This Week at Amtrak 2006-02-16
Volume 3 Number 9
- f you haven’t taken a look lately at VIA Rail Canada’s web site at http://www.viarail.ca do yourself a favor and see what it has to offer. VIA has positioned itself as a company which specialized in leisure, long distance travel (while still recognizing the needs of business travelers), and has tailored its web site accordingly. The site is friendly, easy to use, and chocked full of good information. There is also an extensive section on VIA executives and the company’s strategic plans and finances.
- Here is VIA’s latest press release from last week. This is a company that is not afraid to offer good passenger service and good food.
“VIA to relaunch new Easterly class in 2006 2005: A Highly Promising First Season
“Montreal, February 9, 2006 - VIA Rail Canada says that its new and improved Easterly Class: A Maritime Learning Experience, launched last June, has had a very successful first season. The learning component of the rail journey, the quality of the on-board coordinators and the theme menus offering a culinary exploration of the region, where particularly appreciated.
“Customer satisfaction ratings, gathered from May to September, exceeded expectations and showed a satisfaction level of 8.4 out of 10, a significant improvement over previous years. Operating from May to October 31, on the Ocean, VIA’s Eastern Transcontinental train, between Montreal and Halifax, customers gave particularly high marks as the Maritime Learning Experience immerses travelers in the culture of the region and celebrates its historical richness while pampering passengers with the amenities they expect from a premier class sleeper service.
“‘Our aim was to create a unique learning experience on rails that would give passengers the pleasure of discovering the Maritimes while learning a little more about the history, culture and cuisine from that part of the country,’ says Keith Moulton, Regional Director, Eastern Services. ‘It’s not about simply getting there, it’s about offering a traveling experience to our customers.’ added Mr. Moulton.
“Easterly Class learning coordinators were schooled in history and familiarised themselves with everything from regional wines to how to trap a lobster in order to properly fill the role of on-board hosts. There were also on-board displays and a complimentary route guide.
“‘It was a daring challenge but,’ says Mr. Moulton, ‘we came out on top judging from the rave reviews from travel writers and the enthusiastic feedback from passengers. All in all, it was a highly promising first season.’
“Taking customer feedback into account, VIA made modifications in 2006 to improve this service even further. For example, several new historic and geographic information vignettes have been added to the on board activities. We are also pleased to announce that the three meals are now included.
“The Easterly Class: A Maritime Learning Experience ended its first season operations on October 31, 2005 and is scheduled to start up again in May 2006.
“Customers can visit VIA’s secure Web site at http://www.viarail.ca/en_index.html to book their complete trip with one-stop shopping for trains, cars, hotels and activities. Train tickets are available at VIA stations across Canada, including self-service ticketing kiosks located at major stations in central Canada. Passengers can also book their tickets by calling 1-888 VIA-RAIL (1-888-842-7245) or through their travel agent.
“As Canada’s national passenger rail service, VIA Rail Canada’s mandate is to provide efficient, environmentally responsible and cost effective passenger transportation services, both in Canada’s busiest corridor and in remote and rural regions of the country. Serving more than 450 communities with a 14,000-kilometer network of inter-city, transcontinental and regional trains, demand for rail services continues to grow as more Canadians turn to train travel as a safe and convenient travel choice.”
- Sunday, February 12th brought a record snowstorm to the Eastern Seaboard, virtually shutting down the airlines in and out of all major airports.Amtrak and CSX, however, pretty much kept things moving. While there were some res system problems due to the storm swirling around the Philadelphia reservations center and the Riverside, California center not picking up the calls adequately, many trains kept operating up and down the NEC and on CSX and Norfolk Southern tracks.
Amtrak’s Florida trains and the Crescent all managed to make their terminals at New York Pennsylvania station less than two hours behind schedule on Monday, the 13th. Trains weren’t quite so successful the day before, however, running closer to four or five hours late, which is a great improvement over no service at all. On Sunday there was less than normal service on the NEC, causing enough disruption that last minute travelers hoping to make it to New York City from the South had their travel plans dashed. There was one departure of the northbound Silver Meteor from Miami cancelled early in the week, too. On an interesting note, a very storm related late Lakeshore Limited from New York City to Chicago prompted Amtrak to put together a Superliner consist in Chicago for the return trip to New York City, stopping the train in Albany, New York and cross-platforming passengers to a single level train for the remainder of the trip into New York’s Pennsylvania Station, which cannot accommodate Superliners. While this caused some shifting of passengers enroute from one train to another, the important fact is that it kept the service operating and fulfilled Amtrak’s obligations to its passengers.
