by Andrew C. Selden, Minneapolis, MN
Too many rail advocates, private individuals and public sector employees alike, hobble the advancement of rail passenger service in the U.S. by viewing trains from a classic socialist point of view: rail passenger service should be (“must be”) provided in any given market by a single provider, using other peoples’ money, applied through a centralized planning and administrative process. Lip service is paid to consumer preference, but infrequently and grudgingly. The planners “know” that rail is “good” and they know where and how it is best deployed.
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by Dennis McDonald
During the Second World War the British Government took control of the nation’s railways. The first priority was to assist the war effort, and primary function of the railways became to shift men, equipment, or materials to achieve this. Civilian trains did however still run, both passenger and freight, and attempts were made to provide as normal a service as possible to the public.
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Comments by Noel Braymer, RailPAC President.Published in the Western Rail Passenger Review, March 2002
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by Andrew C. Selden
There has been much discussion lately about the comparative virtues of short corridors versus longer distance inter-regional services. The conventional view, that short corridors have higher potential profitability, is widely shared but has little basis in fact. Let us consider some of the conventional myths. Read more…
by Dennis Larson, 23 November 2001
During some miscellaneous travels sorting through the local spreadsheet some interesting Amtrak and airline numbers are appearing – all from FY 1999.
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“URPA will continue on its present course of providing viable solutions for issues regarding passenger rail in North America.
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Originally posted to the All-Aboard email list
As a thought, both the Southern and Rio Grande stayed out of Amtrak in the beginning; even the staid Seaboard Coast Line wasn’t doing poorly running the Florida trains and many have said SCL thought long and hard before jumping into Amtrak.
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The following questions were found by Mr. Selden’s research staff on the Internet along with the following note. Read more…
[Originally posted to the All-Aboard email list]
Enough first-hand industry sources have now confirmed Amtrak’s plans to slash its outside sales force and cut travel agency commissions in half to move beyond the speculation point of view.
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[Originally posted to the All-Aboard email list]
A gentleman on our list asked several questions about VIA service in Canada. Eight years ago I led a project that took VIA apart and put it back together again on paper for the purpose of privatizing the company. Our final report presented to Prime Minister Mulroney’s federal government ran about 800 pages, complete with timetables, marketing plans, and a review of union contracts, among many other topics.
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