[MrFSS]

Used with the permission of the author.

Quote

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 info@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 3, Number 34

Founded three decades ago in 1976 by 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, New York, and Tennessee. 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) Whither the Sunset Limited, still? As noted last week, the Sunset Limited is still not operating east of New Orleans, with no announcement in sight as to when it will resume operation. The only solid information available is through a letter sent to an Amtrak union official which said the Sunset is not slated for discontinuance. That's tough to imagine, especially since it has been a full year now since the train operated east of New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina.

A lot of city, town, and state money went into extending the Sunset from New Orleans to Florida in 1993, including $7.5 million from the State of Florida for track upgrades, the addition of track sidings, and 80% assistance to local governments for station rehabilitations or new stations constructed.
Public money in Mississippi and Alabama also went to similar purposes. No public money has ever been used for operating subsidies.

Amtrak, as witnessed by Tempe, Arizona; Ocala, Florida; and Tampa, Florida has a bad habit of gratefully receiving new or renovated station and infrastructure facilities from local governments and then either discontinuing, rerouting, or drastically reducing train service. It must be tough to look local officials in the face and say, "if you build it, we will come" when Amtrak has such an abysmal record to cutting and running.

2) A rumor was floating around this week that Amtrak had abolished the Lead Service Attendant job in the Pacific Parlour first class lounge car on the Coast Starlight, which has been the subject of so much contention over horribly late trains. The rumor also said that the equipment would be taken
off the train and sold.

Turns out part of the rumor was true, but this time, Amtrak did the right thing. The Los Angeles Crew Base is having difficulty finding enough LSAs to staff the car, so the LSA job was abolished, but replaced by a Service Attendant job. The only change passengers will see is that an SA cannot make
a sale of an alcoholic drink or other item (only LSAs can handle money). But, the Pacific Parlous car will still run, and still be staffed. It's better to keep such an icon and good passenger service car running, even without the revenue from the alcohol sales, than not running at all.

3) The Amtrak on-time performance problems with Union Pacific Railroad have become almost legendary. Many reasonable people have wondered why Amtrak has not taken some action to force UP to live up to its contractual commitments. Amtrak has finally done that. Here is a letter that has been released from Amtrak to Union Pacific.

August 4, 2006

Mr. Dennis Duffy
Executive Vice President, Operations
Union Pacific Railroad Company

Dear Mr. Duffy:

I am writing to seek your immediate assistance in correcting the chronic unacceptable performance of Amtrak trains operating on the Union Pacific Railroad, particularly Amtrak's long-distance trains.

It's sobering to look at how bad long-distance Amtrak train performance on UP has become. In July, 97% of the 211 long-distance trains operated primarily on UP arrived late (see Attachment 1). Even more amazing is the degree of lateness: 84% of long-distance trains arrived more than 2 hours late, 74% more than 3 hours late, and 66% more than 4 hours late.

To further put this into perspective, over 67,000 Amtrak passengers traveled on UP long-distance trains that were over 4 hours late ... in the month of July alone! The resulting damage to Amtrak's brand, reputation, and repeat business is immense.

The vast majority of delays are from causes attributable to UP - nearly 90% of all delays incurred by Amtrak trains operating on UP in July. As high as these UP-responsible delays are, they continue to increase (see Attachment

Amtrak has tried to work with UP to improve this situation. Our cooperation has ranged from adding over three hours of scheduled recovery time and changing the scheduled slot of the Sunset Limited, to repeatedly rerouting the California Zephyr away from the ridership-producing Rocky Mountain scenery for weeks at a time each summer to assist with UP trackwork, to modifying the schedule of the Coast Starlight last month on extremely short notice to support UP trackwork in Oregon.

In return, overall long distance train performance has continued to worsen. UP's encroachment on Amtrak's contractual and statutory rights reached a point this Spring where Amtrak had to initiate a contract arbitration over our right to operate, in which Amtrak prevailed by a unanimous 3-0 vote of
the arbitrators.

A primary root cause of this unacceptable performance is UP's chronic violation of the slow order limits in our UP-Amtrak operating agreement. Each of the four Amtrak long distance routes operating on UP is in violation of these clear contractual obligations.

UP is making investments in some of these slow order areas, and Amtrak appreciates that step in the right direction. However, these investments cover only a portion of the route-miles where slow orders exceed contractual limits, and have not been enough to bring slow orders into compliance with the operating agreement.

Clearly, we cannot continue like this. Tom Schmidt has requested a meeting with Joe Santamaria. I trust that Mr. Santamaria will be prepared to discuss with Tom a program for immediate corrective action, to be taken while simultaneously working to correct the chronic slow order contractual
violations on all Amtrak routes where they exist.

The responsibility for operating Amtrak trains with minimal delay over UP rail lines is clear in both federal law and in UP's operating agreement with Amtrak. The magnitude of Amtrak's performance problems on UP has begun to attract significant public attention. If our two companies cannot improve
Amtrak performance on UP, it is an invitation for government to solve our performance problems for us, an outcome neither of us wants to see happen.

Sincerely,

William L. Crosbie
Sr. Vice President, Operations/Amtrak

4) Also noted last week, Amtrak has renamed its weekly employee advisory publication to the clever name "Amtrak This Week." For those of us who write for a living, the improvement in quality to the "other, new kid on the block" This Week is both noticeable and appreciated. The tone has changed for the better, from one of "let me convince you what's right for you" to one of straight news reporting, where readers can decide for themselves what is right and wrong.

Here is a timely Amtrak This Week report on Amtrak host railroad on-time
performance.

August 14, 2006

Top Story: Update on Host Railroad OTP Discussions

Two weeks ago, Amtrak reported on its efforts to improve the on-time performance of its trains over CSXT territory between Florida and Washington D.C., just one component of its approach to improving unacceptable OTP over many freight routes.

Since acting President and CEO David Hughes met with CSXT Chief Operating Officer Tony Ingram in July, preliminary numbers point to small, but potentially encouraging OTP improvements. During the 30-day period before the meeting, none of the trains operated on time; for the period following the
meeting through yesterday, OTP for the Auto Train was 20%, Silver Meteor 9% and Silver Star 2%. While far from acceptable, the progress is viewed by Amtrak as a step in the right direction.

The executive-level dialogue with CSXT continued last week, when Hughes advised Ingram that Amtrak would commit resources to do its part to improve the performance of the Florida services. Amtrak is responsible for about 15% of the delays. Amtrak has added a second locomotive to Silver Service trains and is conducting an analysis of how to turn trains faster at the Lorton and Sanford Auto Train facilities, among other short-term considerations.

In a recent letter to the Union Pacific Railroad [see above], Senior Vice President of Operations William Crosbie sought UP's immediate assistance in improving the California Zephyr, Coast Starlight, Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle on-time performance. In July, 97% of these trains were late, 66% of which were more than four hours late. Ninety percent of the delays Amtrak
encountered over the UP were caused by the UP. Amtrak has called for immediate corrective action, including reducing sloworder delays to within the contractual limit.

In the spring, Amtrak prevailed after it took UP to arbitration to enforce Amtrak's right to operate over UP during a period of track work in Missouri.

The effect poor on-time performance has on repeat business, brand and reputation - not to mention the toll it takes on its employees - is garnering public, congressional and federal attention.
5) The Amtrak This Week employee publication for August 21, 2006, has a fascinating discussion about passenger satisfaction.


August 21, 2006

Top Story: Customer Satisfaction Driven by OTP, Personal Experience

Train on-time performance and personal service are the two biggest factors affecting customer satisfaction, according to Amtrak research.

Earlier this year, Amtrak set six specific and measurable customer satisfaction goals. The first and most comprehensive goal is that 90% of passengers rate the service as "good" and would recommend it to others.

To measure how we're standing up to this goal, passengers are regularly surveyed using the Customer Service Index (CSI). For the most recent month on record - June - 76 percent of passengers rated Amtrak service as "good" (8-10 on a scale of 10).

In June, the most satisfied passengers and the percentage ranking their experience as "good" were on the following services: Downeaster (92), Illinois Zephyr (92), Piedmont (88), Empire (87), Hiawatha (86), Pere Marquette (86), Pacific Surfliner (85).

The common thread through the lowest ranking services was OTP, the subject of last week's Amtrak This Week "Top Story." These services and their "good" experience rankings were: Adirondack (48), Silver Meteor (51), Carolinian (51), Auto Train (55), Coast Starlight (51).

On-time performance isn't the only factor that leads to a negative experience. Passengers also tell Amtrak time and again that friendly and courteous crews make the difference when delays are encountered. For example, Auto Train lounge and dining car crew service in June was rated "good" by 81% of passengers.

Among the initiatives underway to improve passenger service is the deployment of customer service managers charged with improving service delivery.

On-time performance over host railroads continues to be a top issue for acting President and CEO David Hughes and members of senior management. In addition to the pressure being applied by Amtrak, recent federal and media attention has put new light on this problem. Look for more news in the coming weeks on this matter.

6) There are times when host railroads and Amtrak work together to achieve better scheduling during maintenance of way periods when track is being upgraded or maintained. Such an example is the route of the Pere Marquette, where an adjusted schedule for the train started in the middle of August and will continue until September 7th.

It is not uncommon for host railroads to wonder why Amtrak can't - or won't - adjust passenger train schedules to fit the needs of the host railroads. Overall, this is not an unreasonable question when both parties realize the big picture needs of the each other, and work to find some common ground that meets the needs of the host railroad shareholders and Amtrak passengers, too.

For too many years, Amtrak and its host railroads have been in adversarial positions. Amtrak today, and the lack of private passenger trains run by the host railroads, is the result of the railroads making a deal on their own volition at the end of the 1960s, knowing full well what Amtrak would be. On
the other hand, Amtrak, for all of its corporate life, has known that even though its existence and right to operate over all railroad tracks in this country has been granted by Congress, it still has much more than an ethical obligation to treat its host railroads with the same respect it hopes to be treated by those same railroads.

Somebody, somewhere, has to bring both sides to a bargaining table that updates and improves Amtrak's operating contracts with its host railroads where everyone feels they have made similar sacrifices instead of one party beating the other party. A healthy Amtrak paying a fair price under fair
conditions for use of host railroad tracks, and a healthy Amtrak being part of our domestic transportation network and serving a growing base of willing passengers is a good concept that needs to be implemented immediately.

7) The Federal Railroad Administration, State of Florida and the City of Boca Raton have imposed restrictions on Amtrak, CSX, and Tri-Rail commuter trains that run through the city. As of September 20th, no train running on the former Seaboard Air Line/CSX main line (not the nearby Florida East Coast Railway line) will be able to sound its locomotive horn at any time of the night or day. Instead, grade crossings have been improved to prevent any type of vehicles from crossing tracks when an on-coming train approaches.

Of course, the denizens of Boca Raton, a wealthy South Florida city (which, by the way, Boca Raton translates to House of the Rat), think noisy and unwelcome trains detract from their quality of life.

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad built those tracks during the Florida land boom in the mid-1920s, and they have seen heavy, continual use since then. Boca Raton is a town which grew up around the nearby FEC Railway, after it was developed by Henry Flagler and the FEC just before the Florida land boom. Folks, the railroad, which made Boca Raton possible and desirable in the first place, was there over eight decades ago, long before any current resident thought about moving to South Florida. If you don't like trains, don't move to a neighborhood around trains.

The horn restrictions, no matter how carefully a grade crossing is guarded, are just an invitation to accidents between trains and cars and pedestrians. The railroads live by the slogan "safety first." When did that become unimportant?

8) Last week was the first week TWA was distributed by a new e-mail server. Overall, things went well. However, there were two kick-backs from recipient e-mail systems that would have happened no matter what e-mail server was being used. Last week, the acronym for the old St. Louis Union Terminal (or, the newer St. Louis Union Trailers in mock celebration of the years-old "temporary" buildings used there by Amtrak) was used (we won't repeat that mistake). Two kick-backs said "message rejected for explicit sexual content." After a brief, baffling moment of scanning the content of TWA for such a problem, the culprit was discovered. From now on, it's just the St. Louis
Amtrak station.

If you are reading someone else's copy of This Week at Amtrak, you can receive your own free copy each week by sending your e-mail address to freetwa@unitedrail.org

You MUST include your name, preferred e-mail address, and city and state where you live. This mailing list is kept strictly confidential and is not shared or used for any purposes other than the distribution of This Week at Amtrak or related URPA materials.

All other correspondence should be addressed to brichardson@unitedrail.org

J. Bruce Richardson
President
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203
Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA
Telephone 904-636-6760
brichardson@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org

[MrFSS]

This Week's Edition, quoted with permission of the aauthor.

