URPA Newsletter

[AlanB]

Next question: When is Amtrak's "state of good repair" mantra going toextend to the long distance Viewliner and Superliner fleets so enough

equipment can get out on the road and start generating some high value

revenue and revenue passenger miles for Amtrak, not to mention fulfilling

Amtrak's original mission of providing America with a true nationwide

network of passenger trains?

I guess Bruce didn't comb through those Amtrak reports hard enough to see all the numbers that were there.

In fiscal 2006 Amtrak completed major overhaul work on the following for long distance trains.

21 Amfleet II coaches.

2 Amfleet II lounges.

22 Superliner II sleepers

16 Superliner II lounges

15 Superliner II diners

11 Superliner II dorms

17 Superliner I sleepers remanufactured

27 Superliner I coaches

10 Superliner I lounges

10 Superliner I diners

8 Viewliners

In fiscal 2005 we saw:

25 Amfleet II coaches

10 Superliner II sleepers

5 Superliner II lounges

8 Superliner II coaches

7 Superliner II diners

8 Superliner II dorms

20 Superliner I sleepers remanufactured

23 Superliner I smoker-coaches converted to baggage-coaches

9) A private web design in Peoria, Illinois (You remember the hackneyedphrase, "Let's see if it will play in Peoria.") has come up with an

interesting service for those who wish to monitor Amtrak's on time

performance levels.

The company has provided a free web site which will provide a three week

accounting of Amtrak on-time history for any given train to any given

destination. The site can be found at

http://web.peoriadesignweb.com/cgi-bin/amtrak/train.cgi to keep track of

your favorite trains.

Faraz Hussain of Peoria Design Web explains how the site was developed:

[begin quote]

My motivation for developing the on-time performance calculator was so I

could schedule my squash matches with my opponents at my destinations.

Squash is similar to racquetball in that it is an indoor court sport. I

live in Peoria where there are not many squash players so I travel to

Chicago and St. Louis often from Bloomington to play better players.

So knowing the statistical delays helps me realistically plan my day when

I arrive at my destination. The program is just a program that retrieves

information from Amtrak site behind the scenes. I based it off a similar

search engine I developed, Medreport.org. Medreport.org lets you create

reports by scanning up to thirty websites and extracting content based on

your search criteria.

The program did not take more than half a night to develop as I was able

to copy/paste a code from Medreport.org . I knew this tool would benefit

many others which is why I invested more time to make it robust and easy

to use. I am now working on a 'Catch a train' script that finds where a

particular train is on its route.

[End quote]

This could easily prove to be a user-friendly tool that will benefit many

Amtrak-watchers.

Congratulations to Faraz for making the news.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

Alan, thanks for the data compilation. Actually a pretty impressive list.

The only thing that I wish Richardson had added to the mention of the train-status bot was that it only accesses the Amtrak site when someone makes a request for information about a specific train to a specific station, and that it is not an unattended data-miner. One would expect Amtrak to probably complain about an unattended data-miner but that they would be more likely to tolerate something like what Faraz's tool actually is, because it does not contact the Amtrak site unless and until someone specifically asks it to check on a particular train for a particular station.

 

[MrFSS]

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 10

Founded over 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) URPA analyst Dr. Paul Wilson breaks down the many aspects of today's

American passenger rail network.

[begin quote]

By Paul A. Wilson, Ph.D.

Unique Positive Aspects of Conventional Speed Passenger Rail

1. Passenger trains serve big cities, suburbs and small towns equally

well, without creating untoward disruption and NIMBY backlash. Indeed,

suburbs that are a part of a healthy railroad system, both long distance

and commuter, contain some of the most valuable and desirable real estate

in the country.

2. Trains easily pick people up enroute at multiple stops, offering a

robust matrix of origins and destinations to the traveling public. Even

single route trains offer high levels of connectivity between online

stations and adjoining communities.

3. Outside of cruise ships, no one else in the travel industry offers

moving sleeping accommodations. Rail sleeper accommodations match the

privacy of the private automobile, without the difficulties of providing

the vehicle driver.

4. Onboard amenities are potentially without parallel, at least on land.

No other form of transportation offers full meal service from a broad

menu, space to walk around while in transit, or a full service beverage

lounge open for extended hours. Passenger train travel also is provided

without a necessary level of high security measures, avoiding the

necessity of intrusive luggage and personal searches. There are no banned

materials or legal substances on passenger trains; passengers may travel

with all of their legal needs at all times.

5. Adding new destinations along existing routes can be achieved at low

cost. Stations are relatively inexpensive and the costs of stopping and

starting an enroute train are low.

6. Adding new routes or extensions of existing routes on existing

railroad rights-of-way is relatively low cost, at conventional speeds (79

MPH maximum).

7. For a conventional speed passenger railroad, the rights-of-way already

exist or have been land banked for the most part. No one's property need

be seized or disrupted. This is not true for most High Speed Rail

schemes.

8. Steel-wheel-on-steel-rail technology offers energy efficiency that's

nearly impossible to match. It's hard to argue with the immutable laws of

physics.

9. Passenger railroads operate on an environmentally-friendly basis, with

relatively quiet operation and they do so on narrow rights-of-way, quite

unlike super-highways and airports.

Current Problems with Intercity Passenger Rail in the continental United

States

1. An atrophied, now skeletal national network means high unit costs and

low productivity, due to Amtrak's inability to realize economies of

scale.

2. Privately-owned railroad infrastructure in most cases is subject to ad

valorem taxation by localities.

3. Inefficient labor practices due to a small network, high operating

subsidies, poor management, and a historical legacy of strict craft

separation mean Amtrak has a high-cost, low-productivity work force.

4. Outside of the few Amtrak-owned lines, passenger trains compete with

freight trains for access to routes owned and dispatched by freight

railroads.

5. The current method of non-scheduled operations of freight trains on

freight lines makes timekeeping difficult for time-sensitive passenger

trains.

6. Unreliable and poorly maintained passenger equipment and locomotives

creates Amtrak-caused delays, cancellations and many enroute customer

service shortcomings.

7. Since the inception of Amtrak over 35 years ago, passenger railroading

has been treated as a political football by many parochial interests,

with scant regard for maintaining a true national passenger railroad

service. Furthermore, the host freight railroads view Amtrak as an

interloper on their properties and, in some cases, a general nuisance.

Most host freight railroads do not consider the dispatching and hosting

of Amtrak trains on their systems as a profitable activity, but an

unwanted obligation agreed to by retired and/or dead senior managers who

were anxious to get rid of private passenger service at the end of the

1960s at almost any price when railroads in general were on a downward

spiral.

8. In the fastest-growing regions in the country, burgeoning freight

traffic and decades of scant investment by private freight railroads in

track and facilities has led to growing pains and severe congestion on

some Amtrak routes that Amtrak has had to contend with, while having very

little chance of resolution of a problem not of Amtrak's own making.

Fixes (addressing the above, in order)

1. Expand the network where it makes sense, add second daily "flip"

frequencies (at roughly 10 to 12 hours behind the other daily train) on

some existing routes. At a bare minimum, expand consists to full strength

where they were only a decade ago. Many Amtrak trains that are nine cars

or less today used to run as many as 18 cars on a daily basis.

2. Offer a federal program of partial tax abatement for

passenger-carrying freight lines and full tax abatement for those

passenger-only facilities still in private hands. Better yet, localities

should own and maintain the stations, just like they own the airports.

Amtrak should be a tenant, not a landlord.

3. An expanding Amtrak won't be so obsessed with "headcount" and other

hobgoblins, like "featherbedding." With more trains, low productivity

will be largely a self-correcting problem. Raise productivity with more

work being done because more trains are running, not by constantly

trimming the workforce down to skeletal and unproductive levels.

4. Work with the freight railroads to "fleet" passenger trains with their

existing intermodal freight trains. Fast intermodal trains and passenger

trains run at roughly the same average speeds.

5. Bring back scheduling. The freight customers will love it and it will

allow freight train crews to have a more normal life. This will attract

more workers to the railroads at time they're having problems with

recruitment, retention and crew fatigue. Changes could be made to the

Hours of Service law to encourage the railroads to move in this

direction. Example: the current 12 hours on and 12 off would apply to

scheduled movements, but non-scheduled movements would be subject to 8

on, 16 off.

6. First off, a no-brainer, devote more of Amtrak's budget to maintaining

long-haul rolling stock, the company's primary physical asset outside the

Northeast Corridor. The long-haul rolling stock is arguably Amtrak's most

productive asset. To handle enroute problems, bring back an old, reliable

solution by assigning mechanical forces to stops with longer layovers,

using contractors if necessary in locations that need only part-time

workers. In addition, reform work rules to soften craft lines and refocus

on providing the best experience for the customer, irrespective of one's

specific "job." Example: Assistant conductors or onboard service

employees could be cross-trained to perform simple repairs enroute,

enhancing time-keeping, reliability and passenger comfort.

7a. Stop using Amtrak's budget as a backdoor Railroad Retirement subsidy

for the freight railroads. Eliminate the Railroad Retirement "excess"

payments by Amtrak. Also eliminate RRB participation for Amtrak new hires

and move new hires to Social Security, with a 401(k) defined contribution

plan with hefty company match mandated by law. Allow all passenger rail

operators in on the same deal. (This may lure the freights into the game

by opening passenger-operation subsidiaries. See also Item 7d.)

7b. Relieve Amtrak of infrastructure ownership. The United States

government would assume direct ownership of NEC and all NEC-related debt.

The government would then lease the NEC to a regional authority for $1 a

year, with regional authority operating it and providing maintenance.

(Servicing the debt would be well worth the cost of getting the albatross

off Amtrak's books.) Turn Amtrak-owned lines (in upstate New York and

Michigan) over to the Federal Railroad Administration for use as

semi-high-speed test beds.

7c. Change Amtrak governance to eliminate, or at least balance out, the

political influence on the board. The US Department of Transportation has

been a source of unending frustration, and a font of much nonsense with

regards to Amtrak. That being the case, eliminate the DOT secretary seat

on the Board and replace the current board with an arrangement similar to

the Amtrak Reform Council. Board seats are to be appointed by majority

and minority leaderships in each house of Congress, plus the executive

branch, subject to an up-or-down vote on entire slate by the Senate. The

legislation would prohibit the Senate from "cherry-picking" appointees.

This will ensure buy-in and investment from both parties in the success

of Amtrak. Retain the current Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act

language mandating transportation and business expertise for board

members. Include one dedicated seat each for rail labor and host

railroads (perhaps chosen by the Association of American Railroads) on

the Board.

7d. Maintain Amtrak's current statutory access to freight lines and the

current liability caps, but explicitly prohibit franchising out routes,

with one key exception. The track owners would be eligible to obtain

either exclusive (new routes) or competing franchises (existing routes)

on their own lines. This eliminates the fear of passenger rail being the

"camel's nose" for open access. FRA would establish minimum service

standards for franchisees and develop formulas for operating subsidies

payable to franchisees.

8. Float federal- and state-issued bonds on an 80%/20% federal-state

split for critical new lines and improvements to existing lines,

terminals and other bottlenecks, with states and regional authorities

assuming title to the improved property. Track usage fees (per gross ton,

per train movement, etc.) would service the bond debt and ongoing

maintenance. FRA to develop formulas based on Return On Investment

criteria to make sure the funds flow equitably to all regions and ensure

sufficient revenue flows to service debt. ROI criteria and the need for

sufficient revenues assume they will be mixed-use freight/passenger

shared facilities. And lastly, provide regulatory relief from

environmental reviews for railroad construction on existing rights of

way.

[End quote]

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President

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760

[email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

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[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; March 29, 2007

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 12

Founded over 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) This Week at Amtrak is always pleased to feature the writings and

thoughts of Gilbert E. Carmichael, one of America's foremost experts on

transportation. Mr. Carmichael, from 1989 to 1993, was the Administrator

of the United States Federal Railroad Administration, and is currently

Senior Chairman of the Intermodal Transportation Institute of the

University of Denver. Mr. Carmichael was also chairman of the Amtrak

Reform Council.

Mr. Carmichael spoke at the National Press Club's Transportation Table

last week in Washington on March 23rd. The following is a transcript of

Mr. Carmichael's speech.

[begin quote]

Intermodalism: A New Science of Transportation

On most occasions when I speak about intermodal transportation, I devote

an extensive portion of my remarks to simply providing a basic

orientation. This audience does not require such coddling. You all grasp

the fundamentals. Many of you are experts.

You understand that freight transportation has undergone a revolution

during the past quarter-century and that intermodal is now the global

standard for moving freight. You also understand how it succeeds -

interconnections . containerization . speed . safety . reliable

scheduling . economic and fuel efficiency . and marshaling the strengths

of each individual mode, while avoiding modal weaknesses. We are looking

at a new science of transportation.

Yes, this intermodal system works. It continues to grow. Its future

success will hinge partly upon our ability to further improve the routes

and terminals that enable it to function in the manner desired. However,

although a revolution in freight transportation has taken place, the

general public is unaware of it. Most public officials and opinion

leaders do not even know the intermodal system exists! It may be

unreasonable to think that the average citizen will get excited about

such matters, but ignorance on the part of our public officials and

opinion leaders has consequences! Ignorance about transportation in

general - and intermodal in particular - has placed government at all

levels "well behind the curve" in thinking and acting on a wide range of

transportation issues. During our intermodal revolution they sat on the

sidelines for 25 years.

By tradition, government agencies concentrate on each mode's

infrastructure. Highway agencies build and maintain roads. Airport

authorities build and maintain airports. Government provides grants to

these and other systems - urban transit and Amtrak, for example - to

offset operating deficits, meet capital needs, and help upgrade the

infrastructure they use. Several things are wrong with this historical

arrangement.

For one thing, it leads to one-dimensional thinking. Federal and state

governments concentrate on infrastructure, but do not pay much attention

to how it is actually used - or where the most promising opportunities

exist. Freight's intermodal network, on the other hand, has succeeded

because it is customer-driven. Our "infrastructure mentality" also causes

government to view the modes in isolation, yet the intermodal system

prospers by efficiently unifying them horizontally.

Among public officials at all levels of government - including many

people in transportation agencies - the ignorance of freight

transportation is almost universal. Some regional planning agencies have

written transportation plans that devote more attention to bicycle paths

than to freight transportation. We must remember that for every passenger

moving on America's transportation system, a ton of freight is moving.

Ignorance about freight leads to bad decisions and missed opportunities.

Nearly all recent progress and innovation in US transportation has come

in the freight area. Nearly all of those gains are attributable to action

and investment by the private sector - not government. I believe that

freight will continue to be the category in which we achieve the most

impressive gains. The ship, train, and truck have found each other!

Unfortunately, government is heavily involved in passenger policy.

Government has resisted reform and modernization. We desperately need an

intermodal systems approach to passenger service. In this regard, we are

20 years behind the freight industry. The plane, train, and intercity bus

must find each other!

Finally, this obsolete focus on individual modes and individual modal

infrastructure, coupled with a lack of knowledge about customers and

markets, causes important issues to fall through the cracks because they

do not have a governmental "home." The most striking example is the

intercity bus industry. We are losing it. Most people do not care. They

should. It frankly amazes me that a mayor will loudly protest the

threatened loss of airline services or a single Amtrak train to his or

her community. Yet, the disappearance of intercity bus service - which

may have generated more local ridership - is allowed to take place

without comment or complaint. Greyhound is almost invisible today.

As commercial air service continues its retreat from urban areas with a

population of less than 100,000, people will still have to get to major

airports, only the terminals will be farther away. The choice is simple -

bus or private car. The bus is flexible. Routes can be adjusted as

markets change. Service frequency can be increased or decreased,

depending upon demand, and at modest cost. Despite these advantages, the

intercity bus industry is in trouble. Government at every level simply

does not care.

Capital Investment Strategies

There are two issues currently up for consideration that relate to the

intermodal theme. One is the proposed 25 percent tax credit for freight

railroad capital investment. Intermodal's biggest challenge is simply

that of capacity expansion. I believe that the freight railroads have

done a good job funding improvements that add capacity and enhance

intermodal service. Capital investments that directly influence these two

priorities currently are running in the $5-8 billion annual range.

Meeting even predictable near-term business growth will require a much

higher commitment.

A tax credit will unleash substantial additional amounts on an ongoing

basis. I urge support for it. The huge North American rail system has

been single-tracked in the last 30 years. This right-of-way is probably

carrying only 25 percent of its capacity. If we go back to

double-or-triple-tracking, grade separation, and GPS, it would equal

three times more capacity - and this right-of-way already is in place and

paid for! If we build this Interstate II, it will be far more significant

than Interstate I was.

Senators Trent Lott (Mississippi) and Frank Lautenberg (New Jersey) are

working on a multi-billion-dollar Amtrak reauthorization proposal, which

includes incentives for states to provide matching funds. I believe that

we will have to involve the states more deeply in issues associated with

intercity rail passenger service. There is overlap with the states' other

transportation functions, and there is an overlap with freight's

intermodal system. How public officials deal with specific passenger

projects can help create a better intermodal system - or damage the

existing one. States might wisely partner with the railroads to add a

third track. This may be the real public-private partnership we keep

talking about.

In considering Amtrak, I am aware of the deferred capital needs of the

Northeast Corridor: $20 billion in 2002 and rolling stock system-wide.

However, I would urge that in considering any new routes or services,

only one priority should be applied. That is to upgrade the most

promising existing city-pair corridors by first increasing train

frequencies and improving schedule times within the framework of

conventional intercity service. In time, I believe we will need to expand

high-speed routes. But in nearly all cases, we will need to develop and

build a customer base with more frequencies before making the leap to a

true high-speed operation. The 13 federally designated corridors are a

good place to start for the city pairs.

State and Federal Government Roles

Perhaps the most important next step in advancing intermodal

transportation, both freight and passenger, is to take a fresh look at

the structure and priorities of government agencies. I have noted that

since 1980 freight intermodal has flourished because the private sector

was in charge. Some would claim that government involvement easily could

have retarded its growth. But, I do believe that government has a role in

freight, if for no reason other than the linkages among the surface modes

and connections at public ports, terminals, and the new evolving

"logistics centers." I do not believe that meaningful progress can be

achieved in passenger intermodalism unless state transportation

departments are the catalyst for it!

Why the states? Who else will do it? Theoretically, the airlines might be

promoters of improved surface connections to deliver passengers to their

gates - but they operate at airports they do not own! Today those airport

managers have shown little interest in anything but "parking lot" and

"car rental" revenues. Nearly all efforts by intercity bus companies to

provide direct service or to be allowed to maintain facilities on airport

terminal grounds have been summarily rebuffed. The bus companies cannot

do it. Name me one major airport with a Greyhound station.

Amtrak is not in a leadership position to be a broker or coordinator, and

its management lacks the skill, vision, and entrepreneurial spirit

required to bring it off. It seems so logical that the airplane should

meet the bus and train - by design. Just as it does at Hong Kong, Charles

de Gaulle, and Narita, Japan.

To prepare public agencies for a belated arrival into the intermodal era,

I propose that the chief executive of each state transportation

department should have two principal deputies - one to oversee policies

and programs associated with freight transportation and the other to

carry out an identical role in passenger transportation. Each could be

meaningful players in coordination and intermodal project design and

approval. They would soon learn that they have to listen to the

customers.

Senior executives of these agencies should have a working knowledge of

the new principles of intermodal transportation, because a majority of

policy decisions and projects need to be carried out with priority given

to intermodal needs - for both freight and passenger improvements. Senior

DOT executives either should have gained this intermodal knowledge

through professional experience in the transportation industry or they

should receive formal academic training. That is what the Intermodal

Transportation Institute at the University of Denver is doing through its

Executive Master's Program, which awards a Master of Science in

Intermodal Transportation Management from the University of Denver.

Dividing the executive functions - policy, planning, programs, and grants

- into the freight and passenger categories makes practical sense. It

also would make a powerful statement that we, in fact, do understand that

the world has changed.

What about the federal government? Congress still operates as if this

were the 1950s. Members talk intermodal but vote for traditional highway

projects. I hold out little hope for leadership from Capitol Hill. What

about the US DOT? Fifteen years ago they created an intermodal office. It

had no authority. It was purely cosmetic. Eventually it was done away

with. A senior official of the department told me several weeks ago that

steps now have been taken to bring a serious intermodal flavor to its

policies and actions, by concentrating on freight. I am not hung up on

that point, because I realize that formal changes affect such things as

congressional committee relationships. Even the chairs of the most

insignificant subcommittees rebel if even half a smidgen of their turf is

threatened. I recognize the difficulty of a formal reorganization of

Congress, but a committee on intermodal freight and one on intermodal

passengers make sense.

But, if my friends at DOT are serious about this, I ask them to show us

tangible evidence. They will not have credibility until they do. A chart

with dotted lines showing coordination arrangements will not convince us.

Even having an intermodal "enforcer" who can mandate coordination will

not suffice. We in the intermodal community will believe you only when we

see solid evidence that your FAA, FRA, Highway, and UMTA leaders are

energetic intermodal advocates - without pressure from above. Further, I

propose that DOT informally gather the best minds of the intermodal

community to examine what they are up to. That could help persuade us. It

also could help DOT avoid going in the wrong direction in the process of

trying to do something right. Congestion is reaching critical mass - the

huge untapped capacity of North American railroad right-of-way may be the

solution! We must change directions.

Intermodalism and Energy

I have reached the closing portion of my remarks without mentioning the

subject of energy. I happen to believe that high fuel prices are with us

for the long term and that they will go even higher! But it does not

matter what I think, when the subject is intermodal. Why? Intermodal made

sense when fuel cost one-half of today's prices. Intermodal makes even

more sense today. If prices drop, the container will still be the

low-cost service. It made Wal-Mart. If energy costs double in the years

ahead, intermodal will simply gain more market share and help keep

inflation under control.

There is a lesson here for politicians who are jumping on the energy

bandwagon. Investment in intermodal is a no-brainer if you want to

conserve fuel and keep the cost of goods and services in line, even if we

radically re-price fuel, as we have. And it has a built-in hedging

mechanism, because intermodal investments will pay off even if prices

decline. If fuel cells work, I expect both truck and rail to adopt the

technology. The intermodal marketplace will not be skewed because energy

costs are only one component of the intermodal advantage.

However, I would observe that railroads do have a trump card. Unlike

their partners in trucking and aviation, if at some point in the future

permanent oil shortages are a serious threat, rail can convert to

electricity generated from an alternate source. The rail mode already

carries its freight and passengers nine times farther per gallon of fuel

than do the highway modes.

Thank you.

[End quote]

Mr. Carmichael may be reached by e-mail at [email protected]

2) News item, from The Ticket, an independent electronic newsletter for

frequent business travelers:

[begin quote]

AIRLINE STATS OF NOTE. This one slipped underneath our radar . but

according the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Delta is no longer

the nation's third largest carrier after #1 American and #2 United. Based

on year end results, Southwest Airlines is now #3, based on total revenue

passenger miles in 2006. The five busiest routes in the U.S.:

New York - Chicago

Ft Lauderdale - New York

Los Angeles - Chicago

Atlanta - New York

Washington, DC - Chicago

[End quote]

Despite the poor use of abbreviations for real words in this article,

what is significant about airline statistics in space usually devoted to

passenger rail? Note that the rankings are based solely on revenue

passenger miles, not meaningless numbers like boardings or passengers

carried. Revenue passenger miles are the gold standard which EVERY OTHER

FORM OF COMMON CARRIER, OTHER THAN AMTRAK, USES.

Until Amtrak adopts this common standard, all of its numbers will be

meaningless in the real world of transportation.

3) Usually, Union Pacific Railroad is considered the bad guy of

railroading to many who are familiar with railroads in the United States.

UP, once a shining beacon of efficiency in the world of railroading, and

a pioneering company which tied North America together by rail, lately

has had a number of corporate problems which have led to meltdowns in

customer service and disgruntled freight shippers. Additionally, UP has,

in recent history, consistently been Amtrak's most frustrating host

railroad, with consistently abysmal on time performance when hosting

Amtrak trains.

Just recently, in Sacramento, California, the UP suffered a huge loss

when a long UP railroad bridge caught on fire and burned. Freight traffic

was detoured at great expense, and Amtrak trains temporarily lost an

important part of a route. However, this week, a medium sized miracle

happened.

[begin quote]

They did it!

After the March 15 fire that destroyed Union Pacific's approach trestle

to the American River Bridge east of Sacramento, the railroad set to work

immediately to build a new, concrete/steel trestle.

Many expressed amazement at how fast UP was working, and at their

projected date for one open track of April 1st. The second track was to

be completed by May 1st.

UP proved that their old slogan "We Can Handle It" can still apply. At

1:30 A.M. on Tuesday, March 27th, Track One on the approach trestle was

completed and opened for traffic. UP now anticipates that Track Two will

be completed and open for traffic on April 3rd.

As a result, the short-turn of Amtrak's California Zephyr was to end

immediately, with Train 5(25) going to Emeryville. The Zephyr arrived in

Sacramento for the first time since the fire. ...

Attached photo: the first train across the new trestle, from UP's

Sacramento Bridge Update page.

http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/2007/sacramento_bridge.shtml

[End quote]

Many will remember the wreckage to the railroad infrastructure in and

around the Gulf Coast during the hurricane season of 2005 when Hurricane

Katrina slammed into Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. In a time frame

measured in days, Norfolk Southern had its main line from Atlanta to New

Orleans up and open, even after a very long bridge over Lake

Pontchartrain fell into the murky lake waters. The CSX main line from

Pensacola, Florida to New Orleans was completely destroyed, yet parts of

it were up and running in just a few weeks, and the line was completely

reopened in less than six months.

Some in the railroad industry lobby for the nationalization of all

railroad infrastructure in this country, so the rail would be considered

the same way highways are considered.

Highway US 90 on the Gulf Coast is still not completely reopened after

Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and it's 2007. Considering the miraculous job

the private railroads do to rebuild their infrastructure when someone

goes wrong, do we really want to lose this capability and turn over these

critical tasks to government?

Important note: While the private railroads are back to operating at full

capacity throughout the Gulf Coast, Amtrak still has not restored the

Sunset Limited east of New Orleans, using a plethora of excuses ranging

from the dog at their homework to unusable station facilities (even

though all of the passenger platforms are in place, and the only truly

questionable location is Mobile, Alabama because the station building has

been sold for redevelopment). All of the private companies got their

collective acts together and rebuilt and rejuvenated. Amtrak, a child of

government, is still stalling.

4) A former Amtrak manager commented on last week's story about URPA Vice

President Andrew Selden's speech in California at the RailPac meeting.

Mr. Selden's speech may be viewed on YouTube at


[begin quote]

Andy's numbers demonstrate passenger rail has economic utility with the

bare bones structure that has been in place for the life of Amtrak, and

economic ruin (waste) has been primarily on the soft asset side (people).

You can park cars and engines, and will not cost a plug nickel, but

Amtrak has not been able to park people (employees) that cost money and

add zip to the utility of Amtrak. Andy is no stranger to the word

"growth," and will be treated like a leper because he advocates change.

The highway people are your allies, and the new young generation no

longer thinks passenger trains are old-fashioned or old hat. Many in the

new generation think most people over 30 are pretty stupid for dumping

trains and leaving everyone with slow, crowded and expensive roads, along

with no choice but air intercity transportation that is not an

all-weather route anyone can claim.

The utility of passenger trains does not require brain surgeons by the

masses. As the saying goes, "you always want what you can't have."

[End quote]

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addressed to [email protected]

J. Bruce Richardson

President

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760

[email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

_______________________________________________

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[WICT106]

This Week at Amtrak; April 5, 2007:

1) Last week, TWA was fortunate to share a speech by former Federal

Railroad Administration Administrator and former Chairman of the Amtrak

Reform Council Gilbert E. Carmichael on the new science of intermodalism.

March 23rd, the same day Mr. Carmichael was delivering his speech in

Washington, the current Chairman of Corridor Capital LLC in Chicago and

the former Vice Chairman of the Amtrak Reform Council, James E. Coston

delivered a fascinating speech in Chicago about the future of passenger

rail and the importance of long distance trains. Mr. Coston’s remarks

follow.

[begin quote]

The Dirty Little Secret The Government Doesn't Want You To Know:

Americans Love Passenger Trains

By James E. Coston, Chairman, Corridor Capital LLC

Delivered at the National Passenger Rail Leadership Summit, Union League

Club, Chicago

[M]y speech is about a Dirty Little Secret. I want to talk to you today

about some things that passenger-train advocates are not supposed to know

— and that members of the media and the general public – and especially

public policy makers and legislators – are not supposed to know about

passenger trains.

I bring this Dirty Little Secret up today – not because I want to

discourage you, or demoralize you – but because I want to arm you with

essential material you will need as you take the fight for a modern

passenger-rail service to the next level. We mustn't let the next 35

years look like the last 35 years.

Before somebody accuses me of opening on an excessively grim note,

however, let me just observe that these are very exciting days that

furnish us with excellent grounds for hope.

We just proved it here in Illinois. As many of you know, last year the

Illinois General Assembly voted to double its spending for

state-supported Amtrak trains, and to get four new daily round trips

added to the timetable on about five months’ notice.

During that extraordinarily short lead time, Amtrak had to negotiate

slots for each train with the railroads, identify and prepare suitable

rolling stock, and hire and train new crew members.

It wasn't easy. There were glitches — both before and after the new

trains were introduced.

But it was all worth it. Just in case you've been on Mars and haven't

seen the actual numbers, here’s what happened.

On October 30, the Illinois Department of Transportation began sponsoring

two new frequencies between Chicago and St. Louis and one additional

frequency each between Chicago and Carbondale and Chicago and Quincy:

In the first full month in which the new trains operated — November 2006

– ridership on state-supported trains between Chicago and St. Louis shot

up 91 per cent.

When calculated across the full slate of Chicago-St. Louis trains — three

state-supported plus two supported wholly by Amtrak — the ridership

increase was 51 per cent over November 2005

On the Chicago-Carbondale route, which got its first morning departure

from each end of the line in nearly 30 years, ridership was up 61 per

cent in the first month. Last month it was up almost 70 per cent.

On the weakest of the three routes — Chicago-Quincy — ridership was up 35

per cent in the first month. Last month it was up 47 per cent.

The holiday peaks of November and December are long gone now, but the

monthly ridership figures just keep growing.

On February 9, after three full months of operation, IDOT reported that

the St. Louis corridor was 50.6 per cent ahead of a year ago, the Quincy

route was now 44.6 per cent ahead, and the Carbondale route, which serves

two huge state universities, was 68.6 per cent ahead of a year earlier.

It now seems very likely that sometime this summer — that is, less than a

year after the new frequencies were introduced – ridership on Amtrak’s

three Illinois corridors will have doubled.

Nowhere in the United States has passenger-train ridership ever increased

at such a pace.

Which is truly amazing when you learn our Dirty Little Secret: This

wonderful new Illinois train service actually isn't very good.

Put it this way: Illinois is not California.

We never passed a bond-issue package like California did in 1990.

We never raised $245 million for intercity passenger-rail infrastructure

and $382 million for passenger rolling stock.

We never bought our own fleet of 17 locomotives and 88 passenger cars.

We have to live with Amtrak’s Horizon cars, which are not true corridor

equipment but adaptations of commuter-train rolling stock. They look

dirty on the outside, and they're smelly on the inside.

We also must live with the infrastructure limitations of our host

railroads. Illinois has not restored any missing double track, as

California recently did on portions of the former Southern Pacific

Railroad.

Between Amtrak’s rolling stock and the railroads’ capacity constraints,

on-time performance of the Illinois trains is terrible, and the Amtrak

and IDOT people in this room will confirm it:

On the Carbondale corridor the CN/IC delivers the trains to their final

destination on time only about 80 per cent of the time.

