As Amtrak continues to say the right things, and to do a few as well, the logic of incrementalism is making inroads… but the “old-think” that stunted our passenger rail network for half a century hasn’t gone away yet.

Amtrak’s Fleet Plan (pdf), released at the end of February, is one of the most positive of their publications issued. Parts of it read almost as a reply to the calls to action reprinted in this column a few short months ago:

The modeling that has been undertaken to underpin this plan is based on anticipated growth in all major lines of Amtrak business, the Northeast Corridor (NEC), long distance services and state corridors (both existing and new). This approach is consistent with the goals that have been set within Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA), which reauthorizes Amtrak and establishes new programs for the development of the intercity passenger railroad system within the United States, and the experience of recent years with the increase in demand for the current services.

It cannot be emphasized enough that new equipment is a vital pre-requisite to the process of delivering enhanced passenger rail as envisioned by PRIIA. Moreover, a sustainable passenger service requires regular investment in equipment. Rebuilding existing equipment is always a temporary solution and does not save money in the long term. If passenger rail service is to be sustained and grown, equipment investment has to be accepted as part of the process…

Based upon demand analysis and the defined [lifespan] policies, Amtrak needs to buy the following equipment over the next 14 years:

• 780 single level cars
• 420 bi-level cars
• 70 electric locomotives
• 264 diesel locomotives
• 25 high speed trainsets…

That certainly counts as “saying the right thing.” According to Business Week on March 23rd, Amtrak is proceeding apace with the plan:

Amtrak, the U.S. long-distance passenger railroad, asked Congress for $446 million to begin replacing locomotives and passenger cars…

Joseph Boardman, chief executive officer of Washington- based Amtrak, told a House Appropriations Committee panel today the railroad needs to raise its budget from the requested $2.1 billion for the next fiscal year…

“Between 2002 and 2008, Amtrak increased its ridership by 32 percent without buying a single piece of new rolling stock,” Boardman testified at the transportation subcommittee hearing. “That’s a remarkable accomplishment, but one that cannot be sustained indefinitely.”

In this space previously, we have opined that Amtrak has rarely gone to Congress with a request for specific growth targets. For the first time in recent memory, they have.

(Speaking of adding service, North Carolina announced yesterday a third daily train between Raleigh and Charlotte, creating basically a train leaving each endpoint of the corridor roughly every five hours between 7am and 5pm. Service begins June 5th.)

As Amtrak makes the first moves toward expanding capacity, the high speed rail advocates have begun speaking a little about the importance of the “conventional” train as part of a matrix.  Chicago’s WBBM reported this week:

Advocates for high-speed rail passenger service, meeting in Chicago, said Saturday that this is the year to seek what they want from Washington and laid out an ambitious agenda that calls for higher-speed passenger trains nationwide…

While Harnish’s immediate goal is a true high-speed, 220 mile-an-hour, rail link between Chicago and St. Louis by 2020, he wants to see a series of other steps funded that will make Chicago the nation’s high-speed rail hub.

“Four bullet train routes, upgrading the rest of the system to at least 100 miles an hour, filling in some very key gaps and at least doubling frequency on all routes. That’s what I’d like to see,” Harnish said.

Harnish’s last point is the strongest. Certainly it would be nice to have something like the ICE, TGV, or Thalys whizzing across the Midwest, in California or Florida, or one day between Georgia and Maine (though the concept of an Augusta-Augusta train is too much alliteration for this author to contemplate); but it is the raising of average speeds, the expansion of the route matrix, and the increase from daily to multiple frequencies that will create the need for the few high-speed trains.  As we have discussed here before, running trains between two cities (oh, say, Tampa and Orlando) without connecting to downtowns, local transit, the network regional or “conventional” train service, and all the airports on the route is a recipe for failure. Projects like Wisconsin’s, connecting Madison with the Chicago hub, are the sensible ones and should be the “immediate goals” because they start serving people in a relatively few months, not ten years from now.

As to the critics, Joseph Vranich, in his 1997 book “Derailed: What went wrong and what to do about America’s passenger trains”, writes:

Amtrak’s goal of operating at 100 mph outside the Northeast Corridor was a throwback to past railroading practices. Steam engines pulling passenger trains on the Milwaukee Road and Chicago & North Western Railroads more than fifty years ago [in the 1940s] were hitting that speed, and trains elsewhere were close to it. If 100-mph trains were unable to keep their customers when airports and highways were underdeveloped, then they sure won’t build traffic in today’s competitive environment.

Let us momentarily set aside modern railroad safety requirements that have limited top speeds.