Quote

This Week at Amtrak; August 29, 2006

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 info@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 3, Number 35

Founded three decades ago in 1976 by 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, New York, and
Tennessee. 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) In a surprise move to Amtrak watchers, Amtrak's Board of Directors
hired a new president and CEO today, despite the fact there is no
principal Amtrak shareholder in the form of a permanent United States
Secretary of Transportation or a fully populated Amtrak board.

Alexander Kummant, formerly of Union Pacific Railroad is the new chief
steward of Amtrak. Here is Amtrak's press release:

[Begin quote]

WASHINGTON - The Amtrak Board of Directors today appointed Alexander
Kummant as President and CEO. The veteran railroad and industrial
executive will assume duties September 12.

Kummant previously served as a Regional Vice President of the Union
Pacific Railroad, overseeing 6,000 transportation, engineering,
construction, mechanical, and other employees supporting an 8,000-mile
rail network. He also served as the Union Pacific's Vice President and
General Manager of Industrial Products, a $2 billion revenue business.
In leading both units, Kummant was responsible for substantially
improved customer service, on-time delivery of client products, and
significant gains in financial and operational performance.

Additionally at Union Pacific, Kummant held the role of Vice President
of Premium Operations, overseeing the intermodal and automotive network
performance.

Most recently, Kummant served as the Executive Vice President and Chief
Marketing Officer of Komatsu America Corporation, a division of the
second largest supplier of construction equipment worldwide. He has a
continuing record as an adaptable change agent in diverse environments.

Kummant's first job on the railroad came at age 18 in Lorain, Ohio,
working on a track crew for the Lake Terminal Railroad at the U.S. Steel
Lorain Works.

"Alex Kummant has the outstanding credentials and experience to lead a
changing Amtrak that is more customer-focused and fiscally
responsible,"said Amtrak Chairman David M. Laney. "His appointment
fulfills the board's commitment to select an extraordinarily strong and
capable leader for Amtrak's future, building on the growing national
desire for more and improved passenger rail service."

Kummant fills a position that has been held by David J. Hughes on an
interim basis since November 2005. Formerly Chief Engineer of Amtrak,
Hughes will continue to serve with the railroad in a yet to be specified
capacity. "For the past nine months, David Hughes has stepped in and
performed exceptionally in leading our strategic reforms and operational
improvements," said Laney. "On behalf of the Amtrak Board of Directors,
he has our deepest admiration and respect, and we are delighted that he
will continue to play an important role in Amtrak's future."

A native of Ohio, Kummant holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering
from Case Western Reserve University, a Master's degree in manufacturing
engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.B.A. from Stanford
University. He is married to Kathleen Regan Kummant, a former senior
executive with the Santa Fe and BNSF railroads.

The Board of Directors of Amtrak was assisted in its search by the
Washington D.C. office of Heidrick & Struggles, Inc.

[End quote]

Mr. Kummant's selection is interesting in many ways. His primary
railroad executive experience was with the Union Pacific Railroad, which
has been described by many as Amtrak's least willing and least friendly
host railroad. Perhaps his addition to the Amtrak executive suite will
provide a direct pipeline to UP's executive suite and a better
understanding between the two companies as to the obligations each have
on behalf of the passengers of Amtrak.

When examining the qualifications of Mr. Kummant listed in the press
release, straight down the line he fills the check list the board of
directors created for the next president; a list that included the
ability to work as an adaptable change agent in diverse environments, a
strong understanding of the financial side of the business, and
operational experience. Mr. Kummant fits all of those qualifications,
plus he has an engineering and construction background, which highly
qualifies him to deal with the infrastructure issues of the Northeast
Corridor.

An exciting aspect of Mr. Kummant's qualifications is his most recent
position of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of
Komatsu America Corporation, a division of the second largest supplier
of construction equipment worldwide. Notice the word "marketing" in
there, a very important word. Mr. Kummant understands some reasonable
and practical effort must be made to attract customers/passengers to a
business. What a relief to have a new president and CEO with this
background.

Perhaps the most outstanding point about Mr. Kummant is what is lacking
... no background in public transit. Mr. Kummant is most definitely a
railroader, and not a trolley operator. He will not have preconceived
notions of the alleged benefits of bare bones coaches with plastic
seating and harsh lights stopping at unmanned stations. We don't know
where Mr. Kummant stands on expansion of the national long distance
system. We have to believe he and the board understand the importance of
the national system and the future success of the company will come from
the long distance system, not disjointed and high expense corridors.

A fascinating aspect is Mrs. Kummant, Kathleen Regan Kummant. Mrs.
Kummant was a former senior executive with the Santa Fe and BNSF
Railroads, UP's arch rival. If Mrs. Kummant worked for Santa Fe when
Mike Haverty was president of the company, we know she was highly
qualified. One can presume dinner table conversation will be lively.

What do we bring from this? The Amtrak Board of Directors, under the
leadership of Chairman David Laney (even in its present reduced state
because of too many vacancies) has done a good job of selecting the next
chief steward of Amtrak. We all need to judge Mr. Kummant for his
accomplishments, and how he will help fulfill the broad vision of the
Amtrak board and its determination to bring Amtrak to a point where it
is no longer a financial and political cripple.

Welcome, Mr. Kummant and Godspeed in your new challenge. Now, please,
just tell us so we will get it right, exactly how do you pronounce your
last name?

2) It is very important to take a moment and talk about the man who has
held Amtrak together since the merciful departure of David Gunn. David
J. Hughes, the former Chief Engineer of Amtrak will continue to serve
Amtrak in a yet to be defined capacity. Mr. Hughes has been an excellent
interim leader for Amtrak, picking up many of the broken pieces left by
Mr. Gunn, and starting to make incremental progress on many of Amtrak's
problems. Much of what Mr. Hughes has accomplished is not outwardly
evident to Amtrak's passengers and many employees. However, Mr. Hughes
made some critical personnel changes at the top of the company, and has
helped quell the overall bad atmosphere at the company while an orderly
search for a new, permanent president could be conducted by the board.

Thank you, Mr. Hughes for all you have accomplished. It has not gone
unnoticed. We know you will continue to accomplish much for Amtrak in
your next position with the company.

3) So, there is a new kid on the block, and he has a shiny new football.
What should he do with the football? Here's a list of things for Mr.
Kummant and the Amtrak Board of Directors to consider:

A) Continue to work to bring an orderly state to Amtrak's financial
house through new and better accounting and reporting systems.
Everything else that may be accomplished will all depend on having
reliable numbers and hard, unbiased information.

B ) Look strongly at Amtrak's relationship with its host railroads and
work hard to improve those relationships so both parties prosper. If
Amtrak needs to pay more to achieve a fair market price for use of
private freight rails, that should be a strong consideration. Both sides
need to feel that operating Amtrak trains is a winning proposition; as
long as the host railroads feel the federal government (Amtrak) is
confiscating their property one passenger train at a time, little or no
progress will be made.

C) Look inward at employees on all levels. The freight railroads, from
whence Mr. Kummant arrives, have learned how to trim staffs and operate
trains more efficiently. Amtrak needs to do the same thing, including
learning how to work positively with its unions and instigate contracts
that recognize the value of each employee. Most of Amtrak's senior
executives need to be replaced, the sooner the better. Everyone there
has a history, and most of the histories are not good. We see some
bright spots (see below about Florida service operation this week during
Tropical Storm Ernesto), but too many of Amtrak's senior and middle
managers have gotten away with corporate murder for too long. Bring in a
new cadre of executives who are qualified and compensated equivalent to
freight railroad executives, and let them make much needed changes.
Bring in a new marketing team that understands passengers and the needs
of all of the system, beyond the NEC and Pacific Surfliners. Bring in
people who understand accountability, that often maligned word "profit"
(which is a very good word), and passenger service above and beyond all
else.

Make an absolute qualification for continuing or new employment at
Amtrak an understanding and desire for good passenger service. No more
grumpy onboard employees or station agents. No more employees that never
should have been hired in the first place. No more employees with
individual agendas - just employees with the single focused agenda of
providing the best possible service to the highest number of passengers,
all in a gracious atmosphere.

D) Continue to repair relations with Congress and the Bush
Administration. David Gunn left a tarnished legacy of contempt and
tartness that accomplished little other than entertainment value. David
Laney and David Hughes have proven this budget year that professionalism
when dealing with Washington is far more important than breathless
headlines and pronouncements of doom and gloom. Pay Mr. Hughes the
compliment of continuing his good work on Capitol Hill.

E) Restore the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans. No good arguments
have been made for it not to be running, other than Amtrak doesn't have
the will to live up to its commitment to the cities and towns along the
route to provide a connection to the rest of the Amtrak network. Look at
all of the national system, and decide how to make it more dense, with
more frequencies, serving more passengers. Stop making poor decisions,
like the current proposal to drop one of two daily trains in and out of
Williamsburg, Virginia as 2007 will mark the 400th anniversary of the
founding of nearby Jamestown, and the beginning of Colonial Virginia.
Jamestown and Williamsburg are planning for one million visitors in
2007, many of them by rail. Cutting one of only two daily trains in and
out of Williamsburg and the Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Newport News,
Portsmouth, and Chesapeake) area is not a wise move.

F) Look at the nearly 700 pieces of passenger rolling stock in storage
because of wreck damage, out of date inspections, or other reasons, and
figure out how to get these millions of dollars worth of assets and
revenue generators back out on the railroad. Time after time it has been
demonstrated that very few companies cut their way to financial health.
Amtrak is no exception. While many changes need to be made, at the same
time "more trains to more places" needs to be Amtrak's unofficial motto.

G) Realize that passenger rail, as opposed to transit, is a people
business, which relies on station agents, safety employees on trains,
and reservations agents among other jobs. Unmanned stations, while
understandable in some locations, lose more business than the money
saved by not paying the salaries of station agents. Stations are an
integral part of every community, where local residents go to make
travel plans, purchase tickets, check baggage, and safely board trains.
Unmanned stations provide none of these benefits. While about half of
Amtrak's ticketing is now done by the Internet, that does not make up
for the lost potential of manned stations. The Internet is not an
acceptable substitute of real, live, smiling and informative people.

H) Make intelligent decisions about the future of sleeping car and food
service on long distance trains. Look at the results of this summer's
Empire Builder "experiment" (which really just provides a level of
service formerly found on Amtrak elsewhere) and see how many passengers
liked traditional passenger railroad service. Understand that all long
distance trains deserve the same attention and amenities found on the
Empire Builder. Understand many Amtrak employees are willing to make
long distance travel a pleasurable experience with morally admirable
food if only given the chance by Amtrak management.

I) Understand Amtrak's heritage and history. Those who don't know
history are doomed to repeat it. Amtrak has a long history of making
dumb and costly mistakes with little or no consequence to its managers
and senior level employees. Look back at what has been done before, and
embrace what was good, and discard what was bad. Amtrak's heritage is a
proud one, of passenger service that served our country well before the
jet airplane and Interstate highway system. There is still a place today
for long distance passenger service in our domestic transportation
network, but Amtrak sadly remains our nation's best kept secret. It's
time for Amtrak to start shouting about itself from the mountain tops,
and get over its corporate inferiority complex that it can't be an
important part of our country's transportation system.

J) Continue to work towards isolating the Northeast Corridor from the
rest of the Amtrak system so everyone will have a realistic
understanding of how Amtrak's finances actually work. It's important for
Amtrak to understand it was originally designed to serve all Americans,
not just parts of the country on the Right and Left Coasts and clustered
around the Great Lakes.

4) As mentioned above, as of this writing on Tuesday evening, August
29th, Tropical Storm Ernesto is making its way into South Florida,
maintenance and crew base homes of the Silver Meteor and Silver Star.
Many will remember last hurricane season's shameful cut and run strategy
by Amtrak, often leaving travelers stranded in hurricane areas by
shutting down rail service far too early in anticipation of storms.

Here is Amtrak's internal advisory on Tropical Storm Ernesto. What a
different a year and some new people at the top makes.

[Begin quote]

System Operations
Flash Report

DATE: August 28, 2006

TO: Distribution

FROM: Jon Tainow

SUBJECT: Tropical Storm Ernesto

Report No: No.1 5:00PM August 28, 2006

Service Disruption Scenario

As of 2:00PM Tropical Storm Ernesto is approximately 15 miles
east-southeast of Holguin, Cuba. It has a poorly defined center and is
moving toward the northwest at approximately 10 miles per hour. This
motion is expected to continue over the next 24 hours. Maximum sustained
winds are 40 miles per hour. Tropical Storm force winds extend outward
for 70 miles. The storm is expected to strengthen after the center moves
over the waters to the north of Cuba tonight.

The storm is expected to make landfall as a possible Category 1
Hurricane late Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, August 30th at the
southern tip of Florida near Miami Beach and continue moving northeast
along the coast effecting Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

CSX Operating Plans

CSX will remove crossing gates on the Miami Subdivision (Miami to West
Palm Beach, FL) beginning 12:00PM, Tuesday, August 29th. They will have
generators, ballast, and personnel ready to mobilize after the storm
passes.

