Guest_Amtrak_flyer said:
Forget about new cars for now. Amtrak is hanging on by a thread.
I agree, by and large we won't be seeing any large orders of new cars for a few years at least, if ever. If however Amtrak gets what they asked for, probably unlikely though, I suspect that you will see an order for some DMU's.
Alot of people seem to be upset at David Gunn for Amtraks budget request for next year. Its crystal clear to me whats going on. Gunn has NO choice but to go along with the Board. What he's doing is buying time for Amtrak.
Actually I'm not so sure that David was forced and had no choice in this budget. After all, remember that he can go back to retirement anytime he wants. He doesn't need this job to support himself.
Frankly, while there are things that I'm unhappy with in the proposal, there is some real genius in there too, IMHO. I think that David had his hand in there, especially with regard to the accounting changes being proposed. Everyone is always complaining and using the LD's to show how much Amtrak looses transporting a fraction of the passengers in this country.
This proposal will remove some of that ammunition from those naysayers. By separating the various lines, along with removing the overhead expenses from all lines for 5 years, I think that it will prove once and for all that the LD's don't really loose big monies. They loose big money because of the allocated, overhead expenses.
Yes there are a few LD's, like the Sunset that will still do poorly, unless other changes can be affected. Things like OTP and daily service, to mention a few. But many of the other LD's will be shown in a good light, with the removal of those extra expenses.
It will also show the states how much money they are going to need to put up, in order to keep the state supported trains running. This IMHO is going to cause a huge outcry once they see those numbers. Most states will not be able to afford those trains.
Especially when coupled with the infrastructure improvement matches also being considered. I do think that the infrastructure match is a good idea. I think and hope that the reality of the future will be that the states will improve travel by promoting the infrastructure improvements with matches from the Fed, while Amtrak along with the Fed fund the actual service and equipment needs on those lines.