blue streak 1Beg to differ. Please read Amtrak's desire to get more passenger cars on the link below. Pages 22 - 28 . Page 28 especially important as it lists both Amfleet supplements ( V-2 or 3s ? ) and bi-level supplements. Plus more locos.
Thats all nice and I am pretty confident most of it never made it in front of Congress graphically or verbally. You need Boardman to push for it constantly.
Check this out from 2011...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeSfVrBW180
He mentions 2 trains are money losers (Sunset and Cardinal). Congressman asks him about shutting down those to trains and Boardman answers with the cost to shutdown the whole LD system (which I have to say I would get a second and independent opinion on).
Listen to this......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og6KxJTe5Nc
So here he is in front of Congress talking about the 2012 budget.....
https://www.c-span.org/video/?298899-1/amtrak-2012-budget
Nothing about new LD equipment in any of the testimony that I could locate except for the viewliner 2 cars that were ordered. Why he didn't mention downstream needs for larger orders is anyones guess.
Also note that Rep Carter (R-TX) rode the Amtrak LD services from Austin, TX to DC before this hearing and comments on it. Some forum members think that Congress people making decisions never have ridden Amtrak.
Another interesting item, Boardman explains Amtrak Fare philosophy, Rep Carter asks why it is so low and why they do not raise fares. Boardman responds that Amtrak uses a formula to capture as much revenue with what they charge as possible without creating a revenue loss via a vis their public subsidy (which I suspect their formula is incorrect). However it explains why they undercharge in the Diner, Sleeping Car and sometimes in the Coach and why some subsidized corridor trains do not use yield management on ticket prices.
Schlimm, you argument makes sense from one poiht of view. But there is another. Most corridor passengers, including the NEC, are repaeat riders, using the same sevice at least several times a year to even every weekend or every weekday. If you could possibly analyze the ridership on a per-citizen basis, I think you would find the comparison movre faborable to the LDs than number of journeys or even number of jurneys times each one's mileage.
In other words, for North America's future, the teenager who gets a graduatuib oresebt if a transcontinental rail trip may be just as ijmportant as the Philly-MY Amtrak computer, with the former using the service once during the year and the latter using it about 5q00 times.
daveklepper Schlimm, you argument makes sense from one poiht of view. But there is another. Most corridor passengers, including the NEC, are repaeat riders, using the same sevice at least several times a year to even every weekend or every weekday. If you could possibly analyze the ridership on a per-citizen basis, I think you would find the comparison movre faborable to the LDs than number of journeys or even number of jurneys times each one's mileage. In other words, for North America's future, the teenager who gets a graduatuib oresebt if a transcontinental rail trip may be just as ijmportant as the Philly-MY Amtrak computer, with the former using the service once during the year and the latter using it about 5q00 times.
I see your point. But ridership is ridership. Amtrak is to provide a reliable service for the most patrons. The NEC has far more riders than LD trains. If some use it weekly, it shows how essential it is. On the other hand, most of today's teens would find a graduation train ride boring and unacceptable.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
The teenager would not find it boring if I were riding along with him or her. I am just using that as an example. There is the real wounded vet who goes from Alberquerque NM to Dallas and return once each year to visit family, and enjoys the trip, via Chicago yet, and would not make the trip if it were not for Amtrak and the handicapped room on Superliner sleepers. The whole country pays taxes to subsidize Amtrak. So small towns along the Empire Builder rout, etc. want their train subsidized if lots of trains are beingi subsidized in the corredors. By my standards, LDs as at they exist are part of American fair play.
daveklepper The teenager would not find it boring if I were riding along with him or her. I am just using that as an example. There is the real wounded vet who goes from Alberquerque NM to Dallas and return once each year to visit family, and enjoys the trip, via Chicago yet, and would not make the trip if it were not for Amtrak and the handicapped room on Superliner sleepers. The whole country pays taxes to subsidize Amtrak. So small towns along the Empire Builder rout, etc. want their train subsidized if lots of trains are beingi subsidized in the corredors. By my standards, LDs as at they exist are part of American fair play.
I doubt if your presence would matter. Amtrak LD service is heavily subsidized/underpriced already. It is getting new Viewliner passenger cars. Single-level cars would be far more accessible than Superliners.
In the first place, the teenager would not ask his paents for such a graduation present if he or she did not expect to enjoy the experience. And in the second place, I did have nephews and neicces who were teenagers, and took trips with several of them. More recently, just before Aliya, when doing acoustical work on the Scranton Roman Catholic Catheddral, I tppl twp of Rabbi ABraham Carp's two sons on a Steamtown train ride (still using one of the Canadian steam locos at the time, I think a CPR Pacific, if I remember), and they really would have liked the ride to be much longer. Amusingly, the conductor recognized mje and asked: When did you get married? So I had to explain that the kids were not mine. The Archbisihop had arranged for me to stay with the rabbi.
Those anecdotes sound like they occurred years ago. Also, number 1, with a railfan as an uncle, those kids would have had more interest and number 2, the other kids got to see and ride on a restored (sort of) steam engine excursion. LD service is a completely different animal.
Today's teens will find anything that doesn't have WiFi boring to the max. Can't play with their phone, they can't have fun.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACD Today's teens will find anything that doesn't have WiFi boring to the max. Can't play with their phone, they can't have fun.
Yah, we are becoming a country of the walking (or, more often, sitting) dead. A couple of years ago, I had a nice hotel room in Iowa City overlooking the Iowa River, where I did my share of spooning a million years ago. "Riverbanking," it was called.
Saw no young couples similarly engaged this time, only singles walking past on the sidewalk with their nose in their Smartphones and cables dangling from their ears. I wonder if reproduction is even part of our future.