Operating Plan for August 28, 2006

Train 91(28) (Silver Star) will operate New York, NY to Orlando, FL
only. Alternate transportation will operate for those passengers
destined for Kissimmee, Lakeland and Tampa. Regular thruway bus service
will operate normal.

Train 97(28) (Silver Meteor) will operate New York, NY to Orlando, FL
only. Alternate transportation will operate for those passengers
destined for Kissimmee only. Regular thruway bus service will operate
normal.

The remaining Florida service will operate normal.

Operating Plan for August 29, 2006

Silver Service Trains 98(29) and 92(29) will operate normal from Miami,
FL. An extra coach will be added to each train based on availability at
Miami.

Auto Trains 52(29) and 53(29) will operate normal.

Silver Service Trains 91(29) and 97(29) will operate New York, NY to
Orlando, FL only with no alternate transportation south of Orlando.

All other service operates normal.

Operating Plan for August 30, 2006

Silver Service Trains 98(30) and 92(30) will originate at Orlando, FL.
There are tentative plans, based on bus availability and weather
conditions, to offer alternate transportation for passengers at Tampa,
Lakeland and Kissimmee scheduled to board Train 92(30) and passengers at
Kissimmee scheduled to board Train 98(30). No other alternate
transportation will be offered.

No other service adjustments have been made for August 30 at this time,
however, it is possible that additional adjustments will be necessary
based on changes on the path and severity of the storm.

[End quote]

Wow. Did you notice some of the details above? Amtrak ADDED an
additional coach out of Miami if equipment was available. Trains
continued to run in and out of other stations in Florida (such as
Orlando, the single, largest vacation destination in the world). Some
alternative transportation was offered to non-storm threatened areas of
the state. It's hard to believe this is the same railroad as last year,
when the order of the day was to ignore the needs of passengers, lock
the door, and go home. Thank you, David Hughes and Jon Tainow for
understanding the obligations of your railroad.

If you are reading someone else's copy of This Week at Amtrak, you can
receive your own free copy each week by sending your e-mail address to


freetwa@unitedrail.org


You MUST include your name, preferred e-mail address, and city and state
where you live. This mailing list is kept strictly confidential and is
not shared or used for any purposes other than the distribution of This
Week at Amtrak or related URPA materials.

All other correspondence should be addressed to brichardson@unitedrail.org

J. Bruce Richardson
President
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203
Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA
Telephone 904-636-6760
brichardson@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org

[MrFSS]

This week's edition, quoted with permission from the author.

Quote

This Week at Amtrak; September 6, 2006

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 info@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 3, Number 36

Founded three decades ago in 1976 by 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, New York, and
Tennessee. 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) By the calendar, it's still summer, but for all practical purposes,
the summer travel season has ended. However, with less than a month to
go in Amtrak's fiscal year, the Sunset Limited is still not running east
of New Orleans. What's taking so long?

As noted last week in TWA, Amtrak was considering dropping one daily
roundtrip between the Northeast and Williamsburg, Virginia, which in
2007 will be celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of the
Virginia colony at nearby Jamestown (Or, as we native Virginians like to
think, the beginning of Civilization.). Over one million visitors are
expected for the celebration, and Amtrak was very close to dropping one
of only two daily trains. This is a vivid demonstration of how Amtrak's
annihilative planning department operates in more of a vacuum than
anything else. We see this same phenomenon regarding the Sunset Limited.
Partial facts are given out about ridership east of New Orleans and
nocturnal station stops. None of that hardly matters. What matters are
total revenue passenger miles, the Sunset east of New Orleans as part of
Amtrak's national route matrix, and overhead or connecting business
between the Amtrak hubs of New Orleans and Jacksonville and Orlando. As
long as the Sunset Limited doesn't run east of New Orleans, there is a
huge gap in Amtrak's national long distance system, one which a lot of
public money on all levels went into in the early 1990s to plug. We must
question how good of information is flowing to the ultimate decision
makers at Amtrak about the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans. Is the
full story being told? Is all of the high volume connecting business at
Jacksonville and New Orleans being considered? Even if the Sunset
Limited remains terminated at New Orleans, is a daily replacement train
between New Orleans and Jacksonville and Orlando being considered, which
would eliminate all of the nocturnal station stops? There are so many
options available to Amtrak to continue to live up to its corporate
name: National Railroad Passenger Corporation. Please, note the word
"National." It means everybody, including the residents of the Gulf
Coast and Florida's panhandle, currently without any train service, at all.

2) It is difficult to imagine what various and alleged stakeholders in
the search for a new president and CEO of Amtrak were expecting from the
Amtrak Board of Directors. Were they expecting another transit official
who believes in the wrongly perceived glory of power of government over
private enterprise? Where they expecting a resurrected, retired railroad
executive who has always wanted to run passenger trains, but couldn't at
the freight railroads? Were they expecting a long lost child of the late
Amtrak Chairman and President Graham Claytor who would carry on the
family tradition?

It's no telling who was expected, but we know we have former Union
Pacific Vice President Alexander Kummant. Mr. Kummant, 46, who has also
worked for a number of other private industries outside of the railroad
industry, is an enigma to almost all Amtrak watchers. Somehow, in the
closed minds of some, this disqualifies him from being the next chief
steward of Amtrak. Here is what one longtime Washington wag had to say:

[Begin quote]

I'm not sure what to make of all this, but [Amtrak Chairman of the
Board] David Laney strikes me as neither an ideologue nor an idiot, so I
doubt he'd hire an ideologue or an idiot. That said, the last three
presidents - career public sector bureaucrats all - were not the "rails"
that NARP, etc., pretended they were, especially Mr. Gunn. Even with six
years under his belt at UP, [Mr.] Kummant is more of a "rail" than
Downs, Warrington and Gunn combined. A "rail" where it counts, in
knowing and understanding the challenges, corporate psyches and business
models of the modern-day investor-owned railroads. [Mr.] Gunn didn't
have a clue, aside from using the railroads as a punching bag when he
found it convenient. Their property is the only place Amtrak can grow
and expand. With Mr. Kummant we might finally get away from the "Perils
of Pauline" saga of the hapless NEC, the part of Amtrak that will always
manage to survive, one way or another.

So, Amtrak is trying something new, a president with zero public-sector
experience. Hoorah!

[End quote]

3) This Week at Amtrak has begun polling Class I Amtrak host railroads
about their relationship with Amtrak, and passenger rail in general. As
a coincidence, the Association of American Railroads issued a position
paper last month regarding the same subject.

Norfolk Southern responded to TWA's query.

[Begin quote]

This is a brief note to reply to your ... letter ... . [O]ur office
coordinates passenger policy for the Norfolk Southern system.

In general, Norfolk Southern understands its long-standing (35 years and
counting) operating arrangements with Amtrak. We run Amtrak's trains as
best we can, given that the freight environment of 2006 is much
different from that of 1971.

In your letter you asked:

How do today's current Amtrak operations fit into Norfolk Southern's
business plan? How can future plans for expansion of Amtrak long
distance trains fit into Norfolk Southern's operating and capacity
scenario? What changes would Norfolk Southern like to see in how Amtrak
conducts business with its host railroads?

The most concise source of answers to these questions is probably the
position paper of the Association of American Railroads ("Passenger
Service on Tracks Owned by Freight Railroads"), found at this link:
http://www.aar.org/G...asp?File_ID=290 [this document is not
available for copying, so you must use the link to view the document].

The best passenger operation is one that blends seamlessly. NS requires
new or additional passenger service to be "transparent" to freight
operations. We define transparency as "the provision of sufficient
infrastructure for passenger trains and freight trains to operate
without delay to either, and to allow for the growth of both."

Another document that may help with understanding NS's concerns is a
letter to planners of passenger service, attached. If the AAR position
paper appears to contain concepts embodied in our letter, it's not a
coincidence.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to e-mail or
call me ... .

Best wishes.

-- Bill Schafer - Director, Corporate Affairs, Norfolk Southern

[End quote]

Many misguided souls who believe governmental agencies are the only ones
qualified to operate passenger trains will be greatly enlightened by the
pragmatic document produced by the AAR. As the AAR speaks with a unified
voice for all member railroads, the creation and dissemination of this
document clearly demonstrates that passenger rail is not only on the
radar screens of all major railroads in this country, but passenger rail
has gone so far as to the creation of specific guidelines for planners
of future passenger rail of all types to follow.

Major excerpts of the Norfolk Southern planning document are below.

[Begin quote]


June 15, 2005


To Planners of Passenger Train Projects:

Norfolk Southern welcomes the opportunity to work with state departments
of transportation, high-speed rail advocates, and transit and commuter
authorities to develop new or additional passenger rail services over
our tracks. We look forward to moving your projects forward as long as
they remain realistic and include our concerns.

Because of the popularity of passenger train proposals, we believe that
you should be aware of some of the principles that will underlie any
discussions we hold with planners. These principles are intended to
protect our "factory", which is the track and right-of-way needed to
produce our product - the present and future transport of freight - and
to protect the interests of our owners and employees. We foresee major
segments of our business - particularly the movement of truck trailers
and containers - growing significantly in the coming years as highways
become more congested.

These principles refer only to conventional intercity or commuter
passenger services and high-speed rail projects. Additional conditions
will apply to light rail and other public transit ventures. ...

CONVENTIONAL AND HIGH SPEED PASSENGER

We consider all passenger studies to be conceptual. Until serious money
is available to construct infrastructure, we at Norfolk Southern will
continue to regard passenger studies as hypothetical exercises. Their
conclusions will be subject to revision if funding for a project's
implementation becomes available.

We will coordinate infrastructure assessments. Studies intended to
estimate how much additional capacity is needed for passenger trains
(and how much it will cost) will be conducted by consultants approved by
Norfolk Southern, and will be paid for by the sponsoring public agency.

All studies and surveys must acknowledge that NS owns its corridors and
is entitled to fair compensation for their use. We maintain them and we
pay taxes on them. Please don't assume that the use of our capacity and
our asset is "free". Instead, please acknowledge in your studies and
reports that we are entitled to a fair return if the corridor is to be
used for passenger trains.

Passenger train operation must be "transparent" to our freight
operations. We define transparency as the provision of sufficient
infrastructure for passenger trains and freight trains to operate
without delay to either, and to allow for the growth of both.

Delay to freight trains by passenger trains, however minimal, is
unacceptable. Sufficient infrastructure must be furnished so that each
type of train can operate without getting in the other's way. The common
assumption that a proposed passenger train will impose "minimal
interference with freight operations" is a non-starter.

We will require new passenger train services to pay higher usage fees
than Amtrak pays today. Please do not use "Amtrak incremental cost"
factors in estimating the operating costs of new passenger services.
Amtrak was entitled to special rights in return for relieving the
freight railroads of intercity passenger train operation over
thirty-four years ago. There is no relationship between the rates Amtrak
pays and a fair, commercial return for use of private assets. We will
require operators of new passenger train service to negotiate
market-based operating agreements with us.

Liability will be a major issue. Based on our experience with commuter
authorities, the cost to the passenger carrier for indemnifying NS is
substantial. We will accept no new or expanded passenger operations
without adequate liability protection.

Cab signals for freight locomotives will be required if the top speed
for passenger trains is above 79 mph. Be prepared to equip the NS
freight locomotive fleet with additional cab signal and other safety
apparatus, and to pay for and maintain any additional signal
infrastructure required by speeds in excess of 79 mph.

Dispatching will remain with NS for all trains operating over NS tracks
after inauguration of passenger service.

HIGH SPEED CORRIDORS

High-speed corridors require careful planning. If the federal government
designates a corridor as "high speed", NS will automatically assume that
mainline tracks dedicated solely to high speed trains will someday be
built in the same corridor as our existing mainline tracks. Provisions
must be made for separate high-speed tracks throughout the corridor,
especially in urban areas. Highway or railroad overpasses/underpasses,
when built with public funds, must allow space for the additional tracks.

NS will require separate tracks for passenger trains operating in excess
of 90 mph. No heavy-duty rail freight line has 110-mph passenger trains
operating over it today. Where freight trains do operate over 110-mph
track (Northeast and Empire Corridors, for example), the penalties
imposed on freight trains are substantial. In a heavy-duty freight
environment (Cleveland-Chicago is one example), high-speed passenger
trains must operate over tracks dedicated to their use.

Railroading is expensive. 110 mph railroading is very expensive. As most
ridership analyses indicate, the greatest growth occurs with increases
in frequency, not speed. This implies that four round trips a day at a
top speed of 79 mph are much more cost-effective than four round trips a
day at 110 mph.

[End quote]

Our thanks to Mr. Schafer and Norfolk Southern for providing that
document and access to the AAR document.