Now, a dozen years after Vranich’s remarks, you can no longer re-enact Dinah Shore seeing the U.S.A. in your 1957 Bel-Air Chevrolet because your pothole-plagued Interstate is plugged from 5am to 9pm; and if you care to endure the traffic to the airport, the demand to see your papers please and the strip-search followed by sitting in a seat that feels nine inches wide for two hours with no peanuts let alone bathroom breaks while waiting for a takeoff slot, then you can fly. Seriously — No market for convenient train service between our towns and cities?

Ronald Sheck, in his 1982 report “Amtrak 90: A Route to Success” writes,

Amtrak trains outside of the Northeast Corridor are slow not only in comparison with passenger trains operated on main-line railroads in other parts of the world, but they are frequently slower than trains two decades ago on the same routes. While more than $2 billion has been spent in upgrading the 456-mile spine of the Boston-New York-Washington Northeast Corridor for 125-mile-per-hour operation, there is no need to make an investment of that magnitude in order to bring overall passenger train speeds up to competitive levels. Figure 12 shows target end-to-end travel speeds, and some sample journey times for 1990 illustrate goals for the planning period. Speeds in these suggested ranges are considerably above automobile trip times and for journeys of up to 300 miles may equal or better aircraft times if airport-to-downtown travel is included.

Note that, almost three decades later and even after the Acela project and its further billions, there are still few miles in the Northeast Corridor that see speeds higher than 125 mph.

From his Figure 12 let us excerpt these sample goals and examples:

Long Distance   50-55 mph   Chicago-Los Angeles  40 hours
Medium Distance 60-65 mph   Los Angeles-Tucson   8 1/2 hours
Short Distance  70-75 mph   Tampa-Miami          3 3/4 hours

In 1937, Santa Fe advertised its Super Chief as making the run from Chicago to Los Angeles in “39 3/4 hours.”  In 1956, with equipment not unlike today’s trains, performance was nearly the same, leaving Chicago at 7pm and arriving L.A. the following morning at 8:30. Today’s Southwest Chief departs Chicago at 3:15pm and arrives the following morning at 8:15 — three and a half hours slower than in 1956. Yes, there route differences (especially in greater Los Angeles) and station stops have changed somewhat, but we are talking endpoints here. Sheck’s 40-hour goal should be easy, if not inexpensive, equalling the 1937 schedule one with modern technology.  Building Harnish’s Midwest network of 100-mph corridors would be a start.

Similarly, the Sunset Limited, America’s oldest name train, likewise in July 1956 left Los Angeles at 07:30pm, arriving New Orleans on the third day at 4pm. Today, Amtrak’s version leaves Los Angeles at 2:30pm — five hours earlier than 1956 — and arrives on the same third day at 2:55pm — about one hour earlier. Today’s train is four hours slower than in 1956.

Here are comments submitted by Anthony Haswell — widely known as the “Father of Amtrak” — circa 1998 to the Surface Transportation Board (“under 49 USC §24308(a), Finance Docket 33469.”) The subject at that time was the addition of Express to Amtrak’s trains, but the facts remain:

Amtrak passenger trains over many of its route-miles outside the Northeast Corridor are anything but “modern”. Amtrak trains between many city-pairs are slower than the trains operated between the same points 45 to 60 years ago.

                   Railroads' Time/MPH  Amtrak Time/MPH
City-pair            December 1941        October 1997 

New York-Chicago         16:00 / 60        18:26 / 52
New York-Pittsburgh       8:25 / 52         9:20 / 48
New York-Miami           24:00 / 58        26:25 / 53
New York-New Orleans     28:30 / 49        30:10 / 46
Washington-Chicago       15:45 / 49        18:00 / 43
Washington-Pittsburgh     6:40 / 44         7:28 / 40
Chicago-Detroit           4:45 / 60         6:00 / 47
Chicago-Cleveland         6:00 / 57         6:46 / 51
Chicago-Cincinnati        5:15 / 58         8:45 / 37
Chicago-Carbondale        4:26 / 70*        5:30 / 56
Chicago-New Orleans      15:30 / 59*       19:25 / 48
Chicago-St. Louis         4:55 / 58         5:30 / 51
Chicago-Kansas City       7:00 / 64         7:55 / 53
Chicago-Omaha             8:00 / 62         9:00 / 56
Chicago-Milwaukee         1:15 / 68         1:32 / 57
Chicago-Minneapolis       6:45 / 62         7:59 / 52
St. Louis-Fort Worth     14:55 / 50**      16:17 / 46
St. Louis-Kansas City     5:00 / 56         5:30 / 51
New Orleans-Memphis       6:30 / 61*        8:35 / 47
New Orleans-Houston       7:30 / 48**       9:13 / 39
Fort Worth-San Antonio    6:23 / 50** %     7:22 / 39
Oakland-Los Angeles       9:47 / 47        10:45 / 43
Oakland-Bakersfield       5:40 / 56         6:05 / 52
Oakland-Portland         15:00 / 47**      18:50 / 39     

* June 1948   ** June 1953  % Dallas-San Antonio
Source: Amtrak October 26, 1997 timetable
Official Guide of the Railways, 12/41, 6/48, 6/53

In some instances, there are small differences in mileage between Amtrak routes and the earlier routes. These differences were taken into account in computing the average speeds.