But on the other corridors BN and UP get the job done only about 50 per

cent of the time. And the rate is dropping as their freight traffic

continues to build.

Did I mention the stations? Our stations are, for the most part,

pathetically inadequate to handle the numbers now seeking to ride.

Only a handful of Illinois stations, led by the new intermodal

transportation center at Champaign and followed by joint Metra-Amtrak

stations at Glenview and Naperville, meet current standards for passenger

accessibility, capacity, convenience and comfort.

Chicago Union Station is beyond obsolete. It has crowd-control and

user-friendliness problems that are on the brink of becoming

public-safety and public-health problems.

And while our state budget for passenger-rail operating support just

doubled from $12 million to $24 million, it still falls far short of

California’s $75 million, which pays for 40 daily round trips compared

with Illinois’ seven.

Yet all of these inadequacies only emphasize how big our victory in

Illinois really is.

Just imagine: If we can double our train ridership in less than a year

with the inferior trains, tracks and stations we've got now, think how

fast our ridership would grow if these assets could be replaced with

adequate ones.

If I can slip in a little infomercial, that’s the task our company,

Corridor Capital, is working on today: We're trying to bring Amtrak,

state DOTs and investors together to make it easier for operators of

passenger trains to get the modern rolling stock, stations, maintenance

shops — and even infrastructure — they need to handle the coming tsunami

of passenger-train demand.

We feel a lot more confident in offering those services today than we did

a year ago, because the numbers we're getting from these seven daily

Illinois frequencies have taught us a lesson that now needs to be shared

with rail advocates — and with elected officials and public policy makers

all across the country.

What is that lesson?

Simply that the United States has crossed a major watershed: There no

longer is any argument about whether the American people want to ride

trains.

Remember back in 2000 when Amtrak President George Warrington told a

congressional committee that it looked like Amtrak was not really on its

"glide path to profitability" — yeah, remember that? — and that maybe it

was time to hold a "national debate" on whether the country should make a

commitment to a serious passenger-rail service?

I'm here to tell you today that debate is over and the verdict is in: The

people are riding trains.

... In fact, in Illinois our ridership was growing by double digits even

for the three years before the four new trains were added.

Now we're going to double our ridership in one year. We're going to fill

up the new trains without cannibalizing any trade from the old ones.

Even California never did that.

And please remember, there’s another way Illinois is not California:

We're not cultural pioneers here. New trends do not start in Illinois.

They reach Illinois—usually from the West Coast and after a lag of

several years. We're Heartland, not La-La Land.

Well, the train trend has reached the Heartland. If Illinois is ready,

the whole country is ready.

In one sense, this success makes our job as advocates easier.

When we ask our elected officials to fund more passenger trains and more

infrastructure improvements, we don't have to speculate about, "If we run

it will they come?"

We ran it, and they came.

We don't have to hire expensive consultants to do computerized ridership

projections.

The public is buying tickets faster than the computers can project the

trends.

All we have to do is run trains, and the riders show up at the depot.

And those riders, my friends, are only a tiny sliver of the potential

ridership in our state and across the rest of the Heartland.

That’s because most of the people who need these trains still don't

realize the trains exist.

Amtrak and IDOT have close to zero money for promotion.

There’s no TV advertising and only a tiny amount of print advertising,

most of it in college media. We still don't understand how all these new

passengers found out about their trains.

So you have to ask yourself not only, "How many people would ride these

trains if they were actually good?" — but also, "How many people would

ride these trains if they knew about them?

And by "know about them" I don't mean just reading a news story

re-written from an IDOT or Amtrak press release.

I mean hearing and seeing first-rate advertising for these trains —

creative, exciting, contemporary messages appearing repeatedly – in the

same forums where people learn about Southwest Airlines and Carnival

Cruises and Hilton Hotels and Harrah’s Casinos and Disney World and

Toyota and all the other travel/hospitality/mobility resources we have to

choose from today.

Have you any idea of the scale of the response that would follow if

trains were promoted as hip and happening?

That’s not a rhetorical question. I can answer that question, because the

answer already is part of the historical record. The Dirty Little Secret

is, we are not entering new territory. We've seen this movie before.

How many of you have read the wonderful book by Rush Loving called The

Men Who Loved Trains?

... The Men Who Loved Trains now in its sixth or seventh printing, and

there’s no mystery why: It’s a very exciting, well written book about

some of the most dramatic episodes and larger-than-life personalities

behind the revival of the Class I railroad industry in the late 20th

century.

Don Phillips raved about it, TRAINS magazine excerpted one of its

chapters, and everybody who’s read it loves it.

But The Men Who Loved Trains doesn't just deal with the freight side of

the railroad industry. Rush Loving devotes three-and-a-half pages to

showing that while the federal government was laboring during the 1970s

to revive much of the nation’s freight railroad industry it had to figure

out what to do with the passenger trains as well.

And if you read those three-and-a-half pages you will probably react with

the same sense of deja vu that I did.

According to Rush, skyrocketing ridership growth on passenger trains is

nothing new in this country. Even the passenger-train advocates may have

forgotten it, but the kind of ridership growth we're seeing today already

happened 35 years ago..

Rush tells this part of the story through the eyes of Jim McClellan who

retired a couple of years ago from Norfolk Southern.

But when Amtrak started up in 1971 Jim McClellan went to work there as a

long-range planner in the marketing department. And McClellan was there

when a very interesting figure named Harold Graham left Pan American

World Airways and joined Amtrak to become vice president of marketing.

I'll tell what happened in Rush’s own words, based on his interviews with

McClellan:

"Amtrak’s marketing vice president was a rotund, highly personable man

with a big white walrus mustache who had come from Pan American World

Airways, and he started promoting trains to the masses like he had pushed

flights to Paris and Puerto Rico. The American public responded and

started sampling the trains again. Ridership was growing at about 15 per

cent a year. McClellan had foreseen this, projecting a growth rate in

this range for Amtrak’s first year or so, a rate the operations

department could easily handle. But he grew concerned that traffic would

surge beyond expectations if such a marketing program continued. Noting

that a similar promotion had doubled business on the Canadian National

Railway and it had not been able to handle the volume, McClellan warned

his superiors in a memo that they were headed for trouble. ‘The results

could be disastrous,’ he warned. ‘It’s hard to get a growth curve and

then turn it off.’ His memo did not endear him to the marketing vice

president or to Roger Lewis, Amtrak’s chairman."

Loving goes on to point out McClellan’s importuning irritated Roger

Lewis, who "shot the messenger" by firing McClellan in 1972.

But, in Loving’s words, "…by 1974 his worst fears had come true. Traffic

surged, and Amtrak was not able to handle it."

I can confirm Jim and Rush’s testimony personally.

At the same time as the events in this account were taking place, I was

earning my college money working for Amtrak as a ticket agent and

station-services representative at Chicago Union Station.

I can confirm to you that every night we were putting out a sold-out

18-car Broadway Limited to Philadelphia and New York, and that every

night I had to tell several dozen travelers who arrived at Union Station

without reservations that we had no space for them.

I can confirm to you that summertime demand for space on the Western

trains was so great that Amtrak ran not only the Southwest Chief but also

temporarily revived the Chief on a "flipped" schedule that allowed a

morning departure from Chicago, an evening arrival in Los Angeles and

convenient daytime departures for intermediate stops that the Southwest

Chief served only in the wee hours.

I can confirm to you that we ran not only the California Zephyr to

Oakland but the Denver Zephyr as well to handle the overflow demand that

didn't need to ride all the way to California.

I can confirm similar market demand existed for what today is called the

Chicago Hub service. On major holidays, and on many weekends, we would

run second sections following the Turbo Trains to St. Louis, Detroit and

Milwaukee.

When I came back to work extra at Thanksgiving and Christmas, I found

Amtrak running 10-car trains to Quincy, even borrowing commuter cars from

the railroads in those pre-Metra days.

We did the same thing on football weekends when there were big games at

Champaign, Carbondale, Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor.

... As Rush Loving points out, this demand had to be contained. The

burgeoning demand for passenger rail service alarmed the railroads. They

were under the impression that ridership would continue to dwindle.

The rail carriers believed that in five or six years the government would

remove the passenger trains from their rails for good and allow them to

downgrade their tracks to the 40-mile-per-hour standards of the coal and

grain trains that were believed to be their sole remaining lines of

business.

Rampant passenger-train demand also had alarmed the auto manufacturers,

the highway builders, the airlines and the petroleum industry.

These industries had been assured that demand for passenger trains did

not exist and that the federal government would invest only in

transportation projects that favored their interests.

The demand also alarmed Congress, which had been assured Amtrak would be

a modest program that would not last long and would not cost a lot of

money.

There simply was no real appetite among policymakers for a passenger-rail

buildup at the time. So the demand had to be squelched.

The U.S. government made a fundamental decision: It would not respond to

the growing demand for passenger trains.

Funding for growth was to be withheld.

Existing rolling stock would be replaced, but only on a one-for-one

basis.

The size and capacity of the fleet would not be expanded.

New routes would not be opened.

Additional frequencies would not be scheduled.

New stations would not be built.

Service levels would not be upgraded to attract more passengers or to

enable Amtrak to enter new markets.

Instead, the government would spend the next 35 years propagating a

series of urban legends suggesting that demand for passenger trains

actually was shrinking rather than growing.

One of these legends claimed that the American people had embraced

highways and airlines as their sole preferences for intercity travel.

This legend continued to be propagated even after USA Today reported in

August of 2001 — a month before 9/11 — that 41 per cent of Americans

contacted in a poll said they will not fly. Whether out of fear, dislike

of the flying experience, or some other factor, nearly half of all

Americans simply shun air travel.

Yet the legend that Americans love to fly persists even today, when no

comedian can open his routine without talking about what happened to him

at the airport or what happened to a planeload of passengers trapped on a

grounded jet for 10 or 12 hours.

It was a masterful and very daring use of the Big Lie technique, and it’s

had a very long run.

Even today, when the demand for passenger-train service has become too

big and too noisy to dismiss, the Big Lie has mutated in order to stay

alive.

In the current version, passenger trains are now O.K. and people seem to

want them, but only if they are of the type known as "corridor trains."

Another species of train known as "a long-distance train" is now being

portrayed as "not O.K.," and travelers are said to be rejecting them.

The only problem is that demand for space on the long-distance trains is

growing too, even though those trains get even less promotion than the

so-called corridor trains.

Why is this new version of the old urban legend succeeding?

One reason is the power of vocabulary. Policy wonks and journalists have

a predisposition to believe that every distinction in language signals a

difference in the real world.

It would not occur to these people that both types of trains are used the

same way: The bulk of the people who ride the so-called long-distance

trains actually them use them as corridor trains: They get on or off at

the intermediate points, not the end points, traveling only for a

fraction of the train’s total itinerary.

I am very grateful to our friend Rick Harnish, who did a study that

pointed out all these facts nearly three years ago. Rick’s study was

written up by Fritz Plous in the August, 2004, issue of the Midwest Rail

Report.

Rick pointed out that only 9 per cent of the Empire Builder’s passenger

traveled the whole distance from Chicago to Seattle or Portland.

The other 91 per cent traveled on 929 other trip permutations averaging

only 845 miles.

That meant that for the price of one long-distance train, Amtrak was

getting the equivalent of five or six corridor trains — a terrific

bargain.

Think how much more it would have cost to base separate crews, rolling

stock, maintenance forces and commissaries at St. Paul, Fargo, Minot and

Spokane. Amtrak avoids all that by running a single daily train from

Chicago to Seattle.

Rick also found out that the Empire Builder was getting two subsidies —

one from Amtrak and one from its own sleeping-car passengers.

The first-class ticket-holders made up only 16 per cent of the

passengers, but they were paying 43 per cent of the train’s costs.

Those first-class fares helped hold down the cost of travel for the coach

passengers. But that big source of revenue wouldn't have been there if

the Builder weren't an overnight long-distance train.

Look behind the curtain and you find the real reason why the federal

government has decided corridor trains are O.K. and long-distance trains

are not O.K.

The word "corridor" is actually a proxy for the term "state-sponsored."

Corridor trains are deemed good because the federal government — and

Amtrak — can get state governments to pay for them.

Long-distance trains are deemed "bad" because it’s impossible to get

states to collaborate on funding trains with a multi-state route

structure.

The corridor trains are an Amtrak commission. The long-distance trains

are not a commission, but a mission — belonging solely to Amtrak and its

tightwad sponsor, the federal government.

Thirty-five years later the campaign to get passenger trains off the

federal budget and into somebody else’s continues.

But this time there’s a difference: The campaign isn't working. Congress

isn't buying it, and the last we heard, the new CEO of Amtrak isn’t

buying it either. At the very least, he’s having doubts about its

utility, if not its appropriateness.

As I said, the debate is over. The American people want to ride trains.

But if the debate is over, the fight isn't. I said I wanted to arm you

with some arguments that would take the debate to the next level.

And the next level is simply this: More trains, on more routes —

expansion of the system.

And not just what we now characterize as "corridor" trains or

"long-distance" trains, but trains that use contemporary business and

trip-generation models to attract and efficiently serve all varieties of

domestic travel.

We've saved our trains enough. Now it’s time to grow them.

And there’s only one way to do that, and that’s to convince the federal

government — not just Congress, but the administration too — that a

passenger-train buildup is a federal responsibility along with highways

and civil aviation — and that it’s needed and wanted.

No more excuses this time.

Especially that feeble and obsolete excuse that "Americans just won't

ride trains."

If you believe that, I've got a state I'd like to show you.

Thank you. ...

[End quote]

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

[email protected]

 

[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; April 9, 2007 - Special Edition Mourning the Loss of

Austin M. Coates, Jr.

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 14

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

1) The man who was known for telling Capitol Hill politicians "I talk to

God everyday, why can't I talk to you?" passed away yesterday at 4 A.M.

on Easter morning. Austin M. Coates, Jr., the founder and Chairman of

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc., was 74 years old when he died on

Sunday, April 8, 2007 in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

In addition to being a devoted friend to many, and a true southern

gentleman in every sense of the word, he was a hard fighter for what he

believed in and wasn't afraid to challenge or debate anyone about causes

he fought for, including the betterment of passenger rail in the United

States.

Mr. Coates will be laid to rest during a grave side service in his

hometown of Helena, Arkansas on Saturday, April 14, 2007 at 1 P.M. He

will be buried next to his parents and older sister. His casket will be

draped with an American flag which draped his father's casket. Roller

Citizens Funeral Home, 127 South Ninth, West Helena, Arkansas 72390

[(870) 572-6852] will be handling the local arrangements in Helena.

Mr. Coates is survived by two daughters and a son-in-law, two

grandchildren, a sister, two nieces and many friends in an extensive

network throughout the United States. He was a Christian.

2) Long time URPA Vice President Andrew Selden had this to say today

about Mr. Coates.

[begin quote]

When we think of the persistence of the American intercity passenger

train over the last three decades, the overwhelming improbability of

their survival and popularity jumps out. But, like many things that add

to the quality of our culture, they haven't "just happened." The trains

have survived, and in their own way flourished because of the vision and

toil of a handful of individual people. Some are household names in the

community of rail advocates: Graham Claytor and John Riley are among

these.

But, others have labored, alone at the start, later in concert with like

minded folks with whom they shared the vision, but quite out of the

public eye. Among these, all now departed, are Dan Monaghan, Joe

MacDonald, Byron Nordberg and Adrian Herzog. Without these people, we

simply would not have a national train system in the United States today,

or many of the components of that system that contribute to its

persistent success.

Another of these great men was Austin Coates. Austin founded the United

Rail Passenger Alliance as the cover for his "one man band," and with it

he forged a truly unique bond with decision-makers in Washington, D.C.,

ranging from all the senior executives of Amtrak to many of the key

legislators, and their staff, on Capitol Hill.

I was privileged to meet Austin at a RailPAC meeting in Fresno,

California in 1986, convened by Byron Nordberg. From the outset he

impressed me as a man of integrity, vision, commitment, and tireless

energy. It became immediately apparent we needed to meld our forces

together in the cause of promoting economically-sound rail passenger

policy and operations. We all contributed to the effort, but Austin's

contributions were among the most critical, for it was he who could open

doors in Washington, to get an audience for a little band of what one

Massachusetts politician called "Wackos," a sobriquet that Austin

embraced and wore as a badge of pride.

Amtrak as an institution and Amtrak as a service to the American traveler

owes much to Austin Coates. We are all beholden to him.

Somewhere, I'd like to think there is a Superliner III sleeping car named

the "Austin M. Coates" rolling across America, full of paying passengers.

[End quote]

3) Another original URPA Vice President, Russell Jackson of California,

added this tribute to Mr. Coates. Mr. Jackson is the retired editor of

the highly respected Western Rail Passenger Review.

[begin quote]

Austin Coates: A legend

By Russ Jackson

By the time I met Austin Coates, his legend had already been firmly

established. In the early 1980s as I became more active with the Rail

Passenger Association of California's predecessor organization (Citizens

for Rail California) and was associating first with its then-president,

the late Byron Nordberg, and eventually with the late Dr. Adrian Herzog,

they were speaking highly of this southern fellow they had met who was

actively working to improve and make passenger rail financially viable,

and at Amtrak, in particular.

Austin had formed a group of independent realistic advocates to quietly

work with the Congress and first the Carter, then the Reagan

Administration, to these ends. Those were the days, of course, when

President Reagan's budget for Amtrak was zero, the Congress was

overriding him and presenting a budget for Amtrak subsidy which the

president eventually signed.

All this was a new political reality for me, and I was intrigued by the

practicality of what Austin's group, which he was calling the United Rail

Passenger Alliance, stood for, with his contacts within the government,

the people who were rallying around these ideas that Amtrak could stand

on its own without heavy subsidy from the government, and how it could

grow.

Eventually, the writings of Andy Selden and Bill Hamilton were published

in Trains Magazine and the original Passenger Train Journal, and the

battle was on. Through Mr. Coates and Mr. Selden, contact was made with

the late John Riley, who was President Reagan's Administrator of the

Federal Railroad Administration. It was said that Austin could - and

would - call anyone in Washington and talk trains and financial

responsibility.

My first and only personal contact with Austin was at the RailPAC Annual

meeting, held April 26-27, 1986, in Fresno, California. I was impressed,

as he was the epitome of the southern gentleman. That meeting came at a

time when light rail transit was starting to boom across the country. San

Diego's trolley had shown the way, and had just opened its Euclid line,

the first step toward the full eastern service that was to come.

Senator Jim Mills, then President Pro-Tem of the California Senate, was

advocating the expansion of the Los Angeles to San Diego corridor for

Amtrak, and other politicians in other states were starting to get

interested. That Fresno meeting centered around advocacy that RailPAC was

offering in California for what was called the "Golden Empire Route"

combining what we now call the San Joaquin trains through Fresno, with

service across the Tehachapi mountains to San Bernardino and then down to

San Diego. It was to be the first big expression of URPA philosophy using

the Matrix theory to show how three markets could be served by one train.

Dr. Herzog's research was beginning to land on important desks in

Washington, D.C. and other states, and the RailPAC Quarterly Review [now

the Western Rail Passenger Review] was publishing serious commentary and

research, contributed by URPA members and distributed across the country.

By early 1987, contact had been made through FRA Administrator John Riley

to then-Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole, and Mr. Coates wrote

her quoting the Matrix theory to discuss Amtrak's service termination at

Akron, Colorado, a small town in Western Colorado on the route of the

California Zephyr, and the effect it would have, pointing out what was

becoming evident that "Amtrak marketing and planning managers" were not

in touch with the long term look at their company, and how they "refuse

to consider the effects of their one-at-a-time stop reductions, then they

wonder why ridership continues to erode" on affected trains. While Akron,

Colorado was a "small town stop," the loss of the stop still had a large

impact on the rest of Amtrak's matrix of inter-connected trains and

routes. This would be a recurring theme which URPA would expound for many

years.

In October of 1987, Mr Coates wrote an analysis for the Quarterly Review

of Amtrak's bloated management's refusal to "achieve something as simple

as operating the Palmetto train an additional 148 miles because it might

impact the revenue to cost ratio unfavorably." The train eventually was

extended to Jacksonville, Florida from Savannah, Georgia, and URPA was

proven right.

He was advocating the management theory of "lean at the top," using

Transamerica as his example (Mr. Coates had previously worked for

Transamerica), showing that its corporate staff was a "scant 100," and

"not bad for a $17 billion company with 15,000 employees." He said, "The

time has come for a major down-scaling of managers at Amtrak and an

equally major delegation of authority to the field to get work done and

money earned." This was a major topic for URPA's "Program of Work" at

that time, which also included the seeds for the "Southern

Transcontinental Corridor Improvement Project," eventually to become the

extension of Amtrak's Sunset Limited to Jacksonville. The key URPA

proposal that year was "Elimination of operating subsidies through

effective revenue enhancement programs based mostly on train operations."

In June 1988, Mr. Coates and URPA wrote to President Reagan urging that

John Riley be the next Amtrak President, "to assure Amtrak decisive,

effective leadership to sustain its climb toward self-sufficiency." They

advocated that Mr. Riley and then-Chairman/CEO Graham Claytor "divide the

two offices." This was at a time when other organizations were blindly

supporting what Amtrak did and said, and were deathly afraid the Reagan

administration was serious about eliminating Amtrak. The game was being

played in public, but behind the scenes URPA was working to accomplish

positive results.

Through the 90s my contacts with Mr. Coates usually came during telephone

conversations with Dr. Herzog late in the evening. Adrian would say,

"let's see what Austin thinks," and dial us into Austin's Jacksonville

number where it was sometimes quite late. That southern gentleman

responded with his usual grace and positive attitude, giving us his

wisdom.

As late at 2001, Austin Coates was frustrated, but still advocating the

strengthening of Amtrak and passenger rail through financially

responsible means, continuing to work behind the scene with URPA's

advocacy, and voicing opposition to the policies of the then Amtrak

President George Warrington, which were financially ruining the company.

He wrote to Congressmen and Senators asking they "withhold all funding

from Amtrak until the board is changed," which would bring an end to that

management. Responsible advocacy may not be the popular thing to do, but

in Austin Coates' 1987 words, "He who has ears, let him hear."

[End quote]

4) Austin M. Coates founded United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc. in 1976

in Jacksonville, Florida. He became disillusioned with Amtrak, and sought

a way to improve train service in the United States. After a time as a

member of another passenger rail organization, he structured URPA as a

policy institute instead of a member-based organization.

Rail professionals in Florida, Minnesota, Texas, California, Arizona, New

Mexico, New York, and Washington, D.C. are part of the organization he

founded. His strong leadership and sense of corporate style attracted

many rail industry professionals to seek a place in URPA's policy

institute that have included consultants and others who worked for

Amtrak, major freight railroads, regional commuter agencies, and other

parts of the railroad industry.

As a result of his URPA work, Mr. Coates was a frequent visitor to

Washington and other cities related to Amtrak operations. URPA had a

number of achievements during the years under Mr. Coates' stewardship,

including the extension of two trains into Florida, and the retention of

passenger rail service along endangered routes. He was welcomed in the

offices of many high ranking Amtrak officials, including the late Graham

Claytor, Bob Norman, and Robert Vanderclute. On Capitol Hill, he enjoyed

a respected relationship with many Capitol Hill staffers, and also

members of the Washington press corps. Often, Capitol Hill staffers

consulted with Mr. Coates for ideas on passenger rail funding and other

Amtrak related issues that were beyond traditional "Amtrak thinking" and

the automatic echoes of other, less serious passenger rail advocacy

groups. Often, he met individually with members of the Amtrak Board of

Directors, and also attended Amtrak board meetings in Washington.

During the mid 1990s when Amtrak's Texas Eagle was endangered, much

credit went to Mr. Coates for his leadership in helping keep the Texas

Eagle and three other train routes running.

Mr. Coates served as URPA's president until early in 2001, when he chose

to semi-retire from the day to day activities of the organization, moving

from the position of president to chairman of the board of the group and

simultaneously moving from Jacksonville after 42 years to his hometown of

Helena, Arkansas.

Mr. Coates enjoyed a colorful business career in Jacksonville, where he

worked in several industries, including radio and insurance, after a

lengthy and adventurous tenure as a general aviation corporate pilot. One

of the corporate executives Mr. Coates frequently piloted a plane for was

the late Thomas Rice, President of the Atlantic Coast Line, and then

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad..

In Jacksonville, Mr. Coates opened his own automobile mechanic business

in the 1970s, providing exclusive service to many notable names in the

city.

What many members of Congress and the United States Senate did not know,

was that after Mr. Coates, in suit and tie, left their Washington offices

or Washington receptions where they met Mr. Coates on URPA business, he

returned to Jacksonville and personally supervised the servicing of

automobiles. It was not unusual for Mr. Coates to have a wrench in his

back pocket while talking on the telephone with an under secretary of the

United States Department of Transportation or a White House aide.

Along with his corporate life, Mr. Coates was deeply involved in

community affairs in Jacksonville, including nearly three decades of

volunteer community service work. He was highly regarded in Jacksonville

as a problem-solver and crisis resolution counselor to many. He was also

well known in the Jacksonville political community and served on a

government committee working to restore Jacksonville's grand downtown

train terminal to its original purpose. For three years, he appeared

several times a year on a locally produced public affairs television show

on the CBS affiliate in Jacksonville.

Mr. Coates attended the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee in

1950 and 1951.

>From 1953 to 1955, he served in the United States Navy Seabees, and was

stationed in Japan and Midway Island.

After his return from the Navy, he was graduated from the Spartan School

of Aeronautics in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1957.

5) As a specific example of the work of Mr. Coates, this narrative was

provided by one URPA member about the beginning of the Sunset Limited in

Florida in 1993.

[begin quote]

... Don't leave out Austin's role in the URPA operation that led directly

to the Sunset extension to Florida.

Briefly, we had put together his observations about both New Orleans and

Jacksonville were major regional transportation hubs anchoring the

southeast and Gulf Coast, much as Atlanta does for air traffic in the

Southeast, with Adrian's [Dr. Herzog's] idea about how "L"-shaped train

routes could make a lot of sense in the right applications, to get full

use out of capital assets, and to link adjacent and overlapping markets

into more effective networks in ways that linear, point-to-point routes

couldn't.

The result was our scheme to convince Amtrak to run The City of New

Orleans from Chicago, or maybe even Detroit (which makes a lot of sense,

demographically), to New Orleans and then on to Jacksonville, where it

would connect to the Atlantic Coast Corridor in both directions.

We did a study and presented the case and the underlying data to John

Riley at FRA, and Austin had just started to shop the idea and study on

Capitol Hill, when Amtrak suddenly announced its intention to extend the

Sunset (originally) to Miami (later pulled back to Orlando, to be near

the Sanford maintenance base of the Auto Train, and assure turnarounds

even after late arrivals).

We did a lot of the prep work, but it was Austin's credibility and

salesmanship on the Hill that spooked Amtrak into preempting us by doing

its own extension across the Gulf coast.

[End quote]

6) And, finally a personal note. I remember the evening in late 1987 or

early 1988 when I was invited to dinner here in Jacksonville by a mutual

friend of mine and Austin Coates's. I was told there was this most

interesting gentleman that worked with issues about Amtrak, and since I

knew a lot about trains, perhaps we should meet.

The dinner with the three of us took place, Mr. Coates handed me a stack

of URPA white papers and other documents, and I was hooked. And, I never

looked back.

Through Mr. Coates, I went on to meet URPA luminaries such as Andy

Selden, Byron Nordberg, Adrian Herzog, Russ Jackson, and many more.

Shortly thereafter, I started work with three other railroad consultants

on the theory of privatizing VIA Rail Canada. Much of our work on the

Canadian project was validated by other members of URPA, and as we went

along we all swapped information and experiences.

Most people don't know about URPA and what goes on with the organization,

and this is by design. In the days before e-mail, much of URPA's business

was handled by telephone calls, faxes, and lots of documents floating

through the United States Postal Service. Somehow, Austin Coates stayed

on top of all of this, in addition to almost everything that was going on

at Amtrak. He had an extensive network of contacts at Amtrak, starting on

the front lines of conductors, engineers, and station agents, and working

all the way up the ranks to the president's office and members of the

Amtrak Board of Directors. He took in everything, filtered it, and

parceled it out to us individually for us to add to our particular

puzzles we were working on at the time. Nothing was too small to escape

his attention, and no one was too important for him to contact and start

asking questions.

Today, URPA is the organization it is because of the vision and tenacity

of Austin Coates. He cared deeply about passenger rail in the United

States, and he wasn't satisfied with the status quo. He knew we as a

nation could do better, and he worked every day, often seven days a week,

to help us all do better.

I shall miss him. He was my friend. This is the end of an era marked by a

rugged individual who wasn't at all satisfied with "but, we've always

done it that way!"

- J. Bruce Richardson

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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

[email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.orgmailto:[email protected]

_______________________________________________

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[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; April 12, 2007

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 15

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

1) Many thanks to all those who wrote and expressed sympathies and shared

stories about our late founder and chairman, Austin Coates. Mr. Coates

had friends all over America, and he made a lasting mark on American

passenger rail. All comments received will be forwarded to his family.

One note about Mr. Coates must be added, however. Interviewing him a few

years ago to write a biography of him when he assumed the chairmanship

was like trying to pull water from a stone. Mr. Coates was a modest man,

and wasn't interested in talking much about himself. A communique came

today from the Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers revealing new

information.

[begin quote]

... Of course, Austin was also a founder of the Florida Coalition of Rail

Passengers and a former Board member; he was also on our Advisory Board

until he passed away. In fact, the day before his death the FCRP

membership re-elected him by a unanimous vote to the Advisory Board, with

full knowledge of his condition. We all thought that much of him.

We have sent flowers to Austin's service and have contacted his daughter

to express our sympathies.

The rail passenger advocacy movement has lost one of its giants. He will

be sorely missed.

Sincerely,

Jackson McQuigg

President

Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers

[End quote]

By the way, the reason Mr. Coates retired from his business here in

Jacksonville and moved to his hometown of Helena, Arkansas in 2001 at the

age of 68 was to take care of his mother, who was in her early 90s and

still living in her home.

2) Much of the other information in TWA this week comes under the general

headings of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

First, the good.

Mike Chandler, who has been superintendent of road operations in Los

Angeles for the Amtrak Southwest Division, has been appointed Acting

General Superintendent for the Southwest Division, following Richard

Phelps' selection as Vice President, Transportation.

There could be no better news for Amtrak passengers and employees in Los

Angeles than this appointment, even on a temporary basis (and, hopefully

to be made permanent). Mr. Chandler is a consummate railroader and a

great leader. To work with him is to work with a professional who has

been down in the trenches fighting and risen to higher levels solely

because of great competence and a desire to always do the right thing.

Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Mr. Chandler was the product line

director for the Crescent, and previous to that, was one of the

Crescent's service managers in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Chandler was running

the Crescent while the Mayor of Meridian, Mississippi, John Robert Smith,

was Chairman of the Board of Amtrak. Since the Crescent serves Meridian,

and Mayor Smith first became involved with Amtrak because of the

Crescent, the Mayor/Chairman thought of the Crescent as "his" train. Mr.

Chandler deftly handled things expertly while running the

Mayor/Chairman's train. He will do well running the Southwest Division.

He has a complete understanding of operations, equipment, and most

importantly, passenger service.

3) Now, the bad. This is from one of Amtrak operations reports this week.

[begin quote]

On April 9, 2007, a woman riding on San Joaquin Train 704 removed an

emergency exit window on the lower level of Coach C8205 and jumped out,

23 miles out of Sacramento (California) in Elk Grove. Train stopped upon

crew being notified by other passengers.