Apparently, Amtrak interim Vice President, Transportation Jon Tainow and Acting President David Hughes are much more serious about keeping their railroad running in all weather conditions than there predecessors were in their jobs.
Here is the service bulletin CSX sent to its customers via e-mail:
“CSX Customer News
“Service Bulletin - Winter Weather Alert 0840 Eastern Time
“A Level 2 winter weather alert is in effect for CSXT’s Albany, N.Y., Division, Selkirk south and east. A Level 2 alert also applies to CSXT’s Baltimore Division from Cumberland, Md., north and east through the Shared Assets Area in New Jersey.
“The ‘Level’ definitions are listed below for reference:
- Level 1 - Substantial inclement weather conditions are being encountered (or are expected imminently) within the specified region. Scheduled service and traffic connections will be maintained as practical to the situation.
- Level 2 - Adverse weather conditions have affected the specified region. Local switching, scheduled service and normal traffic connections will be affected.
- Level 3 - Adverse weather conditions have severely affected the specified region. Only critical trains will be operated. Trains will operate on straight moves and limit use of crossover moves to the extent practical. Local switching, scheduled service, and normal traffic connections will definitely be affected.
“You can also help us serve you safely by doing the following:
- Keep the switch points clear of snow and ice so that switches can be operated safely.
- Keep the area around the switch stand clear of snow and ice.
- Clean walkway areas where the crews may need access to the facility or cars during service.
- Make sure that close clearance signs are free of snow and clearly visible for the switching crews.”
Amtrak issued service alerts, too, on its web site. Here is Amtrak’s NEC alert for Monday, February 13th, while the airports were still shut down:
“Amtrak plans to operate 12 Acela Express departures and 14 Regional departures.
“From New York to Washington and other destinations (southbound) between 7 am and 10 pm Amtrak plans to operate 12 Acela Express departures and 12 Regional departures.
“From New York to Boston and other destinations (northbound) between 7 am and 10 pm Amtrak plans to operate 6 Acela Express departures and 10 Regional departures.
“From Boston to New York, Washington and other destinations (southbound) between 7 am and 10 pm
“Amtrak plans to operate 6 Acela Express departures and 10 Regional departures. Empire Service between New York and Albany and other destinations (northbound and southbound) between 7 am and 10 pm
“Amtrak plans to operate 9 Empire Service round trips. “Keystone Service between Harrisburg and Philadelphia and other destinations (east and westbound) between 7 am and 10 pm
“Amtrak plans to operate 7 Keystone roundtrips.
“Passengers are encouraged to call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com for schedule information and train status updates.”
Both the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North in the New York region continued to operate under adverse conditions, making the best of the resources they had and at least keeping a semblance of service going. This is all welcome news. Too often in the past few years, passenger rail has failed the test as the usually reliable “all weather” form of travel. Any hint of trouble has meant a hasty retreat from meeting obligations to passengers. It must always be kept in mind that operating in adverse conditions means that railroad employees must be away from their homes and families in poor weather, leaving the families to fend for themselves. But, at the same time, when you sign up to be a railroader, you sign up to be one in bad times, as well a good. Our Canadian cousins at VIA Rail Canada have never let the worst of weather stop their operations. They plan for each winter, execute their plan, and keep trains moving, even if at maddeningly slow speeds and behind schedules. Still, they perform for their passengers. It’s good to see Amtrak doing this again, too.
- The well-respected Harris Poll from Harris Interactive, Inc. released a poll on February 8th that says Americans would like to see a larger share of passengers and freight going by rail in the future.According to Harris, the poll says commuter and long distance trains top the list of nine modes of transportation that adults would like to see “have an increasing share of passenger transportation.” On the freight side, railroads top the list of six modes of transportation adults would like to see “have an increasing share of all goods and commodities movements in the United States.”
The poll goes into a number of other interesting areas about travel, and who should be responsible for a transportation system.
The fascinating part of this poll (which was conducted in a highly accepted scientific way that covered the entire country) is that it exactly contradicts Amtrak’s past strategic plans to merely maintain, and not expand the national long distance system, and supports David Laney’s statement to the Texas Rail Advocates meeting in January that he considers the expansion of the long distance train network a possibility. This also follows URPA doctrine - and empirical financial data that the best investment for capital in Amtrak is with high revenue and revenue passenger mile producing long distance trains rather than short, regional corridors.
The public is speaking; Amtrak and its Board of Directors need to listen.