This Week at Amtrak; May 18, 2007
A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203
Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA
Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail
[email protected]
http://www.unitedrail.org
Volume 4, Number 21
Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,
URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and
plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in
Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,
California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For
more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and
other documents, visit the URPA web site at
http://www.unitedrail.org.
URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from
any outside sources.
1) The dog continues to eat Amtrak's homework. Mayor Robert F. Apgar,
Mayor of the City of DeLand, Florida, has written two letters to Amtrak
in favor of restoring the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans. DeLand, a
far suburb of Orlando, and the Amtrak stop closest to Daytona Beach, is
an active Amtrak stop. It is also served by the Silver Meteor and Silver
Star, which operate between New York City and Florida.
The letter was written to Mayor Apgar on May 9, 2007, and is reproduced
here in its entirety.
[begin quote]
Dear Mayor Apgar:
Thank you for your letter to Mr. Kummant of May 1 regarding your concerns
about passenger rail service between New Orleans and Florida. I am
answering on Mr. Kummant's behalf.
Prior to Hurricane Katrina, Amtrak operated a three-day-a-week Sunset
Limited service between New Orleans and Orlando. Service east of New
Orleans was notoriously unreliable, made stops along the Mississippi and
Alabama Gulf Coast at night (when on time), and was among our slowest
services. Its schedule called for 21 hours to go from New Orleans to
Orlando, compared to 11 hours by highway. Amtrak spent an unacceptably
high $378,000.00 on passenger inconvenience costs for disruptions east of
New Orleans in Fiscal 2005 due to the unreliability of the Sunset
Limited. Not surprisingly, ridership on the Sunset Limited east of New
Orleans was declining in the years leading up to Hurricane Katrina, with
minimal boardings at many of the intermediate stops.
Amtrak is continuing its efforts, in consultation with governmental and
other stakeholders, to identify a viable service that will meet the Gulf
Coast Region's transportation needs and the funding required for
implementation. The numerous options considered include restoration of
the Sunset Limited or modified overnight service along the entire route,
and short-distance services between various endpoints. We have not
established a timetable for a decision. Because several stations on the
route still have storm damage, capital investments will be needed before
any passenger service can be restored.
DeLand continues to be served by two Amtrak trains a day in each
direction, the Silver Meteor and the Silver Star between New York and
Miami. Where ridership on the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans has
declined in the past few years, ridership on the remaining two trains has
increased during the same period.
I hope this information assists you in your appraisal of the situation.
Sincerely,
Joe McHugh
Vice President
Government Affairs and Communications
[End quote]
Where to begin analyzing this fluff and poppycock? First, let's focus on
the positive. Mr. McHugh said "Amtrak is continuing its efforts, in
consultation with governmental and other stakeholders, to identify a
viable service that will meet the Gulf Coast Region's transportation
needs and the funding required for implementation. The numerous options
considered include restoration of the Sunset Limited or modified
overnight service along the entire route, and short-distance services
between various endpoints." Good stuff. That would lead one to assume
that something is on some burner, somewhere, and this issue hasn't been
forgotten.
However, Mr. McHugh also said, "We have not established a timetable for a
decision. Because several stations on the route still have storm damage,
capital investments will be needed before any passenger service can be
restored." Okay, why hasn't a timetable been established? It's been two
years, now. What's the holdup? As far as the "storm damage to stations on
the route" argument, well, that is much less of an issue in reality. The
passenger trackside platforms are in place, which is the critical
component. Amtrak is also notorious for bringing in "Amshack" portable
buildings that serve as stations, sometimes for years, while older
buildings are rehabilitated or done away with. The process of bringing in
portable stations to good platforms takes about 15 minutes. Anything
beyond that is just featherbedding. Plus, most likely, just about any
city government along the route which wants service restored would most
likely share the costs of fixing or improving stations; Amtrak doesn't
have to go it alone for this process.
The comparison between train time and driving time is totally bogus.
