Refocusing Amtrak

[Junctionfan]

It works for most of the government own facilities like universities, schools, offices, utilities and other things like that. Food services chains that offer cafateria style or fancy banquets are very economical. Depending on what is served, it can be quite reasonable per person if it is done catering style.

My mother has done banquets for heads of states at Brock as well as large groups of famous folk and V.I.Ps at Brock University and the chefs have done wonderful work for such a nominal amount of money. This is the kind of service that adds to the worth of an Amtrak ticket.

[Anonymous]

I guess one must ride a HSR train in Europe to understand that outside the NEC Amtrak is obsolete..... Paris to Marsailles in less than 3 hours..... blowing the doors off the cars on the freeways.....

[Anonymous]

O.K. Let's say Amtrak, or the conventional passenger train is obsolete, and High Speed Rail is the future. What will happen in the intervening 12 years from the last run of an Amtrak Train to the inaugural trip of a new USA High Speed Rail route?
I'm of the opinion that Americans will just loose interest in railtravel all together. Of course when gasolene becomes $6 a gallon, they'll change their minds. Too late of course.

Mitch

[Anonymous]

Monday through Fridays of most weeks as I wakeup with my first coffee of the day, I read the the News page at the BLET's website. This morning (3-29) I read this item that is SF Bay Area railnews. Thought I'd pass it along to without comment. As follows:

Dukakis says rail is a must
(The following article by Keri Brenner was posted on the Marin Independent-Journal website on March 29.)

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- Passenger rail service in the North Bay is a "no-brainer," former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis told a packed town hall forum yesterday at the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael.

"If you want smart growth - and I think you do - you've got to invest in rail," Dukakis said to a crowd of about 200. "Once you do this, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it."

More than a dozen Marin and Sonoma residents addressed questions and comments to Dukakis and a panel of area leaders including U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, San Rafael Mayor Al Boro and Cloverdale Mayor Robert Jehn.

Jehn is board chairman and Boro is vice chairman of the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit project, which is planning the proposed SMART rail line from Cloverdale to Larkspur Landing.

"It seems to be a no-brainer," Dukakis said in an interview before the forum. "You're not going to build your way out of congestion. Unless we invest in rail, we're not going to solve the congestion problem."

About two-thirds of the speakers agreed. Margie Wade of Novato said as long as SMART can provide shuttle buses at times that connect smoothly with rail, "I'm just 1,000 percent in favor of trains."

Others complained the proposal was flawed.

"SMART will never obtain the required two-thirds voter approval for a sales tax increase to fund it," said Mike Arnold of Novato, co-chairman of Marin Citizens for Effective Transportation.

The appearance of Dukakis, former vice chairman of the Amtrak Reform Board and a Democratic presidential candidate in 1988, came as SMART officials gear up for a November 2006 transportation sales tax ballot measure for the new rail system. SMART officials had initially planned for a ballot measure last November, but postponed it so as not to interfere with Measure A, the transportation sales tax measure approved last year by Marin voters along with a companion measure in Sonoma.

The proposed SMART commuter rail line would stretch 75 miles down the Highway 101 corridor from Cloverdale to a spot just above Marin Airporter at Larkspur Landing.

"It's the least onerous of the three onerous sites in Larkspur," Larkspur City Manager Jean Bonander said of the much-debated Larkspur train stop. "We said if they're going to study one site, that should be it."

The line would include the stations over a former Northwestern Pacific Railroad right of way already under public ownership.

Several speakers yesterday emphasized the need for speedy and efficient connections between the proposed North Bay rail line and other transit - such as shuttle buses, ferries and the East Bay's BART line.

"Why did they not put a set of prefabricated train tracks on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge five years ago when they started the seismic retrofit?" said Craig Yates of San Rafael, a member of the Marin County Committee on Disabilities. "That would have made a seamless route (to BART) - we need a seamless route."

Others, such as Basia Crane of Kentfield, a member of Marin United Taxpayers Association, complained that the SMART proposal didn't have the smooth service it promised, such as a ferry connection at San Quentin State Prison.

"San Quentin isn't even in the EIR," Crane said, referring to a draft environmental impact report on the SMART proposal set for release this summer.

Pending certification of the EIR in summer 2006, and approval of the sales tax the following November, SMART trains could be operating by the fall of 2009, officials said. The system is expected to cost $340 million, according to officials.

Arnold, an anti-rail activist, said his group believes in expansion of the transit bus system instead of trains. But Dukakis said both buses and rail are needed.

"I'm not against buses; I take buses all the time in Los Angeles," Dukakis said. "The problem with buses is that you're still sitting right on the streets, in the middle of congestion."

Dukakis, who teaches public policy at the University of California at Los Angeles, said he just came from Santa Barbara, which also is considering a rail line along its crowded 101 corridor.

"There isn't a metro area in the U.S. that isn't going nuts with congestion," Dukakis said.

