United Rail Passenger Alliance

Vol. 1, No. 7 - October 14, 2004

1. It’s often true that no good deed goes unpunished. Amtrak is the good deed doer in this case, allowing the Rx Express to run between Miami and Toronto. The Rx Express is a media stunt, consisting of two private cars hooked on the back of the Silver Meteor and the Adirondack, carrying a contingent of senior citizens in a quest to garner publicity about the U.S. government prohibition against the importation of prescription drugs from Canada. The charge by the organizers of the Rx Express is that Amtrak is not letting them talk to the press along the way (only north of New York City), thus denying the group its opportunity at all the publicity it can garner in its quest to break federal law.

   So, let’s take a quick inventory. Here’s Amtrak, allowing a group to run private cars on the back of regularly scheduled trains, with an obligation to keep the trains running on time, and meet the needs of paying passengers. Here’s a well-financed group of activist senior citizens, intent on breaking federal law to draw publicity to themselves, and for their cause. If this group is intent on overthrowing federal law, do you think it is going to care about Amtrak regulations? Probably not. In this one, Amtrak comes out looking like the loser when it tried to accommodate a private group. Amtrak is right, and the activist senior citizens are wrong.

2. There is some good news and some typical news. The good news is that Amtrak has opened its new Oakland, California maintenance facility, a shiny new gem to help keep the trains running. It has all of the latest bells and whistles (so to speak), and helps solve some conflicts with Union Pacific over the old, worn out and outdated facility.

   The typical news is that the new facility, which will be the western maintenance base for the California Zephyr (a national system train) doesn’t have a long enough track to maintain a full set of Superliner equipment for the Zephyr. It seems broad picture planning was limited to California corridor trains, with little or no consideration for national system trains.

3. The latest whine that Amtrak is serving with cheese is the lament that those mean, nasty and hateful discount airlines are eating Amtrak’s lunch on some routes. This terrible competition is taking valuable passengers away from Amtrak, causing untold problems and the need for more free federal money.

   Uh, let’s see here. These same airlines, which have to raise their own capital, are expected to pay stockholder dividends as a result of operating at a profit, and - horrors - actually have to pay interest on borrowed monies, plus pay all sorts of taxes that Amtrak is exempt from paying on the local, state, and federal levels, are taking business away from federally subsidized Amtrak?

   What Amtrak continually fails to realize is that Amtrak has only one competitor: itself. Amtrak does not compete for passengers from airlines, busses, or private automobiles. It only competes with itself in the overall scheme of things.

   In a balanced domestic transportation network, there is demand for every type of transportation, including passenger rail and even riverboat travel, as the Delta Queen has aptly demonstrated. There will always be a high demand for air travel, because of the time factor. And, there will also be a high demand for private automobile transportation because of the convenience factor. There is great pent up demand for passenger rail travel amongst those that CHOOSE to travel by rail for whatever reason, be it fear of flying, dislike of driving, or choice of the uniqueness and convenience of passenger rail. There is very little elasticity between the different modes of travel in the long run. Long distance trains have a given market, and corridor trains have a given market. The secret is to unleash the potential of each.

   The unlocking of the secret is as simple as an aggressive and well-executed marketing and public relations campaign that extols the virtue of passenger rail travel. Amtrak has been misguided in its advertising, merely advertising destinations and price, while trying to hide the fact that travel involves riding a train.

   Most of the traveling public has moved beyond rail travel of the post World War II era, when ratty open section Pullman cars dominated, and heavy weight coaches rattled down the rails. Most people choosing travel by Amtrak have little or no prior expectations when boarding a train, other than the Amtrak experience. That’s why good customer service and good marketing are critical. For most travelers, Amtrak has a clean slate to make a good impression on its customers. The only one to blame for unhappy passengers is Amtrak, and no one else.

4. National elections are less than three weeks away. It’s important that everyone vote, no matter who their candidates of choice. The importance of this election goes miles and miles beyond Amtrak, which has essentially become a non-partisan issue. The critical issues facing voters will shape the future of our country for at least a generation. When choosing your candidates, please, consider the big picture for everything. The world does not revolve around Amtrak and who its supporters may or may not be.

   This atmosphere does, however, offer a good opportunity to take a look at some of the highlights and lowlights of Amtrak’s history, and what happened during the various administration of White House occupants. This list is not intended to be complete; please feel free to add your own items to the list.

   Democrats occupied the White House from 1977 to 1980, and 1993 to 2000. Republicans occupied the White House from 1968 to 1976, 1981 to 1992, and 2001 to present.

   Under Republican administrations: Amtrak is created and begins operations, May 1, 1971 Amfleet I cars are ordered Superliner I cars ordered F 40 locomotives ordered NEC sold to Amtrak HEP upgrading of equipment to be compatible with Amfleet I cars begins David Stockman, President Reagan’s budget director, suggests Amtrak budget be zeroed out of the federal budget; President Reagan makes speech suggesting that it would be cheaper to pay every Amtrak passenger money instead of operating the railroad. Horizon cars ordered Superliner II cars ordered Kentucky Cardinal and Janesville Rocket services are discontinued. The Palmetto is restructured, abandoning Florida service on the route, and the Three Rivers is slated for discontinuance. Amtrak receives highest annual amounts of free federal money in the company’s history during the Bush II administration.

   Under Democrat administrations: Amfleet II cars ordered Viewliners ordered Pacific Surfliners ordered Acela trainsets ordered Oklahoma finally has the benefit of Amtrak service. Tom Downs, the first of the Transit Trio presidents of Amtrak is hired, setting off the worst downward spiral in the company’s financial health. Amtrak Reform Board is appointed, which approves of the programs of Tom Downs, and later hires both George Warrington and David Gunn. 1979 Trainoffs occur, to date the largest in the company’s history. Downs trainoffs and service reductions occur, dwarfing the 1979 cuts. TRA money, amounting to more than $2 billion flows to Amtrak.

   This is intended as only a partial list. The point is, Amtrak has become a mostly non-partisan issue. The real focus isn’t on who is in the White House or Congress, but who sits on the board of directors of Amtrak. These are the people who hold the keys to the kingdom.