Crew of UP freight train behind Train 704 found the passenger lying

alongside the right-of way. She was airlifted to the trauma center at UC

Medical Center.

Passenger had been recognized by the Conductor as a prior fare evader;

upon finding she had no ticket, he asked her for a credit card. However

the credit card authorization was declined and Conductor had arranged for

Lodi Police to meet the train and remove the passenger.

The woman even asked a male passenger to help her remove the window. He

refused to assist, and moved to another car.

Law enforcement officers determined the identity of the train-jumper and

ascertained she had outstanding warrants for her arrest.

Amtrak Road Foreman met the train at Modesto and put back the window; but

until it could be permanently reinstalled, the lower level of the car was

closed off.

Delay: 1 hour, 47 minutes

[End quote]

Anyone who has had any lengthy conversations with Amtrak train and engine

and onboard services crews knows the ongoing craziness which can be found

with Amtrak passengers. The woman jumping from the train must really have

preferred hospital food over jail food, or maybe she has seen one too

many action/adventure movies and thought you could really get away with

such foolishness. Of course, she had no concern for anyone else on the

train and what happens when a window that is never designed to be open

except in case of an extreme emergency is opened while a train is moving

at speed.

4) You've had the good and the bad, now, here's the ugly. This is a trip

report from an Amtrak rider living in California who has traveled almost

every mile of the Amtrak system.

[begin quote]

On March 18th I departed the [san Francisco] Bay Area on the California

Zephyr bound for a Cardinal connection in Chicago to continue travel to

the east coast. The Zephyr trip was okay, despite the bus trip around the

trestle problem. The Cardinal was a horror show, almost beyond belief.

My Zephyr was the first train to not detour via Marysville [due to the

Union Pacific Railroad trestle fire]. We were bussed to Roseville and

departed only a few minutes late. My bedroom E in a rebuilt Superliner I

was in good shape, though five minutes with a wet wash cloth made the

difference between "broom clean" and clean. My only real complaint about

these rooms is the new chair that has replaced the folding chair. The new

chair's support post is welded to the exterior wall and the chair is

mounted such that the back of the seat bottom is higher than the front of

the seat bottom. You can perch on the chair, but you can not sit there. I

suspect a fixed chair is a safety mandate, but there is no excuse doing

the job in a manner that negates the amenity.

The train left Roseville with food supply and refrigeration problems.

Thus, dinner every night was limited to baked chicken, chicken fried

steak or a burger. Pizza was available at lunch. Breakfast had one

choice, the continental. Coach passengers were asked to eat from the

lounge. Even with two sleepers seemingly filled, the diner was never very

crowded. Sadly, low volume didn't lead to more carefully prepared food.

My chicken two nights in a row was cold and dry, but I survived.

We averaged about 90 minutes late throughout the trip, which is pretty

good for the Zephyr. The scenery is terrific and the redone lounges are a

bit more comfortable than before. Certainly the blue decor is cheerier

than the 1970s chocolate brown. The tops of the small tables in the

lounge section were never washed in 3 days -- every last one was sticky

with soda.

We arrived Denver 90 minutes late, but left two hours late. Despite the

hour, [9:30 P.M.] the new conductor made a 10 to 12 minute welcoming

announcement that seemed never-ending. If that had been his only sin, it

would have gone without mention. At 6:00 A.M., prior to arriving in

Omaha, Nebraska, he got on the PA for another ten minutes of "myself

welcomes you to Omaha . . . .". He had the PA on max because there was no

escaping it, despite the fact the system was in the "off" position in my

room.

There is something I love about traveling by train so I thoroughly

enjoyed myself even considering the cold food with limited selection and

harassment by a verbose conductor.

We arrived in Chicago at 5:46 P.M., almost three hours late, and my

connection to the Cardinal was at 5:45. I was quite happy to learn that

the Cardinal's departure had been delayed until 6:00 P.M. [Due to

mechanical difficulties on the Cardinal trainset.] This ride was going to

mean that I have traveled on ALL Amtrak's long distance trains.

The Cardinal, in the vernacular, sucked. It could not have been worse. I

have now experienced the Twilight Zone. The Viewliner sleeper must have

been used in Bagdad recently. The newly rebuilt Amfleet II Diner/Lounge

is an example of what you get when the mechanical department is given

responsibility for design; the food was vile, and the service worse. The

track during the night was like riding on a roller coaster and caused the

suspension to bottom out with a metal on metal "smash, bang, boom," and

the coup de grace was riding from Huntington, West Virginia to

Charlottesville, Virginia [328 miles] on a bus to get around a freight

derailment.

The Viewliner sleeper was in its original livery and five years past the

date it should have gone into the shops. This was my first time in a

Viewliner Bedroom. Though I prefer the Viewliner roomettes over

Superliner roomettes, the bedroom was awful. There is such a large

expanse of unrelieved gray plastic that you feel like you are in a jail

cell. The carpet was a virtual science experiment. The PA did not work.

The curtains were hanging. The walls were filthy. The welded chair in

this bedroom blocked the bathroom door from fully opening such that I (at

175 pounds and a 33 inch waist) had to squeeze into the bathroom. One

more pound and I would have had to walk back to coach. The sleeper was

the first car after the engine, which meant I was within 50 feet of the

horn, which went off every three minutes. Between the suspension

bottoming out and the horn, there was no sleep.

The brand spanking new Amfleet II Diner Lounge is a tragedy. The person

responsible for the rebuilding must suffer from cerebral rectal

insertion. The interior panels are bright white and someone thought

45,000 watts of lighting was appropriate. The sheer glare makes you feel

like you are in a room where the CIA questions Al Quada suspects. Talk

about off-putting! A very large handicapped restroom has been added to

the short, "diner" end. Its wall ends right at the edge of the window's

glass. It is at this point an oversized wheel chair booth has been

created -- the problem is this booth goes to the middle of the next

window's glass. Thus, each successive booth has the wall pillar in the

middle of the table. The row ends with a short space where a table for

two has been created with the benefit of "all glass." It was occupied by

crew. Okay, you must think at least they got the other side of the aisle

right, i.e., tables are lined up with the windows. WRONG. The screwed up

positioning of the restroom side was matched on the other. Both tables

for two were occupied by crew and the wheelchair area at the handicapped

table was piled with luggage. This car day No. 1 out of the shop was the

worst train food service car I have ever seen. Seeing it is wanting to

cry.

Dinner was as bad as the car. Shortly after departure an employee

literally pounded on my room door. When I opened the door he poked me in

the chest with what turned out to be the dinner menu, waited a second and

said at maximum volume, "What you want? What you want? What you want?"

Aside from being poked and the words quoted above, there was no other

communication. Later, he would literally scream at colleagues in the

diner who were 25 feet away and then giggle for a prolonged period. He,

alone, thought his act was funny. It was the Twilight Zone.

The food was flopped on the plate like one would expect at a soup

kitchen. The nut-job server made choices for customers and matched my

beef with rice and carrots. The beef had curled into the shape of a taco

shell, the rice had been mixed with wall paper paste and the carrots were

frozen. Get the picture?

After my miserable night of no sleep, we were thrown off the train in

Huntington, West Virginia about 8:30 A.M. A freight had derailed ahead

and we were to be bussed to Charlottesville, Virginia. The bus was ready

by 11:00 A.M. Every seat was taken; the air-conditioning died and could

not be fixed despite stopping twice to try to fix it; and I sat in front

of a schizophrenic guy who talked to himself some of the time, and yelled

at everyone the rest of the time. All this on no sleep!

It is important to say the Cardinal would have been Hell on earth without

the bus ride. The decrepit condition of the sleeper, the otherworldly,

Twilight Zone quality of the diner and the nut-job waiter were each alone

trip destroyers. Together, they made for the trip from Hell.

The trip on the Cardinal made me think (just for a minute) that the only

thing to do with Amtrak is to take it out to the back of the barn and

shoot it -- put it out of its misery. Underfunding was certainly part of

the problem. Ineptitude was most of it.

[End quote]

(Groan) All of this was going on during low season travel, when things

shouldn't be too crowded and equipment can be rotated for cleaning and

repairs.

Here are some questions which have to be asked about this:

- Will more free federal money fix these problems? Very little of this

had anything to do with budgets; it was mostly related to employee

problems either in the mechanical department or onboard services

department.

- Which Amtrak officers are responsible for the conditions described? We

have seen some very good choices in the past few weeks for new Amtrak

leadership on the operations level. Can we hope those responsible for

this abomination of a travel experience have either left the company or

are on their way out?

- Which Amtrak officers will state on the record whether this experience

does or does not represent an acceptable level of service on an Amtrak

overnight train?

- What would VIA Rail Canada do with a train like this? The departure

times and trip profile match pretty closely VIA's Ocean operating between

Montreal and Halifax. What would Virgin Trains do? Both VIA and Virgin

have good reputations for onboard services. Even though VIA's equipment

is often older than the majority of Amtrak's equipment, it is generally

maintained at a much higher and more dependable level.

- What would Marriott do to a franchised Marriott that delivered this

experience to a guest? Most likely a franchised Marriott would eventually

get the financial death penalty if this type of result was routinely

reported. In the real world, accountability matters.

If this passenger paid full fare for his trip from the west coat to the

east coast, both in full size bedrooms, as described, and was traveling

alone, his total fare was $2,223.00. Does anyone think he received true

value for his money?

5) In the last regular TWA, published April 5, 2007, a speech by former

Amtrak Reform Council Vice Chairman James E. Coston was featured. The

speech stirred a number of thoughts and responses from a variety of TWA

readers. More will be written about this in the next edition of TWA.

However, URPA veteran Bill Lindley offers these brief thoughts about the

subject of Amtrak's early days as reflected in the speech and how Amtrak

responded to rising customer demand.

[begin quote]

By William Lindley

It is curious there has been so little mention in the past twenty years

of Amtrak's early successes. I started reading Model Railroader in grade

school, TRAINS around 1978 in junior high, Passenger Train Journal in the

80s, and the NARP newsletter in the early 1990s. In all that careful

reading, the only mention I ever saw of a ridership jump on Amtrak was

vague comment about "in the aftermath of the 1973 Arab Oil Crisis ..."

I was dumbfounded that Amtrak had a ridership surge BEFORE the '73 gas

crunch. I was amazed that Amtrak operated a western long distance train

route more often than daily -- and in 1972!

For all I ever knew, intercity train service started sliding in the early

1960s and never once took an upturn. Why has contradictory evidence

seemingly been suppressed for decades? Even today, Google can hardly find

mention of it. Jim Coston's remarks hit the nail on the head.

To help clear the record, I collected a small selection of historical

notes:

A brief history of original and current Amtrak routes:

http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/715912/ShowPost.aspx

On Wikipedia, some history and photographs of the Chief, Super Chief, and

Southwest Chief:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_(passenger_train)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Chief

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Chief

"Everything" is another participatory online information project like

Wikipedia; here's what it has to say:

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Amtrak

I hope some of our readers out there will fill in any remaining gaps of

knowledge.

[End quote]

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

[email protected]

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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, including requests to unsubscribe, should be

addressed to [email protected]

J. Bruce Richardson

President

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760

[email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

_______________________________________________

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[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; April 23, 2007

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 16

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

1) Twice a year, Amtrak comes out with new national timetables, And,

twice a year, it is appropriate to say one of the best working parts of

Amtrak are the folks who publish Amtrak's timetable. This spring, Amtrak

has gone to a new size, a full standard magazine size. Also included in

the upgrade is a better quality of newsprint on which the timetable is

published, plus the benefit of full color printing throughout the book,

which has allowed for a much more colorful timetable, making it look not

only more appealing, but easier to use.

Amtrak prints 1.4 million timetables each year, plus the individual route

timetables, and various short distance wallet card timetables for use on

corridor routes.

Amtrak is missing a huge opportunity with all of these printed materials,

which are often going to a publishing-world prized audience of loyal

readers who refer to the timetable more than once, plus it has an

unbelievable shelf life of six months.

One of two things needs to happen. Either Amtrak needs to get further

into the publishing business, or it needs to find a publishing partner

for the timetables of all sizes and start making some money from the

timetables; make them a revenue center instead of an expense center by

selling advertising.

While Amtrak continues to untangle its business affairs and starts acting

like a real business that (gasp!) thinks about breaking even financially,

or even (horrors!) makes a profit (for those in the group unfamiliar with

this process, it's known as higher revenues than expenses, a common

occurrence in the real world), a publishing venture not only would pay

for itself, but contribute income to Amtrak's bottom line. This bold

concept is not unheard of at Amtrak; along the financial black hole of

the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak leases space along its right-of-way for

underground communications cables, and it leases space in some of its

stations to private businesses that serve passengers.

Amtrak has a publishing deal with McMurry, Inc., which creates the

bimonthly NEC passenger magazine Arrive. The magazine is distributed free

on all NEC trains and in ClubAcela station lounges.

McMurry says Arrive has 1,778,839 adult readers per issue, or 8.89

readers per copy. There are 200,000 copies per issue printed. Those

numbers are audited numbers by BPA, the gold standard of circulation

verification. If you're an advertising agency, these numbers are

impressive, especially since you often have a captive market that doesn't

have other publication choices readily available while riding NEC trains.

Historically, airline magazines have been strong financial performers for

both the airlines and the independent publishing companies for the same

reasons. Arrive's web site lists nearly 50 gold-plated advertisers for

the magazine.

Left over from better days, Amtrak also publishes Empire Builder

Magazine, the official onboard publication of that named train. New York

by Rail Magazine offers a travel guide to destinations from New York City

to Canada. Plus, don't forget Amtrak's ticket jackets, which have always

contained advertising from outside sources and Amtrak promotional

partners.

All of this is a good start. Let's let out imaginations run wild and talk

about a national or regional onboard magazines. But wait, there's more.

Tie in regional magazines with the always popular route guides, which

Amtrak published long ago. These guides, especially on the western

transcontinental trains, went like hot cakes (Speaking from experience,

this writer created the last Sunset Limited route guide, which was not

only well received, kept disappearing every time they were put on the

trains; many passengers kept them as souvenirs.).

Here's the thought: Amtrak could easily contract with publishing

companies which specialize in travel publications, such as state and

local tourism guides, or airline magazines, or existing hotel magazines,

or any other number of scenarios. These companies would be responsible

for not only publishing, but the sale of advertising (see McMurry, above,

as an example). Make the package even more attractive for advertisers

(thus, creating higher revenue), and bundle a magazine with an

accompanying separate route guide (also containing advertising), and

round that out with accompanying advertising in the national timetable

and/or specific route timetables.

It's likely the size of the national timetable could double with income

producing advertising. Think about producing 1.4 million timetables each

year with somebody other than Amtrak footing the bill. In the last fiscal

year, Amtrak welcomed 24.3 million passengers onto its trains. Many of

those passengers brought their own reading materials, electronic

entertainment, or were happy to look out the window at the passing

countryside. But, the reality of the situation is there are always

passengers who are restless, and want something fresh to read. This

concept also provided for a good service recovery vehicle for when trains

are late and passengers need to be distracted from their plight.

>From this point, let your imagination soar for other similar ideas which

would benefit not only Amtrak passengers (the real purpose of Amtrak, in

the first place), but contribute to Amtrak's bottom line.

But wait, you say, won't this require yet another Amtrak bureaucracy that

will cost more to administer than create disposable revenue? Only if some

empire creating bureaucrat is allowed to run the operation. This whole

operation could probably be administered with a staff of three to five

people, with only two in the beginning.

It's time for Amtrak to open its corporate drawers, check the old file

cabinets, and figure out how it can work to become self-sufficient

drawing on the assets it has at hand. Every Amtrak passenger is a captive

audience that is an advertiser's dream. Don't let those dreams die

because someone at Amtrak is not creative enough to figure out how to get

an advertiser to part with his money.

2) Going back to the TWA issue of April 5th (Volume 4, Number 13) and the

speech published by former Amtrak Reform Council Vice Chairman James E.

Coston, much comment was generated by the speech, almost all favorable.

Last week, (Number 15), TWA featured a follow-up article by URPA's

William Lindley of Arizona, on his mystification that Amtrak, in its very

early days, actually ran trains to handle overflow crowds, and the

company was growing naturally as a result of a desirable service being

offered to the traveling public.

One of the comments generated by Mr. Coston's speech came from a former

Amtrak manager who has remained in the transportation industry. This

gentleman noted two important facts not many people have given serious

thought: First, Amtrak's new best friend needs to be people in the

automobile/truck highway industry, and second, most young people under 30

not only have no concept of America without Amtrak, but are highly

annoyed Amtrak does not offer a more viable and robust service for them

to use as part of their personal domestic transportation matrix.

3) First, the highway issue, and it's a clever thought. Most people with

modal envy point to the highway lobby as both powerful and unstoppable.

What the highway lobby wants, the highway lobby gets, which is mostly an

endless supply of free state and federal money.

The problem, in some areas, is the highway lobby is running out of places

to build new, bigger, and more expensive roads. What to do? It seems some

research shows some members of the highway lobby are embracing a

multi-modal concept, where some highway traffic is moved off the roads

onto complementary forms of transportation such as passenger trains. Yes,

that's right. Some highway folks are saying their behemoth roads would

work better if trains were running along side of them carrying

passengers, and taking some capacity constraints off the roads. This is a

fascinating concept which needs much more exploration.

4) The second issue, that of glorious youth, is a rational expression of

marketing looking to the future. Well traveled young adults go around the

world riding trains almost everywhere. They come home, and wonder why,

with all of the railroad tracks cris-crossing America, passenger trains

are so few and far between. Often, these young whippersnappers are aghast

to read history books and discover that at one time, America has the best

passenger rail system in the world, but foolishly discarded it in favor

of the jet airplane and more and more roads. They wonder why someone is

not working to put a balance back into the system, where trains offer

equal travel options along with airlines and automobiles.

Little do they know the answer lies in politics more than anything else,

plus a stubborn refusal by Amtrak to embrace growth (free federal money

has nothing to do with embracing concepts), and figure out how to better

itself and make friends with its host railroads.

5) Along those same subject lines, here are some fascinating observations

by a Chicago writer.

[begin quote]

Observation No. 1: If you boarded an American passenger train 40 or 50

years ago, you saw mostly old people - certainly people above 40, if not

actually elderly. Board an American passenger train today - out here in

the Heartland, not the NEC - and you see mostly twenty-somethings. They

have no problem about riding trains.

Observation No. 2: If you ride one of these trains, as I have ridden the

Hiawatha and the Lincoln Service to St. Louis several times in recent

months, you notice that most of these younger passengers are occupied

with their consumer electronics. Some are talking on a cell phone. Some

are working at a laptop. Some are watching a movie on a laptop. Some are

playing a video game, either on a laptop, a hand-held device or just a

game device. Some alternate devices, putting the laptop movie on hold

while they make a cell-phone call. And just about EVERYbody is listening

to an MP3 player at one point or another.

Observation No. 3: A 60-something old college buddy of mine - not a

railfan, but a sympathizer who eavesdrops on some of my railfan e-mailing

- who lives in Indianola, Iowa, tells me he has two sons, both in their

30s, one in the Chicago suburbs, one in Carbondale. The boys have always

been close, and they visit each other often. They used to drive but now

they take the train. I asked my friend why, so he called one of his sons

and asked him to account for the change. The son said, "Well, for one

thing, we can talk on the cell phone." That was the sum-total of his

"explanation."

Observation No. 4: A 50-something friend of mine who works in the Chicago

suburbs managing some 700 contract truckers who haul his company's

products, shares the night dispatching desk primarily with 20-something

employees. During lulls he spends a lot of time getting to know them and

their habits.

He reports

a) The only newspaper they read is the Red Eye, a sassy tabloid published

by the Chicago Tribune containing lots of entertainment/celebrity news

plus boiled-down, digested versions of serious stories from the

grown-ups' paper. None of these employees reads the big Tribune or its

rival, the tabloid Sun-Times.

B None of them cares much about cars. They all drive, of course, because

you can't get around without a car, but they don't make a big deal out of

car ownership, they do not expect to be judged on what kind of car they

drive, they do not judge or select their friends based on what kind of

car they drive, and they use transit when and where it meets their needs.

They like cars, but cars hold no particular mystique for them, and they

do not use cars for "social signaling" as their parents and grandparents

did.

c) Consumer electronics have replaced cars as social-status indicators

for this group. While they may be indifferent to the type of car they

drive, they would die of embarrassment if caught with anything but the

sexiest new cell phone, and their hand-helds and video games are expected

to be the latest models with all the right bells and whistles. People

indifferent to the latest in consumer electronics are viewed as

"strange."

Summary: Changing tastes among young adults are making intercity train

travel more socially acceptable among young adults than at any time since

World War II. Failure to use a car no longer is stigmatized as evidence

of poverty, incompetence, nostalgia or social awkwardness. It simply

represents a personal choice that carries no over-arching social meaning.

"Social signaling" of one's status now is done with consumer electronics

rather than cars. This does not make train travel positively attractive,

but it makes it relatively so because the "repulsion factor" caused by

the train not being a car is eliminated. The young traveler is now able

to make his choice based on personal convenience unencumbered by negative

social baggage his choice may entail.

On the positive - rather than neutral - side, the train actually makes a

more attractive choice for these people because they can use their

consumer electronics in ways they cannot in a car or airliner. Using a

cell phone while driving a car is difficult and distracting, even if you

have a BlueTooth device on your face. In some places it's illegal. On

airliners it's not permitted at all. Even if you're a passenger in a car,

phoning can be difficult, especially if the discussion is supposed to be

confidential. Working at a laptop, watching a movie or playing a

hand-held game are impossible while driving and not really fun even if

you're a passenger, but an Amtrak coach seat is so huge and roomy that

even in a full coach most passengers can do these things without

disturbing others.

Finally, lets go back to that cryptic remark my friend's son made, "Well,

for one thing, we can talk on the cell phone." Why is this an

explanation?

I think it's because cell phones eliminate a major unexpressed

dissatisfaction with train travel - disconnectedness from the traveler's

normal environment. We railfans like that. The train ride itself is

interesting because we know so much about it's meaning - not only the

operation of the train itself and the infrastructure over which it

travels but the elements in the passing scene as well. Most railfans I

know are engineering buffs, architecture buffs and economic-geography

buffs as well, so they are fascinated by every viaduct and cut the train

passes through, as well as by every grain elevator, factory or mill

served by the tracks. "Civilians" cannot be expected to thrill at this

banausic furniture the way railfans do. For them it only emphasizes that

they're neither at home nor at their destination. They're in an alien

environment, and, unlike the driver of a car, they feel no sense of

control over their ability to influence the situation because they are

passive recipients of whatever service Amtrak and the railroad can

deliver to them. Keeping touch by cell phone solves this problem. It

reduces the sense of "passenger victimhood" by empowering him with the

ability to interact with his normal environment.

It also solves some more practical problems as well. For example, if the

train is late, the traveler can alert the people who are picking him up,

repeatedly, if necessary, to update them on the train's status and

location and on what the conductor is telling the passengers. This is a

real leap forward in convenience. No longer do people waiting for a

family member have to park at an unmanned depot and stare futilely down

the tracks, probably in terrible weather, looking for a headlight. They

can stay home, run errands, do whatever, knowing that when the train

comes they'll know about it. And they can chat with their friend or loved

one at any time.

By removing some of the strangeness and disconnectedness of train travel,

consumer electronics bring it well into the circle of normal daily

activities, including interpersonal communication, information gathering,

amusement, work and play. This is not to be dismissed lightly. Along with

the younger generation's distancing from much of the postwar "car

culture," represents the "normalization" of train travel.

And it's all happened so stealthily. While we rail advocates have torched

the air for decades with debates about the best ways to improve the

passenger's on-board experience and on-board environment, the passengers

have solved the problem themselves by bringing their own environments and

their own experiences on board with them. While we've been talking, the

consumer-electronics industry has been solving our problem. Personal

technology may be the best friend the American passenger train ever had.

There's a message in this to rail advocates, of course: We need to get

out of our own heads more and do a better job of observing the world

around us. If we watch closely enough and reflect appropriately, it will

furnish us with the information we need to do our work. As Sherlock

Holmes famously said, "You see, Watson, but you do not observe."

[End quote]

6) At the top of this column you read about expanding Amtrak's onboard

reading resources and creating income to the company. Just above, you

read about personal electronics solving the problem of onboard

entertainment. Note the item above was mostly referring to

twenty-somethings. Those of us of a, perhaps, more mature age, still

prefer to do things the old fashioned way and read the printed word.

Also, don't forget balance - something for every taste, be it electronic

tastes or printed tastes.

7) From the same Chicago writer comes further lucid thought.

[begin quote]

A lot of the controversy over the truth/falsity of the

corridor/long-distance-train distinction comes from the amazing

willingness of most of the human race to believe in categories and

distinctions, regardless of how ridiculous they are and regardless of

whether they are based on any kind of meaningful differences.

All you have to do is break a phenomenon down into two or three or four

categories, give each one a fancy name and, presto! - each immediately

takes on life and meaning in the vernacular ear.

For 2,000 years almost all serious thinkers believed in Hippocrates'

theory that every human being had a temperament that fell into one of

four basic types - Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic or Phlegmatic, and

that these temperaments were regulated or controlled by the so-called

"Four Humors," i.e., blood, yellow bile, black bile or phlegm. It wasn't

until around the 17th century that philosophers began to question this

"system." It was spurious, improbable, unproven and absurd from Day One,

but it had the virtue of sounding learned, so the learned - and everybody

else - believed it until the Scientific Method evolved to the point where

scientists at least realized it was a bunch of hooey.

But the human itch to believe in categories persists, so the fraud

survives by moving into greener pastures. Passenger trains seem to be a

very fertile field in which to enchant the credulous with new feats of

nomenclature. The only thing about so-called "corridor trains" that makes

them appealing to the policy-makers these days is their eligibility to be

financed with OPM - Other People's Money - in this case, a state's money.

But what happens if you identify a corridor which can't be confined to a

willing state, such as Chicago-Detroit? Just you watch. Somebody at

Amtrak or DOT will twiddle the definition dials again, and say, "Oh, you

mean a 'multi-state' corridor train. That's not a 'real' corridor train.

We've just decided to call them 'mini-long-distance trains.'"

[End quote]

8) Again, URPA's stalwart William Lindley of Arizona offers these new

thoughts.

[begin quote]

- I have a basic distrust for conspiracy theories, not just because

hardly anyone can actually keep a juicy secret, but also because most

things in life turn out to be more like a long-winded soap opera than a

spy thriller. Just for fun, though, let's invent a fictional "They" for a

few minutes.

"They" say Amtrak never wanted to expand. "They" didn't want you to

remember how Amtrak ran trains to meet real demand even before the Arab

oil crisis of 1973. "They" want you to believe that the latent demand for

intercity passenger rail is only a railfan's daydream.

"They" say you can't get Americans, especially in the West, to ride

trains. "They" say people are too much in love with their automobiles.

"They" don't want you to look at Greater Los Angeles, the epicenter of

America's love of things on four wheels, where every day people board a

Metrolink commuter train 42,000 times every weekday.

"They" say you can't get the railroads to let passenger trains run over

their rails. "They" don't want you to know about cities like Nashville,

whose first commuter line opened last year.

"They" say it takes decades to start a new commuter train system. "They"

don't want you to know that from the day New Mexico's Governor Richardson

announced his plan to pursue commuter rail to the Rail Runner's opening

day was under three years.

"They" say it takes billions of dollars and fancy high-speed trains to

get people to ride. "They" don't want you to know how many people have

started taking the train in Illinois, with only a modest budget increase,

in just one year.

... Is there a "they"? I doubt it. But if there is, "They" are just plain

wrong. "They" say America can't run passenger trains. "We" can.

- Those of you who hold common stock will know it's proxy season because

your mailbox is stuffed with annual reports. And if you own railroad

shares, you will find that one of the inner flaps of that glossy booklet

probably contains a route map.

I happen to have Norfolk Southern's map before me. Now, NS in 2004 told

the State of Virginia it was "eager to let passenger train use its

lines," at least under certain conditions (Roanoke Times, 2 September

2004).

What would happen if a national rail passenger company, and a few states,

sat down with NS and did what Illinois has done? It's not too difficult

to connect the dots on the NS map. To the current Amtrak route map let's

imagine adding just three new daily trains:

* Cleveland / Toledo - Columbus - Cincinnati - Lexington, KY -

Chattanooga - Birmingham - Mobile

* Kansas City - St. Louis - Louisville - Chattanooga - Atlanta - Macon -

Savannah

* Richmond - Roanoke - Knoxville - Chattanooga - Memphis

Suddenly, the whole South and Midwest are connected. By creating a matrix

of the existing and these new routes, you can realistically travel

between (for example) Florida and anywhere.

Add one or two more trains from an Atlanta hub, and one or two in the

Carolinas, and everywhere connects with everywhere. You won't have to

change trains in Washington, DC or New Orleans to get from Atlanta to

Chicago.

Now if there really is no "They," then who says it's not possible?

[End quote]

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

[email protected]

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

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distribution of This Week at Amtrak or related URPA materials.

All other correspondence, including requests to unsubscribe, should be

addressed to [email protected]

J. Bruce Richardson

President

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760

[email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

_______________________________________________

TWA mailing list

[email protected]

http://lists.unitedrail.org/mailman/listinfo/twa

 

[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; April 30, 2007

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 17

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

1) URPA's "take no prisoners" numbers cruncher, Dennis Larson, has a new

set of numbers for consideration.

[begin quote]

By Dennis Larson

Recent This Week at Amtrak issues have been keeping readers informed

about Amtrak's basic maintenance failures around the country such as

keeping train sets watered, fueling of engines before departure, and

simplistic cleaning. The solution seems simple enough, hire more help.

But looking at the Amtrak manpower report of December 2006, published on

March 14, 2007, there are all ready 3,892 people doing just this.

Compared to other carriers with similar transportation output, Amtrak's

mechanical department is more than adequately staffed as is the entire

organization.

But, for all of Amtrak's shortcomings, there is an area of the mechanical

department that is doing well -- the high-speed maintenance department --

even if the price is steep. Several years ago, the high-speed Acelas were

in the news with a myriad of problems, and the problems were so severe

the entire fleet was taken out of service for months. The root cause of

the Acela problems centered on the suspension and braking components

which were obviously was not up to the task of carrying the added weight

of the heavy steel frame mandated by the Federal Railroad Administration.

In general, the FRA was lauded for this decision, but the Acela-based

equipment design as used abroad without FRA modifications had all ready

turned in a fatality-free record for decades, as have similarly designed

lightweight equipment in the Orient.

The high-speed train sets in their original configuration were very

reliable with uptime in the high 90 percent range. But after the work

over by the FRA, these beasts take constant maintenance to keep rolling

safely. The FY 2006 maintenance bill for Acela train sets was

$47,531,000, up from $33,070,000 in 2005.

So far in 2007, October, November and December, $12,479,000 was spent on

Acela maintenance at the 289 employee high speed maintenance facility.

The Beech Grove facility, that services Superliners and other non-Acela

equipment with 333 employees, had an operating expense for the same

period of $1,844,000. Amtrak's FY 2007 forecast for Acela maintenance is

$52,516,000.

The Acela annual maintenance bill would consume the equivalent of the

entire gross passenger revenue of all the Pacific Surfliners combined,

and then some.

The cost per passenger mile - just for Acela maintenance only - is 10.3

cents. The latest airline yield report just issued by the Air Transport

Association is now at 13.1 cents a passenger mile.

[End quote]

Amtrak still insists the Northeast Corridor's Acela trains are

profitable. Would someone please rationally explain how this is so?