There are several things which can be learned from this exercise, such
as the willingness of host freight railroads to engage in the passenger
business, as long as it doesn't interfere with the freight railroad's
main reason for existence: the haulage of freight in a profitable
environment. While private railroads have been treated and regulated in
the past as public utilities (as the airlines once were, too), it is
clear these are private businesses which are willing to share their
assets, as long as the sharing is done on a fair basis to the railroads.

This document, by the way, doesn't preclude any internal planning which
may or may not be done at the railroads regarding their own operation of
passenger trains.

4) A book has been on the market for a year now that is a fascinating
read for anyone interested in learning how railroads evolved into the
worldwide industry of today. Frank Richter has written a magnificent
book, "The Renaissance of the Railroad; A chronicle of the
transformation of the century" that tells the story of American
railroads from a technical, freight, passenger, and public perspective.

This book is a "must read" for anyone who wishes to have a full
comprehension and understanding of the railroad industry, and how all of
the pieces fit together.

Mr. Richter tells this story as only someone can who has been a well
known and respected reporter, editor, and publisher in the railroad
industry. Mr. Richter started in this field with his service during
World War II, and went on to found the publication Modern Railroads, and
later sell the company and move on to the publishing of Progressive
Railroading magazine. Mr. Richter has been an intimate with railroaders
on all levels, from the president's office, down to the folks who
operate the trains over the road. He has reported on technological
advances in railroading all over the world, and currently serves as a
Vice Presidente of Asociacion del Congreso Panamericano de Ferrocarriles
when he spends six months out of the year in Buenos Aires, Argentina
during the winter months, and the remainder of the year in the Chicago area.

Mr. Richter notes on page 68 of his book when in 1969 he was tipped off
the federal government was being inspired to take over the intercity
rail passenger service. This is his place in the galaxy of the railroad
world; if something important is going on, Frank Richter knows about it.

For whatever reason you may choose to read The Renaissance of the
Railroad, you won't be disappointed by what you will learn, suddenly
recall, or finally find that missing piece of the puzzle you have been
wondering about. This is a book that could only have been written by a
respected icon of the railroad publishing industry - one who reported
with great intellectual curiosity for the professionals in the industry,
not the watered down story telling for enthusiasts.

"The Renaissance of the Railroad; A chronicle of the transformation of
the century" by Frank Richter is published by authorhouse, and is
available in both soft cover and hardback, at www.authorhouse.com or
purchase the book at your local bookseller. The suggested retail price
for the soft cover edition is $13.50, and the hardback edition is $23.95.


If you are reading someone else's copy of This Week at Amtrak, you can
receive your own free copy each week by sending your e-mail address to


freetwa@unitedrail.org


You MUST include your name, preferred e-mail address, and city and state
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materials.


All other correspondence should be addressed to
brucerichardson@unitedrail.org


J. Bruce Richardson
President
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203
Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA
Telephone 904-636-6760
brucerichardson@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org

[frj1983]

While I always find the URPA Newsletter interesting,

I am getting a little sick of the "David Gunn bashing" in each. So if you didn't like him or what he did, I respect Richardson's right to disagree, but to annoint Kummant an immediate "savior" seems to me "putting the passenger cars before the engine"...oh wait it does work that way. But I think you get my drift.

[MrFSS]

frj1983, on Thu, Sep 7, 2006, 09:32 AM, said:

While I always find the URPA Newsletter interesting,

I am getting a little sick of the "David Gunn bashing" in each. So if you didn't like him or what he did, I respect Richardson's right to disagree, but to annoint Kummant an immediate "savior" seems to me "putting the passenger cars before the engine"...oh wait it does work that way. But I think you get my drift.

Email Richardson. I did on another matter and he pronptly answered me. I'm sure he would like your opinion, but then, maybe not.

[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; September 12, 2006

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 info@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 3, Number 37

Founded three decades ago in 1976 by 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, New York, and
Tennessee. 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) Memo To: Alexander Kummant
President and CEO, Amtrak/National Railroad Passenger Corporation
Washington, D.C.
September 12, 2006

Welcome to your first day as the new chief steward of Amtrak, our
national passenger railroad. We look forward to working with you as you
improve the company.

We trust you will have no problem finding your way around headquarters,
and, later, there are several good restaurants in the area we would like
to recommend for lunch.

May we offer the following suggestions as you begin the task of moving
Amtrak forward?

- Please note the name of the company, the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation. The "national" indicates Amtrak's mission and
responsibility to serve as much of the continental United States as
possible. "National" does not indicate disconnected regional corridors
serving only part of the national population. As Amtrak lives by
taxpayer support, each American in each part of the country pays taxes
to support the company, and, therefore each American should be afforded
access to passenger rail. Regional favorites, such as the NEC, should be
primarily supported by regions served (such as is the case with
California's excellent passenger rail program), not at the complete
expense of everyone.

- We very much applaud the statements you made to your hometown
newspaper, The Chronicle-Telegram, in Ohio. Phrases like "The nation
needs a vision for its rail system, one that can safely support freight
and passenger trains," and your "self-described passion for turnaround
work" sound very good. Particularly well received is your statement,
"People talk about losses, but without splitting the capital spending
out from the operational dollars. Infrastructure dollars can hardly be
characterized as losses." Also, "The board has only asked me to run
Amtrak crisply and efficiently; to take a look at the entity as a whole
and drive the operation and the business, as it were. That can mean most
anything, but nobody has told me to dismantle anything." Please continue
to make such positive statements. Amtrak has suffered too long from poor
leadership that has talked more about losses and crisis than about
improving the railroad so it can be a robust, healthy organization in
charge of its own fate.

- As said many times before, Amtrak is the best kept secret in America,
regrettably. Please find new ways to make Amtrak more visible to its
owners, the people of America. In coming weeks we will talk more about
this, including some very successful programs initiated by the former
Gulf Coast Business Group that made sad trains into happy trains with
more passengers and more revenue passenger miles.

- Please, for the sake of the company and those cities and towns served
by the Sunset Limited and Cardinal, find a way to make these two trains
daily. As long as they operate on discreet routes but only on tri-weekly
schedules, costs will continue to be high and revenue passenger miles
low. Tri-weekly is the single most expensive way to operate trains that
have large infrastructure costs like stations. And, please take an
immediate look at what it will take to restore the Sunset Limited to
service east of New Orleans. The infrastructure is back in place, the
only thing missing are useable station buildings in Pascagoula and
Mobile, which can be handled by using portable station buildings which
have been used successfully elsewhere in the Amtrak system for years.
The latest silliness about restoring the Sunset Limited is the Florida
Department of Transportation hasn't asked for the train to be restored.
What? That makes no sense. You have stations, you have a strong railroad
infrastructure, and you have waiting passengers. Why do you need some
state bureaucrats to ask you to restore a train you were happily running
before Hurricane Katrina? Please tell you staff to quit stalling by
saying the dog ate their homework and get the train back.

We will talk more later; we know you're having a busy day. Thanks for
coming to help Amtrak be a better, more reliable, healthy, passenger
railroad.

2) The welcome arrival of a new Amtrak president and chief executive
officer hopefully brings along a large broom which will sweep some of
the executive debris out of Amtrak. There are so many areas which need
new leadership; perhaps, for the future of the company, chief among them
is strategic planning. Amtrak's planning department is where all types
of critical data is refined and organized so senior management and the
board of directors can make intelligent decisions about all aspects of
the company and passenger operations.

The most reasonable question to ask is, how good is the quality of this
information? Is the Amtrak middle management bureaucracy simmering along
in its usual best imitation of the late Stalinist Kremlin in Moscow? Are
too many lower level decision makers too content in their jobs so they
feel invulnerable? Of all of the places in Amtrak, both the planning and
marketing departments need the brightest thinkers and those willing to
think outside the standard Amtrak box.

Also, for a company which has been around since 1971, Amtrak needs
desperately to draw on institutional memory (whether from inside the
company on all levels or outside) to avoid again making the near fatal
mistakes it has in the past.

We know Amtrak is talking about tinkering with the long distance route
structure. Hopefully, most of what we will see will result in just talk,
and not the mistakes of the past such as those made during the Mercer
days of the 1990s, or the disastrous route cuts of 1979. Both the Mercer
and 1979 cuts only hurt the company, not helped it. While some expenses
decreased, there was an alarming decrease in revenue passenger miles and
passengers as well, that far exceeded any expense savings. Will this
happen, again? Will no one in the planning and marketing departments
understand the critical importance of the matrix theory, where one route
always feeds multiple other routes? ... That every route is part of a
system, not a disjointed corridor?

Will the marketing and planning departments understand the future of the
company is outside of the NEC and other corridors, and the tracks of the
freight railroads are the only place Amtrak can grow to prosperity?

Will the marketing and planning departments understand that passenger
counts and revenues are meaningless, and the only real measures for
success are revenue passenger miles and revenues that exceed expenses?
In the September 5th issue of Amtrak This Week (the OTHER This Week
publication) for employees, Amtrak said that 54% of the passenger
revenues originate on the Northeast Corridor. Big deal. More than 54% of
the company's expenses and need for subsidy originate on the NEC, so the
NEC still operates at a loss.

We all remember Disraeli saying "there are lies, damned lies, and
statistics." It's time for Amtrak to start reporting real statistics
instead of those published to make people feel good, but actually do
little to improve the fate of the company.

If the Amtrak Board of Directors and new President and CEO Alexander
Kummant are going to be well served and make good decisions, they need
good data to work from; no one is completely convinced the data coming
from inside the company meets that standard.

3) America lost a great railroader with the passing of Henry Christie in
August. For those of us who were privileged to know him and work with
him, all that can be said is that it was an honor to part of his world.
He was a brilliant man who generously shared his knowledge and wisdom.

Those readers of this space who worked with him know that Mr. Christie
was one of the great railroaders of the 20th Century, starting in the
steam era and ending his storied career deep into the electronic age.

Mr. Christie was a great debater, and loved to talk about his favorite
subjects - the most favorite of which was the railroad universe.

Following is his formal obituary, as supplied by his wife, Ann Christie,
one of the world's most delightful people.

[Begin quote]
HENRY C. CHRISTIE, 79, died Monday, August 7, 2006 at St. John's
Hospital, Tulsa, OK after a short illness.

A memorial service will be at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, September 21, at First
United Methodist Church in Michigan City, IN.

He was born October 17, 1926 to Robert & Agnes (O'Brien) Christie in
Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. On December 17, 1976 in Kansas City, MO he
married Ann Mohegan who survives in Owasso, OK.

Henry's career was in the railway industry. He started his railroad
career with the Southern Railway in England and continued it after
immigrating to the United States December 1949. He worked for the New
York Central; Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad; Amtrak;
Pittsburgh & Lake Erie and Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad.
After retiring Henry served as Secretary-Treasurer for The Air Brake
Association for 11 years, retiring again two years ago.

In lieu of flowers, the family request memorial contributions be made to
First United Methodist Church Music Department, 121 E. 7th Street,
Michigan City, IN 46360, The Railway Supply Institute, Inc., Scholarship
Program, 29 W. 140 Butterfield Road, Suite 103-A, Warrenville, IL 60555,
Salvation Army or the organization of donor's choice.
[End quote]

There are many details to Mr. Christie's career. Here is a bio of Mr.
Christie written by this writer in 1993 when Mr. Christie was working on
a consulting basis:

[Begin quote]

Eastleigh Enterprises, Railway Consulting

Henry C. Christie

Eastleigh Enterprises is a railroad industry consulting firm,
specializing in equipment and operations issues. The firm offers
consultation for all phases of operations and rolling stock, as well as
analysis of costing, staffing, and budgeting. Eastleigh Enterprises also
offers engineering overviews and quality assurance services.

Henry C. Christie, as principal of the Canadian Premier Rail project,
provided the majority of the operating and maintenance expertise for the
study. Mr. Christie has excelled as a professional railroader since 1943
when he began his career as a Locomotive Cleaner and Fireman for the
Southern Railway in England. Since then, he has steadily moved through
the professional ranks of railroading in England and the United States,
where he has served the New York Central System; the Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific Railroad Company; Amtrak; the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie
Railroad Company; the Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad; and the
Electro-Motive Division, EMD.

Mr. Christie served as Chief Maintenance Officer of Amtrak, reporting to
the Vice President, National Operations, and was responsible for the
overall direction of running maintenance functions of locomotives and
cars for the corporation, excluding the Northeast Corridor. He was
responsible for daily activities, planning, control, direction and
budget monitoring. He was also responsible for initiating action
covering all maintenance programs, directives and instructions to the
field. He assisted the regional vice presidents in the running of
maintenance facilities under their direct control. He was also
responsible for maintenance details of contract negotiations with
various carriers. He had an immediate staff of 37 people; indirect
control of 2,400 people, with an annual budget of $78 million.