There are very rare instances where the train beats the automobile in any
race. That's not the point. Train travel is a viable option for many
reasons. You do not take the train when you are in a hurry. You travel by
train either for the experience, because you are unable to travel in a
car for whatever medical or other reasons there may be, perhaps for the
convenience of intermediate stops as your destination, or because you
choose not to fly or take a bus. Mr. McHugh's comparison of train travel
time to driving time is a losing argument before the thought is even
finished.
Then, the icing on the cake is Mr. McHugh's statement inferring DeLand
should be happy because its north-south service provided by the Silver
Meteor and Silver Star is improving; never mind that passengers just may
want to travel to places other than where the Meteor or Star will take
them.
This letter to Mayor Apgar is a disgrace. Mr. McHugh is well regarded by
many as someone who is a professional in his job. Actually, the disgrace
goes beyond Mr. McHugh to all of the Amtrak senior management who haven't
figured out a way to restore the Sunset Limited or place a viable
substitute in its place. If the issue is Amtrak want's someone else to
pay for the train, well, a very dangerous precedent is being set that
could cause the company to discontinue ANY long distance train for any
reason, and hold up its resumption while waiting for states or others to
pay the piper. At least Jesse James had the courage and dignity to use a
mask and gun when he was robbing someone.
2) The following is a press release issued by the Teamsters Union on
Thursday, May 17, 2007. Keep in mind what a press release really is: It's
not a news story, but an announcement made on behalf of an organization
or company or individual trying to convince media editors to run a story
based on the information in the press release. A press release is neither
required to be fair, or completely accurate; that is the responsibility
of the news organization using the information generated in the press
release in final form in an independent news story.
[begin quote]
Teamsters Rally for Fairness at Amtrak
Workers Surround Amtrak Headquarters To Protest Working Without Contract
For 8 Years
WASHINGTON, May 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hundreds of Amtrak workers
rallied today at Amtrak's headquarters at Union Station, expressing
frustration about working without a union contract for eight years with
no negotiations on the horizon.
"These are the longest and worst negotiations I have ever been through,"
said Tony Gardner, a 30-year member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of
Way Employees Division (BMWED) who works in Philadelphia. "My union
brothers and sisters know that Amtrak has been raking in profits for
years, but we aren't seeing anything."
Workers at the rally chanted, "Shut Amtrak Down," and held signs that
said, "It's the end of the line ... No Amtrak Contract ... No Amtrak
trains."
"We are the backbone of rail labor," said Mark Kenny, chairman of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen's (BLET) Amtrak
committee. "The new Democratic majority in Congress recognizes the
importance of rail labor. They've passed landmark legislation, HR 2095,
that will address numerous rail issues such as limbo time and the
elimination of dark territory. We hope they will soon address Amtrak."
In addition to the engineers, trainmen, conductors, signalmen and
dispatchers at the rally, members of the BMWED, the workers who maintain
the tracks, switches and on-site buildings for Amtrak stood along with
members of other unions in solidarity.
"I've not seen such solidarity on the Amtrak issue for many years," said
BMWED President Fred Simpson. "It's terrific to have the members of the
United Transportation Union, the Machinists and others with us today --
all united to fight for fair negotiations at Amtrak. We've got to keep
bringing this issue to the public and members of Congress."
"We have to say to our Republican colleagues, 'Get Your Hands Off
Amtrak,'" said Rep. Elijah Cummings, (D-MD). "You, the workers who keep
this railroad running, have been deprived of what you are rightfully due.
We are doing everything in our power to preserve Amtrak."
In addition to the rally, several unions announced the formation of a
bargaining coalition for Amtrak negotiations. Based on the successful
model used for the freight rail negotiations, the bargaining coalition
has signed on the BLET, BMWED, National Conference of Firemen and Oilers
and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen. The coalition is expected to
grow as other unions face an evolving situation at Amtrak.
"Bargaining as a unified group will put the Amtrak unions on the
offensive," said John Murphy, Director of the Teamsters Rail Conference
and Teamsters Vice President. "The time is ripe for a change in
negotiating tactics. We've seen how the strength of unified bargaining
won us a good agreement with the freight railroads. Now is our
opportunity to get Amtrak to the table."
The BLET and BMWED are both divisions of the Teamsters Rail Conference.