2) Here is a press release issued today by the Union Pacific and Norfolk

Southern railroads.

[begin quote]

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern to Offer Fastest Service Between

Southern California and Southeast

OMAHA, Neb. and NORFOLK, Va., April 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Union

Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway will significantly improve

eastbound domestic transcontinental service from Los Angeles to the

Southeast on May 21. The service improvement in this important

high-volume lane will result from shifting traffic from the Memphis

gateway to the new Shreveport, La., gateway.

This new route, combining Union Pacific's Sunset Route between Los

Angeles and Texas with Norfolk Southern's and Kansas City Southern's

joint venture line between Shreveport and Meridian, Miss., is nearly 150

miles shorter than the current route, making it the shortest, fastest and

most reliable intermodal route between Los Angeles and the Southeast.

This change will result in the following improvements:

-- Standard service to Atlanta will improve by one day ...

-- BlueStreak premium service to Atlanta now will be available ...

providing truck-competitive transit speeds of 600 miles per day. ...

-- There also will be improvements to other Southeast destinations.

Since expanding service and capacity in this lane in February, Union

Pacific and Norfolk Southern BlueStreak has been running 100 percent on

time. Both railroads continue to make major investments to expand

capacity and enhance service performance on this route. Westbound

domestic service is expected to be shifted to the faster Shreveport

gateway during the third quarter of 2007. International shipments will

remain routed via the Memphis gateway, and customers can expect

improvements to this service in the months ahead.

[End quote]

UP, Kansas City Southern, and NS can do this for inanimate freight, and

brag about how fast the service is for freight customers. What reasonable

steps will it take - making a strong business case, not emotional

rhetoric - to make this same trip a reality for passengers, and, at the

same time, make it desirable for the host railroads?

4) There was an expectation by many last week an announcement would be

made of a decision by the Amtrak Board of Directors regarding the fate of

the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans. No news has been forthcoming. We

are only a few short months away from a full two years since this service

was discontinued due to track and infrastructure damage wrought by

Hurricane Katrina.

5) Last Thursday evening, this writer had the privilege of being the

guest speaker for the monthly meeting of the North Florida Chapter of the

National Railway Historical Society here in Jacksonville. The group was

friendly, pleasant and asked great questions. Going back to the last

issue of TWA where demographics were discussed and the future of

passenger railroading was placed on a younger generation adapting to

riding trains, the demographics of the NRHS group proved interesting.

There was more gray hair in the group than anything else. Keep in mind

these were fascinating people who asked good, penetrating questions and

who clearly know their subject matter. But, it seems there is a reality

that a younger generation has not completely embraced rail on all levels,

including an appreciation for its history and preservation.

Often, those of us in the business of passenger trains forget about where

the future of our industry is coming from in terms of people. There is a

strong need for the involvement of a new generation in every level of

passenger railroading, from employees to membership groups to riders.

Where are all of the school-based programs teaching a new generation

about passenger railroading? Does the NRHS have a secondary school or

college campus program? We know the freight railroads are heavily

supporting technical school training programs for train and engine

personnel and other operating positions. But, where are the programs for

all of the other areas?

Passenger railroading is on an upswing in North America. New commuter and

transit systems are popping up everywhere, raising the visibility of

steel wheel on steel rail transportation. The railroad industry needs to

follow the cardiac-damaging, cholesterol-filled leadership of McDonald's

and Burger King. Get 'em when they are young, and they will stay with you

forever.

6) One final note. This writer will be taking an inspection trip on

Amtrak this coming weekend, going south from Jacksonville on Saturday on

the Silver Meteor, train number 97, and returning the next day on the

Silver Star, train number 92. The trip will be from Jacksonville to Fort

Lauderdale, and it will be interesting to see how things are in 390 miles

of the last 412 miles of a 1,389 mile trip, and conversely, the beginning

of a new 1,389 mile trip from Miami to New York City. This will be an

all-daylight sleeping car trip, taking advantage of Amtrak's pricing for

day space on long distance trains in Florida. A written report will

appear in the next TWA.

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

[email protected]

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

[email protected]; 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, including requests to unsubscribe, should be

addressed to [email protected]

J. Bruce Richardson

President

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760

[email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

_______________________________________________

TWA mailing list

[email protected]

http://lists.unitedrail.org/mailman/listinfo/twa

 

[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; May 8, 2007

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 18

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

1) Aboard Amtrak train number 92, the northbound Silver Meteor, Sunday,

May 6, 2007 between Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, Florida:

Sitting in Viewliner roomette number seven, you realize you're in a

sleeping car that is only 12 years old, but looks much older. For those

of us too young to have been alive at the end of World War II, you

imagine the condition of this sleeping car must have been what it was

like in a Pullman Company sleeper in 1945, when every piece of

rattle-trap rolling stock was pressed into service to meet the demands of

wartime traffic.

Also at the end of this trip, you realize, too, the horrible implications

of a company that has traditionally been answerable to no one, and, even

worse, of the many opportunities lost.

If you're a first-time rider, you wonder in awe at how so many things in

a Viewliner sleeping car are tucked neatly into such small spaces. If,

like this writer, you're a veteran, lifelong rail traveler, you already

know the design of sleeping cars is calculated in inches and half-inches,

not feet and yards.

The dining car, once a bastion of stylish service and cooked to order

food that emanated from a compact, yet highly functional kitchen reminds

you of a world renowned concert pianist playing an accordion.

Yesterday's southbound trip from Jacksonville to Fort Lauderdale on train

number 97, the Silver Meteor, displayed a trainset and crew at the end of

a round trip run between Miami and New York City, totaling over 2,750

miles. The Jacksonville to Fort Lauderdale segment is 398 miles of the

last 412 miles of the journey. The Saturday crew had left Miami on

Wednesday morning, journeyed to New York City, and returned to Miami on

Saturday night. The union contract for the sleeping car attendants

allowed them a whopping four hours of downtime/sleep to rest to provide

good passenger services.

Almost everyone in the onboard services crew on train 97 had a smile on

their faces, and were willing to provide a good level of service. Paul,

the sleeping car attendant with 32 years of service to Amtrak in the

Miami crew base, was always moving about his car, making sure everyone

had bottled water and ice, fruit juices, a newspaper, or fresh coffee.

There were several elderly couples traveling in the car, and he provided

meal service for them in their accommodations. Towards the end of the

trip, when the train was running nearly three hours late after 7:30 P.M.,

he brewed a fresh pot of coffee for anyone wishing to have a cup. As

passengers detrained, they were pressing tips into his hand.

On today's trip on the Silver Star, via Tampa, the sleeping car attendant

is a kindly, grandfatherly gentleman with a nice smile and pleasant

demeanor. He seems genuinely interested in his passengers, but it is also

clear he is on the glidepath to retirement, and just waiting out his

time. He provides one bottle of water when boarding the car, no ice, lets

you know breakfast is being served in the dining car (it's 9:30 A.M. in

Fort Lauderdale), and then promptly disappears, seldom to be seen again

during the rest of the trip. No extra bottled water is stocked in the

car's service area, and no other offerings are made. No mention is made

about making lunch or dinner reservations during the day, whereas Paul,

the previous day, was absolutely adamant about everyone knowing the

dining car was open and serving, including an extra dinner service which

was provided because the Silver Meteor was so late into its destination.

2) The trainset on Saturday's Silver Meteor was turned Sunday morning in

Miami for the Silver Star. The dining car was the same, but the Star's

menus were a different cycle from the Meteor's menus. Both provided an

interesting, yet limited variety of offerings, notable for how small the

entree portions were, but how large the portions of cheap, "filler" food

were, such as rice, vegetable, and potato chips. Notable was the amount

of food left untouched on plates when the meal was finished, not just the

filler food, but often the entree item, too.

Depending on who is doing the seating in the dining car (it's tough,

these days, with only two working the seating area of the dining car, to

distinguish between the single wait staff person, and the steward/lead

service attendant, who is also waiting on tables and bussing plastic

plates), the barbaric practice of seating strangers with one another in

the dining car seems to be going away. Three out of four LSAs/waiters

allowed diners to sit anywhere they wished, but one stuck with the older,

outdated dining car tradition of pairing up diners, even if there were

only two diners in the entire 40 seat area.

A high point of marketing in the dining car, even if ignored by the wait

staff, is the availability of before- and after-dinner drinks. The

offerings were all premium brands, and the price was fairly reasonable at

$5.00 per drink. This has the potential of being a huge money-maker for

Amtrak, but the lackluster promotion by the wait staff, beyond the

printed drink menu on the table, means Amtrak is literally leaving money

on the table.

Amtrak has become so determined to streamline the dining car service,

even the setups of Amtrak branded flatware wrapped in cloth napkins are

assembled prior to the dining car staff boarding the train. As a result,

when passengers eat their salad with the salad fork, and the main meal

with the other fork, and dessert comes along, a plastic fork is offered

for the consumption of these rich desserts. A good New York style

cheesecake, drenched in a delightful strawberry sauce somehow loses its

punch when it is served on a plastic dish and eaten with a plastic fork,

especially when you're also using a cloth napkin.

3) Amtrak has let too many equipment maintenance issues fester for too

long. In the dining car, on Saturday, the door which closes off the car

from the next car was broken, and held open. This was at the end of the

car where the patrons were dining, so the entire meal consisted of

listening to road and track noise while eating a meal. What should have

been a pleasant experience punctuated by the sounds of light conversation

instead was a cacophony of brakes squealing and steel wheel flanges

straining against misaligned steel rails.

In the Viewliner sleeping cars, maintenance issues abound. While overall,

the car is clean from a quick surface view, it's obvious these cars for a

very long time haven't received more than a lick and a prayer for any

major cleaning. These are some of the newest cars in Amtrak's fleet, only

12 years old, yet, they look tired and worm, with paint chipped away,

rust evident everywhere inside the rooms, and plenty of grime well worn

into surfaces. Windows are scratched and soiled, and many curtains don't

work properly.

The original small and very useful television screens and audio systems

are gone, too. These small screens originally played movies and reruns of

popular television sitcoms, plus had an outstanding choice of music to

fit everyone's taste.

One puzzling change, as noted in a previous TWA trip report, is the

installation of fixed chairs in the full bedrooms in these cars. The

chairs are small, immovable, and right up against the door of the

lavatory in each bedroom. There is no way anyone other than a small child

could fit through the lavatory door since the opening is impeded by the

placement of the chair. What were these people thinking? A better

solution, if Amtrak doesn't want to have movable chairs, is to just get

rid of the chairs, and let the long couch - that can easily hold three

adults - be the only seating in the room.

Nice surprises in the roomette on the Meteor and Star include a current

timetable and a return of route guides. The route guide contains lots of

interesting and well presented information, but lacks the one things that

could make it a profit center instead of an expense item - advertising.

On the Star today, the timetable provided in the roomette is both used

and soiled.

4) The Silver Meteor and Silver Star were the two showcase trains of the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad, with the Meteor debuting as an all coach

train at the end of the 1930s. After the war, the Seaboard streamlined

all of its major trains, and added the Silver Star as a companion train

to the Meteor, and the Silver Crescent, providing service between New

York City and Birmingham, Alabama.

The Meteor and Star both survived the merger of the Seaboard with the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1967, and migrated to Amtrak in 1971. The

only original Seaboard tracks in use today by the Meteor and Star in

Florida are south of Auburndale, going into Miami. These tracks were

built as part of the Florida land boom in the 1920s. The Star still uses

part of its original route in North Carolina and South Carolina, between

Raleigh and Savannah, Georgia.

The Silver Meteor, in its prime, hosted many celebrities traveling

between New York and Miami. Jackie Gleason, who lived in Fort Lauderdale

while producing and starring in his Saturday night variety television

show in CBS from Miami Beach, did not like to fly, and often was a

passenger on the Meteor. If he wasn't traveling in a private car, he was

ensconced in a Pullman drawing room in an 11-bedroom sleeping car that

ran regularly on the Meteor. You always knew he was on the train, but he

never left his accommodations, having his meals brought to him in his

drawing room.

Today's Amtrak Fort Lauderdale station, now primarily used by the

successful local Tri-Rail commuter operation, is the same station where

Elizabeth Taylor alighted from the Silver Star one day as part of filming

her 1966 movie, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?.

Most of the old Seaboard stations in Florida still exist, but have taken

on new lives as combination Amtrak and Tri-Rail stations from West Palm

Beach south to Miami. There is a stark contrast between the Tri-Rail

parts of the station - bright and spiffy - and the Amtrak parts, often

dull with faded paint and unremarkable features.

5) The extremes of the cuts in payroll throughout Amtrak's national

system under George Warrington and David Gunn are still very much evident

today. An example was the Star's 45 minutes tardy arrival into Tampa

Union Station.

TUS has five station tracks, all workable. However, since there is now

only one train a day in each direction through Tampa, and one Thruway bus

connection in each direction daily, the station staff has been cut to the

bone, and it hurts.

The northbound Star came into Tampa today on time, and pulled far into

the stub-end station's wye to back into the station. Then it sat. And,

sat. And, sat some more, for a total of 45 minutes. The reason? Today's

southbound Star, running late, was already in the station, and the

station staff could not deal with two trains in the station

simultaneously, even though there was plenty of track and platform space

available. The result was, along with a weather-related delay further up

the line north of Sanford, a northbound train which was relatively on

time, ended up in Jacksonville over an hour late, even with the enormous

amount of schedule padding built into the Florida schedules.

The bottom line is a decision was made at some point to delay an entire

train full of passengers, plus run late on CSX's main line, because of

lack of station personnel.

6) The impressions one comes away from an Amtrak trip are many and

confusing. In many instances, you find employees excited about their

jobs, and their enthusiasm shows through with good passenger service.

Other instances demonstrate how employees, with little motivation more

than keeping their jobs in an often untaxing environment, don't worry

about such trivial things as passenger satisfaction, or making money to

keep stockholders happy. Their only vision is one of survival.

Amtrak has many unique assets, such as a congressional mandate which

provides access to every freight railroad track in America. This grossly

under utilized asset is evident through Amtrak's glaringly sparse route

system, which makes pitiful use of other assets such as stations and

yards which must be maintained no matter how busy or quiet.

The size of trains is evident, too, at how much more demand there is for

rail travel. Saturday's southbound Meteor had two busy sleeping cars and

four full coaches between Jacksonville and Orlando, with decent crowds to

destinations south of Orlando, too. Today's Star steadily picked up

passengers all along the line, especially in Tampa and Orlando. By the

time the train reached Jacksonville, things were jumping. Imagine, if

Amtrak actually advertised its service, and put back on the road all of

the equipment it keeps in storage. Deficits would quickly decline, and

the system would become robust and ever more closer to self sufficiency.

Too much money is left on the table onboard the trains. Not much effort

is put into selling things, like the dining car and lounge car. The usual

assortment of barflies can, as usual, be found in the lounge car, their

mere presence chasing away any opportunities for family activities. There

are no onboard destinations for passengers, other than strolling through

the aisles of coaches (which is a huge improvement over planes and

busses, but still, not enough), or visiting the lounge or diner.

Walking through the coaches reveals a sea of faces that have become

frozen into monotony, having been on the train for more than a day, and

just waiting for their station stop to arrive. How easy it would be to

offer these people books, magazine, or newspapers for sale, and even

provide a reader's lounge area in one car. Not many children were

traveling this time of year, but replicating the Coast Starlight's

children's play area has to be a good idea, not as much for the benefit

of the children traveling, but all of the adults traveling near the

children who inevitably become restless and bored.

7) We continually hear the ignorant drumbeat that because no other

passenger rail system in the world breaks even or makes money, that

Amtrak MUST have the same fate. A trip on an Amtrak long distance train

with an open mind, while knowing all of the internal numbers in the back

of your mind, quickly proves otherwise to those with rational thought.

Anyone who wants to keep Amtrak a captive of the federal budget process

merely wants it to fail and remain a political play toy. Anyone with any

sense of vision - knowing all of the limitations of a clogged freight

rail system and the desires of the traveling public - knows Amtrak has a

bright future ahead of itself if only someone will allow it to grow in a

natural way.

8) Want to see what a private rail company in Great Britain does for

marketing? Check out this link (and thanks to Doug Alexander of Georgia

for passing this along).

http://richmedia.virgintrains.co.uk/fallinginlove.mpg

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

[email protected]

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

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[email protected]; 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, including requests to unsubscribe, should be

addressed to [email protected]

J. Bruce Richardson

President

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760

[email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

_______________________________________________

TWA mailing list

[email protected]

http://lists.unitedrail.org/mailman/listinfo/twa

 

[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; May 10, 2007

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 19

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

1) If you're going to make a mistake, make an embarrassing one, don't

fool around with something trivial. In the last issue of TWA, a comment

was made about the Silver Fleet of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which

consisted of three daily trains. Two of those were named correctly, but,

the third was named in haste instead of in accuracy. The Seaboard's train

between New York City, Atlanta, and Birmingham was the Silver Comet, not

the name applied in the last TWA. It's tough getting a fact wrong you've

know your entire life because of a simple typo. Thanks to the many

friends who caught the embarrassing error, and apologies to all.

2) We know the Florida trains in pre-Amtrak days were always considered

money-makers. Even up to the end the year before the advent of Amtrak,

Seaboard Coast Line operated the Florida Special, a winter season,

extra-fare train that always had good patronage. During the height of the

Great Depression, this train and others of the Seaboard and Atlantic

Coast Line would often run with extra scheduled sections.

At the end of private passenger service, Seaboard Coast Line was

operating daily into Florida from New York the Silver Meteor, Silver

Star, Champion, Gulf Coast Special, and the Everglades.

Between Jacksonville and New Orleans the Gulf Wind was operated, and

between Chicago and Miami the City of Miami and South Wind alternated

running one train on even days, and one train on odd days.

When Amtrak Day came on May 1, 1971, the surviving trains into Florida

were the Silver Meteor, Silver Star, and the Champion. Chicago to Florida

was covered by the South Wind, which later became the Floridian.

This ancient history is important because it shows there has always been

a demand for passenger rail service in and out of Florida. When Amtrak

was being formed, it was highly unusual for any long distance route to

have three surviving trains. Even New York - Chicago originally was only

served by one train, the Broadway Limited. For Florida to retain three

trains was remarkable, and a strong indicator of how much business

existed between the Northeast and Southeast.

Today, Amtrak's Florida service is ghost of what it was even in 1993,

before the arrival of a transit mentality at Amtrak, and the scourge of

the "common consist" where one size train fits all; passenger demand be

scorned and ignored.

3) URPA completed a white paper in 1999 on the effect of the common

consist and the resulting loss of passenger business, all in the name of

saving expenses without regard to passenger revenue.

By 1993, the Sunset Limited had arrived in Florida, and the Silver Meteor

and Silver Star were operating, as well as the Palmetto and Auto Train.

The Palmetto only operated to Jacksonville.

In Fiscal Year 1993, using Amtrak figures, ridership (revenue passenger

mile figures were not available) on all Florida trains combined was

1,262,059 passengers. By FY 1998, just five short fiscal years later, and

by the time Florida trains had been converted to Superliners on the Auto

Train (providing greater passenger capacity), and the Meteor and Star

were carrying Viewliner sleepers, replacing Heritage sleeping cars,

ridership on all Florida trains combined was 976,301 passengers, a drop

of 285,758 passengers per year.

This drop in ridership was not due to changing market conditions. It was

deliberately planned by Amtrak to reduce its fleet of sleeping cars and

close maintenance bases. In 1993, Amtrak had three full maintenance bases

in Florida, and was performing minimal turn maintenance at Jacksonville

for the Palmetto.

By 1998, the Tampa maintenance base was closed, and the Palmetto had been

converted to the Silver Palm, and was operating to Miami via Tampa, as

today's Silver Star does.

As always with the caveat that Amtrak managers are praised for saving

expenses, but not praised for raising revenues, the Tampa maintenance

base, and the two trains which terminated there (The Silver Meteor and

Silver Star operated as one train each into Florida, but were split at

Jacksonville or Auburndale into two additional trains to provide service

to the old Seaboard main line through Ocala, and into Tampa.)

disappeared. No more trains were split in Florida, but three trains,

instead of two, operated from Miami to New York City, with one detouring

through Tampa.

Again, using Amtrak numbers and 1999 expenses and fares, the closing of

the Tampa maintenance base saved about $4 million dollars a year in

expenses, a hefty amount. On the other side of the ledger, Amtrak gave up

$14 million dollars a year in revenue by taking one train a day out of

Tampa, and replacing it with a Thruway bus connection.

The Silver Meteor often ran with a consist of three to five Heritage

sleeping cars depending on seasonal demand, and the Star usually with

three sleepers. By getting rid of the Heritage sleepers and replacing

them with fewer Viewliner sleeping cars, Amtrak automatically cut down on

passenger capacity. The pre-common consist trains also carried nine

Amfleet coaches; these were reduced to four to accommodate the common

consist requirements. Eighteen car trains quickly became 10 car trains.

Somehow, this screwy logic made sense to Amtrak managers and the Amtrak

board of directors.

4) Not satisfied with just about killing its Florida business, Amtrak,

under former President and CEO David Gunn, made more cuts into Florida,

all in the name of "improving service." When the mail and express

business disappeared, so did the Silver Palm. It was shortened to its

inefficient southern terminus of Savannah, Georgia, and turned into an

all-daylight train along the East Coast, to New York City.

When questioned as to why the newly-minted Palmetto, replacing the Silver

Palm, at least didn't return to its more logical terminus of Jacksonville

(which did not require any more crew members, but only 148 additional

train miles in each direction between Savannah and Jacksonville), the

response was "it's an easier turn for the train crew at Savannah than

Jacksonville." To put it more bluntly, the public be hanged, it was

easier for Amtrak's operating department to end the train at Savannah

instead of Jacksonville. Profits don't matter, passenger convenience

doesn't matter, because there is always another annual subsidy of free

federal money to make up the difference in any mistakes in judgement by

Amtrak.

Between 1993 and 1999, the Sunset Limited was also scaled back from Miami

to first Sanford, the home of the Auto Train terminal and a far suburb of

Orlando, and then, more logically, Orlando, about 25 route miles away,

but a much more desirable destination. This cutback did make sense, since

Orlando was the primary destination of Sunset riders in Florida, after

those making connections in Jacksonville to the north, and those using

the service for transportation to cities in Florida's panhandle such as

Tallahassee, and Pensacola.

In another gross misjudgment by Amtrak, when the Sunset was originally

cut back, it went to Sanford, because it shared a common Superliner

maintenance base with Auto Train. The timetables showed unknown Sanford

as the eastern terminus of the train, with a Thruway bus connection to

Winter Park, Orlando, and Kissimmee, the real destinations of passengers.

As a result of such a huge miscalculation by the Sunset's product line

director of now showing Orlando as the final destination of the train,

business dropped dramatically. When it occurred to him to deadhead the

train the 25 or so miles from the maintenance base at Sanford to Orlando

to complete the full route by rail, ridership soared. Passengers simply

want to take a train the entire trip, and aren't interested in the

inconvenience of shifting from a train to a bus in a small town.

5) Today, Amtrak in Florida has changed, even more. The Sunset Limited

hasn't been seen in almost two years, since the onslaught of Hurricane

Katrina along the Gulf Coast. Amtrak has had a myriad of "the dog ate my

homework" excuses for not reinstating this vital link in the national

system, but has never really indicated anything would work short of

states putting up money to reinstall a train which has never been

officially cancelled. Amtrak has made plenty of telltale statements

however, with its Chicago spokesman saying things recently in the

Tallahassee Democrat such as "We don't start running new services in

states without state financial support." The problem, of course, is this

isn't a new service, but a service which has never been officially

advertised as being discontinued (to meet union requirements and other

legal matters), so the Chicago spokesman's statement doesn't hold water.

Amtrak service in the spring of 2007 in Florida consists of two daily

trains from the Northeast, both serving Orlando, but only one serving

Tampa. The old Seaboard line through Ocala, one of the fastest growing

areas of Florida, has no train service, only Thruway bus service. Tampa

and the lower West Coast of Florida have Thruway bus service, too.

Auto Train still serves Sanford.

No service exists west of Jacksonville to New Orleans.

6) Going back to URPA's 1999 white paper, we find the following

statistics:

Annual Ridership in Florida

FY 1993 - 1,262,059

FY 1994 - 1,167,838

FY 1995 - 1,125,571

FY 1996 - 1,002,009

FY 1997 - 928,252

FY 1998 - 976,301

FY 2005 - 841,240

FY 2006 - 764,363

You may discover, by following the numbers above, that Amtrak ridership

in Florida, one of the strongest travel destinations in the United

States, continues to decline at an alarming rate. The difference between

passenger counts in FY 1993 and FY 2006 is a staggering loss of 497,696

passengers annually. To put that in a simpler number, that's a half of a

million passengers a year not coming or going in Florida on Amtrak from

what there was in FY 1993.

Do some math. Presume each passenger generated an average ticket value of

$87, based on revenue passenger miles generated in FY 2006 by the Silver

Meteor and Silver Star and revenue per mile. Multiply 497,696 passengers

by an average of $87 per ticket, and you can calculate Amtrak is happy to

give up $43,299,552 in annual passenger revenue, or roughly, 14% of what

Amtrak says is its annual operating deficit for the entire national

system outside of the Northeast Corridor.

7) A rational person would be quick to point out that coming up with that

extra nearly $43 million in ticket revenue would cost some big bucks,

too. Yes, that is correct. However, as we saw with the closing of the

Tampa maintenance base and the idiotic idea of common consist trains, it

wouldn't be too hard or too expensive to restructure the Florida service

to regain much of that lost $43 million without spending more than Amtrak

would be making.

How can this be done? Simply by putting the Sunset Limited back,

restringing the current Florida schedules, and running the Palmetto back

into Tampa. Some other improvements could be made, too, that would take a

bit more effort, but provide even better results.

8) Most of the long distance trains operating in and out of New York

City's Pennsylvania Station do so at times convenient for the many

regional and commuter trains operating in the region. Long distance

patrons make up a minuscule segment of travel from New York's stations.

The Silver Meteor and Silver Star depart New York Penn at times these

trains have been departing New York since the Seaboard days. The Star

provides a morning departure, the Meteor a mid-afternoon departure. The

Star has the more lengthy route, since it follows the old Seaboard route

through Raleigh, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina before

rejoining the current CSX I-95 corridor route at Savannah, Georgia.

Again, in Florida, the Star goes in and out of Tampa, which the Meteor

does not, adding an additional two hours to the schedule. Even though the

Star departs New York more than four hours before the Meteor, both end up

in Miami within an hour of each other.

The Palmetto launches out of New York Penn Station early in the morning

at 6:15 A.M., and arrives at its terminal in Savannah at 8:34 P.M.

Northbound, the Meteor and Star both leave Miami early, at 7:15 A.M. and

8:50 A.M., but again, the Star, taking the longer route, arrives in New

York Penn over five hours later than the Meteor. The Meteor arrives at

10:30 A.M., and the Star at 3:43 P.M., with the Palmetto arriving at

10:56 P.M., after a morning departure from Savannah at 8:00 A.M.

The Auto Train, in both directions, departs its terminal at 4:00 P.M.,

and arrives at the opposite terminal at 9:30 A.M., with no stops between

Sanford, Florida and Lorton, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C.

9) Let's do the most modest rearranging of the schedule, first.

Considerations have to include the provision for late running trains, and

adequate time to turn trains at endpoint maintenance bases. The trains

sit overnight at both endpoints, so it takes four trainsets to run each

service for the Meteor and Star, but only two trainsets for the Palmetto

because it doesn't travel overnight. The Auto Train uses four trainsets,

too. The Sunset, when it runs its full route, takes seven days for a

return trip coast to coast, so every day it departs, it needs a trainset,

needing seven sets for daily service.

The Meteor and Star schedules, considering that Tampa is served by the

Star, are not bad schedules. Both schedules could easily be tinkered with

by an hour or so, but overall work.

The Palmetto is where the real opportunity is found.

Tampa took the most dramatic hit in ridership when the common consists

arrived in the 90s, and Tampa was then served by just one train. Tampa

ridership went from 149,722 passengers a year, down to 39,936 passengers,

a perilous drop of 109,796 passengers a year. In the past two years, that

ridership has edged back up, with FY 2006 reporting 60,778 passengers

using Tampa Union Station, but that is still significantly less than half

of the passengers in FY 1993.

Tampa needs the Palmetto. Currently, the Palmetto ties up for the night

in Savannah, where routine turn maintenance and cleaning is performed.

This function could easily be moved to Tampa at no additional expense.

Extending the train, keeping the spirit of its present schedule, would

require no new stations, but keeping some stations in Florida open all

night.

Currently, Amtrak has 50 Viewliner sleeping cars in its active fleet,

with a daily requirement of 39. The Silver Palm, when it was today's

Palmetto operating in and out of Miami and Tampa, carried only one

sleeping car. That's okay, because the Palmetto also would only need one

sleeping car on each of three trainsets to operate the service from Tampa

to New York City.

Envision a late night departure from Tampa, at 10:30 P.M. That would put

the train into Orlando at 12:30 A.M., into Jacksonville at 3:30 A.M., and

into Savannah at 6:00 A.M., then resume a similar schedule to today's

Palmetto, but operating about an hour earlier.

Some at Amtrak, and certainly the paid help at the National Association

of Railroad Passengers, will instantly squawk about "marketable times" in

Florida for the proposed train. That is a semi-valid argument, but,

considering this is a service designed for residents of Florida to use

(versus the tourist trade found on today's Meteor and Star), those hours

are not unusual or unreasonable as a second or third frequency. The

business generated from Tampa and Orlando can easily support the train,

with any additional business generated at Jacksonville a bonus.

A southbound Palmetto could leave New York City at 9:00 A.M., arrive in

Savannah at 11:30 P.M., Jacksonville at 2:00 A.M., Orlando at 5:00 A.M.,

and Tampa at 7:00 A.M.

And, if you don't think people will board a train in the middle of the

night, look at some of Amtrak's own numbers. Columbia, South Carolina is

currently served by the Star at 1:44 A.M. and 1:12 A.M., daily. In FY

2006, Columbia generated 34,431 passengers. Cleveland, Ohio is served by

the Capitol Limited at 2:31 A.M. and 2:15 A.M., and the Lake Short

Limited at 3:27 A.M. and 7:00 A.M., and Cleveland generated 29,334

passengers in FY 2006. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota has early morning

and late evening hours for its one daily train, the Empire Builder. FY

2006 ridership there was a whopping 137,227 passengers. Even Newton,

Kansas, the closest stop to Wichita on the Southwest Chief route, which

is served at 3:25 A.M. and 3:01 A.M., had FY 2006 ridership of 12,580

passengers.

Go to any airport early in the morning, and see how many passengers

arrive before 6 A.M. to take the first flight out, or arrive back in the

airport after 11 P.M. on the last flight of the evening.

What would it cost to extend the Palmetto from Savannah to Tampa? One

more train and engine crew than is currently used. One sleeping car

attendant. Three sleeping cars, and probably one or two extra coaches to

handle the increased ridership (this, in the real world, is considered a

plus, not a detriment). Keep this as a downgraded train, without full

dining car service, but the new Diner Lite. Longer hours for the existing

onboard services staff, plus extra train mile costs, and costs of fuel.

Keeping some stations open for a longer period of time. For this 394 mile

extension, the likely annual costs are $8,760,000. The likely annual

revenue is in excess of $25 million.

Does Amtrak really need state funds to extend this train? No. It just

needs the will to look at opportunities to help itself, serve its

passengers better, and fulfill its mandate to create and operate a

national passenger railroad system.

