary that was provided by the dining car or the lounge car. It's fun to read menus and lounge car offerings just to see what was being served and was available.

contracted with some outfit to do the provisioning etc.

The timetables I remember reading that had a list of corporate offices and such information always had a Dining Car Department. What were the total responsibilities of that Department and its Supervisor? I don't know. (Maybe another poster will have some information about this.) With a railroad the size of PRR, Santa Fe, UP, C & NW, etc. and the number of passenger trains they operated, I question whether their dining service was contracted to another firm.

 

[jis]

The timetables I remember reading that had a list of corporate offices and such information always had a Dining Car Department. What were the total responsibilities of that Department and its Supervisor? I don't know. (Maybe another poster will have some information about this.) With a railroad the size of PRR, Santa Fe, UP, C & NW, etc. and the number of passenger trains they operated, I question whether their dining service was contracted to another firm.

I was actually thinking of the SantaFe situation and the tight relationship between Santa Fe with Harvey House for provisioning food service. I wonder if other railroads also used either subsidiaries or external outfits to provide some or all part s of the service.

 

[jloewen]

I would start by encouraging more people to dine and upselling them on drinks, desserts, etc.

Encouraging sleeping car attendants to provide room service opens up more tables in the diner so that’s a win.

There should also be an option for coach passengers to order food from the diner to be eaten at their seat or in the lounge car.

Yes, each of the above steps seem rather obvious. Add one more: require train crews (on ALL trains, not just overnight ones) to confine themselves to occupying no more than 4 seats in the cafe and dining cars, total, thus freeing up more seats for eating customers.

 

[zephyr17]

Yes, you will "hear" that a lot in the foamer world. You'll also hear conspiracies about how Amtrak is cooking the books and wilfully violating accounting laws as part of a plot to kill LD trains.

Many people are saying it . . .

It has a solid grounding in truth, backed up by some solid research. While the more fanciful interpretations may be a conspiracy theory, and I doubt most long distance trains would be profitable even on a corrected fully allocated cost basis, its foundation is solid. And many trains likely do at least break even on an above-the-rail, directly attributable accounting basis if you could only get the numbers. BTW, according to Fred Frailey in "Twilight of the Great Trains", even SP used the above-the-rail accounting in deciding which trains to target for discontinuation, although they used fully allocated costs in their presentation to regulatory bodies, to make the trains financial performance look worse.

The RPA released a report in October 2018 about Amtrak's misallocation of internal costs. A sample:

"Here are examples that illustrate how fully allocated costing and APT’s imprecise methodology produce information that is, at best, misleading and, at worst, patently false.
APT ERRORS
• APT charged the Miami terminal with costs for snow removal incurred elsewhere on the Amtrak system. Once the managers in Miami identified this obvious error, the Finance Department stopped the allocation.lii While such an error is easy to identify, other less obvious errors can go unnoticed. Consider the cost for snow removal at Buffalo NY, which experiences frequent, heavy snowfalls, versus the cost at Atlanta GA or Charlotte NC, which experience only occasional, light snowfalls. Does APT assign the actual cost of snow removal at each station or sum the cost for the entire system then trickle them back down to stations using a single rule, which will produce cost information as equally erroneous as that for Miami?
• APT produced cost allocations for FY 2017 that are clearly wrong. For example, it allocated:
o Over $67,000 of Maintenance of Way (M/W) costs for the Michigan Line to two long distance routes (Lake Shore and Capitol Limited) that do not use it;
o Nearly $300,000 in costs for High Speed Maintenance of Equipment to routes other than Acela;
o Over $430,000 in Yard & Equipment Moves in New York and Chicago to routes that do not reach either city.
o Nearly $600,000 of Western Division M/W to routes in the East and Midwest;
o Over $3,000,000 of Electric Traction Maintenance of Way (wires, sub stations, etc.) costs to routes that do not operate on electrified NEC infrastructure, including a half million in false costs to the long-distance system.
o Over $10.7 million in track maintenance costs to State Supported and Long Distance routes but less than $90 thousand to the entire NEC.
• Frequency of Train Trips is the statistic that APT uses to allocate many costs. When this statistic is incorrect, the result is wrong. In FY 2017, this statistic was twice the actual for the Empire Builder and the Lake Shore Limited. The likely cause of the error was mistakenly treating the Portland section of the Builder and Boston section of the Lake Shore as separate trains. The known consequence was incorrectly overstating all costs allocated to these two routes on the basis of train frequency by a factor of two."

You can get the entire report here, although I do not know if it is available to non-RPA members (I hope it is, though):
https://www.railpassengers.org/site/assets/files/5819/amtraks_route_accounting_-_fatally_flawed.pdf

 

[Tlcooper44]

It has a solid grounding in truth, backed up by some solid research. While the more fanciful interpretations may be a conspiracy theory, and I doubt most long distance trains would be profitable even on a corrected fully allocated cost basis, its foundation is solid. And many trains likely do at least break even on an above-the-rail, directly attributable accounting basis if you only get the numbers. BTW, according to Fred Frailey in "Twilight of the Great Trains", even SP used the above-the-rail accounting in deciding which trains to target for discontinuation, although they use fully allocated costs in their presentation to regulatory bodies, to make the trains financial performance look worse.

