This Week At Amtrak 2007-11-02
Volume 4 Number 37
- National Review Online ran an article by staff reporter David Freddoso November 1st recounting his exploits as an Amtrak passenger, and all of the reasons he can think of to discontinue Amtrak’s subsidies. While Mr. Freddoso does get some of his points correct, Dr. Paul Wilson send him a reply with a better set of facts presented. Here is Dr. Wilson’s reply to Mr. Freddoso.
Dear Mr. Freddoso,
I read your NRO piece (”Money Train: Another subsidy, no real reforms for Amtrak” (November 1, 2007) with much interest and I can certainly sympathize with your experience in South Bend. Chronic tardiness and poor service are a lamentable hallmark of Amtrak. The reasons vary. Weather aside, some of the blame lies with the freight carriers, as Amtrak is only a tenant on most of its routes. The second, and far more significant reason, is 35 years of failed investment priorities and stifled growth. On a national basis Amtrak has a smaller market share than motorcycles. I’m not making that up. http://www.unitedrail.org/2005/11/10/amtrak-can-flourish-in-the-post-david-gunn-era/
It is not a stingy federal government — as many Amtrak boosters would have you believe — but Amtrak itself that is largely to blame for these woes. As you rightly point out, Amtrak has received upwards of $40 billion since its inception in 1971. It has a skeletal (and shrinking) system to show for it. Not only is it skeletal, but it is poorly coordinated and grossly inefficient. In the Northeast we have a bloated jobs and commuter rail program masquerading as an intercity high-speed railroad. Elsewhere, there are a handful of short corridors (many operated on a cost-plus basis for the states, i.e., gravy for Amtrak) and a dozen or so long-distance routes. Given the mare’s nest that is Amtrak’s accounting, many have wrongly concluded the handful of long-distance services are the source of the red ink. For this to be true, the losses would have to be simply staggering to account for the hundreds of millions of dollars Amtrak admits it loses on operations. I submit the operating losses are in fact far higher, given that Amtrak is very free and easy with how it categorizes its “capital” spending. A time-honored tradition at Amtrak is re-classifying operating expenses as dubious long-term capital expenditures. In short, Amtrak eats its own seed corn year after year funding the high-cost rail (synonymous with high-speed rail) that typifies the Northeast Corridor.
The bottom line is Amtrak is given more than a billion dollars a year, largely free and clear. It can either choose to continue its profligate ways, putting discretionary investment dollars into a failed strategy — a strategy utterly incapable of earning a positive return on investment — or it can choose to change. The change, I submit, is to jettison its ownership position on the Northeast Corridor (NEC). Once freed of the burden of owning the NEC, Amtrak can build a true national network system of clean, comfortable trains people want to ride. These trains will run largely on lines of the freight railroads and they will be market-driven. Again, the lynchpin of a successful Amtrak is spinning off the Northeast Corridor and getting Amtrak out of the railroad infrastructure business. It should be solely an operating company, akin to Virgin Rail and its competitors in the UK. We might even envision a day when Amtrak’s national monopoly is no more.
So, I would encourage you to dig a little deeper. Amtrak needs to change its focus, and it’s something Amtrak’s board can do all by itself, without further congressional micro-management and certainly without more handouts. I suggest you check out http://www.unitedrail.org. URPA is a passenger rail “think tank” of individuals all around the country who volunteer their time and expertise toward addressing these issues. In particular I commend to you the work of Dr. Adrian Herzog and Mr. Andrew Selden. On the web site you can also sign up for an email newsletter, “This Week at Amtrak,” written by URPA President Bruce Richardson.
Sincerely yours,
Paul Wilson, AIA, PhD Paul Wilson Architect PLLC Washington, DC
- A delightful young lady of Minneapolis is Peggy Herrmann, a world traveler. Ms. Herrmann took her first long distance train trip last month, as was kind enough to share her impressions with This Week at Amtrak. She rode the Empire Builder, one of Amtrak’s premier (and high revenue earning) trains.
In early October, I took my first train trip, from Minneapolis to Portland and Seattle. I was somewhat surprised at the number of passengers who boarded the train at the Minneapolis Midway Station. There were a number of families, including small children, who were traveling to the West Coast. According to the car attendant, the train was full.
The car attendant helped me get settled in my roomette, and then it was time to go to sleep. I had been forewarned that sleep would be elusive the first night, and it was true. The car attendant was very helpful to a novice rail passenger, and he was very visible throughout the trip to Portland.
The next morning, I managed to make my way to the dining car for breakfast. The menu listed five or six items. The egg dish I ordered tasted good, although I couldn’t quite place the gravy used. Lunch and dinner menus offered a decent selection of meals and desserts, and I was quite satisfied after each meal. The wait staff was pleasant and friendly. On the last morning of the trip, the breakfast offered to sleeping car passengers was dismal. I ordered a breakfast sandwich, which was not thoroughly heated.
Sleeping car passengers were invited to attend a wine and cheese tasting on Friday afternoon, and the event was well attended. Four different wines were tasted, two whites and two reds, with four different cheeses. A couple of Amtrak trivia questions were asked, and the winners received a bottle of wine each. On the return trip, this event was hosted by an employee whose infectious good mood had everyone laughing throughout the hour.
The lounge car was usually crowded, and loud. I tried to relax there and enjoy the view, but after an hour I gave up and went back to my roomette. >From Portland, I took the Amtrak Cascade service to Seattle. It was a comfortable train ride, and a fairly current movie was shown. The scenery was wonderful; I couldn’t imagine watching a movie when I could look out the windows and see the countryside go by.
The return trip from Seattle to St. Paul was as enjoyable as the outbound trip to Portland. The announcements from the dining car were more difficult to understand, and the car attendant was much less visible.
As we made our way north out of Seattle, I was fortunate enough to be on the side of the sleeping car with a view of Puget Sound. Incredible scenery. I was glad I could see Glacier Park during the earlier daylight hours. There are no words to adequately describe the views.
The dining car attendant in charge of the wine and cheese tasting event was very enthusiastic. He got the passengers involved and everyone had a good time.
Overall, my first train trip was very enjoyable. I will definitely take another trip on the Empire Builder.
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