United Rail Passenger Alliance

Volume 2, Number 2

Too many people are familiar with the tragedy of co-dependency, an abnormal condition where often a physically or emotionally battered spouse or mate stays or keeps going back to someone who is abusing them. The co-dependent person thinks they are acting and behaving rationally, and they “really do love” the person who is doing the abuse. It’s a sad, sad condition which is heartbreaking for those around someone who is co-dependent, because no matter how much you try and help them, they keep running back for more abuse.

It’s much like the situation between Amtrak and its legions of True Believers who refuse to see the forest for the trees, and, in many instances, want to embrace something new and better, but are unable to do so because of so many decades of Amtrak and its wholly owned lapdog organizations propaganda which have somehow convinced nearly an entire nation of otherwise rational people to believe Amtrak is the only – and single, with no exception – choice for passenger rail service in America.

Here at Business and Politics of Passenger Rail and sister publication This Week at Amtrak we receive lots of mail after each issue. Every one of us involved in these publications deeply appreciates the time and effort someone takes to send perhaps a quick note agreeing with us, or a longer missive providing some detail as to why we are not only wrong, but obviously it was a result of disagreeable breeding on the part of our ancestors. Then, there’s the one gentleman who has the answer to every problem: it’s all the Republicans’ fault, no matter what the issue.

It doesn’t matter what the message, all are welcome and each one is read and internally commented upon. If you’re dedicated enough to be a regular reader of this space and wish to comment – good or bad – more power to you, and thank you for your efforts.

What the latest batch of mail regarding the most recent issue of Business and Politics and thoughts about future passenger train operators in a post-Amtrak monopoly demonstrated is how much some folks are like a beaten puppy; there’s a ray of happiness just from being a puppy, but a belief nothing can be accomplished beyond what Amtrak deems possible simply because, well, Amtrak has said so.

One thing Amtrak has seldom done – and everyone who is not Amtrak routinely does – is plan for success.

It’s not a difficult concept or process, it merely requires a positive disposition and the ability to think like a rational business person.

If you are a true student of passenger rail, and you do your own research and draw conclusions with an open mind, then everything proposed in the last issue of Business and Politics is not only possible, but desirable. Most of the items related to improved customer/passenger service, where the needs of the current and potential passengers are forefront, as opposed to the needs of the company.

When passengers are happy, they return.

One gentleman correspondent pointed out that concept isn’t working very well for the airlines, so why should it be expected in passenger rail?

An excellent point. Let us digress for a moment.

In the early days of air travel, until the arrival of the airline known as People’s Express, air travel was considered an occasion for good customer service, dressing well for travel, and high expectations of comfort and reliability.

The, People’s Express arrived, bringing Greyhound-style service to an airport near you.

From that point on – whether by great coincidence due to changes in society or the opening of the floodgates – flying started to become more of a chore than a pleasure. From the last days of the venerable Eastern Air Lines with its surly cabin crews, to the constant downgrading of personal space as seats kept getting smaller and smaller and leg space pretty well completely disappeared, to the cattle calls of Southwest, airline travel simply deteriorated as a travel experience. Add the tender ministrations of the Transportation Security Administration when it checks every grandmother in a wheelchair to see if she’s a terrorist, and air travel is hardly bearable.

Which is why there is such a huge opportunity for passenger rail travel.

Despite the fact some passengers on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor who are professional worry-warts fret constantly every passenger isn’t screened for terrorist devices (an always comical suggestion), passenger train travel has the ability to be very pleasant, from start to finished, especially when a well-prepared crew is aboard.

This is a major marketing and sales point that is a gift from the airlines to passenger trains, and not to be taken lightly.

The other obvious advantages of trains: walking around space, dining and lounge cars, easy handling of excess baggage, the ability to create multiple classes of service on each train, and, of course, the ability to serve cities and towns in the middle of town, not some far-off former corn field that has become an airport miles out of town, all make creating a pleasant and marketable experience for train operators.

The other trick in planning for success is planning for realistic marketing. Amtrak’s allocation of resources to marketing is so small, in many parts of the country where the company’s best performing trains serve, there is no marketing at all. Amtrak remains America’s best kept secret.

Planning for success includes planning for robust marketing and sales.