The Teamsters Union was founded in 1903 and represents 1.4 million
hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
[End quote]
Lots of normal rhetoric in the press release as expected from a union.
That's okay, because that's their opinion and the press release expresses
the points they want to get across to the media.
However, one sentence in the press release just can't be ignored: "said
Tony Gardner, a 30-year member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way
Employees Division (BMWED) who works in Philadelphia. 'My union brothers
and sisters know that Amtrak has been raking in profits for years, but we
aren't seeing anything.'"
Let's review those last few words: "Amtrak has been raking in profits for
years, but we aren't seeing anything." Really? Where? On the fabled
Northeast Corridor, where allegedly all of those Acela trains are making
so much money (see item number three, below, for more details)? Are we
seeing another myth generated for years by Amtrak Corporate
Communications coming home to haunt all of us?
URPA studies have shown the long distance trains do throw off a positive
cash flow (that means "profits" for all of you unfamiliar with the term),
but that positive cash flow is quickly scarfed up by corporate overhead
costs and NEC operating and maintenance costs. Amtrak says it needs about
$500 million a year in operating subsidies. URPA believes that figure is
a bit high, but, Amtrak, as it is operated today, is not profitable.
When finishes cleaning up its various corporate communications nightmares
left behind by recent administrations prior to the arrival of Mr. Kummant
as president and chief executive officer, then silly statements like the
one above from people who should know better will go away. Until then,
Amtrak is putting out yet another fire of its own making.
3) A lot of interesting mail comes floating over the electronic transom
here at TWA (some mail even comes the old fashioned way - with a postage
stamp delivered by a mailperson). Most of what we receive is pretty
interesting; TWA readers sharing their thoughts about a recent issue,
sharing their travel experiences, and making suggestions, many of them
innovative and rewarding. Some questions also are sent in, and we try to
answer as many as we can.
One recent set of questions came from a frequent correspondent, an Acela
conductor who is proud of his train, loyal to his company, and obviously
enjoys his job. He doesn't always agree with what we say in TWA, but he
always expresses himself positively and with honesty. Here is the
gentleman's latest missive.
[begin quote]
Dear Sir,
I believe that you manipulate the costs of Acela, vis-a-vis conventional
Amtrak maintenance costs.
You tell us that there are thousands of Amtrak employees nation-wide who
are responsible for maintaining Amtrak's conventional fleet. Then you
compare Acela's costs with only one of the facilities responsible for
overhaul and maintenance of conventional equipment. That does not
compute.
Why do you feel that you must attack the Northeast Corridor?
If it were not for the Corridor and the support that it generated for
Amtrak's survival for the last 35 years, there would be NO intercity
passenger trains at all. That is a fact. It does not matter that the
corridor was saved because so many commuter agencies also depend on it.
Long distance trains would not have survived without the Northeast
Corridor.
Play with numbers all you want; people will not ride trains unless they
offer a competitive advantage.
Acela has begun to capture market share between New York and Boston
because it is a BETTER alternative to flying or driving.
Long distance trains will begin to thrive when they offer competitive
advantages to their alternatives. They must be pleasant to ride and
reliably on time. That's it. Forget about blaming the corridor as if it
hogs precious resources. What it does is ensure a substantial political
bloc that consistently votes to fund a national rail system.
Thank you for listening.
Sincerely,
Amtrak NE Corridor Conductor on very busy and on-time Acela trains
[End quote]
URPA's Dennis Larson handles much of our research and numbers crunching.
Mr. Larson has this reply for our Acela conductor. All numbers are taken
directly from Amtrak reports.
[begin quote]
The Acela story continues to sound wonderful, but there is considerably
more buried in Amtrak's reports that may go unnoticed. Acela maintenance
is staggering. Amtrak's December forecast (issued on March 14, 2007) to
keep Acelas rolling safely for FY 2007 has gone from $52.5 million to
$57.8 million as posted in the February Report published on May 10, 2007.
Here is a notation in the February 2007 Report: "Materials were
unfavorable by $4.1 M primarily due to increased volume of wheelset
program repairs and increased repairs related to High Speed Rail."
