Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
You guys ignore the point. Amtrak has a an unsuccessful track record and I believe a new paradigm is needed. Amtrak was established at the ebbtide of the concept that big government progerams were the only way to solve problems. The ignoring of the development of additional Auto-train routes (such as Chicago-Denver, a guaranteeded winner - Louisville-Florida was handicapped by bad track and schedule)only points out the lack imagination. Let Amtrak, or better yet cut out the middle man and have US DOT, be the oversight agency (like MTA in NYC or RTA in Chicago). Let several competing private or regional public sector manage the service provision. This is the case already in California, where Amtrak has contributed no leadership to the upsurge in ridership on the Capital, San Joaquin and Surfliner Corridors. The credit fully belongs to the State DOT and the succesor corridor authorities. Greg stated that no one makes money on passenger trains, howver individual corridors in Europe or Japan and individual lond-distance trains (AOE, the Canadian Mountaineer, the Montana Daylight, etc.) make money. Indeed, Amtrak partisans are divided into two camps: the NEC partisans say their corridor covers costs and it's the national system that's dragging it down. THe fans of the western Superliner trains insist that their trains are the winners and the Corridor is the loser. Here is my list again, with one addition, and comments on why they deserve a look: Herzog Transportation Services, Inc manages the commuter train systems in Miami, Dallas, the Altamont Corridor, and recently began managing the operations of NJT's Atlantic City line. Why not intercity rail also? Cruise ships operate private cars on the Alaska RR, and AOE, Montana Daylight and other such firms are naturals for the western transcontinentals, and the Florida trains. Almost certainly, they would take the leadership for additional Auto-Trains and probably devise a faster loading and unloading procedure. If the freight railroads have to operate passenger trains, they'd likely run them with their own personnel. As support for that I offer the following: A major BNSF executive told me that the firm greatly regretted selling its right-of-way in the LA area for development ofthe Metrolink system. That's why the new Sounder commuter rail system in metropolitan Seattle is operated by BNSF employees. A continuation of this trend among the other major RRs makes this scenario more plausible. It should be noted that Amtrak's most unheralded accomplishment - the elimination of the 100 mile day for road service employees - is a factor in this scenario. The freight RRs have benefited from this in their own operations. A regional corridor authority or multi-state high-speed compact directly managing its own operation is a natural. As noted above, Amtrak stood on the sidelines in the biggest success story for intercity passenger trains in recent years (California). They don't deserve to be the operator. My new alternative is the airlines (multimodal pasenger transportation firms!). High-speed rail can be dove-tailed into an airline hub and spoke system seamlessly. C'mon guys Damntrak is the ultimate in passenger rail operation.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag