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[quote user="Paul Milenkovic"] [quote]Of course AMTRAK'S cost structure will cause them to (lose) money on every full car added which may cause them to loose more money! [/quote] Are you counting yourself in the passenger-train advocate or critic column?Airlines are going to cut back, sending even more passengers over the Amtrak NEC with the hefty fares the market seems to bear in those parts, and this will cause Amtrak to lose more money, resulting in a dire need for the Federal Government to increase the Amtrak subsidy.Is the argument something like, capacity on roads and air lanes is so badly constrained, and large aircraft are not a solution, unlike Japan, land of the Bullet Train, where they have so much travel demand over the same Tokyo-Osaka route that they fly shuttle service with 747s? That the government will be required to pump money into the rail mode, which cannot even break even when running at capacity with a captive market owing to the saturation of the alternative modes?Does anyone have anything positive to say about passenger trains?[/quote]I can think of a number of good things to say about passenger trains: <ul><li>The NEC covers its variable expenses as well as a significant portion of the fixed costs.</li><li>The on-time arrival percentages for the NEC are well north of 85 per cent.</li><li>The service is comfortable and quick.</li><li>The train is the best commercial alternative from New York to Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore; it the best commercial alternative from New York to New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield; it is probably the best alternative from New York to Albany.</li><li>Five of the short haul trains (Illini, Illinois Zephyr, Heartland Flyer, Pere Marquette, and Washington/Newport News) covered their variable operating expenses in 2007 and probably contributed something to interest and depreciation.</li></ul>I rode the Pacific Surfliner from LA to San Diego in March.  The train was quick, comfortable, and on-time.  I also rode the train from San Francisco to Sacramento during the same trip to California and found the experience to be equally good.
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