Nor is it only the kids. On that same trip, I enjoyed a drink or two in the lobby of Chicago's Palmer House taking in the scene. A group of middle-aged and older businessmen were on the adjacent sofas, talking shop. At every lapse in the conversation, as if in response to a radio signal, all pulled phones out their pockets and began clicking away.
Eventually, the socializing resumed and the phones were put away (temporarily) one by one, with no comment on the interruption. It was like the "lost time" reported by UFO abductees.
I DOUBT THAT A TEENAGER SITTING IN THE FRONT SEAAT OF A DOME WOULD BE BORED. OF COURSE SCENERY LIKE THAT BETWEEN SALAT LAKE CITY AND DENVER CAN HELP. AND THERE IS NO REASON FOR NOT TAKING ALONG HIS PC AND CELL PHONE FOR THE UNINTERESTING PORTIONS OF THE JOURNEY.
dakotafredNor is it only the kids. On that same trip, I enjoyed a drink or two in the lobby of Chicago's Palmer House taking in the scene. A group of middle-aged and older businessmen were on the adjacent sofas, talking shop. At every lapse in the conversation, as if in response to a radio signal, all pulled phones out their pockets and began clicking away.
On that subject. Some of that is idiots in todays business world (especially the Sales area) that insist that every email is so important you should read each one as it comes in no matter when. I told one of the sales Execs at the firm I'm only checking Email twice a day and only during business hours and if he has something more urgent to call or text me. He flew into a rage at that but my boss backed me up. Bottom lines, some of the constant checking of smart phones are from people too scared to challenge the idiots in the Business world today. Some Sales people expect everyone to work 24 by 7 because they feel they have to do it themselves. If I am not explicitly paid for it......it ain't happening.
The Sales Exec I challenged, later left the company in a huff. He was doing really ignorant other things like scheduling business meetings for Monday mornings at 7:00 a.m. and sending the meeting notice out Sunday night (then would curse about the folks that missed the meeting). Or else send out a MUST READ Email on Saturday evening.............all the meetings and emails were unnecessary from my point of view and I ignored a lot of them. No impact on business, only impacted this guys blood pressure.
daveklepper I DOUBT THAT A TEENAGER SITTING IN THE FRONT SEAAT OF A DOME WOULD BE BORED. OF COURSE SCENERY LIKE THAT BETWEEN SALAT LAKE CITY AND DENVER CAN HELP. AND THERE IS NO REASON FOR NOT TAKING ALONG HIS PC AND CELL PHONE FOR THE UNINTERESTING PORTIONS OF THE JOURNEY.
Maybe they shouldn't be bored, but most tweens, teens and twenty-somethings might have a look for about 20 minutes at the most. Sitting on an LD train 20-40 hours would be like a prison sentence for many. Watch them (in US). Even in groups, they are often texting -- including each other -- rather than conversing. Changing times!
What dome cars? The only one left is the rarely used ex-GN Ocean View, a Great Dome car. Superliner lounges and sightseer lounges are not really domes.
Dakguy201 daveklepper I DOUBT THAT A TEENAGER SITTING IN THE FRONT SEAAT OF A DOME WOULD BE BORED. OF COURSE SCENERY LIKE THAT BETWEEN SALAT LAKE CITY AND DENVER CAN HELP. AND THERE IS NO REASON FOR NOT TAKING ALONG HIS PC AND CELL PHONE FOR THE UNINTERESTING PORTIONS OF THE JOURNEY. Between Denver and Salt Lake a large portion of the route is along the Colorado River. In season, the river is used for numerous floating/rafting/white water experiences. It is now the local custom of those on the river to moon the train as it goes by. That might be of some interest to the teenagers.
By the way, it would be wonderful to have even one dome car (in a dome, you can see ahead and to the rear as well as to the sides and up) on the CZ.
Johnny
I have ridden in a dome with a bar in the middle. I would pay extra for those seats.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Deggesty By the way, it would be wonderful to have even one dome car (in a dome, you can see ahead and to the rear as well as to the sides and up) on the CZ.
schlimm Let's see, the Viewliner II order of 130 cars is for where? The new bilevels are for? The F 125s are for where? The Siemens Chargers are for?
Let's see, the Viewliner II order of 130 cars is for where? The new bilevels are for? The F 125s are for where? The Siemens Chargers are for?
Although I generally agree with the point of your post, there is some clarification required. Remember the bi levels and the chargers are a state purchase not an Amtrak one and ATK did not push for these. Amtrak did participate in the specification process as they will be operating them for the most part. (My friends at Amtrak would much rather have the Talgos on the Chicago Detroit service given all the curves on the east end.) Amtrak does have an option for some Chargers, both corridor and long distance (bigger fuel tanks) but I haven't heard that they exercised any of this option.
I'm curious about the F125 order, last I heard ther were 20 firm and 20 options for LA, are there more?
BuslistI'm curious about the F125 order, last I heard ther were 20 firm and 20 options for LA, are there more?
Clarification noted.
40 years? Acela revenue service started Dec. 11, 2000. Amtrak started May 1, 1971.
rrlinemanACELA...Amtrak Customers Expect Late Arrivals...... 40 yrs this month
I was going to call your retronym a base canard, but I see from the Amtrak website that Acela's on-time record in June 2016 was indeed a mediocre 81.1%.
Maybe if the corridor's cat and power supply were up-to-date and more reliable, there would be fewer delays?http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/743/t/219281.aspx
schlimm Maybe if the corridor's cat and power supply were up-to-date and more reliable, there would be fewer delays? http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/743/t/219281.aspx
Going back to the first item, when did the Amtrak BoD meet? Was the issue of a contract taken up?
Or is the meeting in the future? Anyone know the date?
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