Some of the Amtrak trains make more stops than the fast trains of earlier years. I submit that this is not of major significance. For people travelling between endpoints or larger intermediate cities, the fact is that their train is slower today than what would have been available to them two generations ago, while air and highway transportation has improved exponentially. Furthermore, it is not unreasonable to expect that a half-century later, intercity passenger trains should be able to make more stops while at least equalling the earlier end-to-end schedule time. In at least two instances — Chicago-New Orleans and St. Louis-Kansas City — the impressive historical performance included more stops than Amtrak makes today.

Many of Amtrak’s trains have a poor on-time performance even on their slow schedules…

The timekeeping of trains like the Sunset Limited has happily improved from the dark first days of the Union Pacific – Southern Pacific merger. Amtrak can continue to improve performance by making sure their trains are always ready to leave on time; but it will be the incremental upgrades of a siding here, a straightened curve there, and a new automatic-switched station throat track to eliminate a five-minute delay, that will move the average speed upward, and whittle away the minutes between endpoints.

Stepping back to a broader picture — Passenger rail facing stiff competition from publicly subsidized highways and airlines; the need to repair and modernize the passenger fleet; a push to do more with existing trains and stations; and a productive relation with labor.  When are these headlines from? 2010? No — let us look back to 1947 and Robert R. Young, the “Populist of Wall Street” who, at that moment, controlled the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and was poised to take chairmanship of the New York Central:

“Competition on land, sea, and in the air, the steady decentralization of industry, and the carriers’ inability [primarily through regulation] to increase the price of their product as much as other prices have increased, are again working to reduce their [the railroads'] share of the national income… They have got to make money the hard way. They have got to try to expand their passenger business, the only part of their business inherently expansible…”

“…Young himself is absolutely sure the unions will come his way [on reforms] ‘Labor is with me,’ he explains airily. ‘I told them it was a choice between an efficient low-cost operation and a high-cost dying operation. They said they understood it the same way, but could never get the management to go along.’” Fortune describes how Young’s team implemented suggestion boxes, long resisted by management, and how “employees identify themselves with Young… morale of the rank and file seems remarkably high.”

Another of Young’s controlled railroads, the Pere Marquette, inaugurated its “Detroit-Grand Rapids streamliner… in August 1946; the train reversed the national trend of declining passenger revenues, hauling 76 per cent more people between Grand Rapids and Detroit than its predecessor did in the same period of 1945…”

“[Young] wants to replace practically all the Central’s fleet of 2,100 cars, of which only some 700… are of the so-called lightweight type. This would cost no less than $100 million… The Central’s present management is, to put it mildly, distinctly cool to the whole notion. ‘If Governor Dewey puts through his $200-million superhighway from New York City to Buffalo,’ President Metzman says flatly, ‘we’re bound to lose still more people to the highways.’”

As to Young’s “almost endless inventory of ideas, some pneumatic and some substantive, about passenger service… most of [them] are a bit dusty; anyone who reads Railway Age, the industry’s excellent trade paper, will recognize them readily… Yet the fact remains that whereas others only talk about their wonderful ideas and then put them on ice, Young is doing something about them, and right on the C.&O.”

– Fortune magazine, May 1947, page 96, “Mr. Young and his C.&O.”

Hold the line, please! What was that quote again?

“They have got to make money the hard way. They have got to try to expand their passenger business, the only part of their business inherently expansible…”

There you have it — Fortune at the late date of 1947 suggesting that passenger trains, run properly, could make money for the railroads. With, indeed, the caveat about publicly funded superhighways.

The operative parallel between 1947 and now is that Amtrak is asking itself the question, How can we raise revenues faster than expenses? This we could call at least “cutting their deficit” while the more optimistic among us might postulate such an idea, sufficiently nurtured, eventually resulting in phrases like “small operating profit.”

If we can stop trying to build superfast toy trains that don’t connect to anything, and keep doing what Amtrak and states like North Carolina and Wisconsin have started these past few months, then we might finally be getting something done.

1. Sometimes, the information sneaks in through the backdoor, which is fine, as long as it comes in.

   Courtesy of the United States House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, we have learned of Amtrak’s plans for new equipment.

   The United States House of Representatives, in a rush to spend more public money, has presented H.R. 2847, THE “JOBS FOR MAIN STREET ACT, 2010” which it considers to be a jobs creation bill. There is all types of transportation monies in the bill, including scads of money for Amtrak.

   Before you jump to any conclusions, this is a bill which is in progress, not a completed bill approved by both the House and Senate and sent to the president for signing. This is only a bill in progress, working its way through the legislative system.