Mr. Christie also served Amtrak as the Director - Running Maintenance,
and Manager - Car Planning and Engineering [Mr. Christie was responsible
for drawing up the Amtrak Heritage Fleet A & B Lists; cars on one list
were kept for conversion to HEP power, and the other list of cars were
sold as surplus.].

At the South Shore, Mr. Christie served as General Manager - Motive
Power & Equipment, and also as General Superintendent, Transportation.

Mr. Christie was responsible for 16,500 cars and 105 locomotives as the
Chief Maintenance Office of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Company,
with equipment capital expenditures of $75 million being processed in
certain years.

Mr. Christie's service to the Rock Island included duties as the
Assistant Chief Mechanical Officer - Locomotive and Assistant Chief
Mechanical Officer - Car. The two positions yielded combined
responsibility for 30,000 cars and 605 locomotive units. He also served
as the General Superintendent of the Car Department and Manager of
Engineering and Research Services.

Professional memberships include the American Society, Mechanical
Engineers; American Railway Engineering Society; Car Department
Officers' Association; and Locomotive Maintenance Officers' Association.
He is also a member of MENSA and the Union League Club of Chicago.

Industry related activities include AAR Mechanical Division General
Committee, AAR Special Equipment Committee, AAR Car Construction
Committee, various AAR ad hoc committees, and guest lecturer at the
Illinois Institute of Technology.

Mr. Christie co-authored various papers for the Pittsburgh Air Brake
Club and Central Air Brake Club of Chicago, and his writing has appeared
in Progressive Railroading magazine.

[End quote]

Not mentioned in the bio was his 1994 visit to the White House to
discuss the privatization of Amtrak. Henry Christie was a kind, generous
man who loved his work and his friends and family. He loved to sing
(hearing him sing opera was an inspiring experience), and most
mechanical things in the world fascinated him. Among his friends he was
also a famous cook.

Henry Christie will be missed by all of us who were privileged to know
him, and will be greatly missed by the industry he served and advanced
so well.

4) The New York Sun newspaper last week ran an editorial about it, and
the Boston Globe filed a news report about the financial relationship
between the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) and
Amtrak, and NARP's ability to think and react independently of Amtrak
management. As reported in this space earlier this year, NARP for a
number of years has been receiving annual financial payments in the tens
of thousands of dollars from Amtrak to operate Amtrak's customer
advisory committee. This occurred at the same time NARP, as a third
party, was lobbying Congress and others for higher federal subsidies,
without publicly disclosing the contractual arrangement with Amtrak.

URPA Vice President Bill Lindley writes, "According to The Sun's recent
editorial, 'NARP`s executive director, Ross Capon, says ... the
relationship has never come up in board meetings when members decided
whether or not to criticize Amtrak ...'

"Please be mindful of that carefully placed qualifier; NARP's official
criticisms of Amtrak seem to appear about as frequently as snowfall here
in Phoenix. The issue has certainly arisen before the NARP Board; as an
alternate at their Santa Fe meeting in 1997, during the discussion of
their budget, I questioned the $16,000 annual contract from Amtrak for
the Customer Advisory Council and how it imperiled the impartiality of
NARP. I explained it seemed to be in conflict with the assertion that
NARP has 'no association with Amtrak or the railroads.' (quote from NARP
brochure, 1974.) Mr. Capon was present during the brief but heated
discussion that ensued. The motion to exercise the escape clause in CAC
contract was tabled, and presumably never again revived."

5) President Bush has nominated Mary Peters as the new Secretary of
Transportation. Secretary-Designate Peters is from Arizona, and Mr.
Lindley, as mentioned above, a resident of Arizona, files this report.

"Through the Arizona Rail Passenger Association, I have worked on
numerous occasions with Mary Peters, whom President Bush has nominated
for Secretary of Transportation. I particularly remember her 1998
address to the Arizona Association of Railroad Passengers; she described
her mission as 'taking the department into the next century' through an
emphasis on multi-modalism; she noted that although the Department of
Highways changed its name to the Department of Transportation in 1974,
it had taken too many years for the agency to embrace ideas other than
highways; and she brought rounds of applause by explaining, 'we should
not widen highway corridors to 8, 10, and 12 lanes. We need to look at a
maximum highway configuration of 6 lanes ... Highways [alone] are not
going to meet our transportation needs in the future.'

"In 2000, as president of ARPA, I worked with her to bring a TALGO train
for display at Phoenix and a demonstration round-trip between Phoenix
and Tucson. Photos at http://azrail.org/ar...ts/phoenix/2000
include a view of Ms. Peters with the TALGO on the platform at Coolidge.

"Arizona now is seeing the benefits of her leadership then. ADOT
undertook the hard job of implementing her vision; through the new
Public Transit Division, ADOT is supporting light rail in metro Phoenix
as it moves toward completion, and commuter rail as it begins to move
beyond the study phase toward implementation.

"Ms. Peters started as an office secretary at the Arizona Department of
Transportation and moved upward through transportation planning to
become director of that agency 16 years later. As Federal Highway
Administrator for several years starting in 2001, she gained experience
working within the Washington framework; most recently she was with HDR
Engineering as a transportation policy consultant.

"In the White House announcement last week, Ms. Peters said she wants to
tackle roadway congestion by modernizing transportation systems, such as
expanding the use of toll roads - just one example of how the DOT is
likely to change from business-as-usual under her guidance.

"Ms. Peters understands what highways can do, and what they can't; she
has been a supporter of passenger trains and multi-modalism; and she
knows how to set a direction and make things happen. She will make an
excellent Secretary of Transportation."

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J. Bruce Richardson
President
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203
Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA
Telephone 904-636-6760
brucerichardson@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org

[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak
Volume 3 Number 38 — September 22, 2006

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203
Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006
Telephone 904-636-6760
Email info@unitedrail.org
www.unitedrail.org

Founded in 1976 by 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, New York, and Arkansas. For more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and other documents, visit the URPA web site at www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from any outside sources.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cooperation for a common goal is considered to be a good idea. The common goal of this exercise is for the freight railroads to run Amtrak trains in a timely manner. Chip Jones, the very good transportation reporter for the Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch wrote last week that CSX is working with Amtrak to improve on time performance.
The crux of the matter is this: CSX has a contractual obligation, agreed upon when Amtrak began operating in 1971, to operate all passenger trains on a priority basis, with clearances over freight trains. This is the deal the freight railroads made with the devil to be relieved of regulatory requirements to run their own passenger trains and turn over all operations to Amtrak.

Thirty-five years later, the railroad industry is in a much different stance than it was in 1971. Instead of being in a survival/shrinkage mode, America's railroads today are bursting at the seams with business of every type and description, including a refreshing clamoring for new commuter rail projects in and around cities of every size.

The railroads that did everything that could be done to get unused or lightly used trackage off of the tax rolls now suddenly find some of those then-redundant main and secondary main lines would be very profitable and useful in today's railroad world. In the 1960s and 70s, railroads were looking at a bleak future; today, our society has advanced enough to recognize each form of transportation in our domestic transportation matrix as an important part of the mix, and that includes both freight and passenger railroads.

The scenario today is that most Class I railroads, such as CSX, Norfolk Southern, CN, BNSF, CP, and Union Pacific have as much freight business as they can handle with their present infrastructure. And, most economists agree the railroad industry is poised for continued growth.

Therefore, adding passenger trains, or accommodating current passenger trains is a low priority on the railroad totem pole. But, the law says the railroads have to accommodate Amtrak.

Which brings us to what reasonable people usually do ... they sit down and come to a compromise that helps each party. In this instance, CSX is requesting longer transit times for Amtrak trains, such as the Auto Train, and the Florida service trains.

Amtrak apologists may harrumph about such a thing; today's schedules are generally hours longer than historic passenger train schedules over the same or similar routes. And, it is not improper to wonder how railroads in World War II managed to handle all of the wartime freight movements along with the wartime passenger train movements, plus the extra troop trains, all without the benefit of computerized signaling and using paper dispatching.

The best answer to that? That was then, and this is now. Before the wave of mergers began after World War II, there was far more main line track in this country, operated by dozens of railroads, not just seven Class I railroads and a number of smaller, regional railroads. At the beginning of WW II, much more track was double tracked on the main lines, instantly providing much more capacity. Very few cities had one dominant carrier; as an example, goods from the West Coast to Chicago could originate on the Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, Great Northern, Northern Pacific, or Santa Fe, instead of now just UP or BNSF.

Reviewing the long range plans of all of the major railroads clarifies the infrastructure improvement plans of each railroad, some of which are already in progress, and others in final planning stages. The purpose of the freight railroads is to make money for shareholders, and the only way to do that is haul more freight. The only way to haul more freight is to have more capacity. Along with that increased capacity will be opportunities for new passenger rail service for both long distance and regional trains.

As all of this capacity is being built, the short term answer is for Amtrak and its host freight railroads is address the realities of today, and figure out how to run trains in a timely manner, which may include some schedule changes and longer trip times. When passengers know what schedule to expect, they accept the proposed trip time. When passengers are constantly abused by late trains, they become unforgiving and grumpy. Longer schedules for months or a few years is a small price to pay for passenger satisfaction and the ability of Amtrak to advertise itself as reliable domestic transportation.

In mid-August, a comment was made about West Coast socialist rail advocacy groups which support Amtrak. Now that all of the information is in, it is apparent that comment was in error. Tony Trifiletti, the president of All Aboard Washington explains.
When I saw Bruce Richardson's characterization of certain West Coast rail advocacy groups as "socialistic," I bridled a bit. You can call me a lot of things, but I get really angry if you call me a socialist. Them's fightin' words.

While most rail advocacy groups support Amtrak unconditionally, we at All Aboard Washington (formerly the Washington Association of Rail Passengers) support Amtrak but with a jaundiced eye. We understand Amtrak is the only game in town, so there is a certain degree of reflexive support. But many of us understand Amtrak has done a less than stellar job over the past 35 years, and not all of that is connected to a lack of federal funding. Amtrak is a government bureaucracy, and bureaucrats as a rule can't think like entrepreneurs. In fact it's not fair to ask them to, for they lack the training and the mind set to function outside the world of government.

Like most rail advocacy organizations, half our members are nostalgia buffs, members of the Greatest Generation, who tend to be New Dealers. Another large group are railfans, who tend to have strong ties to organized labor. A few of us are transportation professionals - veteran, retired and undiscovered - who try to think outside the box and often pound our heads bloody on the walls of that box.

Our journey to an out-of-the-box solution to America's passenger rail problems began at an annual regional meeting of Pacific Northwest rail advocacy organizations held in Portland in February 2000. Our chairman, Chuck Mott, had spent over a decade with the Northern Pacific and Burlington Northern railroads and had been an incorporator of Burlington Northern Air Freight, now BAX Global. Chuck knew the package business inside and out, and upon viewing Amtrak's presentation on revenue projections for the mail-and-express initiative, he saw immediately the Amtrak people were dreamers and lacking in good sense with no understanding of how difficult it would be to develop the level of business they projected, let alone figure out its profitability or lack thereof.

Then we heard a presentation on Amtrak's "glidepath to solvency," and at that point I attempted to introduce reality into the discussion, an attempt remembered today as "Tony's temper tantrum." I meant no animus toward the people at Amtrak, but it was patently obvious their glidepaths and initiatives were doomed to failure because they couldn't get beyond their bureaucratic mind sets. I made a terrible prediction as to what would happen, and it was with no small amount of horror I watched my prediction unfold over the ensuing years.

In April 2000, a group of us met at the Pizza Bank restaurant in Kirkland, Washington to discuss the possible demise of Amtrak and how we could preserve our Cascades Service trains in the event of its dissolution. We were officers and directors, yet we knew our sentiments were not reflected by a majority of our membership. Present were myself, Chuck Mott, J. Craig Thorpe and Dr. Hal Cooper. Craig Thorpe is America's leading railroad artist, and Hal Cooper, an engineering consultant, is the father of the Trans-Texas Corridors - but in their original configuration as a rail project.

At the Pizza Bank we agreed something needed to be done, and we thought getting all the West Coast rail advocacy organizations in one room would be a good start. We needed to hold a conference.

That conference was set for San Carlos, California on September 12, 2001 - and everyone remembers what happened the day before. Only those of us who came to the Bay Area by Amtrak's Coast Starlight got there. With most of our Oregon counterparts stuck on the ground and our California counterparts at their emergency stations, the conference was postponed. Fortunately, those of us who came by train left by train, and the trains were running despite a national emergency. That incident alone pointed to the criticality of a national rail system.

The conference was finally held in July 2002 in Sacramento. Unfortunately, what I encountered was a sea of denial. Despite the Amtrak Reform Council report, only the few of us from All Aboard Washington grasped the possibility that Amtrak could be in real danger. For most of the attendees from Oregon and California, it was as simple as the Democratic Party riding to the rescue or the backing of the invincible AARP. Some accused me of disloyalty to Amtrak, arguing that the only purpose of the conference should be to redouble our support of the beleaguered railroad. Others accused me of being unnecessarily alarmist. I left that meeting both dismayed and depressed.