A notation issued in the January report also published on May 10, 2007 -
"Materials were unfavorable by $4.6 M primarily due to increased volume
of wheelset program repairs and increased repairs related to High Speed
Rail."
And yet another notation from the December 2006 report issued on March
14, 2007 - "Materials were unfavorable by $2.6 M primarily due to
increased volume of wheelset program repairs and increased repairs
related to High Speed Rail."
Here is a more complete look at maintenance costs as requested by one
person. Amtrak owns three heavy maintenance facilities in Wilmington and
Bear, Delaware; plus the Beech Grove facility, in Indiana. There are
other maintenance facilities in Washington, D.C.; New York City,
Rensselaer and Niagara Falls, New York; Boston; Hialeah, Florida;
Chicago; New Orleans; Los Angeles; Oakland, California; and Seattle.
Amtrak's expense forecast for the Beech Groove (Indiana) facility is
$4,180,000 for FY 2007. This is the premier Superliner heavy repair
facility. Also included is equipment from the Pacific Surfliner trains,
locomotives, baggage, Horizon, and Heritage lounge car overhauls totaling
205 units; 163 of these are cars, the rest are power units.
The Bear, Delaware facility is currently servicing mostly Amfleet
equipment totaling 138 units. Amtrak shows a profit forecast of $10.9
million at Bear, obviously they are doing work that is contracted in from
outside sources. The same could be happening at Beech Groove, but
currently there isn't any information provided on either operation
regarding additional outside work.
Wilmington's heavy repair shops work on primarily AEM-7 locomotives and
diesel locomotive quarterlies and annuals (inspections and "tune-ups" and
overhauls). Amtrak reports 150 units planned for completion in FY 2007.
Forecasted costs for this fiscal year are reported by Amtrak at $27.4
million.
The High Speed facility shows two Acela interior upgrades only, planned
for the year, no mention about wheels, brakes or suspension parts. Total
forecasted costs are as mentioned previously, $57.8 million, which
remains Amtrak's highest maintenance costs of all parts of the company
and all types of equipment for just 20 Acela trainsets totaling six cars
and two power units, each.
The total bill for Amtrak's mechanical department is steep enough
nationwide, which includes Acela maintenance. A total of $322.4 million
will be spent on parts/labor and $99.2 million for non-labor mechanical
department expenses.
[End quote]
4) On the same subject, another missive arrived, unsolicited from a
former employee of Amtrak's planning department. Dharm Guruswamy is a
frequent TWA critic and writes to TWA often expressing his displeasure
with our presentation. This is one of the tamer and less dramatic
messages from Mr. Guruswamy that is suitable for publication in polite
society. When trying to make his case while he was still with Amtrak, Mr.
Guruswamy would often forward internal Amtrak planning documents he
thought would provide a basis for his argument.
[begin quote]
You are such an idiot. Acela revenues are up as is equipment availability
(a 16th train set was made available and the plan is to go to 17 or 18)
and the additional money is well worth it because Acela's are essentially
minting money for the company. In March Acela generated almost 20% of the
company's ticket revenues. To put that in perspective that is more than
all the long distance trains COMBINED. If you exclude the Regional
service it is more than all the other corridors COMBINED.
Congress has less of a problem with allocating capital than it does
operating, so Acela is essentially cross subsidizing your beloved long
distance trains.
[End quote]
Well. It's tough to argue with something that is "essentially minting
money for the company," but URPA's group took a stab at answering Mr.
Guruswamy. Here are the replies, mostly in their original form.
[begin quote]
I guess those rolling money machines must have free use of somebody
else's infrastructure. And, places like 30th Street Station come free,
too.
[And ...]
Alas, this argument never seems to pan out in the real world. Let's
suspend disbelief for a minute and consider this. IF the Acelas are
making money hand-over-fist, why in the name of Beelzebub's bloomers
isn't Amtrak investing all this excess cash into the NEC and getting it
off the federal dole? What could possibly be a better sign of rampant
"success" than covering ALL the costs, not just above the rail. Heck,
even those ... long distance trains do that before they get socked with
system costs. You know IF true, then Amtrak's got all the cash sloshing
around. We know for sure that it's NOT going to keep Beech Grove humming
on three shifts rebuilding Superliners.
