United Rail Passenger Alliance

Volume 5 Number 8

1. This came floating over the This Week at Amtrak transom from an Amtrak employee, and it’s too important to ignore. This message clearly demonstrates how very dedicated so many Amtrak workers are to their jobs and good passenger service, but are unable to perform because their own company — which demands much from them — will not provide them with the right tools and environment to do their jobs. Read more…

Volume 5 Number 7

COAST STARLIGHT LATE UPDATE: The Los Angeles Times reported at 10 P.M. EST February 19, 2008: Amtrak officials said they will provide coach service between Sacramento and Portland, Oregon, starting February 29th. From Portland, riders can connect with the Cascades service to Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia. Only coach-class service is available, with no dining service provided.

Read more…

Volume 5 Number 6

1. (Yawn) It’s that time of year when all sorts of ill-informed people run amuck over Amtrak’s free federal money request. (Gasp!) President Bush, in his final budget request to Congress has requested $900 million for Amtrak, as opposed to the $1.3 billion Amtrak received during the current budget year from the national money trough. While various organizations which support Amtrak for all of the wrong reasons and in all of the wrong ways cry “the sky is falling and the Earth is rushing up to meet it” the wrong headline is being used. Read more…

Volume 5 Number 5

1. Half of a train is better than no train. Amtrak has reversed its decision on annulment of the Coast Starlight due to the mudslide blocking the Union Pacific mainline tracks near Chemult, Oregon. Read more…

Volume 5 Number 4

1. When we last left our thrilling story, we were all breathlessly waiting to hear whether or not Amtrak would reverse its stance on the annulment of the Coast Starlight on its entire 1,377 mile route because of a winter mudslide in January in a remote part of Oregon. Read more…

Volume 5 Number 3

1. Where to begin? There are so many choices. — Someone must have successfully been hitting Amtrak with a “stupid stick,” because Amtrak is doing something really stupid and unforgivable. — Amtrak clearly doesn’t take its mission of providing reliable, national passenger rail service seriously. It obviously has no intention of ever being a successful organization. — We’ve been horrified to see what happened to the east end of the Sunset Limited since Hurricane Katrina blew ashore, and now, could we be seeing a repeat performance with the Coast Starlight and the Oregon mudslide? — Once again, we’re seeing the direct result of Amtrak being a child of government, with a mentality of serving its passengers only when convenient for the operating department, and not worrying about maintaining market share, its franchise with the public, or running trains which are already paid for annually by continuing doses of free federal monies. Amtrak just can’t help proving for itself how irrelevant it is in the national transportation marketplace.
2. Here’s the Amtrak service disruption notice that started this whole, unholy mess. Read more…

Volume 5 Number 2

1. EVERYONE involved in the process should hang their heads in shame. Some people may be smiling on the surface, but that only covers the long-lasting damage which has been done. Read more…

Volume 5 Number 1

1. Great, wonderful, progress! Amtrak has figured out the high value of its timetables in the world of marketing, and has started soliciting paid outside ads. The ads now appear in the Fall and Winter 2007-08 national timetables. Overall, Amtrak prints something close to a million timetables a year (including all of the individual route timetables and wallet corridor timetables), and has been doing so almost solely at its own expense for years. Read more…

Volume 4 Number 39

1. “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will themselves not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die.” — Daniel Burnham, architect of Washington Union Station, El Paso (Texas) Union Depot and other notable structures
2. First, background from a notable Washington Wag about the beginnings of Amtrak and the original intentions of Amtrak’s creators. Read more…

1. Amtrak has a new chairman of the board, and it’s a lady for the first time. Here’s the news release from Amtrak. Read more…