In the summer of 2004, Chuck Mott came up with an idea for a pilot project that would hand the Southwest Chief back to the BNSF for a five year experiment. At about this time, Tom Till, who had been Executive Director of the Amtrak Reform Council, was working in Seattle for the Discovery Institute as manager of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant. Tom was holding a series of conferences at the Rayburn House Building in DC to discuss various privatization alternatives to Amtrak, and Tom thought enough of Chuck's concept to permit me to present it at his September 2005 conference. Tom Rader of Colorado Railcar eviscerated the concept with one pithy statement, but it was a valid comment - and it sent me back to the drawing board.

The critical idea I took away from Tom Till's conference was the "virtual" railroad companies of the UK privatization, who lease their trains, outsource their employees and run a railroad out of a small room with a few people, a computer and a bank account. Based on this concept and aiming for a grand design, Chuck, Craig and I wrote "A Privatization Paradigm for Returning Intercity Passenger Trains to the Class I Railroads". We have vetted this document through two passenger rail organizations, and initial reactions have been positive. (For those who would like to read the document and join our discussion, just request a copy via e-mail at tonytrif@msn.com.)

All Aboard Washington today is in the process of restructuring its board by bringing in outside directors, and we are searching for grant money to fulfill our mission in Washington state. We will soon be reaching beyond our current 500 members in a massive recruitment drive. We have taken the first steps in a long path, and we're eager to see where it leads.

Tony Trifiletti President, All Aboard Washington

Have you noticed the Sunset Limited is still not operating east of New Orleans? Various reports keep floating into the URPA nerve center here in Jacksonville, but still no sign of a train coming down the track. Presumably, Amtrak is still saying the dog ate Amtrak's homework, so it can't run the train.
Alex Kummant has now officially been in his new office as President and CEO of Amtrak for 11 days. Yet, all of this time, nothing has changed. After all, it has been 11 whole days. What's taking so long?
Here's a little secret: it's going to take a while before anything happens. Some are impatient, saying the "Bush management team" hasn't accomplished much, or has even gone backwards.

Take a chill pill.

Ending literally decades of corporate abuse and hanky-panky takes time, and it can't be accomplished over night. Most business professionals measure changes in corporate culture in terms of months and years, not in days and weeks.

Until the arrival of Mr. Kummant, there has been no "Bush management team" at Amtrak, but merely a board of directors appointed by Mr. Bush which has had to contend with an enormous, entrenched corporate bureaucracy that is unaccustomed to emitting any positive reaction to anything offered by the board of directors. The mercifully departed David Gunn was hired by the board of directors appointed by President Clinton, not President Bush. And, Mr. Gunn surrounded himself (as many high level executives commonly do) with people he felt he could trust from past working relationships. The management team inherited by the Amtrak board and now Mr. Kummant is a team not of their making.

The Amtrak Board of Directors has been doing plenty, considering what they inherited, and the management team they had to contend with under David Gunn. The also now-departed David Hughes, as acting president kept the company going until Mr. Kummant could arrive. So, while there may be some cosmetic changes, and hopefully soon some upper level personnel changes, don't expect anything to happen over night. A thoughtful steward of the company, there for the long haul (and, hopefully, the long haul trains), will first take a corporate temperature, and work with senior planners and numbers crunchers before major overhauls take place. No reasonable person should expect instant results. Those who do are always disappointed.

Former Amtrak spokesman, author, shill for high speed rail, and book huckster Joe Vranich has been browbeating the passenger rail countryside again, seemingly hoping to get enough people to listen to him so his latest book will rise higher in popularity on the Amazon.com ratings list. This gentleman, who has made a career about being visible enough to sell his own books, has been urging Congress to dump Amtrak and start fresh with his interpretation of how passenger rail should be in America. It's always interesting to see how many places Mr. Vranich pops up with the same song, but to a slightly different tune.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Bruce Richardson
President
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
6271 St. Augustine Road, Suite 24, PMB 303
Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2555
Telephone 904-636-6760
Email brichardson.org
www.unitedrail.org

[George Harris]

MrFSS, on Sat, Sep 23, 2006, 05:14 AM, said:

Former Amtrak spokesman, author, shill for high speed rail, and book huckster Joe Vranich has been browbeating the passenger rail countryside again, seemingly hoping to get enough people to listen to him so his latest book will rise higher in popularity on the Amazon.com ratings list. This gentleman, who has made a career about being visible enough to sell his own books, has been urging Congress to dump Amtrak and start fresh with his interpretation of how passenger rail should be in America. It's always interesting to see how many places Mr. Vranich pops up with the same song, but to a slightly different tune.

I love it. "made a career about being visible enough to sell his own books."
Can anyone think of anything this man has produced other than books and papers that find fault with those that are trying to do something?

This post has been edited by George Harris: 26 September 2006 - 09:59 PM

[Sam Damon]

My $0.02: if you see Vranich popping up somewhere, be sure to write a quick note to the responsible editors, pointing out the limits in his analyses.

Editors don't like looking underinformed. Trust me on this one.

[frj1983]

Mr Vranich

seems to have developed a "book-publishing" cottage industry on slamming Amtrak. Does anyone really listen to him? I keep thinking of the old saying "methinks ye protest too much!"

Maybe we should encourage him to take his patented look at the airline industry and ask the question: when will the airlines begin paying back the hefty loans the government gave them after 9/11? Does "never" sound like the correct answer here?

Go Joe go, write about this or something else, it would be a breathe of fresh air...all sarcasm intended. Sorry, I'll turn my rant off now!

[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; September 29, 2006

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 info@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 3, Number 39

Founded three decades ago in 1976 by 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, New York, and
Tennessee. 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 end of the federal government’s and Amtrak’s fiscal year is just
hours away. Looks like Amtrak survived another year to live and provide
passenger rail service for another day. Fiscal Year 06 will be
remembered as the year that fortunately for Amtrak, former President and
CEO David Gunn was shown the door, and a new chief steward of Amtrak
appeared on the scene less than a month before the end of the fiscal year.

Most notable for FY 06 was the complete absence of the Sunset Limited
operating east of New Orleans. Amtrak told its unions the train was not
discontinued, but was unable to operate due to a lack of station
infrastructure and right of way. CSX solved the right of way problem by
releasing the track east of New Orleans to Jacksonville on April 1st for
use by Amtrak. The station facilities smokescreen is just that - smoke
and mirrors. If Amtrak has the internal will to operate this train,
which the State of Florida contributed $7.5 million to in 1992/93 to
upgrade infrastructure and build station facilities in Florida’s
panhandle, the train will be running. So far, the public or other
interested parties have not heard any reasonable excuses, beyond the dog
eating Amtrak’s homework, for the train not to be running.

2) New Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant continues to strike a
positive note as he communicates with his employees. Here is what he had
to say in the internal employee newsletter, "Amtrak This Week" on Monday:

[Begin quote]

September 25, 2006

Dear Co-workers,

Just wanted to share with you some news on a couple of fronts. We're
closing the fiscal year in a solid financial position — we will have
exceeded our ridership and revenue targets, having carried 24.4 million
passengers and earned over $1.3 billion in ticket revenue.

As for the new fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, the board of directors
approved our budget for FY ’07 last week. Because Congress has not yet
voted on our FY ’07 appropriation, we will likely move forward based on
what they call a Continuing Resolution until an appropriation is
approved by both houses, just as we did last year.

I've already met with some members of Congress and my
relationship-building with Capitol Hill continues on Thursday, when I'll
be testifying before the House Railroads Subcommittee.

I want Congress to know that I am committed to advancing passenger rail
and Amtrak’s future. And I want to share with them what I've learned
about the progress Amtrak has made in the last couple of years toward
rehabilitating our Northeast Corridor infrastructure. I'll make sure
that what I tell them is posted in the Intranet so that you can read it.

On the on-time performance front, thanks to our efforts with CSX, we're
seeing some significant improvements in the OTP of the Auto Train and
Silver Meteor (versus this time last year) and we'll be asking CSX to
direct their attention to doing the same with the Carolinian, the Silver
Star and the Palmetto.

One other note about OTP — I want to congratulate everyone
associatedwith the OTP record Acela Express has had lately. We've
recently hadseveral 100% days, and as of yesterday maintained 91.4% OTP
this month.It’s a great example of what we can accomplish when we all
pull together.

Sincerely,
Alex Kummant
President and CEO

[End quote]

3) One sad but interesting note in the same edition of Amtrak This Week
is the announcement of new upper-level galley and dumb waiters being
installed in the first of the 13 Superliner I dining cars being
converted to new diner/lounge configuration at Amtrak’s Beech Grove
heavy repair and maintenance facility in Indiana.

While initially Amtrak may have found some economic relief from the
Diner Lite program, history teaches us the program is not going to last,
based on previous versions of this program in decades past, and the
still morally admirable food served on the Empire Builder and Auto Train
which have full diner kitchens, wait staffs, and complete menus.

Those of us, such as this writer, who have been paid by Amtrak to
perform dining car studies, know every Amtrak dining car has the
potential to break even, or even make money with the right formulas for
operation, including the 24 hour dining car concept.

Here’s a prediction: Diner Lite will probably last through the busy
summer season of 2007, but by the end of this new fiscal year, better
accounting numbers will demonstrate the re-introduction of full dining
car services which will help Amtrak operate more profitable trains in
the long distance system.

On the bright side, the Superliner I equipment is now older than the
Heritage Fleet equipment inherited from the private railroads when
Amtrak began in 1971. This equipment was due for a good make over.
Having a pool of diner/lounge cars could prove profitable when used in
conjunction with a full dining car on larger consist long distance
trains, offering a quick meal service versus the full sit-down service
of a regular dining car. It will be up to Amtrak’s new management to see
how profitable this concept can be.

4) Here’s a message found today in URPA’s e-mail. It speaks for itself.

[Begin quote]

This morning I received an e-mail from the "Class Agent" of my high
school class, and he is trying to organize our 45th reunion for next
June 22nd through 24. I went to high school near Pittsfield, MA, so, out
of curiosity, I got on the Amtrak website to check out fares, round trip
from Galesburg, IL to Pittsfield, MA. for one adult (senior!). Depart
GBB on 6/21/07, return departing PIT 6/24/07.

The coach only fare was $160.65, but I'm not one to sit up all night, so
I priced a Viewliner Roomette on the Lakeshore between CHI and ALB, each
way, with the rest being just coach.

The total fare was $748.65!!!! Eastbound on No. 48, the accommodation
charge was $245. Westbound on No. 49, the accommodation charge was $343.
And this is pricing 9 months in advance. These people are nuts.

If they are selling out sleeping car space at these prices, they ought to
be building more sleepers as fast as possible. If they are NOT selling,
then they are just driving away business because they don't care.

As a reminder, Graham Claytor said at a NARP meeting years ago that the
long distance trains were operating in the black (above the rails) and
that the sleeping cars were covering ALL their costs. I was there, and I
heard him say it.

[End quote]

5) Yesterday (Thursday), as mentioned above, was Alex Kummant’s first
Congressional testimony experience. He had a message for everyone;
anyone who claims he was brought in by an Evil Republican board of
directors to dismantle Amtrak must not be paying attention to what he is
saying in sworn testimony:

[Begin quote]

Statement of Alex Kummant, President and Chief Executive Officer,
Amtrak, before the Subcommittee on Railroads of the House Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee

September 28, 2006

Good morning, my name is Alex Kummant, and I have been Amtrak's
President and Chief Executive Officer since September 12. I appreciate
the opportunity to appear before the Subcommittee today.

I intend to keep my statement short to allow you as much time as
possible to ask me questions. But, let me start by telling you a little
bit about myself. I was born in Ohio and was raised both there and in
western Pennsylvania because my father worked as an engineer and later
an engineering manager for U.S. Steel. My Dad's work in the steel mills
wasone of the reasons why I chose engineering as a vocation and why most
of my professional life has been spent in industrial settings or in the
manufacturing of equipment to support heavy industry.

From 1999 to 2003, I worked for the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and at
the time of my departure was Regional Vice President of the Central
Division overseeing 6,000 transportation, engineering, construction
mechanical and other employees supporting an 8,000 mile-rail network. I
was responsible for customer service, on-time delivery, and the overall
financial and operational performance of the region. My time at the UP
left an indelible and abiding interest in the railroad industry. Even
today, I believe that the operations of a railroad represents some of
the most engrossing and challenging opportunities in terms of a
professional career. Therefore, the opportunity to join Amtrak is more
than just another job to me; it is a chance to get back into an industry
that has kept its hold on me and to advance something I believe in,
passenger railroading.

Amtrak is both a business and public enterprise. Amtrak was created by
Congress, it relies on funding from Congress, and in many ways you are
the company's primary shareholders. In my view, there are very few large
and complex operations that are so challenging both from a business
point of view, as well as a public or political point of view.