The RPA released a report in October 2018 about Amtrak's misallocation of internal costs. A sample:

"Here are examples that illustrate how fully allocated costing and APT’s imprecise methodology produce information that is, at best, misleading and, at worst, patently false.
APT ERRORS
• APT charged the Miami terminal with costs for snow removal incurred elsewhere on the Amtrak system. Once the managers in Miami identified this obvious error, the Finance Department stopped the allocation.lii While such an error is easy to identify, other less obvious errors can go unnoticed. Consider the cost for snow removal at Buffalo NY, which experiences frequent, heavy snowfalls, versus the cost at Atlanta GA or Charlotte NC, which experience only occasional, light snowfalls. Does APT assign the actual cost of snow removal at each station or sum the cost for the entire system then trickle them back down to stations using a single rule, which will produce cost information as equally erroneous as that for Miami?
• APT produced cost allocations for FY 2017 that are clearly wrong. For example, it allocated:
o Over $67,000 of Maintenance of Way (M/W) costs for the Michigan Line to two long distance routes (Lake Shore and Capitol Limited) that do not use it;
o Nearly $300,000 in costs for High Speed Maintenance of Equipment to routes other than Acela;
o Over $430,000 in Yard & Equipment Moves in New York and Chicago to routes that do not reach either city.
o Nearly $600,000 of Western Division M/W to routes in the East and Midwest;
o Over $3,000,000 of Electric Traction Maintenance of Way (wires, sub stations, etc.) costs to routes that do not operate on electrified NEC infrastructure, including a half million in false costs to the long-distance system.
o Over $10.7 million in track maintenance costs to State Supported and Long Distance routes but less than $90 thousand to the entire NEC.
• Frequency of Train Trips is the statistic that APT uses to allocate many costs. When this statistic is incorrect, the result is wrong. In FY 2017, this statistic was twice the actual for the Empire Builder and the Lake Shore Limited. The likely cause of the error was mistakenly treating the Portland section of the Builder and Boston section of the Lake Shore as separate trains. The known consequence was incorrectly overstating all costs allocated to these two routes on the basis of train frequency by a factor of two."

You can get the entire report here, although I do not know if it is available to non-RPA members (I hope it is, though):
https://www.railpassengers.org/site/assets/files/5819/amtraks_route_accounting_-_fatally_flawed.pdf

While I couldn't remember this report at the time (a few hours ago) this is where I read something that concluded what you just so eloquently laid out, this is what I was referring to.

Those who make these NEC/LD routes claims may be right or wrong, but our thoughts should not be dismissed as "spouting off ignorant misconceptions."

 

[zephyr17]

One thing to remember is dining cars pretty much always operated at a loss. The splendid dining on trains such as the Super Chief or the 20th Century Limited was intended as a marketing differentiator targeted at business travelers in days when passenger tariffs were tightly regulated by the ICC and the railroads could not compete on price.

I do not expect, or even want those days to return. If they tried it, it would be targeted as a frivolous waste of taxpayer dollars, much as Mica's laser focus on free wine killed the wine tastings on the Starlight and Builder. What is reasonable to expect reasonable food service on par with a casual dining restaurant, such as Denny's or Applebee's.

 

[jruff001]

The RPA released a report in October 2018 about Amtrak's misallocation of internal costs. A sample:

Yes I am familiar with the RPA (and its lack of credibility, in my book), and the report (and its flaws, which I will not rehash here; it has been extensively discussed elsewhere). They are part of the foamer world and its conspiracy theories I was referring to.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

Yes I am familiar with the RPA (and its lack of credibility, in my book), and the report (and its flaws, which I will not rehash here; it has been extensively discussed elsewhere). They are part of the foamer world and its conspiracy theories I was referring to.

So rather than have a discussion just call the other side names. Very mature of you

 

[jruff001]

So rather than have a discussion just call the other side names. Very mature of you

Who did I call what name?

Unless you mean foamer - if so, I apologize; I wasn't trying to insult with that. I consider myself a bit of a foamer too. I mean, after all, I am on here.

I just don't buy the conspiracy theories, plus I have real world experience working for a railroad (and for other transportation companies), so I know there is often a logical explanation for Why Things Are The Way They Are that a lot of, um, "railfans" just aren't aware of, and that actually operating a railroad is way more complicated than a lot of people think.

 

[zephyr17]

The RPA is a respected lobbying organization and generally fairly effective. Their professional staff does not consist of a rabid bunch of "foamers" (although their membership likely includes some). Their credibility on the Hill would not last long if they cited patent falsehoods and they guard their credibility pretty well.

Cite something that analyzes the flaws in the report if you yourself wish to remain credible.