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Amtrak vs Freight Lines

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, April 18, 2022 11:15 PM

Annoyingly paywalled for me.  Can you summarize or synopsize what they say?

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Posted by CMStPnP on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 4:42 AM

Overmod
Annoyingly paywalled for me.  Can you summarize or synopsize what they say?

I understand the need to get paid for content.   However if you publish on a public website like Yahoo or some other area that is otherwise free, it really ticks me off to be asked to pay to read an article via a paywall.    Almost to the point I feel the author or employer is unusually greedy.     I think the solution is to publish some content for public sphere that is free with links to the pay stuff.   That way at least the article can be read and if the reader likes the sample content they can subscribe.    I don't like the metered free reads approach either.    Free press should be partially free and not charge for everything.

The reason they won't do that is most newspapers publish superficial crap for most of their articles and they have an occasional well research article but for the most part is garbage.   So the garbage can be placed out of sight behind the paywall.    Heck I still  remember the days when the Milwaukee Journal referred to the Soo Line in their business section as "the unusually profitable Soo Line" as if there was something nefarious going on and usually railroads lost money.   They did that for at least 2 decades.     Not sure if they still refer to the Soo Line or CP that way.

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 6:32 AM

CMStPnP
 
Overmod
Annoyingly paywalled for me.  Can you summarize or synopsize what they say? 

I understand the need to get paid for content.   However if you publish on a public website like Yahoo or some other area that is otherwise free, it really ticks me off to be asked to pay to read an article via a paywall.    Almost to the point I feel the author or employer is unusually greedy.     I think the solution is to publish some content for public sphere that is free with links to the pay stuff.   That way at least the article can be read and if the reader likes the sample content they can subscribe.    I don't like the metered free reads approach either.    Free press should be partially free and not charge for everything.

The reason they won't do that is most newspapers publish superficial crap for most of their articles and they have an occasional well research article but for the most part is garbage.   So the garbage can be placed out of sight behind the paywall.    Heck I still  remember the days when the Milwaukee Journal referred to the Soo Line in their business section as "the unusually profitable Soo Line" as if there was something nefarious going on and usually railroads lost money.   They did that for at least 2 decades.     Not sure if they still refer to the Soo Line or CP that way.

Paywall or not - I doubt we will ever hear 'unusually profitable' stated about Amtrak.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Overmod on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 8:01 AM

Annoyingly duplicated post.  Ignore, please.

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Posted by charlie hebdo on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 10:57 AM

Sorry. The fight overtheGulf Coast route has implications for whether or not Amtrak can add new routes on freight lines. The price (extortion)?  Amtrak will be required to pay the private rails to upgrade existing freight routes for "additional capacity" for passenger trains.

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Posted by charlie hebdo on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 3:05 PM

CMStPnP
Free press should be partially free and not charge for everything.

Neither the term "free press" nor the name of a Detroit newspaper has anything to do with $.  Read the Bill of Rights and some articles explaining the background.

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Posted by Overmod on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 9:32 AM

Electroliner 1935

Nope - for me, that goes straight to a login screen (and not a particularly friendly one!)

I consider "free press" to be analogous to "free inhabitant" in the Articles of Confederation -- the former relating to 'freedom of the press to say and print what it wants'; the latter relating to 'free' as distinguished from slave or indentured, and possibly in the sense of property ownership, NOT free from adherence to subsequent law or policy...

Where I think the gathering storm over the Mobile, and other, extensions might be is in the original Amtrak legislation, where Amtrak asserts priority over freight as a 'quid pro quo' for relieving the railroads of the statutory necessity to provide passenger service.  The recent testimony by... was it an undersecretary of transportation?... uses precisely that argument, with what I thought was clear intent to implement it to the greatest possible extent.  I don't recall anything in that rhetorical argument indicating that capital improvements by the Government were "required" to re-establish service, either.  (Will someone here post the link from the other thread so I can refresh my memory if defective?)

Where increases in operating frequency, and chronic schedulekeeping problems, occur over the next couple of years, I suspect the Government response may be similarly firm, although I wonder if this is DOT playing 'bad cop' so Amtrak itself doesn't have to compromise its delicate web of understandings...

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Posted by Gramp on Thursday, April 21, 2022 10:51 AM

If Amtrak does get all this (inflationary) money, why can't they put it toward improving service they already provide?

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Posted by D.Carleton on Sunday, April 24, 2022 2:54 PM

Gramp
If Amtrak does get all this (inflationary) money, why can't they put it toward improving service they already provide?

Oh that's just crazy talk.

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