Also, I believe we are at a pivotal point in the history of rail
passenger service. I am committed to operating a national system of
trains. I believe long-distance trains are an important part of the
nation's transportation network, and I believe it is our challenge to
run them in the most efficient and effective way. That said, I
understand how important these trains are as a form of basic
transportation to many small communities across the nation. My
challenge, and that of our management team, will be to find the most
efficient and effective way to run them.

I also know that the fastest growing service we have is in rail
corridors. Those states that have the vision to develop their state rail
systems are beginning to see the benefits of that service. In the past
few years, the only new services that Amtrak has added are those that
are supported by the states. Developing these corridors, and by that I
mean providing regular and reliable service between city pairs of
300-500 miles, is going to be a major part and the driving force of our
future. I hope that in my time at Amtrak we will continue to see more
corridorgrowth and the realization of a federal and state funding
partnership for these corridors.

I am just beginning to understand how much work Amtrak has done in the
last few years in bringing the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and some of its
branch lines to a much higher level of utility. The NEC still requires a
significant amount of investment including large projects such as bridge
and tunnel replacement, but in terms of basic investment (tracks, ties,
signals) the company has used the capital money you have appropriated to
them wisely and strategically to update the NEC. In the coming years, I
think we will have to do a better job of explaining the importance of
these capital investments to you because this valuable work has
durability and demonstrable benefit. In fact, the work we have done has
allowed us to reduce slightly the Acela service travel time between New
York and Washington by 5 minutes in our new timetables.

To me, having been on the outside, I have always wondered why the Amtrak
debate is so emotional and at times acrimonious. It really needn't be,
especially now. At a time of high oil prices, growing highway and
airport congestion and record rail freight volumes, problems which beset
and constrain our transportation system, we should be embracing rail and
developing it as quickly and as responsibly as we can. We should get
beyond the debate of a few hundred million dollars of operating costs
and begin to realize the potential rail passenger service has to offer
with the right level of investment and a clearly defined federal policy.

I know many of you travel back to your district every weekend because
you feel it is the most effective way to keep in touch with the views of
the people you have been elected to represent. Just like you, I intend
to roam about the system. I will be on the trains, in the shops, on the
platforms and at the stations. I find the best ideas, often times, are
the ones given to you by those that are out there doing their jobs every
day. This is something my Dad learned when he worked large engineering
projects in steel mills and something he instilled in me.

In closing, let me assure you that I believe in rail passenger service,
and believe in Amtrak. I have a lot to learn, but I learn quickly. In
the coming weeks, I intend to shape and hone my immediate and near-term
goals and objectives, as well as get around and meet with many of you
personally, and I encourage you to offer me your counsel and advice. In
that vein, it is my hope that today begins a long and constructive
relationship.

[End quote]

What a refreshing and positive change from the normal "the sky is
falling" style of communication from the Amtrak Executive Suite.

6) For those of us who relish a touch of the bizarre, read this letter
from the United States Department of Transportation’s Inspector
General’s office to the Amtrak Board of Directors:

[Begin quote]

Office of the Secretary of Transportation

Office of Inspector General

September 26, 2006

The Honorable David Laney
Chairman
Amtrak Board of Directors
60 Massachusetts Ave, NE
Washington, DC 20002

Dear Mr. Chairman:

On October 25, 2005, House of Representatives Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young asked Congressman Richard
Baker to lead a working group to evaluate information from the
Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Amtrak Inspector General,
and the Department of Transportation Inspector General regarding
Amtrak's management and performance. This request was prompted, in part,
by issues raised in the October 2005 GAO report, Amtrak Management:
Systemic Problems Require Actions to Improve Efficiency, Effectiveness,
and Accountability.

In March 2006, the Majority Members and the Democratic Members of the
Amtrak Working Group issued separate reports summarizing their findings.
The Democratic Members of the Amtrak Working Group included among the
recommendations in its report the following, "Our investigation
indicates that some of the deficiencies cited in the GAO report
represent a failure of Amtrak's Board of Directors. Accordingly, we
intend to request that the DOT IG conduct an investigation of whether
the Board of Directors is adequately carrying out its legal and
fiduciary responsibilities."

On April 25, 2006, the Democratic Members of the Amtrak Working Group
formally requested that our office undertake this investigation. They
cited concerns that Amtrak's Board of Directors has not exercised
sufficient oversight of the corporation or held management accountable
for results and whether the Amtrak Board's expenses are appropriate.

As a result, our office plans to conduct a review of how Amtrak's Board
of Directors carries out its responsibilities. In addition, we plan to
review the Board's expenses from Fiscal Year 2002 to the present as
requested. The objectives of this review are to determine (1) the rules,
procedures and authorities under which the Board operates, (2) whether
the Board has followed established processes and procedures, (3) whether
the Board has set long-term goals and performance objectives for Amtrak,
(4) whether the processes and procedures that the Board follows are
sufficient for ensuring oversight of, and requiring accountability from,
Amtrak management, and (5) whether the Board members' expenses comply
with corporate guidelines and whether those guidelines are sufficient to
ensure prudent use of corporate resources. The results of our review
will aid in identifying whether potential reforms to improve the Board's
performance are needed.

The work will be carried out in Washington, DC. The Program Director for
this review is Mitchell Behm, and Debra Mayer is the Project Manager. If
you have any questions or need additional information, please call me at
...

Sincerely,
David Tornquist
Assistant Inspector General
for Competition and Economic Analysis

[End quote]

Well, we know Amtrak continues to be a political football, but it’s
tough to figure out the motives behind this request by the minority
Democrat members of the Amtrak Working Group in Congress. Are they
trying to harass the current Amtrak board because they had the good
sense to fire David Gunn? Are they mad and jealous someone else is
playing with what they consider their oversized Lionel train set? Are
these the same Democrats who are members of the party which, in the
Senate, torpedoed the nominations of two highly prominent and even more
important, highly qualified Democrats to serve on the Amtrak board?

Interestingly, the majority of the time the Amtrak board will be audited
will be the time when the board was under the control of the departing
members which were nominated by the Democrat Clinton Administration. Can
anyone figure this one out?

If you are reading someone else’s copy of This Week at Amtrak, you can
receive your own free copy each week by sending your e-mail address to

freetwa@unitedrail.org

You MUST include your name, preferred e-mail address, and city and state
where you live. If you have filters or firewalls placed on your Internet
connection, set your e-mail to receive incoming mail from
brucerichardson@unitedrail.org; we are unable to go through any
individual approvals processes for individuals. This mailing list is
kept strictly confidential and is not shared or used for any purposes
other than the distribution of This Week at Amtrak or related URPA
materials.

All other correspondence should be addressed to
brucerichardson@unitedrail.org

J. Bruce Richardson
President
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203
Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA
Telephone 904-636-6760
brucerichardson@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrai...@unitedrail.org

[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; October 6, 2006

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 info@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 3, Number 40

Founded three decades ago in 1976 by 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, New York, and Tennessee. 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) Another week, this time the first week of the new fiscal year, and
another week when the Sunset Limited is not running east of New Orleans.
Has anybody seen the Sunset Limited?

2) For all of the things Amtrak is doing, it's what Amtrak is not doing
that is making a negative difference.

For too long, Amtrak has considered marketing and related activities
beyond the Northeast Corridor (or, here in bow and arrow country, which
means anywhere west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and south of Washington,
D.C.) as unimportant. At best, Amtrak has paid lip service to marketing
the national system, but the bulk of the marketing and advertising
dollars have gone into trying to bolster the sagging NEC.

Some Amtrak apologists will quickly point out that 54% of fare box
revenues come from the NEC. (Yawn) Big deal. It takes more than 54% of
the expenses to keep running the NEC, so it doesn't matter how much
revenue comes from there as long as it takes even more money to run the
services.

There was once a shining moment in Amtrak marketing in 1999 and 2000 in
the old Gulf Coast Business Group, which at the time controlled the
Sunset Limited, City of New Orleans, and Crescent.

At the same time, the Amtrak marketing department was undergoing some
upheaval and changes, so two independent entities were formed with
outside contractors, the Crescent Promotional Office and the Sunset
Limited and City of New Orleans Promotional Office.

Both of these ventures were successful in zeroing in on specific trains
and routes and drawing local business to those trains.

The budgets were small by marketing standards, because a lot of guerilla
marketing took place that produced results.

As an example, in the Sunset and City office, we (this writer) used a lot
of barter and public relations techniques. We would go to a radio station
in a city such as Daytona Beach, and create a program where a station DJ
would host a trip on the Sunset Limited from Daytona to New Orleans.

We gave the station free trips for the DJ host, the station manager, and
several pairs of tickets to give away as prizes. In exchange, the station
heavily promoted the trip, and listeners were allowed to purchase trips
in the group in order to travel with their favorite DJ and have a group
trip to New Orleans.

The bottom line? Lots of air time advertising Amtrak and the Sunset
Limited, new passengers who paid to travel with the group, and much of
the external cost for the specific project included giving away coach and
sleeping car space on the train which would have run empty anyway, so it
was turned into a valuable commodity for barter.

3) Other similar programs were put together for group travel for what are
known as affinity groups (people traveling together who have something in
common) such as credit union members, church members, and any other type
of organization. Other programs included working with television stations
on the same basis as radio stations (travel with your favorite
weatherman), and also working with local governments to jointly promote
Amtrak and local tourism.

The possibilities were, and are, endless. It takes a fertile mind that is
willing to think outside the standard marketing box, not be afraid to
advance ideas, and be able to do some horse trading.

Amtrak has a longtime policy of using empty seats and sleeping car space
for promotions, and the use of this space is not charged to anyone's
budget. Therefore, a lot can be accomplished without yet another budget
item to fight over at the end of the fiscal year.

4) For too long, Amtrak has been America's best kept secret. For those of
you outside Washington and the NEC reading this space, conduct your own
field test. Talk to 20 of your friends, co-workers, or neighbors who
don't know you have an interest in rail. Ask them if they know Amtrak
serves your town or city. Ask them if they have ever ridden on a
passenger train. Ask them if they have any idea of how to contact Amtrak
if the thought did strike them to want to ride a train. The results
shouldn't be shocking. Anyone who is a road warrior for business knows
every good hotel has a services directory in each room. In almost every
instance, there are telephone numbers for all of the local airlines, but
not a single number for Amtrak. Many hotels provide a shuttle service to
local airports, often miles away. Ask if you can get a shuttle ride to
the local Amtrak station. "Where? What? No, we don't go there." "But,
it's on the way to the airport!" "Sorry, we don't go there."

5) These are the types of problems that are best solved with an
aggressive promotional office program. These are the details that often
get left behind by marketing people who are usually thinking more
globally than on a local level. These are the "in fill" jobs that don't
cost much to do, but over a period of time can make a huge difference in
visibility and on an institutional scale, so that when marketing dollars
are spent in traditional venues, those dollars will have a greater
impact.

6) The art public relations means many different things to many people.
It can be a combination of damage control, warm and fuzzy creations,
factual presentations, and image building. All of it is something Amtrak
has failed to do on any regular basis. Amtrak spends less than $100
million a year on marketing and advertising, a small amount. A good
promotional office and educational program could be had for probably less
than five percent of that figure, a small investment which has proven to
bring big results.

7) One resource that Amtrak often ignores is the excitement and
willingness of its own people to speak and make presentations of the
company's behalf. From conductors to ticket agents to office clerks,
there are thousands of Amtrak employees who are comfortable speaking in
front of groups and like promoting the work of their employer. Another
similar area is an Amtrak speakers bureau. Most large corporations have
corporate spokespersons who are available as professional speakers for
gatherings of all sizes and interests. This is another relatively small
budget area that provides large amounts of goodwill for the company.

8) Amtrak, as it moves forward under the board of directors and new
president and chief executive officer, needs to strongly examine its
options to stop being the best kept secret in America.

If you are reading someone else's copy of This Week at Amtrak, you can
receive your own free copy each week by sending your e-mail address to

freetwa@unitedrail.org

You MUST include your name, preferred e-mail address, and city and state
where you live. If you have filters or firewalls placed on your Internet
connection, set your e-mail to receive incoming mail from
brucerichardson@unitedrail.org; we are unable to go through any
individual approvals processes for individuals. This mailing list is kept
strictly confidential and is not shared or used for any purposes other
than the distribution of This Week at Amtrak or related URPA materials.

All other correspondence should be addressed to
brucerichardson@unitedrail.org

J. Bruce Richardson
President
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203
Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA
Telephone 904-636-6760
brucerichardson@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrai...@unitedrail.org

[Sam Damon]

MrFSS, on Sat, Oct 7, 2006, 08:12 AM, said:

2) For all of the things Amtrak is doing, it's what Amtrak is not doing
that is making a negative difference.

