Lots of interesting ideas here having to do with capacity trains can possibly provide. I too contend that much of the troubles of our long distance routes is the removal of nearly all connection with other passenger service. Look at NY or Chicago. The stations are loaded with people coming and going and lines are long for people boarding. But look at St.Louis, the center of the nation with basically one route for long distance. When I moved from there to southern Illinois the train used to connect in Centralia or Carbondale to the City of New Orleans and too Kansas city to the west. A definitely much quicker way than going one day north and then returning 5 hours more just to go south by rail. That same route used to carry people past KC to Omaha. So all the interconnecting cities no longer have easy or any access to travel South. Same for many lines, the National Limited was a potential short cut to Washington ad New York and perhaps Florida, but they stopped running it. We have simply starved the natural routes people would use and at the expense of other lines as well.
On the privatization of passenger long distance. As good as that sounds I fear no one in their right minds would take that on. The cost of stations, food services, track maintenance ect. not to mention new equipment would seem almost impossible to afford on a private basis. Yes the old days the companies could easily run extra sleepers and coaches if needed, something that kept the revenue higher in peak times that possible today, but that infrastructure no longer exist and probably isn't coming back. That private rail "Pullman" service the attached to the City of New Orleans went though our town. One thing was they wouldn't take on passengers in between, you had to ride end to end for about three times what Amtrak was already charging. A recipe for disaster I would think. They started off saying they would run something like 5 or 6 cars including fancy lounges and high class diners. But when my friends who had some money decided to ride it they had removed most of the equipment leaving a sleeper and diner and four passengers on board. Too expensive and too limited a schedule. You can't run passenger service and then eliminate its use to most of the route.
On the privatization of passenger long distance. As good as that sounds I fear no one in their right minds would take that on. The cost of stations, food services, track maintenance ect. not to mention new equipment would seem almost impossible to afford on a private basis. Yes the old days the companies could easily run extra sleepers and coaches if needed, something that kept the revenue higher in peak times that possible today, but that infrastructure no longer exist and probably isn't coming back. That private rail "Pullman" service the attached to the City of New Orleans went though our town. One thing was they wouldn't take on passengers in between, you had to ride end to end for about three times what Amtrak was already charging. A recipe for disaster I would think. They started off saying they would run something like 5 or 6 cars including fancy lounges and high class diners. But when my friends who had some money decided to ride it they had removed most of the equipment leaving a sleeper and diner and four passengers on board. Too expensive and too limited a schedule. You can't run passenger service and then eliminate its use to most of the route.
Anyone with the power to delete, please delete my off-topic posts here. Thanks.
