Railpac letter to Amtrak Chair Coscia

[TinCan782]

Railpac Letter to Amtrak Chair Coscia

http://railpac.org/2018/07/13/railpac-letter-to-amtrak-chair-coscia/

 

[Walt]

Nice letter, though it lacks to offer any concrete solutions to the underlying problems. Money and constantly shifting Congressional whims.

 

[Thirdrail7]

I love this part:

Over the years the National Network of overnight trains has been blamed for Amtrak’s deficits. We disagree. The National Network generates more passenger miles and revenue than the Northeast Corridor and is mostly hampered by being starved of investment and freight railroad issues for at least two decades. You and your Board should remember that the NEC was not part of the original Amtrak and that it was dumped on the company in 1976, because no other agency wanted to take on the crippling backlog of infrastructure repairs. With $300 – $400 million in yearly maintenance costs and $30 to $50 Billion in state of good repair and capacity needs, it’s the NEC that is the burden on Amtrak, not the National Network.

The NEC carries the most riders but it also costs a great deal...no matter who finances it.

 

[TinCan782]

I love this part:

Over the years the National Network of overnight trains has been blamed for Amtrak’s deficits. We disagree. The National Network generates more passenger miles and revenue than the Northeast Corridor and is mostly hampered by being starved of investment and freight railroad issues for at least two decades. You and your Board should remember that the NEC was not part of the original Amtrak and that it was dumped on the company in 1976, because no other agency wanted to take on the crippling backlog of infrastructure repairs. With $300 – $400 million in yearly maintenance costs and $30 to $50 Billion in state of good repair and capacity needs, it’s the NEC that is the burden on Amtrak, not the National Network.

The NEC carries the most riders but it also costs a great deal...no matter who finances it.

Here is Paul Dyson at the Summer Train Festival at L.A. Union Station. I thanked him for sending the letter.

 

[MikefromCrete]

Unfortunately, the arguement that some how long distance trains are more valuable and cost effective than the nation's most used and most important corridor are dead in the water from the beginning. It's better to state the value that LD trains bring to the nation, especially rural areas not served by other public transport, than to disparage other parts of the system. An approach like this does more harm than good for LD trains.

 

[Acela150]

I love this part:

Over the years the National Network of overnight trains has been blamed for Amtrak’s deficits. We disagree. The National Network generates more passenger miles and revenue than the Northeast Corridor and is mostly hampered by being starved of investment and freight railroad issues for at least two decades. You and your Board should remember that the NEC was not part of the original Amtrak and that it was dumped on the company in 1976, because no other agency wanted to take on the crippling backlog of infrastructure repairs. With $300 – $400 million in yearly maintenance costs and $30 to $50 Billion in state of good repair and capacity needs, it’s the NEC that is the burden on Amtrak, not the National Network.

The NEC carries the most riders but it also costs a great deal...no matter who finances it.

I may have gotten a good chuckle out of it.. But he's not wrong at the same time.