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[quote user="henry6"]Sam, here  you ago again getting yourself in trouble.  You come up with fast and fancy facts and figures and you guide me into a groove, then you scramble away tossing off comparisons by saying you assume.  You lost your credibilty by doing that.  As for the Texas payroll for Amtrak, it sounds about right for the number based on the need for engineers, conductors, and train service personell in addition to agencies' staffs.  What you don't take into account is that there has to be some sembelance of "service".  It probably makes sense that there be one, maybe two people, on duty for about one to two hours before the arrival and up to a half hour after the departure of a train.  If this train is "off hours" like after 9 at night and before 7 in the morning, then it might mean that there be at least one person with a 8AM to 5PM office to "serve" the public, the convenience bringing customers who might not show up at all.  The sticks and stones of running trains is only half the game of playing Amtrak! [/quote] The "fast and fancy figures" as you put it come from Amtrak's numbers, as well as those from the U.S. Census Bureau.  Bluestreak put me onto the boarding figures, which I did not know were available on "Inside Amtrak", so I took the opportunity to workout what is a plausable scenario for Austin.  I have visited the Austin Amtrak Station on many occasions.  In fact, I have take the Texas Eagle flrom it twice this year.  It has two employees on duty seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., although I don't know the staffing complement.  The shoulder hours are covered by one employee as far as I can determine.  That is why I used a very conservative estimate.  I think that the actual total complement is higher.  If that is true, the numbers would look even worse. I am not participating in these forums to win a popularity contest, and I certainly don't get upset my people who disagree with my perspectives.  I respect the people who post a view on these forums with a logical argument supported with verifable facts.  I have no time for perspectives that are illogical, not supported by facts, and take a swipe at others who are participating in the forums.
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