Amtrak could slough off this cash to keep the NEC in a state of good
repair and any additional federal capital monies could flow toward
building these "successful" electrified corridors connecting every burg
over one million in population. AND, in the bargain, all those
fuddy-duddy naysaying interlopers like me would have been flat out wrong
about the Acela. What's not to love here, IF what Dharm says is true?
[And ...]
If, as they assert Wondertrain Acela is pulling in cash like a beer bar
on Friday night, then why are they all so desperately afraid to cut it
free of the Golden Trough? Those two points couldn't be more
diametrically inconsistent: Acela is a huge success, and generates X% of
the revenue, but, oh, by the way, it also needs three quarters of a
billion dollars a year of subsidy, without which the whole system
collapses, but those two points aren't related.
Dharm can't have it both ways - if Acela is what he says it is, then we
can legislate as follows, and he will have to agree to support it:
"Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds
appropriated to any purpose after January 1, 2008 shall be spent directly
or indirectly in support of high speed passenger rail service in the
Northeast Corridor. To the extent that any high speed rail passenger
service benefits directly or indirectly from federal funds expended after
January 1, 2008 in any manner or for any purpose on railroad
infrastructure, including track, structures, signals and communication,
reservations, insurance, stations, security, equipment maintenance, power
generation and cost of capital, or planning or research for any of the
foregoing, the operator of the service shall reimburse the Treasury no
less than often than weekly a portion of the federal expenditure on any
such applications equal to the allocation from such expenditures to the
high speed service determined by the Speed Factored Gross Ton Miles
formula approved by the Secretary of the Treasury with the advice, but
not the consent, of the Secretary of Transportation."
[And ...]
And, IF it's a huge success, why in blazes aren't they doing more of it?
A company with any business aptitude whatsoever that hits on a successful
way of making money doesn't just sit on the idea. Let's say Orville
Redenbacher test-markets green maple-syrup flavored popcorn in Columbus,
Ohio, and it's a runaway success. Do they say, "nah, forget it, let's not
sell this nationwide"? No, they ramp up production.
Amtrak, on the one hand say's the Acela is a stunning "success" and yet,
paradoxically, it shut down all its HSR development projects, during the
reign of David Gunn. In this case, actions speak way louder than words.
Why are we settling for these pokey diesel-powered snail darters in the
Midwest and even slower snail-darters in California? Surely, if 125-135
mph Acela is throwing off boatloads of cash some savvy investors will
give them untold billions to build these things everywhere and rake in
the proceeds? Right? Yet, Amtrak can't even convince a gullible Congress,
which seems to believe just about anything the company puts out, to give
them the money. A puzzlement ...
[End quote]
Here at TWA we always look forward to hearing from our Acela conductor
friend as he asks honest questions in a straight forward manner. We
appreciate his loyalty to his company, and his belief in what he does for
a living. Amtrak needs more employees like him.
5) More mail; John Pawson of the Northeast writes this to TWA.
[begin quote]
As my letter in June, 2007 Trains [magazine] indicates, I think Amtrak
needs to reinvent its long-distance passenger services and network if it
is to survive. The first immediate step would be to look around and see
where the existing services could be reorganized to better effect. Here
is one example involving train service from our region, specifically the
New York-Philadelphia-Atlanta-New Orleans Crescent. Currently, to travel
beyond New Orleans, it is necessary to stay overnight there to connect to
the Sunset Limited on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday at 11:55 A.M.
The Crescent links the nation's first (New York) and fifth (our region)
most populous metro areas with New Orleans but could be extended to the
sixth-largest, Houston, quite readily by displacing the present Sunset
Limited between New Orleans, Houston, and that train's merge point with
the Texas Eagle, at San Antonio.