Further simple tweaking to the Silver Meteor, Silver Star, and Palmetto

can raise a lot of money, quickly. Currently, all of these trains are

discharge/receive only trains on the Northeast Corridor. That means no

local business between New York City and Washington. You can listen to

all of Amtrak's excuses for this, but the only valid excuse is it wants

to drive business onto the NEC trains, at the expense of the long

distance trains.

Every year, during the busy December travel season, Amtrak opens up the

Meteor, Star, and Crescent to local business on the NEC, citing a lack of

space for all of the demand. Suddenly, NEC travelers are exposed to the

more comfortable long distance train coach seats, the availability of

private sleeping car space, and even a full service dining car. Ridership

always goes up every December when this phenomenon takes place. You may

suggest this is only moving money from one pile to another. Certainly,

some of that would occur, but what this really accomplishes is a better

use of long distance train assets and different travel opportunities

which may entice travelers who would otherwise not use a train on the

NEC.

On the subject of the Sunset Limited, the solution is simple. Put it

back, but treat it better, and make it at least four frequencies a week,

instead of the most expensive way of operating a train, which is three

frequencies. Ideally, it should be daily.

10) Let's move to a slightly bolder scenario. What if the Silver Meteor,

based on its present schedule, really fulfilled its destiny, and became a

Montreal - Miami train? The current run of the Adirondack from New York

City to Montreal is about 10 hours. Keeping the Meteor's same general

schedule, it would arrive in Montreal about 9:00 P.M., and depart the

next morning around 7:00 A.M., pushing the southbound schedule back an

hour or so to accommodate the longer run. This would tie the Meteor into

the entire VIA Rail Canada eastern network, and provide same-train

service between eastern Canada, which is a huge source of tourism in

Florida, and all of the major Florida destinations. The worst case

scenario for this is the train could be too successful, and have heavy

capacity demands. This would also greatly benefit the Adirondack, by

offering a second travel choice, and therefore pushing up demand for

existing as well as new trains.

As an adjunct to this, extend the Silver Star and the Crescent both to

Boston. No extra trainsets required, and only one additional train and

engine crew for each train, plus extended onboard staff hours.

11) Obviously, there is much which can be done with Amtrak's Florida

service to benefit the company's bottom line, plus provide better

passenger service. There are many in-state scenarios, too, which include

use of the Florida East Coast tracks from Jacksonville to West Palm

Beach, and the old Seaboard tracks via Ocala, which serve a fast growing

part of the state. A part of Florida which has been overlooked for

decades is the lower West Coast, including Bradenton, Sarasota, Punta

Gorda, Fort Myers, and Naples. These tracks need major assistance for

upgrading for passenger use, and would be an ideal project for the

Florida Department of Transportation to undertake. There is also demand

for cross-Florida service, linking Tampa with South Florida with more

than one train a day, and Tampa and North Florida with more than one

train a day. TWA will have more details on these ideas in a later

edition.

12) Just in case anyone forgets the real reason for running passenger

trains, VIA Rail Canada issued this press release today.

[begin quote]

VIA Rail Sees Customer Focus as Strategic Business Advantage - Scores 98%

Satisfaction Rating -

MONTREAL, May 10 /CNW Telbec/ - VIA Rail Canada's President and Chief

Executive Officer, Paul Côté, today emphasized that the company has

chosen to focus on the total customer experience as its core business

strategy, citing this as a strategic business advantage.

Addressing a group of business people at a Board of Trade meeting in

Montreal earlier today, Mr. Côté indicated that customers gave VIA a 98%

satisfaction rating in the most recent surveys.

"Not only have we achieved exceptionally high levels of customer

satisfaction, 40 per cent of customers say that VIA not only met but

exceeded their expectations," said Mr. Côté. "People choose the train

because it offers something different - a more comfortable, safer and

less stressful way to travel, and it offers the opportunity to use tools

such as WiFi and cell phones, making travel time more productive. We call

it the more 'human' way to travel."

This strategy has produced tangible results. In the 2006 Commerce-Léger

Marketing Survey, respondents ranked VIA as the most admired

transportation company and one of the top 30 most admired companies

overall. Last year, VIA's revenues increased, for the third straight

year, to close to $300 million.

More than four million passengers boarded VIA trains last year; the

Quebec City-Windsor corridor alone carried a record 3.5 million

passengers.

About VIA

Montreal is home to VIA's headquarters, the second busiest station in

Canada, and the company's largest maintenance center. 1,300 VIA employees

live and work in the Greater Montreal area, over 40 per cent of the total

workforce.

As Canada's national passenger rail service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is

to provide efficient, environmentally responsible and cost effective

passenger transportation services, both in Canada's business corridor and

in remote and rural regions of the country. Serving more than 450

communities with a network of inter-city, transcontinental and regional

trains, demand for rail services continues to grow as more Canadians turn

to train travel as a safe and convenient travel choice.

[End quote]

Keep in mind VIA is also a child of government, just as Amtrak, and has

often been ridiculed as one of Canada's worst managed companies. They

must be doing something right to receive high ratings like these from its

passengers.

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[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; May 14, 2007

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 20

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

1) Let's continue our conversation about ways Amtrak can help itself -

using current assets - to generate more revenue than expenses, widen its

route matrix to provide a more appealing transportation product for its

passengers, and lessen its long standing dependence on annual doses of

free federal monies.

The rules of this exercise are simple: Expand travel offerings by

altering existing routes, terminals, and destinations without creating a

need for many new stations (very expensive), or pioneering complete new

routes (while desirable, new routes are an exercise for another time with

another set of criteria and a lot of money), or creating a need for new

equipment. A large part of this exercise consists of putting existing

equipment to better use, or bringing warehoused equipment out of storage

to become a product asset versus a stagnant asset.

Looking at Amtrak's route map, we see a lot of long trunk lines, with

relatively few hub opportunities. Each current Amtrak route seems

designed for travelers going in only one direction, with little thought

that someone may independently want to get there from here, beyond where

Amtrak believes they should travel.

Dallas and Houston, Texas are a prime example. Amtrak serves both cities,

which are the two largest cities in Texas. While Amtrak does offer a

convoluted Thruway bus/train connection between the two cities, the

choice is not only unappealing, but clumsy, and involves a 15 hour

overnight layover in Longview, Texas.

Essentially, to get from Dallas to Houston by train, one must travel 315

miles from Dallas, at 12:20 P.M., to San Antonio on the Texas Eagle,

arriving at San Antonio at 10:35 P.M. On Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday

mornings (since the Sunset Limited is only operated tri-weekly) our

Dallas to Houston traveler boards the Sunset in San Antonio at 1 A.M. and

continues on an additional 210 miles to Houston, arriving at 5:45 A.M.

Our traveler has gone 525 miles during a period of almost 17 and a half

hours. Driving the route, according to the American Automobile

Association, would take a few minutes less than four hours, and be a

distance of 238 miles. Only the most fanatical rail fan would consider a

trip such as this instead of finding an easier and more productive way to

travel.

One of the greatest challenges for reforming Amtrak's corporate thinking

is to eliminate the urge to create new long lines, and, instead start

connecting the existing lines at more places.

The Northeast Corridor is another prime example of this thinking. Here's

a startling statement: the Northeast is actually under-served by Amtrak.

The bulk of Amtrak's northeast service goes only north and south, with

little consideration for east and west (although, granted, it's tough to

go east when you're living in an Atlantic Ocean port city). The same

holds true in the Northeast as it does for much of the rest of the

country for Amtrak: a passenger railroad which boasts over 500

destinations, and you often "can't get there from here" seems to be the

norm.

The Sunset Limited filled a great part of Amtrak's historic gap between

New Orleans and Florida from 1993 until the fateful day in 2005 Hurricane

Katrina roared ashore and devastated everything in its wake. The hardy

souls of the Gulf Coast and immediate surrounding areas have worked hard

in these intervening months rebuilding their homes and businesses. CSX,

Norfolk Southern, and Canadian National railroads raced against the clock

to restore their infrastructures to help in the rebuilding of the region.

An amazing amount of work was completed as railroads played their

historic role as the primary movers of a nation when crisis arose. But,

wait, one railroad, which could play a vital role in helping reshape the

travel market to this region has been absent without leave. Yes, Amtrak

has given the Gulf Coast a cold shoulder and refused to restore the

Sunset Limited to its route east of New Orleans, citing a number of "the

dog ate my homework" reasons for not participating in this process.

Private enterprise and charitable organizations rolled up their sleeves

and made things happen on the Gulf Coast. Amtrak stole quietly away into

the night. Have these people no shame?

Amtrak apologists and cultists are the first to whine about Amtrak's

skeletal national system. They want more. There should be more, but the

skewed traditional thinking that Amtrak "is doing the best it can under

the circumstances" is wrong. Also, even worse, "just give Amtrak more

money and everything will be fine," is such a false mantra the phrase

should be banned from the national lexicon. Amtrak doesn't need more

money, it needs more vision and "can do" spirit to help itself.

Despite uninformed opinion to the contrary, the best steward and leader

Amtrak ever had was the late Graham Claytor in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Under Mr. Claytor, Amtrak operated more trains to more places at more

times than any other period in Amtrak's history. More new equipment came

online and more routes were expanded than ever before, or since then.

Since his retirement, every succeeding Amtrak president (Except the

present one, Alexander Kummant) has found a need to shorten or eliminate

trains, close stations, downgrade services, or need more free federal

monies and state monies.

Amtrak's current leadership seems to be breaking free from the

destructive planning shackles of the past. There is a need for passenger

trains across America, but more than ones going short distances in and

out of major cities.

2) Look first at the original Seaboard Air Line Railroad route through

Florida, that in 2005 then-president David Gunn abandoned north of Winter

Haven in favor of Thruway bus connections to the current route of the

Silver Meteor and Silver Star. This historic route, which goes south from

Jacksonville to Waldo (Gainesville), Ocala, Wildwood, Dade City, Winter

Haven, Sebring, Okeechobee, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and into

Miami, travels through some of the fastest growing areas of Central

Florida. The Ocala/Gainesville and immediate surrounding counties host a

population of over 700,000, plus the tens of thousands of students of the

University of Florida. This is also the rail line the State of Florida is

kicking in money to CSX to upgrade to handle increased freight traffic in

quickly coming years when the old Atlantic Coast Line route through

Orlando is sold and turned into a mostly passenger line to create an

exciting new regional commuter rail system in Central Florida. Travel

time on this Jacksonville - Miami route is less than eight hours.

Ideally, a set of daytime passenger train equipment should run 14 to 15

hours a day to receive full value from its use.

Create a new/restored/different route in Florida from Miami to Ocala to

Jacksonville to Columbia, South Carolina via Savannah, also on the old

Seaboard Air Line route. Why this way, and not straight up the CSX I-95

corridor to Florence, South Carolina, which would also fit the time

criteria (and train and engine crew change point, too)?

The needs of CSX must be taken into account along with the viability of

marketing any route. The CSX I-95 corridor route through Florence is one

of the busiest pieces of railroad in the country. By creating a route

that only uses that railroad for 148 route miles, it creates a much less

demanding scenario on the CSX infrastructure. Just as important,

Columbia, South Carolina, that state's capital city, has been grossly

under served for passenger business since the beginning of Amtrak in

1971. The metro area population of Columbia is 576,000, and project to

grow over 7% annually for the next five years.

Since this train would be a run of only less than 14 hours, the ideal

consist would be one locomotive, one baggage car, one premium coach, one

food service car, and three to five coaches, depending on demand. This

would be an inexpensive train to operate in terms of crew and equipment,

since only two trainsets would be required, both maintained in Miami, the

current Florida maintenance base. Columbia, like today's Savannah which

has a small turn maintenance and cleaning base for today's Palmetto,

would need these minimal services.

In 1993, before the dreaded days of the common consist in Florida and

reduced train capacity, the Central Florida stations did well.

Statistics for passengers entraining and detraining at the stations are:

FY 1993

Dade City - 4,911

Wildwood - 7,679

Ocala - 22,624

Waldo - 15,723

Other stations served by this route and also the routes of the Silver

Meteor and Silver Star included:

FY 1993

Jacksonville - 121,352 (includes passengers from the Sunset Limited)

Winter Haven - 51,435

Sebring - 17,228

Okeechobee - 3,650

West Palm Beach - 56,583

Delray Beach - 11,579

Deerfield Beach - 29,314

Fort Lauderdale - 51,306

Hollywood - 31,431

Miami - 96,843

Today, those same stations, with a combination of only the Silver Meteor

and Silver Star from Winter Haven, south (plus Jacksonville to the North)

have these ridership figures:

FY 2006

Jacksonville - 54,370 (No Sunset Limiteds operated in 2006)

Winter Haven - 17,882

Sebring - 13,939

Okeechobee - 2,858

West Palm Beach - 40,304

Delray Beach - 6,822

Deerfield Beach - 19,997

Fort Lauderdale - 34,413

Hollywood - 26,156

Miami - 61,158

Here are the differences between FY 1993 and FY 2006 for those same

stations:

Jacksonville - (66,982) [includes loss of Sunset Limited passengers; data

not available to break out Sunset counts]

Winter Haven - (33,553)

Sebring - (3,289)

Okeechobee - (792)

West Palm Beach - (16,279)

Delray Beach - (4,757)

Deerfield Beach - (9,317)

Fort Lauderdale - (16,893)

Hollywood - (5,275)

Miami - (35,685)

Total passenger loss measuring FY 1993 versus FY 2006: 192,822 passengers

just from the state of Florida.

These are passengers Amtrak has willingly abandoned and said it is not

interested in their patronage or revenue. The number of passengers lost

only on this route is comparable to today's passenger count for the

entire route of the Capitol Limited between Washington, D.C. and Chicago.

We are contemplating re-establishing a route of 643 miles, of which 452

of those route miles are currently in use for the Silver Meteor and

Silver Star, and the stations on the remaining 191 miles of former

trackage through Ocala are all still in operation for Thruway bus

connections. Therefore, this proposed service would require no new

stations or station personnel because the trains would operate during

daylight hours.

Estimated operating costs for this train (locomotives, cars, maintenance,

crews, etc.) are $11,265,360. Estimated passenger revenue for this train,

based on revenue passenger mile income on a similar train, the Palmetto,

average length of trip, load factors, and backing out possible Sunset

Limited passenger counts in the figures above are $11,585,000, which

would put the train at breakeven or into a small profit. Further benefit

from this train would include the lowering of infrastructure expenses for

the Silver Meteor and Silver Star (sharing of station and maintenance

facility costs), plus the expansion of offerings of more travel times on

the joint portions of the route, and the opening up of South Carolina

stations to daylight travel times. Considering the normal jump in

business when a second or third frequency is offered, and a larger travel

matrix is created, it is not unreasonable to consider another $2 million

in ticket revenues for all of the Florida trains as a result of the

addition of this one route. Therefore, this route would contribute to

lowering Amtrak's annual assigned operating loss on the national system,

provide more travel opportunities at better times for many formerly busy

stations, and use all existing stations and existing surplus equipment.

3) Take the same idea as above, but add another twist to it. It's

important to expand the route matrix, connecting various points on the

overall route map that haven't recently been connected, or connected

before.

Most people consider Florida to be a destination state, but often

overlook the 12 million people who live in Florida, many of which have a

desire to travel to many places up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Most

travel planners look at states such as North Carolina and South Carolina

and incorrectly presume most travelers to and from those states want to

travel to northern destinations from there. The existence of the Palmetto

and Carolinian routes confirm that suspicion. These train connect New

York City and the Northeast with the Carolinas. The needs of any other

traffic are presumable met by the Silver Meteor and Silver Star.

In addition to the suggestion in the last issue of TWA to extend the

Palmetto to Tampa, how about - again, using existing stations and

maintenance bases used for other purposes - creating a new route which

connects the busy area of North Carolina around the metropolitan

Charlotte area with Columbia, South Carolina, Savannah, Jacksonville, the

vacation hotspot of Orlando, and Tampa? This would be an all daylight run

of about 14 hours.

Charlotte already has a turn maintenance and crew base for the Carolinian

and Piedmont trains, so that problem is solved. CSX has good track that

runs about 75 miles from Charlotte to Hamlet, North Carolina, a station

stop on the route of the Silver Star. Following the logic of above,

continue south down the former Seaboard line from Hamlet to Columbia,

over to Savannah, travel the 148 route miles between Savannah and

Jacksonville on the busy CSX main line, and then take the current route

of the Silver Star from Jacksonville to Tampa, via Orlando. All but 75

miles of the route between Charlotte and Hamlet would be existing route

miles of the Silver Star, and would all be run in daylight, which would

provide a welcome additional frequency between expanding areas of the

Carolinas with the tourism areas of Florida, plus all of Florida's most

densely populated areas outside of South Florida.

This route would consist of 675 miles connecting six major metropolitan

areas. The size and makeup of the train, and marketing and expense and

revenue characteristics would be very similar to the scenario outlined

above for the restored train via Ocala and Columbia. The only difference

would be the need to establish a full maintenance base in Tampa (where,

if the Palmetto is extended to this needed destination, turn maintenance

would already be performed there, so upgrading to full maintenance would

not be significant or expensive).

Again, the same variables come into account: the more frequencies on a

route, the greater the multiplication factor for new passengers kicks in

because of greater travel choices and more destinations.

By opening up the route of the Crescent with a direct connection to

Florida's best destinations via Charlotte and Columbia, a number of

factors automatically come into play which drives higher passenger

counts, creates a better route matrix, and more revenue opportunities at

lower expenses.

4) One last scenario for Florida (for now), that has been needed since

the days of the loss of the Floridian. There has always been strong

demand for a Chicago-Florida train. The best routes available, via

Louisville or Atlanta are either unaccessible today or impractical

because of lost trackage.

A reasonable substitute - which, again, uses all existing stations and

only requires two extra sets of equipment - is extending the Capitol

Limited to Tampa via Raleigh, Columbia, and Orlando.

This extension would require six sets of equipment (versus three for

today's Capitol Limited between Chicago and Washington), with no real

alteration in the Capitol Limited schedule. A train would depart Chicago

about 7 P.M. on a Monday night, and arrive in Orlando and Tampa on

Wednesday morning well before noon. This would entail two nights of

running in each direction, totaling about 38 hours for a run, not much

more than the City of Miami or South Wind took via Birmingham or

Louisville. The difference is those trains departed Chicago in the early

morning hours, 12 hours before the Capitol would depart today.

This new route made of two existing routes, which could be run with all

Superliners, includes a host of major markets by combining the Capitol

Limited and Silver Star routes, plus adds additional frequencies to the

Star route, providing even greater opportunities, and requires no new

stations or additional station personnel.

Tampa, again, serves as an ideal turn maintenance terminal. When the

Sunset Limited finally returns to Florida, it could easily be naturally

extended from Orlando to Tampa, joining the Capitol Limited at a Florida

Superliner maintenance turn base.

The economics for this extension are strong. Nine hundred and

ninety-eight additional route miles are added to the Capitol's running in

each direction, but these miles are covered by only three additional

trainsets (two additional sets would not provide sufficient turn time in

Tampa if a train was remarkably late). The new, extended train would cost

an estimated $23,300,000 a year to operate. It would have estimated

revenues of $30,000,000, including the current Capitol and the extended

portion. All of the equipment needed to add the three additional

trainsets is currently in the Amtrak active pool of equipment.

An alternate suggestion is a long-sought URPA concept of extending the

City of New Orleans from New Orleans to Orlando and Tampa. This would

require two additional sets of Superliner equipment. To make the

transformation complete, the City should be extended on the north end

from Chicago to Detroit.

The extension of the Capitol Limited, because of the major metropolitan

markets it serves on its present route, make this train a first choice to

extend to Florida in front of the City of New Orleans, from a strictly

marketing standpoint. In an ideal world, both trains should run into

Florida, serving Orlando and Tampa, without question or hesitation.

5) To summarize the impact of these three improvements in Florida

service, Amtrak, without adding any new stations, or activating any

equipment out of storage, can improve its bottom line by an estimated $10

to $15 million and serve a much higher number of national system

passengers, making Amtrak a stronger company with a more robust route

matrix and less dependent on annual doses of free federal monies. The

three trains would mostly stay away from the busiest routes of CSX.

6) One last proposal to put one of Amtrak's most under-used assets to

work, plus provide better use of Amtrak's most scenic route east of

Chicago.

The Cardinal, operating between Chicago and New York City via

Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Washington is a disgrace in the manner in

which it is run. Operating today only three days a week, it also consumes

three full trainsets of low level equipment, including Viewliner sleeping

cars. It travels to Indianapolis and Cincinnati at nocturnal times.

It's time for a complete revamp of this potential diamond in the rough.

First, make it a daily train, and extend the eastern terminus from New

York City to Boston. On the eastern end on the NEC several things can

quickly be accomplished.

Instead of an eastbound departure from Chicago at 5:45 P.M., move that

departure back to about 9 P.M. This would create a better marketing time

at Cincinnati, run through all of the attractive mountain scenery in West

Virginia and Virginia during daylight hours, and put the train into

Washington, D.C. about 9:15 P.M. Remember, this is a train with Viewliner

sleeping cars. Have the Cardinal replace today's NEC regional train

number 66, which operates from Newport News, Virginia to Boston.

Operate 66 from Newport News to Washington on its present schedule,

arriving in Washington at 8:25 P.M. Attach 66 to the back of the

Cardinal, and have the combined train follow the current schedule of

train 66 to Boston, arriving in Boston at 7:52 A.M. This will recreate an

overnight train with sleeping cars between Washington and Boston,

eliminate duplicate running, crew, and other operating costs between

Washington and New York City of the Cardinal, and extend the reach and

desirability of the Cardinal to Boston without changing any station hours

or adding other expenses. As suggested in the last issue of TWA, if the

Silver Star is logically extended from New York City to Boston, this

would place two trains with Viewliners into the same maintenance base for

shared costs and needs.

The reverse schedule would put the Cardinal out of Boston on train number

67's current schedule at 9:45 P.M., and into Washington at 7 A.M., again

breaking away the Newport News section of the train and sending it on its

way as a separate train. The ongoing Cardinal would again spend the day

going through the scenic mountains of Virginia and West Virginia, into

Cincinnati before midnight, and return to Chicago before 9 A.M.

By taking the Cardinal daily, the Hoosier State, the Cardinal's companion

train which operates between Chicago and Indianapolis on days the

Cardinal does not run, could have a restrung schedule which would put it

out of Chicago earlier in the afternoon, and run all the way to

Cincinnati instead of Indianapolis before midnight. The return train

would be an all daylight train, providing a second frequency schedule

between Chicago and Cincinnati. This will only serve to increase traffic

demand on both trains by providing more travel options through a second

frequency on this part of the route.

The Cardinal carried only 95,100 passengers in FY 2006, based on

tri-weekly service. That amounts to only 305 passengers per departure.

Taking a train daily from tri-weekly does not dilute the present

passenger base, but, instead makes it stronger because of the

availability of more travel options. By making the Cardinal daily, the

annual ridership would probably soar to at least 223,000 passengers (not

counting the enhanced passenger base from the addition of passengers from

train numbers 66 and 67, which is not made available).

Based on FY 2006 revenue of $5,552,700, new revenue projections would go

to an estimated $13,000,000, if not higher. Expenses for the route would

not increase at the same level as revenues because most base costs, such

as station costs, would not increase. The additional train miles of 922

miles for the Washington-Chicago part of the trip for four additional

days of operation, plus the costs of one additional trainset will not

dramatically increase the expenses of the route. The loss of the costs of

operating an entire train between Washington and Boston, train numbers 66

and 67, greatly reduce the expense of extending the Cardinal up the NEC.

Making the Cardinal daily, replacing the current train numbers 66 and 67

with a train with sleeping cars and a diner, and restringing the schedule

to make it more appealing to viewing mountain scenery in the daytime,

plus adding a second frequency between Chicago and Indianapolis and

Cincinnati make this proposal one which can again add to the company's

bottom line by creating more revenue than expenses.

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

[email protected]

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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, including requests to unsubscribe, should be

addressed to [email protected]

J. Bruce Richardson

President

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760

[email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

_______________________________________________

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[Guest]

With regards to the Cardinal...

First, I like the idea of extending it to Boston on the Eastern side...but how about terminating at Kansas City instead of Chicago? A daily Kansas City to Boston train via parts of the old National Limited route with connections to The City at Effingham IL. This would give the St. Louis - Kansas City Corridor another train frequency for a total of three. Ask IL what happened to ridership on the Carbondale line when they added a third train to the schedule.

Second, This would of course require the Hoosier State to become a daily train between Indy and CHI. Perhaps in time it could be extended to Cincy.

I'm just starting to get tired of the Amtrak mentality that everything must start and/or end in Chicago

 

[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; May 18, 2007

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 21

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

1) The dog continues to eat Amtrak's homework. Mayor Robert F. Apgar,

Mayor of the City of DeLand, Florida, has written two letters to Amtrak

in favor of restoring the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans. DeLand, a

far suburb of Orlando, and the Amtrak stop closest to Daytona Beach, is

an active Amtrak stop. It is also served by the Silver Meteor and Silver

Star, which operate between New York City and Florida.

The letter was written to Mayor Apgar on May 9, 2007, and is reproduced

here in its entirety.

[begin quote]

Dear Mayor Apgar:

Thank you for your letter to Mr. Kummant of May 1 regarding your concerns

about passenger rail service between New Orleans and Florida. I am

answering on Mr. Kummant's behalf.

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, Amtrak operated a three-day-a-week Sunset

Limited service between New Orleans and Orlando. Service east of New

Orleans was notoriously unreliable, made stops along the Mississippi and

Alabama Gulf Coast at night (when on time), and was among our slowest

services. Its schedule called for 21 hours to go from New Orleans to

Orlando, compared to 11 hours by highway. Amtrak spent an unacceptably

high $378,000.00 on passenger inconvenience costs for disruptions east of

New Orleans in Fiscal 2005 due to the unreliability of the Sunset

Limited. Not surprisingly, ridership on the Sunset Limited east of New

Orleans was declining in the years leading up to Hurricane Katrina, with

minimal boardings at many of the intermediate stops.

Amtrak is continuing its efforts, in consultation with governmental and

other stakeholders, to identify a viable service that will meet the Gulf

Coast Region's transportation needs and the funding required for

implementation. The numerous options considered include restoration of

the Sunset Limited or modified overnight service along the entire route,

and short-distance services between various endpoints. We have not

established a timetable for a decision. Because several stations on the

route still have storm damage, capital investments will be needed before

any passenger service can be restored.

DeLand continues to be served by two Amtrak trains a day in each

direction, the Silver Meteor and the Silver Star between New York and

Miami. Where ridership on the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans has

declined in the past few years, ridership on the remaining two trains has

increased during the same period.

I hope this information assists you in your appraisal of the situation.

Sincerely,

Joe McHugh

Vice President

Government Affairs and Communications

[End quote]

Where to begin analyzing this fluff and poppycock? First, let's focus on

the positive. Mr. McHugh said "Amtrak is continuing its efforts, in

consultation with governmental and other stakeholders, to identify a

viable service that will meet the Gulf Coast Region's transportation

needs and the funding required for implementation. The numerous options

considered include restoration of the Sunset Limited or modified

overnight service along the entire route, and short-distance services

between various endpoints." Good stuff. That would lead one to assume

that something is on some burner, somewhere, and this issue hasn't been

forgotten.

However, Mr. McHugh also said, "We have not established a timetable for a

decision. Because several stations on the route still have storm damage,

capital investments will be needed before any passenger service can be

restored." Okay, why hasn't a timetable been established? It's been two

years, now. What's the holdup? As far as the "storm damage to stations on

the route" argument, well, that is much less of an issue in reality. The

passenger trackside platforms are in place, which is the critical

component. Amtrak is also notorious for bringing in "Amshack" portable

buildings that serve as stations, sometimes for years, while older

buildings are rehabilitated or done away with. The process of bringing in

portable stations to good platforms takes about 15 minutes. Anything

beyond that is just featherbedding. Plus, most likely, just about any

city government along the route which wants service restored would most

likely share the costs of fixing or improving stations; Amtrak doesn't

have to go it alone for this process.

The comparison between train time and driving time is totally bogus.

There are very rare instances where the train beats the automobile in any

race. That's not the point. Train travel is a viable option for many

reasons. You do not take the train when you are in a hurry. You travel by

train either for the experience, because you are unable to travel in a

car for whatever medical or other reasons there may be, perhaps for the

convenience of intermediate stops as your destination, or because you

choose not to fly or take a bus. Mr. McHugh's comparison of train travel

time to driving time is a losing argument before the thought is even

finished.

Then, the icing on the cake is Mr. McHugh's statement inferring DeLand

should be happy because its north-south service provided by the Silver

Meteor and Silver Star is improving; never mind that passengers just may

want to travel to places other than where the Meteor or Star will take

them.

This letter to Mayor Apgar is a disgrace. Mr. McHugh is well regarded by

many as someone who is a professional in his job. Actually, the disgrace

goes beyond Mr. McHugh to all of the Amtrak senior management who haven't

figured out a way to restore the Sunset Limited or place a viable

substitute in its place. If the issue is Amtrak want's someone else to

pay for the train, well, a very dangerous precedent is being set that

could cause the company to discontinue ANY long distance train for any

reason, and hold up its resumption while waiting for states or others to

pay the piper. At least Jesse James had the courage and dignity to use a

mask and gun when he was robbing someone.

2) The following is a press release issued by the Teamsters Union on

Thursday, May 17, 2007. Keep in mind what a press release really is: It's

not a news story, but an announcement made on behalf of an organization

or company or individual trying to convince media editors to run a story

based on the information in the press release. A press release is neither

required to be fair, or completely accurate; that is the responsibility

of the news organization using the information generated in the press

release in final form in an independent news story.

[begin quote]

Teamsters Rally for Fairness at Amtrak

Workers Surround Amtrak Headquarters To Protest Working Without Contract

For 8 Years

WASHINGTON, May 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hundreds of Amtrak workers

rallied today at Amtrak's headquarters at Union Station, expressing

frustration about working without a union contract for eight years with

no negotiations on the horizon.

"These are the longest and worst negotiations I have ever been through,"

said Tony Gardner, a 30-year member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of

Way Employees Division (BMWED) who works in Philadelphia. "My union

brothers and sisters know that Amtrak has been raking in profits for

years, but we aren't seeing anything."

Workers at the rally chanted, "Shut Amtrak Down," and held signs that

said, "It's the end of the line ... No Amtrak Contract ... No Amtrak

trains."

"We are the backbone of rail labor," said Mark Kenny, chairman of the

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen's (BLET) Amtrak

committee. "The new Democratic majority in Congress recognizes the

importance of rail labor. They've passed landmark legislation, HR 2095,

that will address numerous rail issues such as limbo time and the

elimination of dark territory. We hope they will soon address Amtrak."

In addition to the engineers, trainmen, conductors, signalmen and

dispatchers at the rally, members of the BMWED, the workers who maintain

the tracks, switches and on-site buildings for Amtrak stood along with

members of other unions in solidarity.

"I've not seen such solidarity on the Amtrak issue for many years," said

BMWED President Fred Simpson. "It's terrific to have the members of the

United Transportation Union, the Machinists and others with us today --

all united to fight for fair negotiations at Amtrak. We've got to keep

bringing this issue to the public and members of Congress."

"We have to say to our Republican colleagues, 'Get Your Hands Off

Amtrak,'" said Rep. Elijah Cummings, (D-MD). "You, the workers who keep

this railroad running, have been deprived of what you are rightfully due.

We are doing everything in our power to preserve Amtrak."