For too long, Amtrak has considered marketing and related activities
beyond the Northeast Corridor (or, here in bow and arrow country, which
means anywhere west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and south of Washington,
D.C.) as unimportant. At best, Amtrak has paid lip service to marketing
the national system, but the bulk of the marketing and advertising
dollars have gone into trying to bolster the sagging NEC.

Wow. Cousin Bruce has apparently read some of my posts concerning Amtrak's marketing (or lack thereof). I'm duly impressed.

[haolerider]

No, he's looking for a consulting job. All the mentions he makes of the former Gulf Coast group being so successful, is because they had hired him to do some consulting and he made a ton of money from them. All he did was become the "master of the obvious" and recommend actions that the Gulf Coast had already planned or suggested. I wouldn't read any more into his comments than that.

[Trogdor]

haolerider, on Mon, Oct 9, 2006, 06:38 AM, said:

I wouldn't read any more into his comments than that.

Now, now. That's not all he's after. Prior to Alex Kummant's hiring, many of his posts were somehow written under the delusion that his "Guiding Light" Andrew Selden would become president of Amtrak.

[frj1983]

Anyone who is a road warrior for business knows
every good hotel has a services directory in each room. In almost every
instance, there are telephone numbers for all of the local airlines, but
not a single number for Amtrak. Many hotels provide a shuttle service to
local airports, often miles away. Ask if you can get a shuttle ride to
the local Amtrak station. "Where? What? No, we don't go there." "But,
it's on the way to the airport!" "Sorry, we don't go there."
______________________________________________________________

By my own reckoning, I would point out that J. Bruce Richardson is wrong, as the last 3 times I
have checked the Hotel directories(in places where I have stayed), each have had Amtraks 800 number in them and the address of the local train station. And since his opinion is a large part of this newsletter, I tend to take the whole thing "with a grain of salt."

[MrFSS]

frj1983, on Mon, Oct 9, 2006, 08:38 AM, said:

Anyone who is a road warrior for business knows
every good hotel has a services directory in each room. In almost every
instance, there are telephone numbers for all of the local airlines, but
not a single number for Amtrak. Many hotels provide a shuttle service to
local airports, often miles away. Ask if you can get a shuttle ride to
the local Amtrak station. "Where? What? No, we don't go there." "But,
it's on the way to the airport!" "Sorry, we don't go there."
______________________________________________________________

By my own reckoning, I would point out that J. Bruce Richardson is wrong, as the last 3 times I
have checked the Hotel directories(in places where I have stayed), each have had Amtrak's 800 number in them and the address of the local train station. And since his opinion is a large part of this newsletter, I tend to take the whole thing "with a grain of salt."

When I stayed at the Courtyard in Portland last, they picked me up at the Amtrak station and would have taken me back if I had needed to go. Some hotels provide the service, but you're right, not many!

[GG-1]

MrFSS, on Mon, Oct 9, 2006, 11:52 AM, said:

Some hotels provide the service, but you're right, not many!

Aloha

Your right, and it hasn't changed. Think it was 81 or 82 and the Miami Fountainblue insisted there was NO rail service, would not even call the number on the ticket, which is what I did, Amtrak sent a station van to the hotel to pick me up, No Charge no less.

Wish I could Get a train here in Las Vegas, I can see the tracks from my Hotel room and nary a passenger train on them

[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; October 12, 2006

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 info@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 3, Number 41

Founded three decades ago in 1976 by 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, New York, and Tennessee. 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) When you think of Amtrak, in what context do you think of Amtrak? To
you, is Amtrak your local commuter carrier in the Northeast or in
California? Is Amtrak your provider of long distance train service when
you go to visit your grandchildren? Is Amtrak your substitute for an
interstate highway for a short business trip?

Amtrak is many things to many people. One common thread is that Amtrak
often does not live up to people’s expectations.

Those of us who are old (and perhaps wise, too) enough to remember
private passenger rail service, depending on the era we remember, recall
trains full of well-dressed travelers, Pullman dining cars with gleaming
silver and china, and full meals freshly prepared.

Those of us who have traveled abroad, know of other state-run passenger
railroads; some, such as VIA Rail Canada, which provide a morally
admirable level of consistent service, and others, such as in Europe that
provide something between routine and exceptional service, but almost
always punctual, with clean and well maintained equipment.

Because private railroads in the United States lost a war for passengers
in the mid 20th Century with Detroit and interstate highways, Amtrak was
euphemistically formed as a replacement. A mindset was erroneously formed
by many that because of this, passenger railroads MUST be a child of
government. These same well-intentioned but ill-informed people point
their collective fingers at Europe and Japan and say "Aha! Their
passenger railroads are government owned, too, so that must be the
correct model to follow."

The United States was the only major industrialized nation in the world
to emerge from World War II with its internal infrastructure unscathed.
Private enterprise was the basis of this country’s wealth and power, and
government assistance wasn't needed to help rebuild war torn railroad
infrastructure as in most of the rest of the world. The reality is, it
was American foreign aid which rebuilt the railroads of the world after
WW II. Here at home, a number of factors were coming into play which made
for a fascinating time to be a railroader.

Physical plants were being rebuilt and upgraded after the rigors of war
time traffic. New equipment was being developed to carry larger and
longer loads. Necessary highways and roads were being built that made
expensive and lightly used railroad branch lines unnecessary. American
railroads after WW II began the long and correct journey from serving
every small town and burg to becoming streamlined trunk railroads which
concentrate on what railroads do best: hauling heavy traffic over long
distances efficiently and cheaply. Since the early days of steam and
wagons placed on steel wheels, nothing has come along that has
accomplished what the railroad can do as efficiently and for less cost.

All of this brings us to the 21st Century. Dozens of American main line
railroads have been consolidated into seven Class I railroads, two of
which are Canadian owned. Corporate fist fights between competing
railroads have evolved into occasional snits which are mostly resolved
either in courts or by regulatory bodies.

For the most part, government has mercifully gotten out of the railroad
regulation business (as compared to the first three quarters of the 20th
Century). Railroad unions, once the titans of the organized labor world,
are shadows of themselves, as are the ranks of unionized employees.

Progress has been made everywhere in the North American railroad world
... except at Amtrak.

Amtrak, in 2006, is still a Washington political football, and a highly
monitored child of government. It can't even fire a misbehaving CEO
without someone calling Congressional hearings.

While all of the private freight railroads, and most of the government
controlled regional commuter railroads continue to grow and prosper,
Amtrak is able to do nothing to add to its route structure and service
levels without a state government coughing up funds to pay for localized
trains.

Even something as mundane and necessary as restoring the Sunset Limited
east of New Orleans can't seem to happen until some politico probably
lights a fire under Amtrak.

Amtrak has a new president and chief executive officer, who, as of today,
has been working for a month and a day. Already, some impatient people on
the Left Coast are wondering why he hasn't said anything new and exciting
and is continuing to spout the company line.

What can a new CEO do in just a month? Has his staff even finished
gathering all of the information he has probably requested so he can
start making decisions? Has he even had a chance to fully evaluate his
staff so he knows who he is going to keep, and who is shown the door?

Amtrak is woefully behind the times in terms of passenger railroads of
the world, and freight railroads in North America. Amtrak’s under-sized
board of directors (the Senate still has not acted on the new nominees,
lo these many weeks since their nominations) has taken a greater interest
in the well-being of a national system than any other previous board.

There is a chief steward of Amtrak who owes nothing to the Northeast
Corridor, and gratefully knows little about transit and commuter
operations.

Patience is the order of the day. There is a lot to do. Everyone knows
Amtrak cannot continue as it is today, and has been for the past 35
years.

Amtrak has great potential, and is full of assets. Someone has to have
the will to catalog those assets and determine how best to use them,
without constantly relying on someone from Congress or the United States
Department of Transportation telling them how to allegedly run a
successful passenger railroad.

We're all waiting, some of us more patiently than others.

2) Wondering what new Amtrak President Alex Kummant is facing as he
enters his second month of service? Here’s a narrative that points out so
very many wrong things about the way Amtrak does business.

[Begin quote]

This goes back to last Saturday [October 7th], but it's taken this long
to ferret out some details.

At around 6:00 P.M. on October 7th, Amtrak Wolverine Train 352 (7),
originating in Chicago, with NPCU AMTK 90222 and AMTK 128 [locomotives]
struck a trespasser three miles west of Jackson Michigan. Track speed is
75 mph and the train was operating at 70-75 mph. The trespasser was on
the right-of-way outside of a grade crossing and was dead at the scene.

Train 352 was held at the location 2 hours and 53 minutes for
investigation of the incident.



Train 355, coming in the opposite direction and headed for Chicago, was
held at Jackson, then released and held short of the location for open
track. But its final arrival into Chicago was over six hours late. What
happened?

The Chicago engineer on Train 352 usually works to Battle Creek,
Michigan, then works back home on Train 355. But (1) the coroner was
going to hold Train 352 for the investigation anyway, and (2) the
engineer on Train 352 requested relief [as is often the correct choice
when a fatality occurs]; so there was no engineer to take over 355, and
even if the engineer hadn't requested relief, the delay to both trains
would mean that even had the swap been made right there, he would run out
on Hours of Service before reaching Chicago (the normal run is 10 hours
and this wasn't exactly a "normal" day).

Amtrak's crew caller in far-off Wilmington, Delaware apparently thought
otherwise, estimating that after all was done, Train 355 would just
barely squeak into Chicago before the engineer's time ran out. Then
somebody changed his mind for him, and a frantic call went out for a
relief engineer.

All MIGHT have gone well, but the crew van which is supposed to take the
engineer to the train couldn't be located, and the engineer has to try
and bum a ride from a manager instead. That doesn't work and the van
finally shows up just as Train 355 stops and is held at Porter; its power
had cab signals not in a STATE OF GOOD REPAIR so it wasn't allowed to run
at normal speed. With 355 running so late, its engineer's hours would
have run out prior to reaching Hammond, Indiana, leaving the train
blocking a main track on Norfolk Southern's busy line; so NS did not
allow it onto their property.

Meanwhile the crew van finally gets underway. The van driver claims he
has no money and the van doesn't have EZ-Pass, and thus can't use the
toll road, so he goes by the Dan Ryan Expressway, which on weekend nights
has only one lane open, with the resulting multi-mile traffic jam. It
took 1 hour and 37 minutes for the relief engineer to get to the train.

OOPS! The crew caller forgot: the conductor, who came on at Pontiac,
Michigan, now has 15 minutes less time to go on his Hours of Service than
the trip to Chicago will take, even under the best circumstances. The
train gets underway anyway and reaches Hammond with some further delays
due to heavy freight traffic. When the train reaches Hammond, there is
still no relief conductor.

Train 355's crew contacts Amtrak and advises that the conductor will run
out on Hours before reaching Chicago Union Station ... in fact, before
leaving Norfolk Southern territory. Amtrak tells them to proceed; when
the conductor's time runs out, the engineer is to continue by himself on
the authority of Amtrak management.

What's wrong here? IT'S NOT AMTRAK'S RAILROAD! When Norfolk Southern
hears this, their dispatcher makes no bones about it: "NOT ON MY WATCH,
NOT ON MY RAILROAD!" The signals stay red and Train 355 sits and waits
most of another hour, until a yard conductor was sent out to the train to
take over. Train 355 (7) finally arrived in Chicago at approximately 4:00
A.M. on October 8th. It was due in Chicago at 9:54 P.M.

[End quote]

And, that’s what happens when a major railroad, such as Amtrak, tries to
save a few bucks of the budget by not having enough extra board employees
to cover contingency situations.

Does everyone reading this know, or have known, someone who always seems
on the verge of crisis? Someone who the least little incident causes a
major disruption in their lives because they live from paycheck to
paycheck, with never any savings, an old car, and no ability to get
ahead?

That is the situation Amtrak has placed itself because of a host of poor
business decisions through the years, and the disastrous policies
instituted by the Transit Trio of bad chief executive officers of Tom
Downs, George Warrington, and David Gunn.

When Amtrak stopped under the Transit Trio’s tenure behaving like a
responsible railroad, and started acting like a transit organization that
only focused on short corridors, is when Amtrak got into deep hot water.

Time and again, it has been proven that Amtrak’s future is in
money-making long distance trains which are cheap to run and have the
highest earning potential versus short corridor trains. (For further
details, see the URPA website at http://www.unitedrail.org.)

When Amtrak realizes what resources are important to invest in (such as
adequate crews), and what is required for good passenger satisfaction,
then horror stories like the one above will stop.

Until then, Amtrak is going to be like the poor soul we all know that
just can't seem to get ahead and every little incident is a crisis.

If you are reading someone else’s copy of This Week at Amtrak, you can
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J. Bruce Richardson
President
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203
Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA
Telephone 904-636-6760
brucerichardson@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrai...@unitedrail.org