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Stats: Empire Builder vs. Hiawatha

July 20th, 2008 wlindley Comments off

A comparison of the Empire Builder to the Hiawatha Service trains:

F.Y. 2007 Empire
Builder
Hiawatha
Service
Endpoint departures per day 1 7
Route Length, miles 2,200 86
Total Revenue $53,177,800 $10,230,000
Revenue Passenger Miles 390,824,000 47,619,000
Passengers 505,000 593,000
Average Trip Length, miles 773.9 80
Load Factor 60.7% 37.7%
Revenue per Passenger-Mile $0.1361 $0.2148
Average Passengers per mile 206.7 110.7

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Dr. Adrian Herzog on the Matrix Theory (Part 2)

April 13th, 2007 wlindley Comments off

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Dr. Adrian Herzog on the Matrix Theory

April 4th, 2007 wlindley Comments off

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Andrew Selden Explains the Value of Long Distance Trains

March 28th, 2007 wlindley Comments off

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Byron Nordberg Remembered

January 30th, 2007 wlindley Comments off

January 30th marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of Byron Nordberg. Called the “heart and soul” of RailPAC, his influence on Rail Passenger service is still being felt nation wide. Read more…

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2006: Andrew Selden sees a new year to fix old problems and bad perceptions

December 31st, 2005 wlindley Comments off

Andrew Selden offers three examples of Amtrak problem areas that are not only hurting the company, but hurting America’s domestic transportation network as well. These examples highlight why Amtrak’s national long distance system is the most important part of Amtrak.

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Gilbert Carmichael: A Distinguished American Speaks About Amtrak Reform

November 21st, 2005 wlindley Comments off

Many distinguished Americans have become part of the debate on the future of Amtrak.

One of the most venerable voices in the debate is that of Gilbert Carmichael of Meridian, Mississippi, former Federal Railroad Administrator, and former Chairman of the Amtrak Reform Council. Mr. Carmichael shares his thoughts below:

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Amtrak can flourish in the post-David Gunn era

November 10th, 2005 wlindley Comments off

By Andrew Selden,
Vice President, Law and Policy
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

November 10, 2005

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Manufactured Hysteria Is Flying Over Subtle And Proper Changes For The Northeast Corridor

October 14th, 2005 wlindley Comments off

By Andrew Selden, Vice President, URPA October 14, 2005The Amtrak Board’s initiative to reorganize the internal structure of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation – Amtrak’s real name – by separating the NEC infrastructure into a new, separate, subsidiary of NRPC, is a standard corporate technique to focus management resources – both capital and management attention – on core functions and avoid distraction and dissipation of both time and money.

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Amtrak in Perspective

October 1st, 2005 wlindley Comments off

by Bruce Richardson, October 2005

The passenger train in the 20th Century was shining symbol of the success of capitalism, a point of pride for private enterprise. How did this American icon go from being a showcase for a huge and successful industry to a welfare stepchild of government?

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