In addition to the rally, several unions announced the formation of a

bargaining coalition for Amtrak negotiations. Based on the successful

model used for the freight rail negotiations, the bargaining coalition

has signed on the BLET, BMWED, National Conference of Firemen and Oilers

and the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen. The coalition is expected to

grow as other unions face an evolving situation at Amtrak.

"Bargaining as a unified group will put the Amtrak unions on the

offensive," said John Murphy, Director of the Teamsters Rail Conference

and Teamsters Vice President. "The time is ripe for a change in

negotiating tactics. We've seen how the strength of unified bargaining

won us a good agreement with the freight railroads. Now is our

opportunity to get Amtrak to the table."

The BLET and BMWED are both divisions of the Teamsters Rail Conference.

The Teamsters Union was founded in 1903 and represents 1.4 million

hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

[End quote]

Lots of normal rhetoric in the press release as expected from a union.

That's okay, because that's their opinion and the press release expresses

the points they want to get across to the media.

However, one sentence in the press release just can't be ignored: "said

Tony Gardner, a 30-year member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way

Employees Division (BMWED) who works in Philadelphia. 'My union brothers

and sisters know that Amtrak has been raking in profits for years, but we

aren't seeing anything.'"

Let's review those last few words: "Amtrak has been raking in profits for

years, but we aren't seeing anything." Really? Where? On the fabled

Northeast Corridor, where allegedly all of those Acela trains are making

so much money (see item number three, below, for more details)? Are we

seeing another myth generated for years by Amtrak Corporate

Communications coming home to haunt all of us?

URPA studies have shown the long distance trains do throw off a positive

cash flow (that means "profits" for all of you unfamiliar with the term),

but that positive cash flow is quickly scarfed up by corporate overhead

costs and NEC operating and maintenance costs. Amtrak says it needs about

$500 million a year in operating subsidies. URPA believes that figure is

a bit high, but, Amtrak, as it is operated today, is not profitable.

When finishes cleaning up its various corporate communications nightmares

left behind by recent administrations prior to the arrival of Mr. Kummant

as president and chief executive officer, then silly statements like the

one above from people who should know better will go away. Until then,

Amtrak is putting out yet another fire of its own making.

3) A lot of interesting mail comes floating over the electronic transom

here at TWA (some mail even comes the old fashioned way - with a postage

stamp delivered by a mailperson). Most of what we receive is pretty

interesting; TWA readers sharing their thoughts about a recent issue,

sharing their travel experiences, and making suggestions, many of them

innovative and rewarding. Some questions also are sent in, and we try to

answer as many as we can.

One recent set of questions came from a frequent correspondent, an Acela

conductor who is proud of his train, loyal to his company, and obviously

enjoys his job. He doesn't always agree with what we say in TWA, but he

always expresses himself positively and with honesty. Here is the

gentleman's latest missive.

[begin quote]

Dear Sir,

I believe that you manipulate the costs of Acela, vis-a-vis conventional

Amtrak maintenance costs.

You tell us that there are thousands of Amtrak employees nation-wide who

are responsible for maintaining Amtrak's conventional fleet. Then you

compare Acela's costs with only one of the facilities responsible for

overhaul and maintenance of conventional equipment. That does not

compute.

Why do you feel that you must attack the Northeast Corridor?

If it were not for the Corridor and the support that it generated for

Amtrak's survival for the last 35 years, there would be NO intercity

passenger trains at all. That is a fact. It does not matter that the

corridor was saved because so many commuter agencies also depend on it.

Long distance trains would not have survived without the Northeast

Corridor.

Play with numbers all you want; people will not ride trains unless they

offer a competitive advantage.

Acela has begun to capture market share between New York and Boston

because it is a BETTER alternative to flying or driving.

Long distance trains will begin to thrive when they offer competitive

advantages to their alternatives. They must be pleasant to ride and

reliably on time. That's it. Forget about blaming the corridor as if it

hogs precious resources. What it does is ensure a substantial political

bloc that consistently votes to fund a national rail system.

Thank you for listening.

Sincerely,

Amtrak NE Corridor Conductor on very busy and on-time Acela trains

[End quote]

URPA's Dennis Larson handles much of our research and numbers crunching.

Mr. Larson has this reply for our Acela conductor. All numbers are taken

directly from Amtrak reports.

[begin quote]

The Acela story continues to sound wonderful, but there is considerably

more buried in Amtrak's reports that may go unnoticed. Acela maintenance

is staggering. Amtrak's December forecast (issued on March 14, 2007) to

keep Acelas rolling safely for FY 2007 has gone from $52.5 million to

$57.8 million as posted in the February Report published on May 10, 2007.

Here is a notation in the February 2007 Report: "Materials were

unfavorable by $4.1 M primarily due to increased volume of wheelset

program repairs and increased repairs related to High Speed Rail."

A notation issued in the January report also published on May 10, 2007 -

"Materials were unfavorable by $4.6 M primarily due to increased volume

of wheelset program repairs and increased repairs related to High Speed

Rail."

And yet another notation from the December 2006 report issued on March

14, 2007 - "Materials were unfavorable by $2.6 M primarily due to

increased volume of wheelset program repairs and increased repairs

related to High Speed Rail."

Here is a more complete look at maintenance costs as requested by one

person. Amtrak owns three heavy maintenance facilities in Wilmington and

Bear, Delaware; plus the Beech Grove facility, in Indiana. There are

other maintenance facilities in Washington, D.C.; New York City,

Rensselaer and Niagara Falls, New York; Boston; Hialeah, Florida;

Chicago; New Orleans; Los Angeles; Oakland, California; and Seattle.

Amtrak's expense forecast for the Beech Groove (Indiana) facility is

$4,180,000 for FY 2007. This is the premier Superliner heavy repair

facility. Also included is equipment from the Pacific Surfliner trains,

locomotives, baggage, Horizon, and Heritage lounge car overhauls totaling

205 units; 163 of these are cars, the rest are power units.

The Bear, Delaware facility is currently servicing mostly Amfleet

equipment totaling 138 units. Amtrak shows a profit forecast of $10.9

million at Bear, obviously they are doing work that is contracted in from

outside sources. The same could be happening at Beech Groove, but

currently there isn't any information provided on either operation

regarding additional outside work.

Wilmington's heavy repair shops work on primarily AEM-7 locomotives and

diesel locomotive quarterlies and annuals (inspections and "tune-ups" and

overhauls). Amtrak reports 150 units planned for completion in FY 2007.

Forecasted costs for this fiscal year are reported by Amtrak at $27.4

million.

The High Speed facility shows two Acela interior upgrades only, planned

for the year, no mention about wheels, brakes or suspension parts. Total

forecasted costs are as mentioned previously, $57.8 million, which

remains Amtrak's highest maintenance costs of all parts of the company

and all types of equipment for just 20 Acela trainsets totaling six cars

and two power units, each.

The total bill for Amtrak's mechanical department is steep enough

nationwide, which includes Acela maintenance. A total of $322.4 million

will be spent on parts/labor and $99.2 million for non-labor mechanical

department expenses.

[End quote]

4) On the same subject, another missive arrived, unsolicited from a

former employee of Amtrak's planning department. Dharm Guruswamy is a

frequent TWA critic and writes to TWA often expressing his displeasure

with our presentation. This is one of the tamer and less dramatic

messages from Mr. Guruswamy that is suitable for publication in polite

society. When trying to make his case while he was still with Amtrak, Mr.

Guruswamy would often forward internal Amtrak planning documents he

thought would provide a basis for his argument.

[begin quote]

You are such an idiot. Acela revenues are up as is equipment availability

(a 16th train set was made available and the plan is to go to 17 or 18)

and the additional money is well worth it because Acela's are essentially

minting money for the company. In March Acela generated almost 20% of the

company's ticket revenues. To put that in perspective that is more than

all the long distance trains COMBINED. If you exclude the Regional

service it is more than all the other corridors COMBINED.

Congress has less of a problem with allocating capital than it does

operating, so Acela is essentially cross subsidizing your beloved long

distance trains.

[End quote]

Well. It's tough to argue with something that is "essentially minting

money for the company," but URPA's group took a stab at answering Mr.

Guruswamy. Here are the replies, mostly in their original form.

[begin quote]

I guess those rolling money machines must have free use of somebody

else's infrastructure. And, places like 30th Street Station come free,

too.

[And ...]

Alas, this argument never seems to pan out in the real world. Let's

suspend disbelief for a minute and consider this. IF the Acelas are

making money hand-over-fist, why in the name of Beelzebub's bloomers

isn't Amtrak investing all this excess cash into the NEC and getting it

off the federal dole? What could possibly be a better sign of rampant

"success" than covering ALL the costs, not just above the rail. Heck,

even those ... long distance trains do that before they get socked with

system costs. You know IF true, then Amtrak's got all the cash sloshing

around. We know for sure that it's NOT going to keep Beech Grove humming

on three shifts rebuilding Superliners.

Amtrak could slough off this cash to keep the NEC in a state of good

repair and any additional federal capital monies could flow toward

building these "successful" electrified corridors connecting every burg

over one million in population. AND, in the bargain, all those

fuddy-duddy naysaying interlopers like me would have been flat out wrong

about the Acela. What's not to love here, IF what Dharm says is true?

[And ...]

If, as they assert Wondertrain Acela is pulling in cash like a beer bar

on Friday night, then why are they all so desperately afraid to cut it

free of the Golden Trough? Those two points couldn't be more

diametrically inconsistent: Acela is a huge success, and generates X% of

the revenue, but, oh, by the way, it also needs three quarters of a

billion dollars a year of subsidy, without which the whole system

collapses, but those two points aren't related.

Dharm can't have it both ways - if Acela is what he says it is, then we

can legislate as follows, and he will have to agree to support it:

"Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds

appropriated to any purpose after January 1, 2008 shall be spent directly

or indirectly in support of high speed passenger rail service in the

Northeast Corridor. To the extent that any high speed rail passenger

service benefits directly or indirectly from federal funds expended after

January 1, 2008 in any manner or for any purpose on railroad

infrastructure, including track, structures, signals and communication,

reservations, insurance, stations, security, equipment maintenance, power

generation and cost of capital, or planning or research for any of the

foregoing, the operator of the service shall reimburse the Treasury no

less than often than weekly a portion of the federal expenditure on any

such applications equal to the allocation from such expenditures to the

high speed service determined by the Speed Factored Gross Ton Miles

formula approved by the Secretary of the Treasury with the advice, but

not the consent, of the Secretary of Transportation."

[And ...]

And, IF it's a huge success, why in blazes aren't they doing more of it?

A company with any business aptitude whatsoever that hits on a successful

way of making money doesn't just sit on the idea. Let's say Orville

Redenbacher test-markets green maple-syrup flavored popcorn in Columbus,

Ohio, and it's a runaway success. Do they say, "nah, forget it, let's not

sell this nationwide"? No, they ramp up production.

Amtrak, on the one hand say's the Acela is a stunning "success" and yet,

paradoxically, it shut down all its HSR development projects, during the

reign of David Gunn. In this case, actions speak way louder than words.

Why are we settling for these pokey diesel-powered snail darters in the

Midwest and even slower snail-darters in California? Surely, if 125-135

mph Acela is throwing off boatloads of cash some savvy investors will

give them untold billions to build these things everywhere and rake in

the proceeds? Right? Yet, Amtrak can't even convince a gullible Congress,

which seems to believe just about anything the company puts out, to give

them the money. A puzzlement ...

[End quote]

Here at TWA we always look forward to hearing from our Acela conductor

friend as he asks honest questions in a straight forward manner. We

appreciate his loyalty to his company, and his belief in what he does for

a living. Amtrak needs more employees like him.

5) More mail; John Pawson of the Northeast writes this to TWA.

[begin quote]

As my letter in June, 2007 Trains [magazine] indicates, I think Amtrak

needs to reinvent its long-distance passenger services and network if it

is to survive. The first immediate step would be to look around and see

where the existing services could be reorganized to better effect. Here

is one example involving train service from our region, specifically the

New York-Philadelphia-Atlanta-New Orleans Crescent. Currently, to travel

beyond New Orleans, it is necessary to stay overnight there to connect to

the Sunset Limited on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday at 11:55 A.M.

The Crescent links the nation's first (New York) and fifth (our region)

most populous metro areas with New Orleans but could be extended to the

sixth-largest, Houston, quite readily by displacing the present Sunset

Limited between New Orleans, Houston, and that train's merge point with

the Texas Eagle, at San Antonio.

At present, Amtrak sells a trip from Philadelphia to Houston (less than

1,600 road miles) on a round-about routing with three transfers en route,

at Pittsburgh, Chicago, and (to a bus) at Longview, Texas. This takes

about two full days. A more direct route extending the Crescent to

replace the Sunset in the New Orleans-Houston-San Antonio segment would

require no costly addition of route miles or train miles. It would

require only a suitable redeployment of Amtrak's single-level and

Superliner rolling stock. Such a change would eliminate the need to

change vehicles en route and would save about ten hours travel time.

Surely a low-cost, high-revenue, passenger-pleasing change.

It's puzzling why this and other barriers to continuous travel have

existed in the Amtrak system for so many years. Is anyone interested in

pressing Amtrak to do this kind of restructuring?

[End quote]

Mr. Pawson makes a point that many others do; why does the Crescent

terminate in New Orleans, and not further west? One reason, of course, is

"we've always done it that way," even though some through cars years ago

were handled to the west before Superliners.

Perhaps the most viable reason is the Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF

line between New Orleans and Houston. Invariably, one of the biggest

choke points for the Sunset Limited is between New Orleans and Houston,

specifically along the oil refinery and chemical plant corridor in

western Louisiana and eastern Texas. This is a very congested piece of

railroad; extending the Crescent beyond the usually dependable Norfolk

Southern onto the BNSF and UP to Houston probably would required a three

to five hour layover in New Orleans on the eastward trip to allow for

make-up time to keep the rest of the route east of New Orleans operating

on any type of dependable schedule. That doesn't mean there aren't other

options, if just means at this moment in time this is not the best option

available. The thought, however, is good.

6) And, this from the California, from a regular TWA reader and a regular

Pacific Surfliner rider.

[begin quote]

Thanks as always for your meaningful insight.

Would someone please tell most of the conductors on the Pacific

Surfliners it is okay to be pleasant and respectful to passengers? A few

are; but most act as though those of us who use the service, really are a

great bother. So, get a job on a freight ...

Why can airlines always have employees - especially cabin and cockpit

crew, in clean, well fitting, attractive uniforms - and Amtrak cannot.

Again, maybe a generalization, but what a difference it would make ...

and what about SMILES ...

Frequent trips up and down the coast on the Surfliners are on one hand a

joy - and on the other, brings a great sadness because of what it could

be with GOOD, I won't even say EXCELLENT, customer service. At least

generally there is an attendant in Business Class - however, my question

is - where the heck do they hide most of the trip?

But, it is a joy to whiz past cars on I-5 most days. Oh, and one last

complaint - why can airports around the world keep their restrooms not

just generally clean, but more often than not, spotless - and in the

beautiful Los Angeles Union Station, they stink, they're filthy, and

graffiti ridden ... and of the two, one is closed nearly all the time ...

Thanks for your ear. And, thanks for This Week at Amtrak

[End quote]

And, thanks for reading and thanks for writing to us, too.

7) This came from Christopher Parker of Vermont.

[begin quote]

I liked your re-work of the Florida service in the latest TWA. I hope

somebody is listening.

Anyway I have a couple thoughts of my own to contribute to the scenario:

- For Montreal service, I suggest extending the Palmetto to Montreal

instead, as it could then roughly follow the schedule of the old

Montrealer - but using only one additional trainset. This would give the

Montreal service the benefit of the Vermont ski trade, which is

considerable, business to Burlington and Vermont-Florida business.

Population along the Adirondack route is pretty sparse north of Albany.

At the south end, an overnight Miami section could be added over FEC,

making a nice two nights and one day service from Montreal.

- Looking at the number of trainset required brings up the issue of late

trains. If the trains ran more reliably, the service could be run with

less trainsets (the Silver Meteor could make a same day turn at New York,

the Silver Star split into Miami and Tampa sections could make a same day

turn in Florida, the Silver Palm and Silver Meteor trainsets could make a

same day swap in Florida. The Auto-Train could run with only two

trainsets. But, that's only possible if the trains were mostly on-time).

I believe that it is worth Amtrak's while to increase freight railroad

compensation (Say 3 times the current figure, the same rate that the

Capital Corridor pays UP to keep it's trains successfully running on

time. Track charges are not currently a large expense in the scheme of

things.) if that would bring results (the contract should be structured

so that increased payments would only be made for on-time trains). I

believe that increased payments would be more than made up for by the

increased business from satisfied customers, the lower crew expenses

brought by covering for unpredictable late trains, and especially by the

huge productivity increases of the fleet. Some speeding up of time in the

shop would also be part of this equation.

- Increasing the productivity of the fleet would help, and so would

rebuilding some Amfleet I to augment to long-distance coach fleet, but

really, I think and new car order for eastern trains is needed. Rather

than more Viewliners, I would suggest using the shell of the Bombardier

stainless steel double-deck cars they are now building for NJ

Transit.This has some limitations - because the cars must fit into the

Hudson

tunnel the interior of a double deck coach lacks room for overhead bins.

However, there are plenty of Amfleet II cars around still useable so I'd

suggest ordering the following:

19 Luxury sleeper/first class lounge (bedrooms without bunks don't need

tall ceilings) [enough to equip the Lake Shore, Crescent, Silver Star,

Silver Meteor]

52 Sleeper/Baggage (short baggage area under superliner height sleepers -

and the sleeping car attendant can help unload the baggage, saving an

Assistant Conductor) [enough for the following runs: CHI-DET-NY; Lake

Shore including BOS; Cardinal; Twilight Shoreliner; Palmetto

MON-NY-JACK-MIA; 2 on Crescent (with extensions to Ft. Worth and San

Antonio); 2 on Silver Star/Meteor (1 each for TPA/MIA)

19 Sleeper/Dormitory

19 First Class Restaurant Dinning Cars

52 Grill dining car and lounge

19 Family car with kids play area and lounge - a mix of sleepers,

slumbercoach, couchette space

106 Slumbercoach/couchette - enough to convert 50% of standard class

travel on Lake Shore, Crescent, Silver Star/Meteor, Twilight Shoreliner

Total is 215 cars (give or take). Can that be funded with equipment

trusts and leases?

[End quote]

8) This from a gentleman in the Chicago area.

[begin quote]

... I don't understand how with some slight schedule and route changes,

Amtrak couldn't but help increase revenues and ridership. What are they

thinking?

My improvement suggestions (as you have shown with Florida) concerns the

City of New Orleans. My suggestion is to run the train down the

Chicago-St Louis line, and then from St Louis to Carbondale (actually Du

Quoin - on the IC/CN) on it's way to Memphis and New Orleans. Just think

about the ridership/revenue increase from those in St. Louis. THEN tie

the current Illini/Saluki at Carbondale, and the St. Louis/Kansas City to

the picture and you can't but help increase revenues and ridership.

(Also, a new "corridor" opens between St. Louis and Carbondale with the

state university.)

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out!

[End quote]

9) From a former Amtrak manager, now in the real world working with

another company.

[begin quote]

Like the numbers in this week's digest.

My own abstract contrarian view to east coast Florida service is the cuts

are at the wrong end, vis., cut all the Florida trains at Washington, DC

and let the passengers have a choice.

However, this may be too simple.

[End quote]

10) And, finally, a message from a gentleman in Staunton, Virginia.

[begin quote]

Sharp thoughts on the Cardinal, which rattles through Staunton, Virginia

a couple blocks from my office its dreadful 3 times a week. In response

to a recent bad trip back from NYC a letter to [Mr.] Kummant resulted in

a call from his secretary and a big refund and, who knows?, a little

action: the sleeper has now been restored to the rear of the train where

it belongs. "Diner" still disastrous. I advise friends riding to pack a

lunch.

Alternative to your thoughts: make it daily for sure, but run it

basically the way the way the C&O used to: two feeders from DC and from

Norfolk/Newport News, hook up in Charlottesville and then run the thing

fast and proper to Chicago, in time to connect with all the

transcontinentals. (The old western sections off to Louisville and

Detroit are probably too much for Amtrak to handle.) Norfolk/Newport News

is a huge and growing market with no hub airport and dumpy trains now

only up the "corridor." Once again, the facilities are all there... Could

also put back the hi-level equipment, which is are a huge plus to

deprived eastern passengers, and, well why not, re-christen it the

"George Washington"!

Best regards,

Tim Jacobson

[End quote]

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[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; May 30, 2007

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 22

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

1) URPA's William Lindley offers these thoughts.

[begin quote]

On the pattern for progress

By William Lindley

What is the path to the future of American passenger rail? A new pattern

must replace what has generally become decades of slow decline. Let's

start by comparing Amtrak to the Detroit automakers.

Chrysler and Ford have recently been newsworthy for, at long last,

realizing their stodgy business-as-usual ways were leading straight to a

vanishing point. Cerberus, which bought 80% of Chrysler, needs to build

trust with its employees, its designers, and its customers, while finding

profitability. Alan Mulally, Ford's new president who recently brought

Boeing back from uncertain skies, found multiple layers of Ford

management and all of them jealously guarding information -- it's no

wonder union members complained management wouldn't tell them anything;

one boss didn't even know what the next boss was doing!

It seems "management" has finally looked in the mirror and quit blaming

every problem on the unions. On the flip side, if you ask for the moon

and you're promised it, what good is a promise from a company that ceases

to exist? These "oldthink" paradigms are fading from view in the face of

a global economy.

Now if any progress is to be made toward bringing passenger rail to more

Americans, Amtrak should learn from what is happening at Ford and

Chrysler. "Oldthink" Amtrak, as we have seen in our recent weekly

columns, leads to dwindling ridership in Florida, and stagnation at best

elsewhere.

Yes, Amtrak's situation today is remarkably similar to that of the

Detroit automakers -- decades of losing market share, top-heavy

management, entrenched relations with unions, and serious resistance to

change. Amtrak's predicament is complicated by having not only twenty-odd

crafts, but the several freight railroads to deal with. Like the

automakers, though, there is a glimmer on the horizon in new leadership.

Amtrak's Mr. Kummant could well turn things around.

Even among passenger rail advocates, though, "oldthink" lingers. For too

long I have heard advocates bemoan "we can't" as an excuse. As in, "we

can't reroute train X because we will lose this route forever." This is

just the sort of nonsense that Ford's Mulally dismisses in a recent

Business Week article. Whether it's automobiles or passenger rail, if

there's a real business reason for something, you can find a way to do

it.

One example is the Sunset route. In last week's column, we read the major

choke point on the Union Pacific Railroad is between New Orleans and

Houston.

Let us ignore the wailings of "you can't cut this route" and consider

what might happen if, in exchange for giving Union Pacific a two-year

pass on Houston - New Orleans trains, Amtrak got UP to agree to daily

Houston - Dallas - Fort Worth and continuing daily San Antonio - Fort

Worth service, in conjunction with operating on the Kansas City Southern

from New Orleans via Baton Rouge, Alexandria, and Shreveport to Dallas;

and then via Trinity Railway Express trackage to Fort Worth, and on the

Union Pacific line via Sweetwater and Midland-Odessa to El Paso?

In combination with extending the Heartland Flyer so it covers San

Antonio - Fort Worth - Oklahoma City - Newton, Kansas, suddenly a whole

matrix is created, with strong ridership potential.

And, as for rerouting away from some cities and towns, some will

complain, we need this route as a placeholder! As a placeholder for what?

Thirty more years of waiting?

Yes, there should be at least one daily passenger train between New

Orleans and Houston. But, that's not the question. There are enough

"should be's" in what Amtrak could do, to fill the Grand Canyon. No, the

question is, what can be done to maximize equipment utilization,

passenger-miles, revenue, and the political power generated by new

ridership. The question for Amtrak is how to best capitalize on each

region's newly formed rail networks, both local (like the TRE) and

state-supported (like the Heartland Flyer). The pattern for passenger

rail progress in the next decades will follow those lines.

Everywhere you look this pattern is starting to emerge. In Florida, we

see metro Miami's Tri-Rail as a feeder for the south of that state, soon

to be augmented in the Orlando area with a local train; one need only add

the local train network serving St. Petersburg - Tampa - Bradenton -

Sarasota and vicinity to complete the picture. In Arizona, Governor

Napolitano is set to release a report which may well call for Phoenix -

Tucson service to complement the soon-to-open Phoenix light rail and the

modern streetcar now being designed in Tucson. Both Dallas and Los

Angeles are also well along in the process.

Connect the dots ... this is the pattern for the future, and it's what

Amtrak needs to embrace. Boeing found the way. Ford and Chrysler are

finding it. Amtrak, are you next?

[End quote]

2) It began innocently enough, with this internal URPA e-mail relating a

friend's travel experience.

[begin quote]

I was in Denver last weekend for a Saturday wedding, and spoke to

passengers who came to the wedding on No. 6, the California Zephyr, from

Oakland.

This was train number 6 of the 24th, due into Denver Friday night at 7:00

P.M. It arrived at 7 A.M. Saturday morning. The passengers were not

happy.

They described what we would consider "normal" delays coming over the

Sierras, but then said when they awoke Friday morning, they were in Elko,

Nevada, and had been stopped for some time, and stayed stopped at Elko

for three more hours. Elko is just 567 miles from the Zephyr's

origination point where they boarded, and still 833 miles from Denver.

They had traveled less than half of the distance to their destination.

They described the railroad crew as having offered basic updates

("freight train traffic and track problems"), but said what saved the day

was the OBS crew who were patient and jocular through the delay, saying

"this is normal for this train."

I asked why they hadn't disembarked at Salt Lake City, the next stop

after Elko, and flown ahead. They said that they don't fly ever, but even

if they had been willing to, by the time the train arrived at Salt Lake,

they thought it was too late in the day to try. They did say the

conductor on board east from Salt Lake City had promised a 14-hour run to

Denver and a 7 A.M. arrival, which the train made. (The Rio Grande Zephyr

always made that trip in 14 hours.)

These folks won't fly, did NOT say "never again," did board the return

California Zephyr of the 27th to go home, but also said that they were

very disillusioned, and would try not to travel on the Zephyr again.

[End quote]

The usual URPA Intranet chic-chat ensued, with a few comments about the

service, including this bit of information which was offered.

[begin quote]

Following is the Amtrak report from 26 MAY 2007; the specifics of the

over three-hour disabled freight train delay are not given:

Train 5/6 Delayed by Temporary Speed Restrictions/Freight Interference

Train 05/06 was delayed operating between MP 603.75/Alazon and MP

561.1/East Elko on the Shafter Subdivision of the UPRR due temporary

speed restrictions in effect. The train was further delayed operating

between Elko and MP474.75/Battle Mountain on the Elko Subdivision by

temporary speed restrictions.

Delays: 06(24)

37" SPR-WNN

1'41" WNN-XSZ

3'15" ELK-Disabled FRT TRN

[End quote]

In the end, all of this was too much for URPA take-no-prisoners numbers

cruncher Dennis Larson. Here is how he summed it all up.

[begin quote]

The figure to watch these days is not the on time performance but the

average delay minutes over the recovery time as it is one thing to be 31

minutes late, another to be 31 hours late.

Another troubling indicator Amtrak publishes is the delays per 10,000

miles. Union Pacific is, of course, number one in delays, but Norfolk

Southern is right behind. UP shows slow orders as the culprit, NS shows

freight train interference - people get to sit and wait for the NS coal

trains go by.

The Lake Shore Limited is now at 339 minutes average delay, five hours

and 39 minutes per trip, and the California Zephyr is now at 356 minutes

average delay, but over a much longer distance. Besides all that, the

Capitol Limited is also in the perfect never-on-time league at 260

minutes average delay, worse than the Coast Starlight.

We know infrastructure is probably the root cause of all this, but

attitude, something the railroads have carried on for generations,

certainly has a hand in all this.

The BNSF continues to lead the pack in delivering passenger trains to the

terminal on time. The Southwest Chief, an all BNSF routed train is now

arriving only seven minutes behind the recovery time - the Builder is at

32 minutes in spite of the Canadian Pacific.

The average delay minutes per 10,000 miles on the BNSF is 971 minutes. UP

is at 2,568; NS at 2,426 minutes; CP at 1,848 and CSX at 1,745. And, the

BNSF is one of the most heavily used rail systems in the U.S. The BNSF

should be the worst - rather than the best - if it was purely an

infrastructure problem.

[End quote]

What does all of this mean? From one standpoint, it means Amtrak is

paying a fortune in millions of dollars of overtime for onboard service

crews, train and engine crews, and station agent staffs, not to mention

what is paid in customer re-accommodation charges, especially when hotel

nights, meals, and airline tickets are involved.

Two things need to happen to solve this solvable problem. First, Amtrak's

mechanical forces need to take responsibility for complete maintenance

and upkeep of all equipment. The Amtrak budgeteers need to make sure the

mechanical forces have all of the necessary parts and equipment to keep

the fleet operating at optimal level. Every piece of equipment that fails

due to deferred maintenance or no maintenance costs money in some form or

another, be it a late train, displaced passengers, a clogged freight

train main line, or any other number of fiascoes.

Second, Amtrak must find a way to have better relations with its host

railroads. A contract is a contract; a signed deal is a signed deal. We

know the host railroads chafe under what they perceive as the unfair yoke

of passenger rail, a deal they made with the devil nearly four decades

ago when everything was much different from today. We know many

executives, managers, and workers in the freight railroad industry hope

those pesky passenger trains would just go away, and travelers would come

to their senses and either drive or fly to their travel destinations.

But, that isn't going to happen. Whoops! Passenger trains have suddenly

become popular again (despite Amtrak's best efforts to remain America's

best kept secret), and it looks like passenger trains are here to stay

(and the system will grow, if enough people listen to solid economic

reason beyond any dream of people who just like to watch trains go by).

So, Amtrak needs to be the instigator of all of this, first cleaning up

its mechanical house, and then finding a way to be a partner - not an

adversary - of its host railroads. Amtrak never has a problem asking for

the maximum free federal monies donations for the Northeast Corridor

upkeep; why be shy about asking for one-time handouts to put the rolling

stock and locomotive fleet in superb order? More dramatic things have

happened in history; this can happen, too.

3) TWA continues to generate a lot of reader mail. It is always a

pleasure to receive the type of essay which follows, from a

self-professed "new generation" of Amtrak riders. Interesting

considerations and critical thinking from someone young and

intellectually involved in the future of passenger rail.

[begin quote]

Greetings. First to introduce myself briefly - I'm one of the younger

generations of Amtrak riders, only 24, but someone who hasn't been on a

commercial airliner for a domestic trip since 1997. All my journeys of

any length save one (driving) have been on Amtrak.

I've ridden the Sunset Limited, Southwest Chief, Coast Starlight,

California Zephyr, Empire Builder (more times than I can count), Capitol

Limited, Crescent, and City of New Orleans, along with Cascades service,

the Adirondack, the Maple Leaf, and the Northeast Corridor. It isn't a

hobby for me; all the trips have had purposes other than traveling for

the sake of traveling. I simply utterly loathe being crammed into an

aluminum tube for any length of time, and of course, these days first

class tickets on an airliner cost substantially more on many flights than

sleeping accommodations on Amtrak do.

Reading through the United Rail website has led me to have some ideas in

the vein of expanding service on largely existing routes, which after

some opportunity for research during a period of convalescence I had, I

decided to put together for your perusal.

I've been reading through your proposals for the revival of Florida

service with intense interest. There is, however, a unique opportunity

that I think you missed out on when considering the possibility of

extending the Silver Meteor to Montreal, one which could allow a complete

revitalization of service on the single-level trains along the East

Coast.