   But, what this bill does is give us a good glimpse into Amtrak’s wish list for new equipment.

   Here’s what the bill has to say, pertaining only to Amtrak.

   AMTRAK: $800 MILLION

   H.R. 2847, the Jobs for Main Street Act, 2010: Title I, Chapter 6 of H.R. 2847 provides $800 million to Amtrak for fleet modernization, including rehabilitation of existing equipment and acquisition of new equipment such as fuel-efficient locomotives. It also strengthens Amtrak’s Buy America requirement to encourage domestic manufacturing and rehabilitation of the equipment.

   Amtrak’s equipment is aging; it is a major factor in delays. Some of Amtrak’s vehicles are more than 50 years old. The average life of a passenger rail car, depending on its usage, is 25 to 30 years. The lifespan of a locomotive is 20 to 25 years. Currently, Amtrak has 92 Heritage cars in service (which are 53 to 61 years old), 17 Metroliners (which are 42 years old), 412 Amfleet I cars (which are 32 to 35 years old), 122 Amfleet II cars (which are 28 to 29 years old), 249 Superliner I cars (which are 28 to 30 years old); 184 Superliner II cars (which are 13 to 15 years old), 97 Horizon cars (which are 19 to 20 years old), 50 Viewliners (which are 13 to 14 years old), 29 Talgo cars (which are 10 years old), 120 Acela cars (which are nine to 10 years old), and 41 Surfliners (which are seven to nine years old).

   With respect to locomotives, Amtrak has 49 AEM-7 locomotives (which are 21 to 29 years old), 18 P32’s (which are 18 years old), 18 P32DM’s (which are 11 to 14 years old), 21 F59PHI’s (which are 11 years old), 15 HHP-8’s (which are eight to 10 years old), and 207 P42’s (which are eight to 13 years old).

   Over the next five years and given adequate resources, Amtrak plans to purchase 396 new single-level vehicles for corridor service, which will replace about 95 percent of the Amfleet I vehicles; purchase 275 new single-level vehicles for long-haul service in an effort to remove all of the Heritage single-level cars and about 95 percent of the Amfleet II vehicles from service; purchase 160 new bi-level vehicles to replace 65 percent of the Superliner I cars; and purchase 100 new electric locomotives to replace the entire electric locomotive fleet. Amtrak also plans to acquire 54 new diesel locomotives, replacing 20 percent of its diesel fleet; and purchase five additional Acela trainsets and 41 new switch engines to replace the entire switcher fleet. Amtrak estimates that the effort requires capital funding of approximately $4.57 billion.

   Recovery Act Implementation: The Recovery Act provided Amtrak with $1.3 billion for capital improvements. Of the $1.3 billion, Amtrak has awarded $623 million in contracts for 350 projects. This amount represents 48 percent of the total apportionment. Other major initiatives are planned, including infrastructure improvements (such as major bridges); and improvements to rights-of-way, facilities and other structures, information management systems, and communications and signal systems. Amtrak is also making capital improvements to stations and other facilities to meet requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act; various safety and security improvements, including purchasing police equipment; and replacing concrete ties.

   Okay, while your True Believer buddy to the left of you is jumping up and down for joy at the information above, you, being a regular reader of This Week at Amtrak, and, therefore, exercise more bold caution when it comes to announcements from Amtrak or about Amtrak, take a more critical view of what you have just read.

   You realize everything above only talks about REPLACING aging equipment; none of the hyperbole above actually talks about fleet EXPANSION.

   In other words, Amtrak, if it gets the big bucks, only plans to replace its fleet, not expand its fleet. Using Amtrak’s usual bureaucratic thinking nonsense about always wanting perfect government-think scenarios because they are neat and tidy and don’t require any real thought, probably considers all of that older-hopefully-replaced equipment as upcoming surplus, to be sent to the scrap yard.

   Amtrak still hasn’t learned its lesson from its chilly cousin to the north, VIA Rail Canada, which has the majority of its fleet’s equipment older than what Amtrak is using, and they cheerfully slap a new coat of paint on it, take out some of the dents, upgrade the electronics, and keep it going down the road with great dispatch, mostly because when Budd built the stuff in the 1950s, they built is the same way other companies built Sherman tanks: virtually indestructible.

   But, no, that won’t do for Amtrak. Amtrak wants all-new, instead of new augmenting older for a blended fleet with different purposes. Heaven forbid Amtrak maintenance would have to be as clever as VIA Rail Canada maintenance.

   So, yes, it’s nice to know Amtrak does have some plan tucked away somewhere for the future. Unfortunately, that plan doesn’t call for any expansion, or any improvements. It only calls for replacements.

   Amtrak hasn’t figured out that wars are not won by just replacing dead soldiers; wars are won by determined surges making use of a combination of existing and new soldiers.