At present, Amtrak sells a trip from Philadelphia to Houston (less than
1,600 road miles) on a round-about routing with three transfers en route,
at Pittsburgh, Chicago, and (to a bus) at Longview, Texas. This takes
about two full days. A more direct route extending the Crescent to
replace the Sunset in the New Orleans-Houston-San Antonio segment would
require no costly addition of route miles or train miles. It would
require only a suitable redeployment of Amtrak's single-level and
Superliner rolling stock. Such a change would eliminate the need to
change vehicles en route and would save about ten hours travel time.
Surely a low-cost, high-revenue, passenger-pleasing change.
It's puzzling why this and other barriers to continuous travel have
existed in the Amtrak system for so many years. Is anyone interested in
pressing Amtrak to do this kind of restructuring?
[End quote]
Mr. Pawson makes a point that many others do; why does the Crescent
terminate in New Orleans, and not further west? One reason, of course, is
"we've always done it that way," even though some through cars years ago
were handled to the west before Superliners.
Perhaps the most viable reason is the Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF
line between New Orleans and Houston. Invariably, one of the biggest
choke points for the Sunset Limited is between New Orleans and Houston,
specifically along the oil refinery and chemical plant corridor in
western Louisiana and eastern Texas. This is a very congested piece of
railroad; extending the Crescent beyond the usually dependable Norfolk
Southern onto the BNSF and UP to Houston probably would required a three
to five hour layover in New Orleans on the eastward trip to allow for
make-up time to keep the rest of the route east of New Orleans operating
on any type of dependable schedule. That doesn't mean there aren't other
options, if just means at this moment in time this is not the best option
available. The thought, however, is good.
6) And, this from the California, from a regular TWA reader and a regular
Pacific Surfliner rider.
[begin quote]
Thanks as always for your meaningful insight.
Would someone please tell most of the conductors on the Pacific
Surfliners it is okay to be pleasant and respectful to passengers? A few
are; but most act as though those of us who use the service, really are a
great bother. So, get a job on a freight ...
Why can airlines always have employees - especially cabin and cockpit
crew, in clean, well fitting, attractive uniforms - and Amtrak cannot.
Again, maybe a generalization, but what a difference it would make ...
and what about SMILES ...
Frequent trips up and down the coast on the Surfliners are on one hand a
joy - and on the other, brings a great sadness because of what it could
be with GOOD, I won't even say EXCELLENT, customer service. At least
generally there is an attendant in Business Class - however, my question
is - where the heck do they hide most of the trip?
But, it is a joy to whiz past cars on I-5 most days. Oh, and one last
complaint - why can airports around the world keep their restrooms not
just generally clean, but more often than not, spotless - and in the
beautiful Los Angeles Union Station, they stink, they're filthy, and
graffiti ridden ... and of the two, one is closed nearly all the time ...
Thanks for your ear. And, thanks for This Week at Amtrak
[End quote]
And, thanks for reading and thanks for writing to us, too.
7) This came from Christopher Parker of Vermont.
[begin quote]
I liked your re-work of the Florida service in the latest TWA. I hope
somebody is listening.
Anyway I have a couple thoughts of my own to contribute to the scenario:
- For Montreal service, I suggest extending the Palmetto to Montreal
instead, as it could then roughly follow the schedule of the old
Montrealer - but using only one additional trainset. This would give the
Montreal service the benefit of the Vermont ski trade, which is
considerable, business to Burlington and Vermont-Florida business.
Population along the Adirondack route is pretty sparse north of Albany.
At the south end, an overnight Miami section could be added over FEC,
making a nice two nights and one day service from Montreal.
- Looking at the number of trainset required brings up the issue of late
trains. If the trains ran more reliably, the service could be run with
less trainsets (the Silver Meteor could make a same day turn at New York,
the Silver Star split into Miami and Tampa sections could make a same day
turn in Florida, the Silver Palm and Silver Meteor trainsets could make a
same day swap in Florida. The Auto-Train could run with only two
trainsets. But, that's only possible if the trains were mostly on-time).
I believe that it is worth Amtrak's while to increase freight railroad
compensation (Say 3 times the current figure, the same rate that the
Capital Corridor pays UP to keep it's trains successfully running on
time. Track charges are not currently a large expense in the scheme of
things.) if that would bring results (the contract should be structured
so that increased payments would only be made for on-time trains). I
believe that increased payments would be more than made up for by the
increased business from satisfied customers, the lower crew expenses
brought by covering for unpredictable late trains, and especially by the
huge productivity increases of the fleet. Some speeding up of time in the
shop would also be part of this equation.
