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Hi all, So many times in this thread, people are saying that the freight railroads are out to get Amtrak. WRONG! They have a business to run, as does Amtrak. None of them is a charity or non-profit. If companies like UP & BNSF don't deliver the goods on time, their customers will walk to the office of another carrier and give them the business. Over the years, that is what has happened to Amtrak's customers. Amtrak has not delivered a quality product and its former customers now fly or drive. Taking Amtrak is a last resort for the bulk of the population. And the brand is so tarnished that it must be banished from the rail map of the future in order for customers to return. All the time we have trains with a crew in double digits, there's no way to run them profitably. Intercity trains must be fast, frequent, economical and actually provide a service people want. One train per day each way is NOT a service. The Amtrak buses need to go and quickly. Who is travelling from San Bernardino to Bakersfield? I can see the hoards of people waiting for that service at my local station when it calls there (OK, not really!). Amtrak's business is running TRAINS, not loss making buses. Finally, one great idea for Southern California. Let's take Amtrak out of operating the Surfliners and pass those operations over to SCRRA (who do know how to run trains on time). With all that equipment, the entire service could be re-vamped to provide more frequent, better timed trains, picking up at more stations (Why doesn't Amtrak serve DOWNTOWN Burbank?). Additionally, the VERY generous current seat pitch could be reduced to add seats and thereby cheap capacity without the need to add vehicles. Just three more cents worth...
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