Montreal is the operating base for VIA Rail's Ocean service to Halifax.

Provided six times daily, the Ocean is able to run with three consists.

These use the Renaissance cars purchased from the failed Chunnel service;

there are a total of 139 of these cars, 72 of which were sleepers. But,

the three consists of the Ocean, which is to my knowledge the only

sleeping service on VIA Rail which uses the Renaissance cars, each have

only eight sleepers, and when demand is greater in certain seasons

"Easterly" service with older cars is used instead. The Chaleur, the

Canadian, and the Hudson Bay service also use the older sleepers. So if

only 24 of the new Renaissance cars are being utilized by the Ocean, that

leaves VIA Rail with 48 sleepers doing nothing.

If we're going to be running the Silver Meteor out of Montreal, why not

eliminate Amtrak equipment from the train entirely, and instead rent

Renaissance consists from VIA Rail to operate the train with, or at least

use Renaissance sleepers and business-class cars taken from the NEC

Regional services (which run massively under capacity anyway) for the

long-distance coaches?

The consists could be maintained in Montreal and operate with very

extensive sleeping car service. For example, a typical consist might have

eight sleepers, two dining service cars, and ten coaches for a full

maximal 20 car train. This train could be split at Jacksonville with one

section running through Orlando to Tampa and the other section running

down the FEC to Miami, possibly as a straight shot without any station

stops, which could be gradually added as communities along the route

built the facilities with their own money if they decided they wanted

passenger service.

The result of this would be to free up all the Viewliner sleepers

currently utilized on the Silver Meteor for service elsewhere. There are

several possible applications which have plenty of potential to use these

sleepers, which number a total of twelve. One of these is to add an

additional car to your proposed Palmetto extension. By running the

sleepers on the rear of the Palmetto, the second sleeper could be set-out

in Orlando, allowing passengers bound for that popular tourist

destination to take the Palmetto and sleep comfortably past the 5 A.M.

arrival for several hours. The delay at Orlando to set-out a sleeper

wouldn't be long enough to hamper the operation of the train, and pushing

back the arrival time in Tampa slightly would just make it more

convenient there for the sleeping car passengers, also. That would

require only another three sleepers and have nine available for other

services.

More sleepers would be required for the Cardinal under your proposed

modifications to its route, but I understand this is well within the

current 39/50 ratio of Viewliners in use to those needed. If that's the

case, then we have a chance at using the nine available sleepers to

revive an additional train to service New York and Washington D.C.

Using the Manhattan Limited concept from 2000 or so of running a late

evening departure from New York with daytime service at Cleveland and all

stations west, a reduced service train with a single sleeper and a diner

lite along with three to four coaches could be run out of New York City.

A connecting train with another sleeper, a cafe car, and a couple more

coaches could run out of Washington, D.C. - this might cause maintenance

issues for the sleeper, but it does not seem much of an issue to deadhead

the sleepers as necessary on a Regional train to NYC for maintenance.

This leaves us with three sleepers which could profitably be used to

revive the Lake Shore Limited's extension to Boston, where there would,

after all, now again be maintenance facilities for Viewliners under your

plan.

The Capitol Limited extension to Florida could go through to Miami

instead of Tampa, and replace the Silver Meteor as a second Orlando-Miami

frequency. As an alternative to the restoration of the Sunset Limited on

its original route, daylight service between New Orleans and Miami via

Jacksonville and Tampa could be offered by a schedule change in the City

of New Orleans, extending it to Florida and providing a second

Chicago-Florida service. The main disadvantage would be problematic

connections with the incoming western trains to Chicago if the City of

New Orleans leaves earlier; however, the additional and offsetting

advantage of doing this is that several cars could be dropped from the

City of New Orleans in New Orleans and added to the westbound consist of

the Sunset Limited, which would allow for the restoration of direct

Chicago - Houston service without actually requiring any new stations or

trackage utilization.

A further interesting possibility would be the ultimate restoration of

the Sunset Limited as a transcontinental train, but with its final

destination as Washington, D.C., not Florida, using the Superliner

maintenance facilities there. The train could run on a schedule which

would allow all-daylight service to Atlanta, which would mean that there

would now be two frequencies between Washington D.C. and Atlanta, one

offering overnight service and one offering daylight service, and, again,

now two options between Atlanta and New Orleans, one daylight and one

overnight.

With a 10 P.M. arrival in Atlanta and 10:30 P.M. departure, the ~9:30

A.M. arrival of the Sunset Limited in New Orleans would allow for plenty

of time for the layover required to connect the City of New Orleans cars

for Houston. In fact, it might be possible to get the Sunset Limited out

an hour earlier than the current schedule provides, allowing for a more

comfortable 8:15 P.M. arrival in Houston, and reducing the length of the

layover in San Antonio for the passengers on the Texas Eagle through cars

while still providing for a reasonable scheduled arrival time in Los

Angeles.

On another matter - does the Auto Train really make sense as being

exclusively available for passengers with automobiles? It seems that it

could expand its revenue considerably by offering express service

intoFlorida from Washington D.C. The train could depart from D.C. with

plenty

of time to arrive in Lorton, where the auto racks could be attached to

the train, and then run on its existing schedule to Sanford, where the

auto racks could be detached. The train could then proceed to Miami with

a single stop at Orlando. Sanford and Lorton would remain auto-passenger

stops only, but passengers from Miami and Orlando to D.C. or vice-versa

could now have the option of a non-stop run with enhanced service, and

somewhat increased prices to reflect this.

The departure of the train from D.C. could be timed so that the first

Acela Express of the day from Boston would arrive in time for passengers

to transfer from it to the Auto Train. The cumulative result would be a

massive increase in available space on the collective Florida Service

trains, with a very wide variety of options including times and

accommodations, between the northeast and Florida. All Superliner

operations in Florida would then terminate in Miami.

On the western trains, I can see two similar possibilities which are not

unfeasible for a rational Amtrak to reach for in improving service. There

has been considerable popular demand for the resumption of the "Coast

Daylight" from San Francisco to Los Angeles; however, recalling the

proposal made earlier on your URPA website about concentrating west coast

superliner maintenance in Los Angeles by extending the California Zephyr

to Los Angeles. In this proposal, the California Zephyr would be extended

to San Jose and then run up the existing Caltrain route into downtown San

Francisco. There would be plenty of layover time provided in San

Francisco - where the station already exists for Caltrain service, and

Caltrain could be contracted to provide baggage and ticketing service -

in case the California Zephyr was late-running into San Francisco so that

the run from San Francisco to Los Angeles (on a twelve hour schedule)

could be made on time, with a comfortable early morning arrival of 8:30

A.M. or so. This would concentrate superliner maintenance in Los Angeles

and provide a direct San Francisco - Los Angeles overnight service.

The eastbound schedule would have to be pushed back by several hours to

allow for an 8:00 A.M. arrival in San Francisco, but this would actually

be positive - even a 9:30 P.M. arrival in Denver would not be

unreasonable, with sleeping car passengers from Denver to Chicago

essentially unaffected. Arrival time into Chicago would still not be so

late as to prevent transfers to the Capitol Limited, never mind the Lake

Shore Limited.

The second possibility is a riskier one, but one which could serve a lot

of people if it was done right. This is, of course, restoring service to

Phoenix. Currently, this is impossible with the Sunset Limited; and

certainly we cannot assume Amtrak can arrange for the restoration of the

trackage west of Phoenix necessary to do this. However, the "Peavine",

the BNSF line from Williams Junction to Phoenix, offers a real

possibility at restoring service to Phoenix. A sleeper and two coaches

(one with a cafe) could be detached at Flagstaff from the rear of the

Southwest Chief; baggage service could be provided by a baggage car on

the end of this consist (with the sleeper as the second to the last car

to keep it away from the engine).

This train would run about an hour behind the Southwest Chief to Williams

Junction. After stopping here, the train would proceed down the

"peavine", making one more stop, in Williams itself, where the

privately-run depot for the Grand Canyon Railway could be used, again

with the existing staff contracted to provide ticketing and baggage

service. The train would then proceed on a leisurely overnight schedule

to Phoenix with no further stops; the slow going as the train navigated

the connection between the BNSF Mobest Yard and the Union Pacific

trackage in Phoenix would work to the advantage of the sleeping car

passengers, who would arrive at the still-manned (as I understand it was

left that way to facilitate ticket purchases and bus connections - this

may have changed, however?) Phoenix station with a comfortable

early-morning arrival. Since there are no servicing facilities in

Phoenix, the train could then proceed to Tucson, which is of course a

service stop for the Sunset Limited and could be serviceable for turning

what could be called the Arizona Chief, along with providing direct

connections to the Sunset Limited, if somewhat awkward ones.

The main key to these elaborations on your series of May proposals is of

course the ability to free up 12 Viewliners by relaunching the Silver

Meteor with rented VIA Rail equipment. This doesn't alter any of the

superliner proposals, naturally, though completing all of them (including

running the Sunset Limited daily) would probably require extensive

repairs of all existing damaged equipment, and the pressing of the

transition sleepers into service as regular sleepers (though this doesn't

seem like it would be a problem - couldn't single-level crew dorms be

used directly ahead of the transition sleepers for the crew? Bare-bones

conversions of older single-level equipment could accommodate these need

cheaply, without having to restart superliner production).

But, the chance for also considerably expanding the eastern single-level

service through such an arrangement with VIA Rail is one that should, I

think, be given some serious consideration. I'm not sure if my

availability estimates for the Renaissance cars are correct, but even

with a reduced consist the Silver Meteor could be run with Renaissance

sleepers in some numbers to free up the existing Viewliners if the

necessary arrangement could be worked out with VIA Rail. This possibility

would be a very unique chance to utilize the extension of Silver Meteor

to Montreal to gain access to an additional pool of sleeping cars.

I think these expansions, in connection with those proposals made in the

last few newsletters, bring about the maximum expansion of Amtrak

possible, largely with existing equipment (albeit counting the rebuilds

of wrecked and abandoned units) which does not entail the expense of

restoring stations and station staff on routes which have been closed for

quite some time, and would not demand much expansion of the support

infrastructure, either. It's very true Amtrak can't afford in its current

situation to begin aggressively building new routes, but largely within

the limits of the existing system, some excellent possibilities appear to

exist for generating considerable additional revenue. I'd be interested

to hear some thoughts on this matter (especially the idea of leasing VIA

Rail equipment), and perhaps if I've overlooked any possible expanded

routes which could be done on the cheap like the proposals that you've

made re: Florida and the Cardinal.

Sincerely,

Marina Collette

[End quote]

4) Also floating over the electronic TWA transom this week was this

message from a well-respected former Amtrak manager.

[begin quote]

... Also, I'm wondering if in all the discussion about shorter consists,

missing service cars, etc., we're not losing sight of the fact that

Amtrak is withdrawing cars rather than maintaining them. If there are

cars in "storage" that should be in use, it just might be that they

cannot be used until they are maintained. One "benefit" is that the

company does not have to pay the costs of bringing idled equipment up to

operating standards. Another "benefit" is that on a daily basis it costs

less to keep a smaller fleet running than a fleet that actually has the

potential of generating revenue.

[End quote]

Don't forget Amtrak made a conscious business decision to mothball cars

and shorten consists, taking away huge amounts of available revenue

space. This follows the Amtrak management philosophy of saving as much as

possible on expenses, even when you lose large amounts of revenue, which

most likely cover the expenses you are saving. This government-type of

thinking (we are a monopoly, and, therefore, we know best, plus it's not

our money we're playing with) has had a profound, disastrous effect on

Amtrak.

When a company always knows it's going to get an annual infusion of free

federal money, what is the driving force behind generating more revenue

to depend less on free federal monies? None. Amtrak managers must be held

accountable for every revenue dollar they choose to discard as well as

every dollar they save.

Believe it or not, Amtrak is not all about saving money. It has a

mission, defined by Congress, to provide a nationwide passenger rail

system in this country, well beyond short, expensive, corridors. Part of

its mission is to be as robust as possible, while operating the largest

system possible. Efficiency is important, and desirable. Discarding

higher revenue in lieu of free federal money borders on fraud.

5) And, then, there is this. A former Amtrak employee, and now a freight

railroad manager, had the opportunity to ride the Sunset Limited between

New Orleans and Beaumont, Texas, round trip. Beaumont is a crew change

point for train and engine crews (engineers and conductors) on the

Sunset, and has been a stop on the Sunset's schedule since the Sunset's

Southern Pacific Railroad days. References are made to accompanying

photos, provided from another source, but are none-the-less completely

accurate. Take time to look at the photos. Our thanks to both the writer

and photographer, whose work blended together so well.

When you are through with this, ponder the fact that Amtrak, as it

continues to claim the dog ate its homework, says one of the major

reasons for not restoring the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans is

lingering station building damage from Hurricane Katrina. We all know

from past Amtrak experience, including such major stations as Memphis,

Tennessee and Tampa, Florida, Amtrak doesn't hesitate to throw chain link

fences around dangerous buildings and bring in portable stations for use

as long as an existing trackside platform is in place. Okay, Amtrak,

please tell us why Beaumont can be a stop, but stations to the east of

New Orleans, can't?

[begin quote]

My trip this week on the Sunset Limited ... mirrored that of the New

Orleans based train and engine crew. So, I spent Monday night in

Beaumont.

I had not been to the Amtrak depot at Beaumont since I left Amtrak. At

that time it was a small waiting room in the Union Pacific Yard Office, a

small metal building I considered to be a very poor excuse for a

passenger station. It did at least have a pay phone, Coke machine, and

basic protection from the elements, you know ... a roof.

When I arrived in Beaumont on Monday on Train 1, I was horrified to see

that it was now worse. Appalling, nauseating, horrific, embarrassing,

revolting. These descriptors are all accurate. This, after along the way

on the Sunset I was pleasantly surprised to see the money that had been

spent at Schriever, and that the cities of Lafayette and Lake Charles had

upgraded their depots.

Tuesday morning I would take train 2, the eastbound Sunset Limited, back

to New Orleans. Actually, I would board in the afternoon as delays

between Los Angeles and Beaumont would have the train 5 hours and 30

minutes late on arrival.

The hotel I stayed in was the MCM Elegnate Beaumont Hotel. Not a bad

hotel at all. After having breakfast, I asked the manager at the front

desk if the shuttle would take me to the Amtrak station. She said that it

would not be a problem.

Ten minutes later I returned with my luggage and was ready to go to the

station. The hotel manager looked at me cautiously and said, "Are you

SURE you want to go to the Amtrak station?" I assured her that I knew

what I was in for. She then relayed stories about previous guests who

went ballistic on the van driver once they figured out they were being

dropped off in that dump of a facility.

It was raining pretty good and I knew I would have about a two hour wait,

but I was not about to miss that train. The hotel manager suggested it

would be wise if I were armed, given the part of town where Amtrak stops.

The fact a manager at one of Beaumont's nicer hotels has to warn its

patrons about going to the Amtrak station speaks volumes about the

problems plaguing Amtrak. I would hate to be a responsible party with

Amtrak, the host railroad, or the City of Beaumont when an Amtrak

passenger bleeds to death after being robbed at night at the poorly lit

depot because there was no phone or no one around to call for help.

This shot is of the platform looking timetable west. This bench is the

only seating available. There are no trash cans at this stop. The

collection of trash (and garbage bag) by the bench is just disgusting:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757829

Upon detraining, this abandoned truck loaded with trash is all that

greets passengers. Looking at this I had mixed feelings about the rain

and clouds. If the sun were out baking this trash, the aroma would have

been a bit more ripe than it already was. On the other hand, the clouds

and rain meant I was getting wet. I think I had the best scenario:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757929

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757930

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757926

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757923

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757916

Both the hotel van driver and the Amtrak crews I spoke to told me they

have seen passengers taking refuge from the weather inside this truck.

What, exactly, does an Amtrak passenger trying to avoid getting soaked at

Beaumont have to sit in? Take a look:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757924

Of course, let's not forget the rotten bench that is provided:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757931

At long last, my chariot arrives! Amtrak P 42 DC 171 leads Train 2 into

the station:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757941

Though I had been there for a couple of hours, the outbound crew still

had not arrived by the time the train got there. Amtrak had set back the

crew's on-duty time based on what delays they expected the train to

incur, so they did not have enough time to get their paperwork together

and get to the station before the train did. Here are a few shots of the

inbound crew, on-board service crew, and passengers stretching their legs

during the 30 minute wait for the crew:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757942

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757943

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757945

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=757946

I was not impressed with what I saw at Beaumont. Not my railroad, so I

guess not my problem, but I can say that in all of my experiences even on

the freight side of railroading, I have never seen such a hostile

environment for anyone waiting for a train. I am not sure I will ever get

over waiting in the rain for two hours at a public passenger rail

facility in this country.

[End quote]

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[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; June 1, 2007

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 23

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

1) Continuing our series on how Amtrak can help itself to become close to

self-sufficiency, we're going to look at two other under-utilized routes

and a severely under served major city and how each can be improved.

Remember the rules of this exercise; this is about upgrading existing

routes, using as many existing stations and maintenance facilities as

possible, and using existing motive power and rolling stock out of

Amtrak's current pool of active and stored equipment. Under these rules,

while many new routes or extensions of current routes to areas not served

make sense, they are also expensive and beyond consideration for this

exercise; those considerations will be addressed at another time.

The majority of changes suggested here are targeted to cost about $11

million or less a year to operate, with income higher than expenses; in

other words, each of these trains would make money because much of the

infrastructure and other overhead costs are already in place and charged

to the existing long distance routes. While these suggested trains would

share those costs, the benefit is to both the existing routes and these

changes; shared costs are always less than stand-alone costs, and more

travel opportunities always provide higher ridership and higher revenue

passenger miles. The typical train would consist of a locomotive, baggage

car, premium coach, food service car, and four to five coaches, depending

on demand.

In this issue, we will look at the Crescent route, service in and out of

New Orleans, and service in and out of Detroit, Michigan.

2) The Crescent is another route which fell victim to the transit-era

Amtrak thinking of common consists and reduced number of sleeping cars.

Prior to the introduction of the ruinous common consists in the mid

1990s, the Crescent regularly ran with 20 car trainsets north of Atlanta.

The southbound Crescent would drop three to five cars (many of them

sleepers) in Atlanta as it headed to New Orleans, and that evening's

return northbound run would pick them up. Crowds waiting at Atlanta's

Peachtree station often stretched out of the station, and along a fence

bordering a street before entraining. Today, Atlanta has 96,891

passengers a year using Peachtree Station. That is about 30,000 more

passengers a year than Jacksonville, Florida, which is served by two

daily trains. In FY 2006, an average of 133 passengers either detrained

or boarded every train which passed through the Atlanta station.

The Mercer cuts trimmed the Crescent to less than daily service south of

Atlanta, and pretty well killed much of its business. Slowly, the

Crescent, under the able leadership of the now disbanded Gulf Coast

Business Group based in New Orleans, rebounded with higher ridership

numbers. The current FY 2006 load factor for the Crescent is just 49.1%,

so there is plenty of room for growth on the Crescent which would be

generated by second frequencies and greater travel opportunities for

passengers. Keep in mind the current Crescent load factor is one of a

train which is designed to serve New Orleans, which was devastated by

Hurricane Katrina at the end of Amtrak FY 2005, so the FY 2006 figures

show a train which still came on strong despite serving a region declared

a federal disaster area. In FY 2006, the Crescent carried 252,100

passengers for an average trip length of 537.1 miles, generating

135,393,000 revenue passenger miles at 16.99 cents per mile, the highest

revenue per passenger mile figure in the traditional long distance fleet

(the Auto Train is the only train higher).

There are three major opportunities to improve the Crescent service with

minimal investments using stored equipment.

The Crescent makes a run of 634 route miles in just less than 14 hours

between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta; running both directions during

evening, night, and early morning hours. Many high population areas of

North Carolina and South Carolina, including Charlotte, are visited by

the Crescent during nocturnal hours.

Create a daytime, 14 hour train running between Washington and Atlanta.

This could easily be an 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. run in each direction (or any

variation of that within a couple of hours). A highlight of this would be

improvement of an emerging corridor between Danville, Virginia and

Washington, which also serves Charlottesville, a busy stop on the

Crescent line. Charlottesville is also served half-heartedly by the

Cardinal, three days a week. Current passenger loads for Danville are

4,065 per year, for Lynchburg are 16,847 per year, and for

Charlottesville, 45,708 per year. Danville and Lynchburg are both served

either very late at night or very early in the morning.

On the south end of the route, a second run of 518 route miles and just

about 12 hours is available between New Orleans and Atlanta. The Crescent

currently serves this part of the route northbound by departing New

Orleans at 7:20 A.M. CST and arriving in Atlanta at 7:53 P.M.; southbound

the train departs Atlanta at 8:38 A.M. EST and arrives in New Orleans at

7:23 P.M. CST. While this is an ideal daylight schedule, a second

frequency, which would be a huge boon to ridership because of the

additional travel choice, could depart each end about three to four hours

later and still arrive at each train's destination before midnight.

Birmingham, Alabama is on this segment of the route, as well as fast

growing Meridian, Mississippi. Birmingham has an annual passenger count

of 24,376 patrons, and Meridian serves 10,732 passengers annually.

Thinking creatively and playing off of a previous suggestion in TWA for

extending service from Charlotte, North Carolina to Tampa, Florida,

another suggestion is for a daytime train of approximately 15 hours which

could run on the Crescent route from Washington to Charlotte, and then

splice into the route of the Silver Star to continue south through

Columbia, South Carolina and terminate in Jacksonville, where connections

to the Florida trains would be available. Most likely, this train, which

would provide a single train route to many major cities in the Southeast

such as Columbia, Savannah, and Jacksonville, from other viable

origination points such as Charlottesville, Lynchburg and Danville in

Virginia, and Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury and Charlotte in North

Carolina, would be a major addition to Amtrak's southeast passenger

station matrix.

The Gulf Breeze was once a proud and viable part of the Crescent. Created

less than 20 years ago, the Gulf Breeze operated as part of the Crescent

from New York City to Birmingham, Alabama, and then split from the train

and became its own service to Mobile, Alabama via Alabama's capital of

Montgomery. When the Gulf Breeze became yet another Mercer victim, the

route was replaced by a Thruway bus connection, which ran to Atlanta

instead of Birmingham. Alas, yet another Amtrak victim of Hurricane

Katrina was the Thruway bus connection to Mobile; even that is gone, now,

too.

Even though the old L&N/CSX/Amtrak station in Mobile is mercifully gone

(it possibly could have been listed in the annals of architecture as one

definite way to NEVER build a building again, from an aesthetic

standpoint), another old train station is still standing, and waiting for

a new life. Further inland from the Sunset route on another edge of

downtown Mobile is the old Gulf, Mobile & Ohio station. Before Hurricane

Katrina, this huge old station, which is currently disconnected from any

tracks, but is nearby the CSX yards in Mobile which was part of the route

of the Sunset Limited, has great potential as a new station. The original

GM&O station was a stub-end station.

Instead of the current suggestion of only a short distance train between

New Orleans and Mobile, or just a restoration of service between New

Orleans and Jacksonville, strong consideration should be given to a New

Orleans - Atlanta train via Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Pascagoula, Mobile,

Atmore, Montgomery, and Birmingham. This attractive route connects all of

the tourism areas of the Gulf Coast west of Pensacola with the important

markets of Montgomery, Birmingham, and Atlanta. New Orleans is already a

maintenance and crew base for the Crescent, and the Gulf Breeze stations

of Atmore, Evergreen, Greenville and Montgomery between Mobile and

Birmingham are still in place, so again, this is a new/partial

restoration of a route which opens up a large new matrix for Amtrak

passengers.

3) New Orleans is a passenger train traffic buffet waiting to be

devoured. The city on the rebound has a huge and vibrant passenger

terminal, a good maintenance base that is currently severely underused,

and a good crew base. New Orleans is tragically under served by Amtrak

with only the Crescent from the east, the City of New Orleans from the

north, and the three-time-a-week Sunset Limited from the west.

New Orleans, during the full 11 months in FY 2005 before the unwelcome

arrival of Hurricane Katrina, saw 147,955 passengers using New Orleans

Union Passenger Terminal. That was with a daily Crescent and City of New

Orleans serving the terminal, plus a tri-weekly Sunset Limited serving

the terminal in both directions. That same fiscal year, Minneapolis/St.

Paul, with just one frequency a day of the Empire Builder in each

direction, alone served 132,528 passengers, a difference of only 15,427

passengers, which is a testament to the strength of the Empire Builder.

In FY 2006, even after the devastation of Katrina and the grievous loss

of the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans, NOUPT still hosted 103,616

passengers. Both Hammond, Louisiana on the route of the City of New

Orleans, and Slidell, Louisiana, on the route of the Crescent, actually

saw increases in passenger counts in FY 2006 over FY 2005.

Studies have shown much New Orleans tourism business coming from Houston,

Texas. Starting from the west, and following our same 14/15 hour criteria

for an inexpensive daytime train to operate which will generate heavy

traffic loads, but not add any new infrastructure, the first train to be

added should be San Antonio-Houston-New Orleans. Even at the Sunset's

leisurely pace (and, taking into consideration the heavy rail traffic

through the eastern end of this route working through the oil refineries

and chemical plants in East Texas and Western Louisiana), this is still a

15 hour trip. San Antonio already provides a turn facility for the Texas

Eagle, so two trains a day instead of one would be turned there.

Even though any analyst outside of Amtrak will instantly tell you the

Sunset Limited must be made a daily train immediately for it to realize

its true potential, a daily second frequency along this part of the route

will only enhance ridership, and lower the costs of the Sunset and Texas

Eagle as shared facilities come into play.

So much potential exists on the CN/IC route between New Orleans and

Chicago. Since the City of New Orleans can be maintained in New Orleans

(as it was done for years prior to the current reorganization of

maintenance facilities) the first consideration is to extend the City to

Detroit, another of Amtrak's most under served terminals. This would

require one more trainset than is currently being used. The City of New

Orleans enjoys a load factor of 49.5%, within less than half a percentage

point of that of the Crescent. This is remarkable considering that New

Orleans is still rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, and demonstrates

strong ridership demand on this route of 926 miles. The average length of

trip on the City is 463.2 miles, almost exactly half of the length of the

route. Strong intermediate stops such as Carbondale, Memphis, and

Jackson, Mississippi contribute to this train's ongoing success. Memphis

serves 44,502 passengers a year, and Jackson sees 31,736 passengers pass

through its renovated train station.

Historically, and profitably, two great trains served Chicago, Memphis,

and New Orleans. Both the overnight Panama Limited (named after all of

the people who rode the train to New Orleans and then boarded ships bound

for the work on the Panama Canal at the beginning of the 20th Century),

and the daytime City of New Orleans of folk song fame provided the

Illinois Central route with high service levels. It's time to restore

that level of service. Think of the New Orleans-Chicago route as the base

of a "Y." The right part of the top of the "Y" should be reserved for the

City of New Orleans, traveling to Detroit. The left part of the top of

the "Y" should be reserved for a revitalized Panama Limited, serving New

Orleans, Memphis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Minneapolis/St. Paul is a high volume station on the route of the Empire

Builder, serving 137,227 Amtrak passengers in FY 2006 with just one

train. Adding a second frequency between Minneapolis and Chicago, a run

of about eight hours, will dramatically increase ridership as travel

choices expand. A coach which runs between Minneapolis and Chicago is

added and subtracted to today's Empire Builder and serviced overnight in

Minneapolis. A second train would perhaps eliminate the need for this

coach, but, it's possible the increased travel choices would be enough to

increase demand that the short distance coach may need to be retained.

It would take four additional Superliner trainsets to create a new Panama

Limited, which would depart New Orleans in the late morning, arrive

Memphis in the early evening, and arrive in Chicago in the early morning,

thus providing a morning train from Chicago to Minneapolis/St. Paul,

which is an eight hour run. To balance the schedule of two trains, the

City of New Orleans should depart New Orleans about an hour later than it

does now at 1:45 P.M., which would still provide a stop in Memphis before

midnight, a mid-morning stop in Chicago, and on to Detroit. Return

schedules would be set accordingly, for a late morning departure from

Minneapolis/St. Paul, an early evening departure from Chicago, a

nocturnal visit to Memphis, and an early afternoon arrival in New

Orleans. The City of New Orleans would operate about an hour later

southbound than its present schedule to provide a better

arrival/departure time for Memphis.

Before yet, again, the Mercer cuts, a section of the City of New Orleans,

dubbed the River Cities, operated on the City between New Orleans and

Memphis, and then north of Memphis at Carbondale broke off onto its own

service and on to St. Louis and Kansas City. This provided an excellent

matrix for connecting Kansas City and St. Louis with Memphis and New

Orleans.

The River Cities needs to be resurrected as its own day train, with

service between New Orleans, Memphis, and St. Louis (Kansas City is too

far of a stretch to fit our criteria of trains running approximately 14

hour routes). Since New Orleans and St. Louis are both maintenance or

turn bases, no new facilities will be required.

Memphis is an important Mid-America city with a great train station and

very little service. It generates high ridership of 44,502 passengers,

despite its present scant service. By resurrecting the River Cities,

Kansas City through connections to St. Louis, and St. Louis suddenly are

directly connected to Amtrak's eastern network without having to hub in

Chicago. The gives passengers from the Southwest Chief and all of its

matrix of station possibilities a whole new host of destinations

available without the time consuming and often out-of-the-way Chicago

connection.

This brings us to New Orleans-Jacksonville service, in addition to what

is needed by the restoration of the Sunset Limited, or an extension of

the City of New Orleans from New Orleans to Orlando or Tampa.

Amtrak would have us believe not much business exists between New

Orleans, the Gulf Coast resort, casino, and vacation towns, Pensacola,

Tallahassee, and Jacksonville. Keep in mind prior to the extension of the

Sunset Limited to Florida in 1993, Amtrak recorded an annual average of

75,000 requests a year for train service between New Orleans and

Jacksonville. The run between these two points takes 14 hours. New

Orleans is an existing hub for the City of New Orleans, Crescent, and

Sunset Limited. Jacksonville is an existing hub for the Silver Meteor and

Silver Star. A new daylight train between these two points on a daily

basis has a great potential for generating passenger business. There are

no major airports between New Orleans and Jacksonville, just regional

airports, and bus service is light. Interstate 10, which originates in

Jacksonville and goes west all the way to Los Angeles via New Orleans is

a busy highway. While we know not a lot of cross elasticity exists

between the various modes of transportation, we also know the factors of

other modes that are busy also generate interest in passenger rail

travel. Sharing the costs of the existing stations between New Orleans

and Jacksonville with the Sunset Limited would substantially reduce the

overall costs of the Sunset, plus generate new business along the route

because of more travel choices.

Daylight trains operating from San Antonio to Houston to New Orleans and

New Orleans to Mobile to Jacksonville, plus a daily frequency from New

Orleans to Atlanta via Mobile, Montgomery, and Birmingham would create a

new boom in passenger railroad traffic in a highly desirable tourism

area, not to mention major areas with huge population bases that have a

need to move about for the routine business of visiting friends and

relatives. All of the infrastructure is in place to create a strong new

dynamic in New Orleans, reaching out to almost every point of the compass

except south (the Gulf of Mexico is too damp for train operations).

3) Detroit is a passenger rail plum waiting to be picked and

rediscovered. Current Amtrak thinking dictates that passengers from

Detroit, or those traveling to Detroit, only want to travel via Chicago.

What a waste. Under this thinking, only 55,933 passengers a year

originate or terminate in Detroit, one of America's largest metropolitan

areas.

