Vol. 1, No. 15 - December 10, 2004
- All of the most experienced fascists, Communists (and the occasional socialist, when convenient) throughout history have always made the case that when you tell a lie long enough and often enough, and cloak it in a guise of official communication, eventually it will be believed and come to be gospel.
Amtrak and its various attendant wholly owned lapdog organizations throughout the country have successfully followed this same strategy, with great success, claiming the junk science conclusions of the 1950s about regional passenger rail corridors being more desirable and productive than long distance trains is true, when, in truth, the exact opposite is true.
As a result of this, along with Amtrak’s annual begfest for free federal money, many ill-informed and otherwise learned people are calling Amtrak’s funding priorities for the national system a disgrace, and instead, are saying that creaky bridges in Connecticut along the Northeast Corridor (which mainly open and close for the benefit of ultra wealthy yacht owners who keep their leisure craft at marinas on the rivers) should be slated for replacement instead of spending money on “empty trains” in the national system.
Obviously, the lie of Amtrak’s Transit Trio of Downs, Warrington, and Gunn, along with the unconscionable long term actions of the various attendant wholly owned lapdog organizations who seem to be more motivated by Amtrak’s manipulations, cash payoffs, and Amtrak free transportation than common sense, is coming home to roost.
The most viable part of Amtrak, with the greatest potential for success and self-reliance is being called for discontinuance in favor of the part of Amtrak that serves the least number of states and potentially the least number of passengers. Those alleged “empty trains” routinely carry half of Amtrak’s annual riders (more than 10 million) on lengthy trips that generate high revenue dollars and cost much less to operate than the Northeast Corridor.
It’s going to take years to undo these lies and accompanying poor strategy. Amtrak’s mission is a national mission, not one to operate selected corridors in selected states.
The hope has to rest with the new board of directors, that, in their stewardship of Amtrak’s future, they will chart a course that includes national service, not just regional service. In the meantime, the board needs to take a very strong internal stance with Amtrak’s hired help management, and make them understand that Amtrak’s mission stretches beyond the northern half of the original 13 colonies and the left coast including the Republic of California.
And, by the way, just for good measure, some of the national system critics bemoan that Amtrak has spent money fixing long distance sleeping cars instead of fixing bridges on the NEC. What did Amtrak actually spend on these sleeping cars? Just $15.7 million in FY 2004. What did Amtrak spend on repairing the NEC? $387 million. Yes, everyone can see that slavish spending on the national system is draining precious resources away from the NEC. You can always tell true greed when they first get all of bread, and then want the crumbs, too.
- Those with a socialist bent, who believe that government can always do things better than private industry or personal motivation, always sneer with the same answer when someone suggests that privatizing some Amtrak operations may be beneficial: “Well, if running passenger trains can be profitable, why aren’t the freight railroads doing that, now?” Well, they just might be doing that soon, according the an article this week in Railway Age magazine.
David Goode, the longtime Norfolk Southern Chairman and CEO spoke at a conference sponsored by Railway Age and willingly left the impression that under the right circumstance, NS and other freight railroads may be willing to undertake some passenger operations, citing the changes in business climate, a better understanding of the potential of passenger rail, and a desire for maximum utilization of railroad assets.
Don’t forget that the new operator of Southern California’s commuter rail system, taking over from Amtrak in July of 2005, will be using BNSF train and engine crews to operate the regional system.
Money talks, rhetoric walks.
- The Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota urban area has had a successful addition to its short, but popular regional light rail line. The last four miles of a 12 mile system opened last week to great popularity, with over 87,000 riders for Saturday and Sunday. Why is this important? Because it demonstrates that when rail projects are good rail projects (such as the Dallas, Texas area regional rail system, also), they not only will be popular, but successful in many ways. Everyone know that not all rail projects are good projects, and these projects hurt all of the others. Rail for the sake is rail is not always the best answer to a given problem.
Beyond all of that, local and regional rail does play an important role with Amtrak and the national system. These local and regional systems serve as good feeders into Amtrak. Do not confuse the two, however. Transit is transit, and long distance passenger rail is long distance passenger rail, two completely different operations. However, one can be complementary of the other.
- News reports from Iowa at the end of November indicate that ridership is up seven percent at the six Amtrak stations in Iowa, all part of the national system, despite continually, horribly late trains. Perhaps the not so hidden message here is that even outside of the NEC, Americans like to ride trains whenever available. Imagine that, and not a corridor train in sight. The helpful information, which was not released, would have been how this increase in riders increased revenue passenger miles, not merely warm bodies on trains.
- Canadian National Railway, which now calls itself North America’s Railroad, has renamed its underwater railroad tunnel between Canada and the United States the Paul M. Tellier Tunnel. Opened in 1995 as the St. Clair Tunnel, it runs under the St. Clair River between Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan.
Mr. Tellier was the brilliant President and CEO of CN from 1992 to 2002. Here’s some background and why his stewardship of CN was so important. Mr. Tellier was a government appointee to head CN, which at the time was a Canadian Crown Corporation (the same status as Amtrak under U.S. government ownership, and the former status of Conrail when it was originally nationalized). CN was a powerful Canadian railroad, spanning the continent from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Prince Rupert and Vancouver, British Columbia. CN, previously under the stewardship of its longtime highly regarded president, Ron Lawless, who retired after a lengthy career with CN after starting as a young man working in one of the railroad’s baggage rooms, was always the “second” Canadian railroad, after the privately owned and roaringly successful Canadian Pacific. At the time of his original appointment, everyone wondered how Mr. Tellier would follow in the shadow of Mr. Lawless. As it turns out, he followed brilliantly and flawlessly.
Not only did Mr. Tellier take an out of shape organization and whip it into a good healthy state, but he also rationalized his system, shedding some lines to short line operators, and strategically expanded, by merging the Illinois Central Railroad into CN, creating a North American behemoth that now not only served Chicago, but all the way down the middle of America to New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, both important sea ports. Along the way, he also privatized CN, in the best image of Conrail, taking it out of government hands and making it wildly profitable. Just as the transcontinental railroad builders of Canada in the 19th Century have become national icons, so will Mr. Tellier when the history books fully record his accomplishments.
Today, Mr. Tellier is head of Bombardier, the international rail car and jet airplane builder, headquartered in Canada. Bombardier, considered by most to be the best rail car builder in the world, is prospering well under Mr. Tellier’s leadership. A tunnel under a river on an international border is nice recognition for Mr. Tellier, but there will be many more accolades to come in the future.
CN, by the way, happily hosts most of VIA Rail Canada’s trains (during the tenure of Ron Lawless, he served in a dual capacity as president of both VIA and CN).