2. Did you notice the ad in the November 2009 issue of Railway Age Magazine?

   It has the unglamorous title of “Request For Proposals: 10-PCJPB-T-025 For a Rail System Operator.” Did that make you start tingling all over? No? Well, here’s why it should.

   The ad was placed by Caltrain, which operates the former Southern Pacific Railroad commuter service in and out of San Francisco and down the San Francisco Peninsula. Caltrain operates 98 trains per day, San Francisco-San Jose-Gilroy, with a total of 33 stations (including endpoint terminals). Included in the system is the famed Silicon Valley. The system has 77 miles of track with a top speed of 79 M.P.H. Caltrain carries on average, 39,000 passengers a day on weekdays.

   This is not an inconsequential system; there are 29 locomotives and 110 passenger cars.

   Let’s look at Amtrak in California; Amtrak’s biggest state cash cow. Amtrak takes in State of California (Caltrans) revenues for operating costs for the Capitols, San Joaquins, Pacific Surfliners, and, now Southern California’s Metrolink, in addition to its current operations deal for Caltrain.

   Amtrak has been operating Caltrain on behalf of the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (a longish and legally proper way of saying the old Southern Pacific San Francisco Peninsula commuter service) since 1992. Now, the contract is up, and Caltrain has advertised for a request for proposals.

   Amtrak just lost the Virginia Railway Express on the Right Coast; what would happen if it lost Caltrain on the Left Coast?

   With the addition of Southern California’s Metrolink, probably not much on the surface; the Amtrak bureaucracy in the West would just keep on marching.

   Those with a sharp eye may notice Gilroy, California is on the Union Pacific main line which is traversed by Amtrak’s Coast Starlight. Gilroy slips right in the middle of the San Jose and Salinas station stops.

   So, let’s speculate, just a bit, as an intellectual exercise.

   Suppose Amtrak doesn’t keep the Caltrain contract; suppose some other service provider, such as Veolia Transportation, Herzog, or even the French company which is taking over VRE on the far side of the country successfully bid for and win the Caltrain contract.

   And, then, suppose the Caltrain operator performs successfully, and pleases not only the folks at Caltrain, but also – more importantly – the folks at Caltrans, who are monthly writing big, big checks to Amtrak for operating the Pacific Surfliners, Capitols, and San Joaquins (Metrolink writes its own checks).

   What if some renegade bureaucrat in Caltrans says, “well, Caltrain is doing so well, how can we expand that service?

   “What would happen if, say, we took one or two of those Caltrain consists, and pushed them further south than Gilroy, perhaps all the way to Los Angeles?

   “What would happen if Union Pacific Railroad liked the Caltrain operator better than Amtrak?

   “What would happen, if say, well, gee, we just start turning over all of the Caltrans contracts to the Caltrain operator, instead of retaining Amtrak contract after contract?”

   The answer is, Amtrak would suffer a horrible blow, and be crippled tremendously in the west. Amtrak would actually have real world competition. Amtrak would have to sing for its supper every night. Amtrak would really have to perform.

   All of this, of course, comes under the heading “what if?”. But, it’s an intriguing “what if?”.

   Amtrak for too long has taken most of its world for granted. It has even had the hubris of presuming it will be the preferred operator of the coming various high speed rail systems, even though it has not done well operating what it has today.

   An article in today’s Daily Finance (www.dailyfinance.com) says Japan Central Railway has started putting together a proposal to be the sole builder and operator of America’s high speed rail system; everything from building track and infrastructure to building and operating trainsets. These are the same folks who operate the profitable bullet train franchise in Japan today.

   The French and Germans want in on the USA action, too.

   Amtrak may think it has the home field advantage, but it’s tough to see how, when there are much more successful worldwide competitors out there knocking on America’s door.

   Veolia Transportation, which operates some sort of commuter rail or transit system in over 500 cities around the world (equivalent to Amtrak’s number of station stops in the national system) wants in on US high speed rail, too. They have the talent, and they have the financial clout to make it happen.

   Will Amtrak understand in time what is swirling around it and potentially causing a lot of mayhem? Will Amtrak understand it has a long, long way to go to get its corporate house in order so it can fend off these much more successful international competitors? It’s going to take a lot more clout than Amtrak has today on Capitol Hill to keep things together. Amtrak needs to understand the world is not an exclusive Amworld.

If you would like to print a nicely pre-formatted copy of this post, simply click on the “print this post” button at the top.

1. Here is the latest press release from Crown corporation VIA Rail Canada, Amtrak’s cold weather cousin in the Great Northland. Read, absorb, and learn.
   