One Business and Politics reader brought up the question of Amtrak having multiple frequencies on each of its existing long distance routes. The huge advantages of this are obvious: the spreading of station costs across more frequencies, and more and better travel choices for passengers are just two.

But, Amtrak True Believers and the various WOLOs instantly point out at least a dozen bad reasons why this can’t be accomplished, from “no equipment available” to “the host railroads would never allow it.”

Both of those excuses are right up there with the standard Amtrak excuse, “the dog ate my homework.”

No equipment available? Find some to lease, or place an order with a car builder for leased equipment. That’s what the airlines do; why can’t Amtrak?

The host railroad won’t allow it? The law says they have to allow it; everything comes down to a matter of negotiation.

Why are Amtrak True Believers and WOLOs so very timid when it comes to Amtrak or passenger rail expansion? Everybody claims they want more trains to more places, but throw up their hands in despair when it comes to figuring out how to do it.

The corporate mind-set at Amtrak is to “maintain, and not do much more.” The past half a dozen Amtrak presidents have all talked about maintaining the long distance route networks, but rarely have talked about expanding that network. Why? The old chestnut about no money for expansion? Did anybody ask anybody about that? Did Amtrak management EVER go to Congress with an aggressive plan to expand the long distance system as we know it today, along with a financing plan and say, “Mr./Ms. Banker (Member of Congress), we have a plan for expansion which will benefit you and your state/district, and we’d like to discuss how to make this a reality.”

Here’s another example of the mind-set which has been created.

Here in Florida, debate has been going on for three gubernatorial administrations about restoring passenger train service to the Florida East Coast Railway route between Jacksonville and West Palm Beach. It’s the fastest, straightest route to Miami and the riches of Florida’s Gold Coast. Passenger service has been missing since the violent, bomb-infested strike of the early 1960s. Before the strike, the FEC hosted all of the Miami-bound Atlantic Coast Line streamliners including the East Coast Champion and the seasonal Florida Special, as well as the Havana Special (pre-Castro), and the Chicago/Midwest trains, the Dixieland, South Wind, City of Miami, and Royal Palm. This is a railroad which was principally built for passenger business, and entire cities all along the Florida coast were developed for the winter tourist trade.

The State of Florida has put up over $100 million to make this happen. Two levels of service are proposed; extending one of the existing Florida service trains over the route by splitting it in Jacksonville, and then intra-Florida service between Miami and Jacksonville.

The Florida Department of Transportation has taken a somewhat relaxed public view of all of this, and appears content to allow Amtrak to make a series of demands for this new service without objection. The FDOT seems to believe its only obligation to the taxpayers of Florida is to be a money conduit for state funds.

There seems to be very little interest in establishing this service independently, even though the FEC is a well-run, well-managed railroad, and could probably operate the service at a lower cost than what Amtrak will try and extort to start the service.

Never forget that in any given situation when it comes to corridor or regional service, Amtrak is ALWAYS the highest bidder to operate a service.

Here in Florida, nobody seems to be chatting with any of the members of the Association of Independent Passenger Rail Operators (AIPRO, www.passengerrail.org) to see if some sort of hybrid service can be put together, with a lower cost operator of intra-state service, and still being able to host an Amtrak long distance service. Why is this?

Planning for success is not difficult, and it’s a rational thing to do. It’s taken 40 years for the national mind-set to come to incorrectly believe only Amtrak is capable of running a passenger train in these several united states. How long is it going to take to wake everyone up and realize the potential opportunities are nearly endless?

Gil Carmichael, former FRA Administrator during the Bush I years, and former Chairman of the Amtrak Reform Council, as well as the Founding Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Intermodal Transportation Institute at the University of Denver has started a new series of reports, entitled the Gil Carmichael Report, Investing in Interstate 2.0. The reports are free, informative, and a must read for anyone serious about the future of railroads in the United States. Contact the report distributor at geoff@jdmandassociates.com for your very own copy.

J. Craig Thorpe, noted Amtrak and railroad illustrator is available for all railroads, railroad-related companies, and organizations for his dramatic illustrations on a custom basis. Mr. Thorpe’s impressive gallery of work and contacts for engagement may be viewed on his web site.