Three new daylight trains, all fitting our 14 hour or so criteria, jump

to mind immediately, with only pioneering one roughly 60 mile segment of

track between Detroit and Toledo, Ohio, which now serves both the Lake

Shore Limited and Capitol Limited. Pontiac, Michigan, a far suburb of

Detroit, currently provides turn maintenance and a crew base for the

Wolverine services.

The first suggested train runs between Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland,

Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, tying Detroit passengers into the very

middle of the southern section of the Northeast Corridor. Running about

15 hours, this train provides exciting daylight service to major

metropolitan area stations such as Cleveland, which are only accustomed

to the dead of night service. Current ridership at Toledo is 56,228

passengers, Cleveland hosts 29,334 passengers, and Pittsburgh comes in at

118,708 passengers. Adding a daylight train on this route will likely

more than double Cleveland and Toledo ridership, plus have a significant

impact on Pittsburgh, by doubling service between Pittsburgh and

Philadelphia.

The second train follows a similar route of Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland,

Buffalo, Albany, and into New York City's Penn Station, tying all of

these cities with New England service. The same scenario as outlined

immediately above for Toledo and Cleveland remains true here, plus adds a

significant boost for Buffalo, New York, which is primarily served by

trains between Toronto and New York City. Adding an additional daylight

frequency from New York City to the west via Buffalo can only have a

dramatic outcome for increased ridership.

The third train runs Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and into

Washington, D.C. on the Capitol Limited route. This provides a second

frequency over much of the Capitol Limited route, with all daylight

service. The current route of the Capitol Limited between Chicago and

Washington hosts 198,000 passengers a year, with a high load factor of

61.6%, and generates revenues of $14,638,900 annually. Adding another

frequency with intermediate stops at Toledo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh

again exponentially sends ridership potential through the roof,

especially since the average length of trip on the Capitol Limited is 496

miles. This suggested train connects Detroit with all of Amtrak's

southeast and Florida service.

By adding the above mentioned extension of the City of New Orleans from

Chicago to Detroit, suddenly, Detroit is connected to every major Amtrak

hub on the east coast, and every route in the northeast and southeast,

plus having same train service to Memphis and New Orleans.

Two other extensions include making better use of existing Wolverine

trainsets. As currently operated, the Wolverine service runs at a 51%

load factor, but has very low equipment utilization, with trainsets on

the road less than eight hours a day. Two of the Wolverine services could

easily be extended from Chicago to St. Louis, and from Chicago to Kansas

City. This would provide Detroit, Chicago, and St. Louis service via the

route of the Texas Eagle, and Detroit, Chicago and Kansas City service

via the route of the Southwest Chief, thus enhancing both of those

existing routes, create better equipment utilization, and substantially

increasing ridership.

Chicago is one of Amtrak's mega-hubs, but that should not be a barrier to

the concept of operating trains through Chicago versus originating and

terminating all trains in Chicago.

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[MrFSS]

This Week at Amtrak; June 5, 2007

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 24

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

Overview

Amtrak says on its web site, "No country in the world operates a

passenger rail system without some form of public support for capital

costs and/or operating expenses."

Amtrak apologists and cultists and those who believe only the government

can reasonably provide some services have taken this statement to heart

and turned it into gospel. As with other gospels, any factual statement

can, through continued angular interpretation and slanted thinking, be

misunderstood and distorted. In some minds, the above sentence becomes,

"No passenger rail system can, or should ever attempt to, operate without

massive public subsidies."

This is patently wrong, even using Amtrak's own reported figures.

Starting with those numbers, let's look at how a healthier Amtrak can

reduce, if not entirely eliminate, the need for annual systemwide

operating subsidies. This can be accomplished by running longer trains,

adding more frequencies to existing routes and adding some new routes, by

better marketing, and by offsetting infrastructure expenses (which also

benefit the host freight railroads) to federal, state, and local levels.

1) First, consider revenues. Amtrak reports FY 2006 revenues of

approximately $2.05 billion, and expenses of approximately $3.0 billion.

That leaves a deficit of almost $950 million, which is most circles is

considered real money.

Let's break things down further. Revenue from all train operations in FY

2006 was $1,357,106,100. The remainder of the revenue came from providing

operating services for commuter agencies, and other ancillary businesses.

All of the trains on the Northeast Corridor, including Acela, the

remaining Metroliners (in FY 2006), and regional trains had an

availability of 3,278,673,030 seat miles for sale. A seat mile is defined

as one "space" or seat or accommodation/berth in one car on one train,

traveling for a distance of one mile. The total is computed by taking all

of the available space for sale on a train, and multiplying that by the

length of the route. If a train has 10 coach seats and 10 sleeping car

berths for sale, and the train travels 100 miles, you would calculate 20

seat miles multiplied by 100 miles, which would generate 2,000 seat miles

available for sale.

To determine revenue, you then calculate what is charged per mile for

each seat or berth, and multiply that by the amount of seat miles

occupied by travelers. This is known as calculating revenue passenger

miles. It does not matter how many warm bodies are on a train; that

figure is not relevant except for body counts for publicity purposes.

Revenue seat miles are the only true indication of prosperity or failure.

Some who are unfamiliar with true transportation economics try to pin on

Amtrak a "loss per seat mile," which is almost as silly as the "loss per

passenger" misinformed politicians and journalists attempt to use to make

some sense of Amtrak losses. Those who use such a stand-alone figure

merely demonstrate their utter lack of knowledge regarding real

accounting and real accountability.

Let's get some facts on record, and then go into some theory. Amtrak

operates three classes of trains:

a) NEC trains, consisting of Acelas, the former Metroliners (used for our

purposes here because we are working with FY 2006 figures when the

dependable and passenger-recognized Metroliners were still running), and

regional, or "local" trains. Also included in the FY 2006 figures are the

special train movements on the NEC.

b ) Short distance trains throughout the country include all corridor

trains and abbreviated intercity trains outside of the NEC. Included are

the Ethan Allen, Vermonter, Albany/Niagara Falls/Toronto, Downeaster, New

Haven/Springfield, Keystone, Empire Service, Chicago/St. Louis,

Hiawathas, Wolverines, Illini, Illinois Zephyr, Heartland Flyer,

Surfliners, Cascades, Capitols, San Joaquins, Adirondack, Blue Water,

Washington/Newport News, Hoosier State, Kansas City/St. Louis,

Pennsylvanian, Pere Marquette, Carolinian, Piedmont, and, just as on the

NEC, some special train movements. Because FY 2006 figures are used, the

new trains operating in Illinois are not included.

c) Long distance trains, the true heroes of Amtrak, include the Silver

Star, Cardinal, Silver Meteor, Empire Builder, Capitol Limited,

California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, City of New Orleans, Texas Eagle,

Sunset Limited, Coast Starlight, Lake Shore Limited, Palmetto, Crescent,

and Auto Train. There were no special long distance train movements.

Looking at seat miles for each of these three classes,

a) In FY 2006, all NEC trains together hauled 3,278,673,030 seat miles.

The load factor on all of those trains averaged 45.2%. The total revenue

passenger mile figure for all trains was 1,482,448,000. The revenue per

passenger mile was 48.95 cents, and the total revenue was $725,653,800.

b ) All short distance trains together hauled 3,556,491,514 seat miles.

The load factor on all of those trains averaged 40.7%. The total revenue

passenger mile figure for all trains was 1,448,903,000. The revenue per

passenger mile was 18.87 cents, and the total revenue was $273,431,300.

c) All long distance trains together hauled 4,410,537,143 seat miles. The

load factor on all of those trains averaged 55.1%. The total revenue

passenger mile figure for all trains was 2,430,166,000. The revenue per

passenger mile was 14.73 cents, and the total revenue was $358,021,000.

Start doing some addition. Total seat miles for sale systemwide were

11,245,701,687. Total seat miles sold were 5,361,517,000.

The available seat miles (if every seat on every train for every mile the

train operated) unsold were 5,884,184,687. The average revenue per

passenger mile, systemwide, was 27.52 cents. If we multiply the unsold

seat miles by the average revenue generated if they had been sold, we

reach an unsold revenue figure of $1,619,327,625.86.

Amtrak received free federal monies in FY 2006 of $1.3 billion. You may

notice that figure is less than what Amtrak would have generated if it

had sold every seat mile available.

Is Amtrak going to sell every seat mile available? No. Never. It's

impossible to do so. The maximum load factor is somewhere in the 65% to

70% range, because some passengers board and detrain at each station.

But, this does show that in theory, even with Amtrak's current skeletal

national system, and with the densely populated corridor systems which

are relatively over-served with frequencies, it theoretically could

support itself without any federal subsidies.

2) So much for theory. Now, back to reality. What would it take to cover

Amtrak's subsidies in the real world?

Again, let's visit some Amtrak figures. Load factors help tell the story

of where problem children are for specific routes. Acela/Metroliner load

factors are 51.2%, but all other NEC regional trains are only 42.9%. This

is despite these services being illogically labeled by the media as

Amtrak's flagship service, and the most marketing money in Amtrak's

budget being poured into these services.

Other corridor services, which are state supported (which the NEC is not,

for some odd reason), also have low load factors. California's Capitols

only have a load factor of 28.5%. The golden state's San Joaquins do

slightly better, at 35% load factor, and at southern end of the state,

the Pacific Surfliners come in at a 33.1% load factor. In New York state,

the Empire Service has a 33% load factor. In Illinois and Wisconsin, the

Hiawathas have a 38.6% load factor. Pennsylvania's Keystone service does

slightly better at a 40.7% load factor.

The reality of commuter service is you need a high amount of trains

operated to provide convenience and incentive for passengers to ride, but

because of all of the trains run under this criteria, many non-peak

trains operate with very low load factors. All of the California trains

operate with state assistance, as do the Hiawathas and Keystone service.

New York's Empire Service is the only one of these corridor services

which operates without state assistance.

Many other trains, such as those in Illinois, in New York, the

Adirondack; in Vermont the Vermonter and Ethan Allen Express; in North

Carolina the Carolinian and Piedmont; and trains in Michigan are all

state supported. The Downeaster in New England receives funds from the

Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority. Missouri and Oklahoma also

provide operating funds for short distance trains.

Most of the state subsidy trains also have low load factors, such as

29.9% on the Vermonter, 32.6% on the Downeaster, 33.3% on Kansas City/St.

Louis trains, and 36.5% on Oklahoma's Heartland Flyer.

In North Carolina, the state funded Carolinian runs a strong 67.5% load

factor, which essentially means this train is sold out, due to entraining

and detraining passengers at intermediate station stops. The Piedmont

also has a load factor of 49.5%.

If states want to take the risk of paying Amtrak money to run local

trains with low load factors, that's fine. California, and later North

Carolina, however, learned if they take passenger rail marketing matters

into their own hands, and control the budget and content, ridership goes

up, and the state contribution goes down because of a stronger ticket

sale recovery.

3) How does all of this calculate to a subsidy-free Amtrak?

First, it is impossible to rely on very short distance trains and

corridors to make money when real accounting is used and the books aren't

cooked, as Amtrak does for the Acela trains. To repeat the facts, Acela

trains, running on the same infrastructure using the same stations and

support personnel and corporate resources as NEC regional trains do,

cannot possibly and honestly show an alleged positive cash flow, or

profit, when the regional trains do not.

However, again, the saving grace for Amtrak is the collection of longer

short distance trains (such as the Carolinian) and the long distance

system.

The NEC can be partially fixed by cutting down on the number of short

distance passenger trains operated on the NEC (There is no realistic

reason to operate trains NEC trains less than hourly other than at

selected peak times; the argument of New Yorkers and others wanting to

know they can go to Penn Station and get on a train anytime is hubris at

the expense of the health of the rest of the Amtrak system.), by

increasing the length of trains (it takes the same number of train and

engine personnel to operate a nine car train as it does a four or six car

train), and opening up national system long distance trains operating on

the NEC to local riders, making reservations available 48 hours or less

before train time.

Another way of "fixing" the NEC comes from a former Amtrak manager, who

made the simple statement, "the NEC should be humming 24 hours a day."

It's the simple things which are the most stunning things. As this

manager said, many Amtrak executives have considered the NEC their

personal football, and haven't wanted to dirty it up by using it for

those annoying freight trains which keep the nation moving.

Opening up the NEC to full freight movements (with the reverse of what is

found on Amtrak's host railroads, where passenger trains wait for freight

trains; on the NEC the freights would have to wait) could be a huge cash

windfall for Amtrak, even with the higher costs of track maintenance.

What is the magic of having very expensive infrastructure, if it isn't

used to its full potential? The builder and original owner of the NEC,

the Pennsylvania Railroad, which until its final two decades was

considered the model on which all other railroads were based, understood

that even its robust Pennsylvania Railroad passenger traffic on the NEC,

plus all of the foreign line trains it carried such as for the Seaboard,

Atlantic Coast Line, Southern, and others, there still needed to be a

balance between passenger and freight trains to fully cover the

infrastructure costs of such an expensive piece of railroad.

Amtrak pays non-fully allocated costs to its host freight railroads for

use of freight tracks. That means the host freight railroads do not

receive enough income from Amtrak to pay for the wear and tear on their

infrastructure from Amtrak trains.

Amtrak, however, does charge the freight trains moving over its NEC

infrastructure fully allocated train mile costs, which means the freight

trains pay a much higher rate for using the NEC than Amtrak pays for

using freight tracks. This inequitable situation needs a major overhaul,

with new agreements which will have benefits for all contractual parties.

Another area of improvement on the NEC which has been gaining some

momentum is forcing the local commuter systems, such as New Jersey

Transit, and others, to pay a fair share of the costs of maintaining the

NEC for its use. Amtrak is the minority user of the NEC; the commuter

train systems all combined are the majority users of the NEC, yet Amtrak

pays for the majority of the upkeep and maintenance of the NEC.

4) Amtrak needs to generate 9,523,809,524 additional revenue passenger

miles at an average of 16.8 cents each in revenue (the average of all

long distance and short distance train revenue per passenger mile) to

generate $1.6 billion, or $300 million more than the FY 2006 federal

subsidy. The extra $300 million could easily go towards Amtrak's

mechanical department to get the rolling slums off of the train routes,

and replace them with refurbished equipment no one needs to issue an

apology for before passengers board trains.

Long distance and short distance trains together already generate

3,879,069,000 revenue passenger miles per year. The long distance and

short distance systems need to generate just under 2.5 times the number

of revenue passenger miles generated today for Amtrak to be free of any

federal subsidy for any reason, beyond extraordinary circumstances like

anti-terrorism protections, or the replacement of large assets like the

tunnels leading from New Jersey into New York City's Penn Station. But,

to generate those defined new revenue passenger miles, we also need to

add some more revenue passenger miles for a balance between expenses and

income.

First, what would it cost to generate 2.5 times the number of revenue

passenger miles generated today by Amtrak? Not as much as you think. In

FY 2006, Amtrak reports it spent $1,381,000,000 to run the short distance

and long distance fleet of trains (this includes all corridors outside of

the NEC).

To operate more trains, there will be little, if any increase in

corporate headquarters costs. If Amtrak theoretically sticks to its

present route system and just increases trains on present routes or only

adds minor modifications from present routes, no new station costs will

appear, and no new maintenance facilities need to be built.

To take things in steps and to keep math simple, first plan on reducing

the national operating subsidy, which totals $485,100,000. Without any

increase in operating costs, and with just better marketing, Amtrak

should be able to raise the average load factor on long distance and

short distance trains by 18%, or sell an additional 18% of currently

available seat miles, adding an additional 1,434,065,158 revenue

passenger miles at 16.8 cents each, for total additional income of

$240,922,946, or 49.6% of the current systemwide operating subsidy.

To eliminate the rest of the systemwide operating subsidy, we need to

double those figures, and sell another $241 million of revenue passenger

miles, or, another 1,434,065,158 revenue passenger miles. This will

require new trains, all operating on current routes, providing additional

frequencies. This will only add incremental costs, such as actual train

operations and marketing, versus any new overhead costs, reservations

system costs, or additional headquarters costs.

The number of revenue passenger miles we need is equal to 59% of the

revenue passenger miles generated in FY 2006 by the long distance system

alone. That will cost approximately $195 million to generate, so, again,

we have to increase revenue passenger miles to cover this additional

cost. By the time the math is completed, at the rate of $195 million in

expenses generating $241 million in revenue, we need to generate 4.25 the

amount of revenue to equal the amount of expenses, or 6,094,776,921

revenue passenger miles at 16.8 cents each. This would equal running 78

new trains equal to the revenue passenger mile potential of the current

Carolinian. Before you panic, that is equivalent to only 5.5 new daylight

frequencies on parts or all of every long distance route in the system,

with the exception of the Auto Train. Many of those frequencies could be

spread out among other routes such as the Adirondack, the Vermonter, and

other opportunities.

Amtrak does not have enough equipment to start this many new frequencies;

a new equipment leasing program would be needed to fully populate this

many routes.

If Amtrak was generating this kind of income, passenger car manufacturers

would be standing in line to accept new car orders under favorable lease

or purchase terms, based on the earning power of the equipment.

5) Keep in mind what we have just accomplished. We have determined that

half of Amtrak's total national operating deficit can be covered by

existing trains, using existing equipment which is on the road, today.

The only missing ingredient is a competent marketing and promotional

program which would end Amtrak being America's best kept secret.

To go further towards eliminating the rest of Amtrak's national operating

deficit, putting the rest of Amtrak's fleet back on the road by either

lengthening existing trains, or adding new daylight frequencies on

existing routes at a low cost can come close to an operating subsidy free

Amtrak, that includes operating subsidies (as defined today) on all parts

of Amtrak, including the NEC.

To finish the job, some new equipment would be needed.

We can realistically see an operating subsidy-free Amtrak with very

little imagination.

6) Here is where the tough part comes in; what about Amtrak becoming

completely free of all subsidies, including capital infrastructure costs?

We saw how it could theoretically be done, but we have to come up with

real figures that includes the costs of systemwide new train operations

to eliminate the very high costs of maintaining the NEC.

This vividly demonstrates why Amtrak so desperately needs to be out of

the infrastructure business, and just in the operating business. It's the

infrastructure costs that suck up all of capital resources, not the

operating costs.

Using our same example of the Carolinian, to make up the additional

$814,900,000 of Amtrak's last federal subsidy that mostly goes to NEC

infrastructure, but some going to corporate debt reduction and federal

railroad retirements costs, we need to instigate another 264 frequencies

that are equivalent to the length and operating characteristics of

today's Carolinian. That, again, equals to approximately an additional 19

new frequencies (in addition to the 5.5 frequencies outlined above to

cover operating expenses only) on part or all of every Amtrak long

distance route except the Auto Train.

How would/could that happen? Lots of new equipment, a new partnership

with host freight railroads, pioneering of new routes, federal assistance

in some form to freight railroads to help upgrade their infrastructure,

and, of course, adequate marketing and promotions. The most important

factor is a management and ownership (the federal government) that

understands the potential, understands the rocky road it will take to

make this happen, and understands the commitment to operating an Amtrak

that is in a positive growth mode versus a "woe is me" defeatist mode

that is happy to exist eternally on someone else's money in the form of

annual subsidies of free federal monies.

Simply putting the ownership of the NEC and the responsibility for upkeep

elsewhere would eliminate the need for 264 more Carolinian frequencies,

give a take a train, or two.

Why should it matter who owns and operates the NEC? As long as Amtrak,

local commuter agencies, and freight railroads all have access to the

rail highway, why is it so critical that Amtrak be the owner? Does a

track gang worker care if his or her paycheck comes from Amtrak or

another federal agency? Does the union representing that worker care if

they are negotiating on the member's behalf with a subsidiary of the

Federal Railway Administration or Amtrak?

Getting the NEC off of Amtrak's books, and allowing Amtrak to become

purely an operating company that owns or leases locomotives, passenger

equipment, yards, and stations demonstrates how realistic it is for

Amtrak to be a healthy, growing company.

7) How does this process begin? First, by recognizing Amtrak doesn't

always have to be a stepchild of government. It has to potential to stand

on its own, but that potential must be exploited.

Second, Amtrak needs to look inside its own house and make better use of

its existing assets. This totally wrong concept Amtrak is using of

shortening train consists to maintain a smaller fleet of passenger

equipment to cut costs is exactly the opposite of what it should be

doing. Amtrak should be lengthening consists as it builds ridership;

longer consists only incur incremental costs, not full costs of new

routes or additional trains.

Third, Amtrak should implement a system of daylight, secondary trains on

its existing routes as has been spelled out in recent issues of TWA (with

more to come in the next few weeks). These inexpensive trains, all of

which are based on creating positive cash flows (that means "profits")

and greater travel opportunities, mean more seat miles sold at lower

operating expenses.

A second phase of full service trains, based on the model of the Empire

Builder, need to be planned for, and equipment orders readied. Every long

distance route needs at least one "mirror" train to the existing service,

on a schedule of eight to 12 hours different from the present schedule.

Some routes could easily support three full service trains. The western

transcontinental trains, the Coast Starlight, and routes in the east such

as the Cardinal and Adirondack, are ripe for year round tourism and high

revenue sleeping car business. Basic workhorse trains such as the City of

New Orleans, Crescent, Texas Eagle, Silver Meteor and Silver Star all

could support higher levels of business with proper marketing and more

route frequencies. New routes, such as New Orleans-Dallas-Salt Lake

City-Seattle have huge potential when planned and executed with a good

business plan. Good marketing and operations planners could easily double

Amtrak's route structure (with minimal pain to host freight railroads),

and still have room for expansion.

Fourth, Amtrak has got to stop being America's best kept secret. Amtrak's

annual sales and marketing budget of $75 million is woefully inadequate

to properly promote America's passenger train system. That figure should

be doubled (which still would not bring it up to private corporate

standards for what is typically spent on advertising by custom), and

continue to be increased as ridership increases.

Fifth, Amtrak needs to actually start a public relations and promotional

effort, beyond what can be accomplished by paid advertising and

marketing.

And, lastly, Amtrak, which it has already begun to do, needs to

completely get away from the "woe is me" attitude of the past, where it

feels it always must go hat in hand to ask for government hand outs. The

raw numbers show Amtrak has the potential to be on its own; it merely has

become such a dependent child of government largess, much like a drug

addict, that it needs to have the corporate confidence to solve its own

problems, without government interference. Amtrak has also suffered from

years from modal envy, where it has held its corporate breath and pounded

the floor saying life is so unfair because other modes of transportation

get subsidies, and Amtrak doesn't. Envy, however, doesn't count. What

counts is only results of what can be done by accomplishment. Why be

forever dependent on someone else's handouts if you can be self

dependent?

In the 1990s, the late Dr. Adrian Herzog developed similar figures and a

likely scenario for ending Amtrak's dependence on federal subsidy. This

was still the era of the ill-fated Warrington administration's "glidepath

to self sufficiency" for Amtrak, which placed the entire future of Amtrak

in jeopardy by betting the farm on the success of the Acela trains in the

NEC. Not only did this discredited theory nearly spell the end of Amtrak

in any form, it also turned all attention away from the real money-makers

at Amtrak, the long distance trains. It will take Amtrak a long time to

disentangle itself from the silliness of the "glidepath to self

sufficiency" and the accompanying idiotic dependence on short corridor

trains for success, and redirect itself to the true saving grace of the

company, long distance trains, which, in the end, will most likely

subsidize the corridor trains.

8) The figures used above are all derived from Amtrak financial reports,

and calculated based on Amtrak data. Many figures are rounded for easier

comprehension, and are not intended to cover every detail, but to

demonstrate theory and reality.

9) Since 2001, Amtrak apologists have created a thriving conspiracy

theory the Bush Administration wants to kill Amtrak, and that the

administration has done everything in its limited power to do so.

Let's talk a bit of reality. Anyone in government, or private industry,

the news media, or policy institutes has all of the above facts and

figures. It's not difficult to come to determinations about Amtrak that

show it is a viable institution, if only it would look towards a positive

future, instead of an invalid future. Why would anyone in government want

to continually hand billions of tax dollars over to Amtrak when it can

eventually become self sufficient, if only it will create a realistic

business plan? Why would anyone in government be excited about endless

subsidies for a railroad which takes tens of millions of dollars of its

best assets in rolling stock and intentionally mothballs those assets so

it can balance an expense budget while forgetting the income budget?

Anyone who thinks critically about Amtrak from an intellectual

standpoint, understands the potential of Amtrak, and is horrified at the

continuing waste and endless string of missed opportunities. No one in

government should ever be criticized for trying to make something

positive out of the Amtrak corporate mess through radical change.

If there would have been a third as many lifeboats on the RMS Titanic as

there are unused pieces of rolling stock in Amtrak's car fleet, everyone

on the ship would have been saved, with boats left over.

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J. Bruce Richardson

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United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760

[email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

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[Guest]

This Week at Amtrak; June 5, 2007
A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 24

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

Overview

Amtrak says on its web site, "No country in the world operates a

passenger rail system without some form of public support for capital

costs and/or operating expenses."

You have to admire Bruce Richardson's efforts however every time I read one of these, I am exhausted by the time I finish. It is like watching an infomercial, where every problem you have ever had can be cured in no time at all........."just trust me".

I hope he has something else in his life to keep him occupied, because if this is his only outlet he is in big trouble.

 

[frj1983]

I have to agree with Guest,

Reading these posts is like running a marathon, when you reach the end, you don't remember what was said back at the beginning. While his posts are well thought out, I am sometimes "put off" by his constant "Amtrak Management is stupid" and "I know best" diatribes. I notice that his "savior" Alex Kummant is not mentioned much anymore...is that because he is part of "stupid" Amtrak management?

 

[had8ley]

This Week at Amtrak; June 5, 2007

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 24

Founded over three decades ago in 1976 by the late Austin M. Coates, Jr.,

URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and

plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota,

California, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For

more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and

other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.

URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from

any outside sources.

Overview

Amtrak says on its web site, "No country in the world operates a

passenger rail system without some form of public support for capital

costs and/or operating expenses."

You have to admire Bruce Richardson's efforts however every time I read one of these, I am exhausted by the time I finish. It is like watching an infomercial, where every problem you have ever had can be cured in no time at all........."just trust me".

I hope he has something else in his life to keep him occupied, because if this is his only outlet he is in big trouble.

God love the man...he reminds me of Bishop Fulton J. Sheehan of Rochester, New York. My mother would turn on the black and white (what's that) TV and we would watch a very well dressed Catholic bishop hop, skip and dance on a blackboard. He would put a stick of chalk through the wringer before he threw it aside in disqust. BUT I cannot remember one point he ever made because he talked about everything that was wrong on the planet. Bruce just rips up Amtrak. Apparently he thinks it's his mission in life. And that's not to say that he doesn't have a lot of material to work with; just look at his lengthy newsletter that seems to grow with each passing week.

 

[sportbiker]

This Week at Amtrak; June 5, 2007
A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-6760, Electronic Mail [email protected]

http://www.unitedrail.org

Volume 4, Number 24[/url]

I love reading TWAs, but J. Bruce glosses over some of the major stumbling blocks to higher ridership, the top-3 being OTP, OTP, and OTP. No matter how much people hate airline travel, rail isn't a viable alternative to most people if the timetable bears the same relationship to reality that the Harry Potter books do. We're a nation of clock-watchers!

Next is system speed. Even if OTP woes were solved, requiring (for example) 12 hours to go from LAX to SFO is a joke when one can fly there in one hour (figure three hours with airport lag on both ends) or drive it in six to seven. My brother used to regularly use Metrolink, the LA area's commuter railroad, and had nothing but praise for it, not knowing (or caring) that Metrolink owns the track on that line. When he talked about taking Amtrak to San Francisco he was dumbstruck when I told him it wouldn't take the five hours he had mentally figured but would instead be 12 hours or more. He was struck mute. He doesn't care about Union Pacific or slow orders or anything else: he cares about end-to-end travel time. "Just do it." Count him as one passenger lost.

Third is Amtrak's reputation for less-than-stellar OBS and equipment standards (who was it who said duct tape should be standard-issue with bedroom toiletries?). Airlines are also non-stellar, but one puts up with it for only a few hours. If you give up speed you have to offer something compelling as an alternative.

So, all we have to do is get the host railroads to do a 180 and give Amtrak absolute dispatch priority, immediately repair then double the country's rail infrastructure, finish rehabbing all rolling stock, bring in new equipment to increase fequencies, send all OBS staff to charm school (and restore their ranks), and then maybe we'd get somewhere.

Do that and you won't need better marketing because the system will sell itself.

 

[George Harris]

So, all we have to do is get the host railroads to do a 180 and give Amtrak absolute dispatch priority, immediately repair then double the country's rail infrastructure, finish rehabbing all rolling stock, bring in new equipment to increase fequencies, send all OBS staff to charm school (and restore their ranks), and then maybe we'd get somewhere.

Simple, ain't it. Total change in attitudes, priorities, and a couple hundred billion dollars.

 

[Sam Damon]

So, all we have to do is get the host railroads to do a 180 and give Amtrak absolute dispatch priority, immediately repair then double the country's rail infrastructure, finish rehabbing all rolling stock, bring in new equipment to increase fequencies, send all OBS staff to charm school (and restore their ranks), and then maybe we'd get somewhere.

Simple, ain't it. Total change in attitudes, priorities, and a couple hundred billion dollars.

Which, if you read Bruce's missives, seems to be the gist of all of them.

That, and the odd Amtrak service meltdown du jour. I do give Bruce credit there; I find it amazing these meltdowns seem to occur every six weeks or so, and AFAWK, no one at Amtrak ever gets fired because of them.

I'm not saying people shouldn't get a second chance. I'm saying there is something in Amtrak's corporate culture that seems to believe upsetting passengers and tour groups is an acceptable standard. I'm saying there seems to be a lack of accountability when service melts down. Perhaps it's just that Amtrak is undercapitalized.

 

[George Harris]

So, all we have to do is get the host railroads to do a 180 and give Amtrak absolute dispatch priority, immediately repair then double the country's rail infrastructure, finish rehabbing all rolling stock, bring in new equipment to increase fequencies, send all OBS staff to charm school (and restore their ranks), and then maybe we'd get somewhere.

Simple, ain't it. Total change in attitudes, priorities, and a couple hundred billion dollars.

Which, if you read Bruce's missives, seems to be the gist of all of them.

That, and the odd Amtrak service meltdown du jour. I do give Bruce credit there; I find it amazing these meltdowns seem to occur every six weeks or so, and AFAWK, no one at Amtrak ever gets fired because of them.

I'm not saying people shouldn't get a second chance. I'm saying there is something in Amtrak's corporate culture that seems to believe upsetting passengers and tour groups is an acceptable standard. I'm saying there seems to be a lack of accountability when service melts down. Perhaps it's just that Amtrak is undercapitalized.

I have by now decided that bad management is fairly common, mediorcre management is the norm, and good management is rare. It is simply that most companies in normal businesses are able to survive with mediocre management and occasional bad management. However, Amtrak is so marginal and on such a starvation diet that even the normal level of management goofs is dangerous.

They also have a history left over particularly from Warrington of management by deception, and ban and incompetent managers hire incompentence so they won't be shown up by effective subordinates. Good managers on the other hand do try to surround themselves with good people because they do want things to turn out well.

I had the experience of working for a while for an organization, which needs to remain nameless for a few more years, that had some breathtaking incompetence at a fairly high level that ended up with things going fairly well because of some very good lower level management and workers that refused to permit or do shoddy work during their stay. No need to guess who took the credit with the ownership.

 

[frj1983]

Or:

You watch New Management walk into a place and commence new programs with the idea of creating a "more nimble, customer service organization" and after a few feverish months reorganization and departmental shifting nothing has really changed and it's back to business as normal. I think this happens a lot at Amtrak!