- Increasing the productivity of the fleet would help, and so would
rebuilding some Amfleet I to augment to long-distance coach fleet, but
really, I think and new car order for eastern trains is needed. Rather
than more Viewliners, I would suggest using the shell of the Bombardier
stainless steel double-deck cars they are now building for NJ
Transit.This has some limitations - because the cars must fit into the
Hudson
tunnel the interior of a double deck coach lacks room for overhead bins.
However, there are plenty of Amfleet II cars around still useable so I'd
suggest ordering the following:
19 Luxury sleeper/first class lounge (bedrooms without bunks don't need
tall ceilings) [enough to equip the Lake Shore, Crescent, Silver Star,
Silver Meteor]
52 Sleeper/Baggage (short baggage area under superliner height sleepers -
and the sleeping car attendant can help unload the baggage, saving an
Assistant Conductor) [enough for the following runs: CHI-DET-NY; Lake
Shore including BOS; Cardinal; Twilight Shoreliner; Palmetto
MON-NY-JACK-MIA; 2 on Crescent (with extensions to Ft. Worth and San
Antonio); 2 on Silver Star/Meteor (1 each for TPA/MIA)
19 Sleeper/Dormitory
19 First Class Restaurant Dinning Cars
52 Grill dining car and lounge
19 Family car with kids play area and lounge - a mix of sleepers,
slumbercoach, couchette space
106 Slumbercoach/couchette - enough to convert 50% of standard class
travel on Lake Shore, Crescent, Silver Star/Meteor, Twilight Shoreliner
Total is 215 cars (give or take). Can that be funded with equipment
trusts and leases?
[End quote]
8) This from a gentleman in the Chicago area.
[begin quote]
... I don't understand how with some slight schedule and route changes,
Amtrak couldn't but help increase revenues and ridership. What are they
thinking?
My improvement suggestions (as you have shown with Florida) concerns the
City of New Orleans. My suggestion is to run the train down the
Chicago-St Louis line, and then from St Louis to Carbondale (actually Du
Quoin - on the IC/CN) on it's way to Memphis and New Orleans. Just think
about the ridership/revenue increase from those in St. Louis. THEN tie
the current Illini/Saluki at Carbondale, and the St. Louis/Kansas City to
the picture and you can't but help increase revenues and ridership.
(Also, a new "corridor" opens between St. Louis and Carbondale with the
state university.)
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out!
[End quote]
9) From a former Amtrak manager, now in the real world working with
another company.
[begin quote]
Like the numbers in this week's digest.
My own abstract contrarian view to east coast Florida service is the cuts
are at the wrong end, vis., cut all the Florida trains at Washington, DC
and let the passengers have a choice.
However, this may be too simple.
[End quote]
10) And, finally, a message from a gentleman in Staunton, Virginia.
[begin quote]
Sharp thoughts on the Cardinal, which rattles through Staunton, Virginia
a couple blocks from my office its dreadful 3 times a week. In response
to a recent bad trip back from NYC a letter to [Mr.] Kummant resulted in
a call from his secretary and a big refund and, who knows?, a little
action: the sleeper has now been restored to the rear of the train where
it belongs. "Diner" still disastrous. I advise friends riding to pack a
lunch.
Alternative to your thoughts: make it daily for sure, but run it
basically the way the way the C&O used to: two feeders from DC and from
Norfolk/Newport News, hook up in Charlottesville and then run the thing
fast and proper to Chicago, in time to connect with all the
transcontinentals. (The old western sections off to Louisville and
Detroit are probably too much for Amtrak to handle.) Norfolk/Newport News
is a huge and growing market with no hub airport and dumpy trains now
only up the "corridor." Once again, the facilities are all there... Could
also put back the hi-level equipment, which is are a huge plus to
deprived eastern passengers, and, well why not, re-christen it the
"George Washington"!
Best regards,
Tim Jacobson
[End quote]
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