   VIA Rail Canada to boost famed transcontinental train’s accessibility and appeal

   MONTREAL, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ – VIA Rail Canada today announced a $19.5 million program for the reconfiguration of 12 of the stylish stainless steel passenger cars used on its western transcontinental train, the Canadian, to increase its accessibility and market appeal. The work is being funded from the $407 million allocated for passenger rail improvements under the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.

   “It gives me great pleasure to announce the complete redesign and rebuilding of these cars,” said VIA President and Chief Executive Officer, Paul Cote. The contract for the rebuilding of VIA’s eight Chateau sleeping cars and four Park sleeper-dome-lounge cars has been awarded to Avalon Rail, Inc., of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Avalon Rail specializes in remanufacturing passenger rolling stock of all types. The company will use various Canadian engineering, design and supply firms for a portion of the project. The cars will be delivered in 2011.

   Mr. Cote added, “Avalon Rail was selected for this demanding work through a competitive bidding process based on numerous factors. These included price, craftsmanship, a detailed knowledge of the equipment to be rebuilt and on-time completion of previous projects.”

   “We are honoured to undertake this work for VIA,” said June Garland, president of Avalon Rail. “The Canadian is a living legend, offering thousands of travellers from around the world the ultimate in safe, stylish and sustainable rail travel every year for more than a half-century. I can think of no better showcase for the skills of Avalon’s dedicated craftspeople.”

   The work involved in the modernization and major upgrading of this classic rolling stock is extensive. The eight Chateau sleeping cars will be reconfigured with an all-new arrangement of six upscale cabins designed to accommodate up to three passengers each.

   Each sleeping cabin will be completely self-contained and will include an en-suite washroom plus a separate shower. The new cabins will also feature wood paneling, sofa seating, a widescreen television and controls to enable passengers to raise or lower the beds whenever they desire. This elegant new design has been selected to enable VIA’s Canadian to attract the growing clientele for more upscale travel experiences.

   This program will also substantially increase the train’s accessibility for travellers with special needs. The four existing Park car bedrooms will be replaced by two large upscale cabins. One will be identical to those in the rebuilt Chateau sleeping cars. The other will be an extra-large, fully-accessible cabin. It will provide separate, fully-accessible washroom and shower facilities. Each Park car will also feature an onboard wheelchair lift.

   About Avalon Rail, Inc.

   Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Avalon Rail is renowned for the excellence of its highly-specialized remanufacturing of vintage and contemporary passenger rail rolling stock. The firm’s skilled craftspeople have extensive experience in renewing the sturdy and durable equipment produced from the 1930s to the 1980s by the Budd Company, the originator of stainless steel passenger rail cars.

   About VIA Rail Canada

   As Canada’s national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada’s mandate is to provide efficient, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective passenger transportation, both in Canada’s business corridor and in remote and rural regions of the country. Every week, VIA operates 503 intercity, transcontinental and regional trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500-kilometre route network. The demand for VIA services is growing as travellers increasingly turn to train travel as a safe, hassle-free and environmentally responsible alternative to congested roads and airports.

   VIA’s Stainless Steel Fleet Backgrounder

   The 174 cars in VIA’s stainless steel fleet were primarily built for Canadian Pacific (CP) in 1954-1955 by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, the world’s leading manufacturer of stainless steel rolling stock. These elegant and robust cars were used to create CP’s Canadian, the last all-new train of the Art Moderne-influenced Streamlined Era. VIA bought this distinctive and durable rolling stock when it took over the operation of the former CP services in 1978.

   Between 1990 and 1993, VIA completely rebuilt the CP cars, as well as some additional Budd equipment acquired from the U.S. [Editor’s note: This equipment came from Amtrak equipment which was deemed surplus.] The cars were stripped to their shells and fully remanufactured for greater efficiency and passenger comfort at a fraction of the cost of new and unproven equipment. New interiors and a head end power (HEP) system were installed to eliminate the obsolete steam and battery-generator systems that previously provided lighting, heating and air conditioning.

   This $200 million project not only renewed the cars for another 15-20 years of productive service on the Canadian and other long-haul and remote trains, but reduced operating costs by more than $20 million annually. A subsequent HEP 2 program applied the same modernization techniques and systems to 33 Budd stainless steel cars for use in the Quebec-Windsor Corridor.

   As far back as the 1950s, Budd proudly proclaimed that not one piece of its rolling stock had ever been retired because it had worn out. More than half-a-century later, VIA’s HEP 1 and 2 fleets reinforce that accurate. SOURCE VIA RAIL CANADA INC.