Dukakis said when he was governor, he pushed for the Boston-area's rail and transit system.

"Now, the Boston public transit system in the best in the U.S, and it has totally transformed Boston," he said.

The nation as a whole is far behind Japan and Europe, which already have or are planning high-speed rail lines. Building more highways is not the answer.

"I use that quote from Einstein: 'The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again - and expecting different results,'" he said.


Tuesday, March 29, 2005

http://www.ble.org/pr/news/headline.asp?id=13142

[Anonymous]

I subscribe to BLET's Newflash and I received this email today. Thought I'd pass it along to Train board members as a heads up for southern California news junkies. As follows:

Teamsters Rail Conference fights for Amtrak funding

http://www.ble.org/pr/news/newsflash.asp?id=4090
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 29 -- To bring public attention to Amtrak's potential bankruptcy, Teamsters will distribute fliers to Amtrak passengers in Solana Beach, Calif., tomorrow (March 30).

If Amtrak were to go under, thousands of union jobs nationwide would be lost and some communities would suffer a severe economic decline.

"Bush's 'reform' plan for Amtrak will leave the nation stranded," said John Murphy, Director of the Teamster Rail Conference. "If Amtrak were to go bankrupt, thousands of rail employees across the country would lose their jobs and small communities that rely on rail transport would be cut off from metropolitan areas."

The fliers ask passengers to contact their Congressional Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham to request full funding of Amtrak. Representative Duke is a member of the Appropriations Committee in Congress, which will
decide Amtrak's funding level for 2006. Solana Beach is the Amtrak stop in Cunningham's district.


WHAT: Leafleting for Amtrak funding

WHEN: Wednesday, March 30, 2005, 6:00 a.m.

WHERE: Amtrak Rail Terminal (105 North Cedros Avenue, Solana Beach, Calif.) and the city of Solana Beach

WHO: Teamster members including members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen -- both divisions in the Teamsters Rail Conference.---

The message was sent by the BLE NewsFlash Service.
To unsubscribe, go to http://www.ble.org

Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236

[Paul Milenkovic]

Why does everyone keep saying something to the effect "oh, they'll miss Amtrak when gas is $3/gal;$4/gal;$5/gal;$6/gal"?

System wide, Amtrak passenger-miles per gallon peaked around 50 and has declined lately to about 25. This information comes from the Oak Ridge Boys (DOE-ORNL transportation energy use Web site). Everyone thinks rail is so efficient, but autos (even with SUVs in the mix) have gotten more efficient, air has gotten more efficient, and Amtrak seems to have lost ground. Don't know were all the empty trains are because folks tell me Amtrak trains are packed, but Amtrak doesn't give good breakdowns of load factors and fuel usage and consists by route.

What can Amtrak change to get more fuel efficient, and what kind of improvement over autos can we expect?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Paul Milenkovic

Why does everyone keep saying something to the effect "oh, they'll miss Amtrak when gas is $3/gal;$4/gal;$5/gal;$6/gal"?

System wide, Amtrak passenger-miles per gallon peaked around 50 and has declined lately to about 25. This information comes from the Oak Ridge Boys (DOE-ORNL transportation energy use Web site). Everyone thinks rail is so efficient, but autos (even with SUVs in the mix) have gotten more efficient, air has gotten more efficient, and Amtrak seems to have lost ground. Don't know were all the empty trains are because folks tell me Amtrak trains are packed, but Amtrak doesn't give good breakdowns of load factors and fuel usage and consists by route.

Yep, its so much cheaper for me to jump in my 22 mpg SUV then take the train to San Francisco, its even cheaper if I fly from RNO to SFO. I just wonder, what lobbyist's special interest has clouded the Oak Ridge Boys. Remember, these are the guys that helped set radiation standards that for 50 years were wrong, always with the error in favor of big business, big govenment!

Yep Paul, lets do this dance a little longer, lets see how much more me and the family can give up in the name of "Big Business" and profits!

Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236

[Paul Milenkovic]

QUOTE: Yep, its so much cheaper for me to jump in my 22 mpg SUV then take the train to San Francisco, its even cheaper if I fly from RNO to SFO. I just wonder, what lobbyist's special interest has clouded the Oak Ridge Boys.

Could be that ORNL-DOE is not a trustworthy source on energy consumption. What are the correct numbers?

Let us suppose those numbers are correct. Why has Amtrak fuel efficiency declined and only recently? Is it low load factor on some trains? Is it the head-end traffic that only recently has been removed? Is it the Acela train sets?

If everyone assumes that Amtrak is fuel efficient and says "yessir! High gas prices will drive everyone to Amtrak or wishing they had train service" and this turns out to be not the case, an energy shortage will be the quickest way to finish off Amtrak, contrary to everyone's expectations.

We can wi***his problem away or ascribe it to the propaganda of "corporations", but there may come a time when we wish we had done our homework on this.