2. Sadly, VIA Rail Canada has time and again in these modern times been labeled “Canada’s worst run company.” Even sadder, this smaller and feistier company than Amtrak, which operates far fewer trains, with a much smaller equipment pool, and hundreds of millions of dollars less of free Canadian federal monies, constantly out bests Amtrak when it comes to the professionalism of onboard personnel, clever and widespread marketing, the overall maintenance of equipment, and the desire to succeed.
3. VIA is taking Chateau sleeping cars and brilliantly refurbishing them to provide drawing rooms for three passengers. This delightful throwback to the 1960s and before provides two lower berths in one room, without having to purchase two separate bedrooms and opening them en suite. A third bed, as an upper bunk, is provided, as well. One private toilet and one sink (along with a new shower) fill out the room’s amenities. Note the wood paneling being added, too. It’s notable Amtrak has no drawing rooms in its inventory, even though full bedrooms in all trains always sell out before roomettes.

   The remake of the rear end observation dome Park cars to accommodate passengers in wheelchairs and with other challenges speaks volumes for VIA; they understand the upscale and senior citizen market, and are strategically placing themselves to take full advantage of the piles of cash accumulated for long trains such as The Canadian heavily laden with sleeping cars and appropriate accompanying amenities, with less emphasis placed on lower revenue producing coaches.

   Amtrak needs to pay attention to this move by VIA Rail Canada, as it will once again be trailblazing a new standard in sleeping car travel.

4. While we’re in the neighborhood, let’s take a look at some of the many opportunities the bureaucrats who populate Amtrak’s executive cadre through the years have flushed down the drain.

   These same Budd Company cars VIA is bragging have never gone out of style were once a part of Amtrak’s Heritage fleet, too. When the late Henry Christie made the famous “A” and “B” cars lists of which equipment Amtrak would keep and upgrade from the myriad of fleets it inherited from the private railroads, almost 100% of the equipment retained was Budd-built. The excellent equipment built in the same generations by Pullman Standard was – alas – built using carbon steel instead of the longer-lasting aluminum and stainless steel used by Budd, and, as a result, many of those excellent and exciting cars merely rusted away internally, becoming non-roadworthy and non-useful to Amtrak.

   The Budd fleet, which numbered in the hundreds of cars, included crew dorms, sleeping cars of various configurations (including all-bedroom cars on the Auto Train which had drawing rooms), diners, lounges, and coaches.

   Through the years, Amtrak’s disdain for this equipment – as opposed to the correct attitude of VIA Rail Canada – grew, and the equipment was sidelined as quickly as possible, with excuses such as no new replacement parts were available and had to be individually machined, and the cars were “too worn out” to have a useful future. (Tell that to the Canadians, and they will look at you like you’re too much in love with winter weather.)

   So, even though the Heritage Budd fleet had millions of reliable miles on each car, and all of the fleet had been expensively upgraded to head end power systems for hotel power and air conditioning and heat, the cars were stripped away from Amtrak’s fleet roster, unloved and unwanted.

   Many of those cars today and in the hands of railroad equipment brokers, waiting to be loved and used, again.

   In addition to the hundreds of single level Heritage Budd fleet cars, also cast away by Amtrak were over 60 of the original Santa Fe Hi-Level cars, which were the basis for the successful development of today’s Superliner fleet. Less than 10 of these cars remain in Amtrak’s fleet, most notably as the Pacific Parlour cars on the Coast Starlight, and some coaches used on the Heartland Flyer stub end train.

   The original Pennsylvania Railroad Metroliner cars from the 1960s, numbering in the dozens, sat for years in yards, and, while a few were placed in service for other purposes, almost all of the equipment was scrapped where it sat, gorily cut up and sent to scrap metal dealers.

   The Rohr Turboliner sets of equipment (entire trainsets, such as today’s Acela and Talgo trainsets) are another example of equipment summarily discarded by Amtrak, even after the State of New York paid to have three trainsets rehabilitated for use between Albany and New York City, and a then-chief executive officer of the New York DOT by the name of Joseph Boardman (Today’s Amtrak Interim President and Chief Executive Officer) raised cane because Amtrak appeared to be hiding the unused trainsets outside of New York State and refusing to use them for the purpose New York State paid huge money for rehabilitation of the equipment.

5. The question must be asked: Why is Amtrak so quick to discard solid, reliable equipment which other railroads cherish and brag about, resulting in shorter consists, less revenue passenger miles, and overall less income? Why is VIA happy to brag this equipment constitutes a vital core of its company, and cheerfully says rehabilitating this equipment is saving the company tens of millions of dollars, while Amtrak only sees inconvenience and headaches?

   Perhaps the answer is VIA has truly been on the brink before, and has a much more precarious political situation under a parliamentary system of government than our system here in the Unites States. It only takes five members of Parliament (The Prime Minister’s version of our presidential cabinet.) to make a decision to do anything to VIA Rail Canada it pleases, including putting it up for sale, as is currently being discussed in Canada.

   Amtrak has much more political protection in Congress than VIA has in Parliament, and, perhaps, Amtrak feels since it always has a steady stream of free federal monies coming its way each year, it doesn’t have to be as clever as VIA Rail Canada and constantly prove its chops.

   What a pity. The folks running VIA Rail Canada can certainly teach the folks running Amtrak a few things about the best use of resources and making a silk purse out of what Amtrak considers a sow’s ear. Necessity is the mother of invention. Amtrak needs more necessity, not more coddling.

6. As always, the This Week at Amtrak electronic mailbox has something interesting lurking about. Here is a missive about the last issue of TWA featuring the untangling of Amtrak math by Andrew Selden.
   

   Another excellent issue. It goes into great detail pointing out exactly what is wrong with the numbers that Amtrak distributes to support its internal policies. In a sane environment, the data would determine policy, rather than the opposite. Unfortunately Amtrak is not really accountable to any agency that can force it to meet the goal of an effective national passenger rail system (and probably there is little consensus of rail advocates on what such a goal really means, much less public agreement on that even being a legitimate goal).

   Looking back over the history of passenger rail service in the U.S., it is very unfortunate that the kinds of analyses you present were not available when many railroads filed data with state and federal regulatory agencies to justify their “train off” petitions. I see a great deal of similarity between Amtrak’s actions today and many railroad’s activities 50 years ago. Just as Amtrak selects and creates data to justify its desires, those railroads that wanted all their passenger trains to be eliminated did the same, no matter whether they were profitable, made a positive addition to their cash flow, or not. Some didn’t find out until it was too late that they were better off when they still operated passenger trains. The “fact” that passenger service was an anathema to the operation of a profitable corporation became the accepted paradigm of the day to many railroad executives, who in turn were very headstrong and surrounded themselves only with “yes men.” Too few opponents of that policy, both in regulatory agencies or as members of the general public, had the time and resources to interpret the data presented by the railroads or to question its accuracy in order to counter the misleading conclusions that the railroads created. There were some exceptions, but the individuals who fought for retention of profitable or break-even rail service in the public interest were eventually worn down, driven from their jobs, or left them for better opportunity.

   If only URPA were around then.

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1. An interesting collection of mail came flying over the This Week at Amtrak transom this week. Plus (see item number five, below) an answer from Congresswoman Corrine Brown on the future of passenger rail east of New Orleans and into Florida.

   First, a regular rider of the Empire Builder from cold country.

   Allow me to share my observations about Amtrak’s “state of good repair” on it’s most important train (at least outside the vaunted Northeast Corridor), the Empire Builder. I refer to this train often as Amtrak’s “most important” or “most successful” train simply because it earns more revenue, by a wide margin, than any other single train they operate.

   I have had the opportunity to travel on the Empire Builder several times this summer for short trips (about 300 miles one way, 600 round trip each time), on personal business. I have done these in coach on a daytime leg of the itinerary, between Milwaukee and St. Paul, but have made the point of walking the train each time to look at the interior and gauge the patronage, and I have also used the lounge and diner each time.

   You may recall several years ago, when Amtrak went through its most recent spasm of trying to starve itself into prosperity by cutting way back on the quality of on board food service on its overnight trains, it also conducted an experiment by actually upgrading the Empire Builder to see if an elevated level of service and quality would support a higher fare level than on the run-of-the-mill long distance train.

   As part of the experiment, the Empire Builder is supposed to be (but, this year rarely is) equipped with all Superliner II rolling stock and the better engines, to assure a top quality customer experience. The idea, I suppose, was to use all recently-refurbished rolling stock to minimize the frequency of equipment malfunctions like air conditioning failures, ratty carpets, inoperative toilets and doors, etc. They also staffed the Builder exclusively from the Seattle crew base, using mostly re-trained, top-quality on board service staff.

   The dining car kept the previous Amtrak-standard meal service, with Amtrak china and stainless flatware, and more-or-less cooked on board meals. The train already had some of the best time-keeping in the country, due to attentive dispatching by BNSF Railroad on the Builder’s “home rails” on the ex-Great Northern Railroad “High Line” across northern Montana and North Dakota. (On other trips, I have seen BNSF put their top-priority freight “Z-trains” on a siding to let the Builder run through.) And, they added a summer-only “upstairs guy” to work the upper level snack kiosk in the lounge car (in addition to the full snack bar downstairs), between Chicago and Whitefish. The Empire Builder does not offer a separate first class lounge environment like the “Pacific Parlour Car” on the Starlight, or the “Park” cars on VIA’s Canadian, and other overnight trains.

   What I have seen this summer, however, in terms of the rolling stock is a sadly degraded environment. The fares are as high as ever (sleeper fares especially are breathtaking on this train), but, the cars are not clean, even on No. 7 westbound leaving Chicago; some are smelly; restrooms are not in good shape physically or mechanically (i.e., they work, but it seems there is always some issue with them – water splashing around from the faucets, toilets don’t flush, door locks are jammed, etc.); surfaces are badly worn out in places, leaving a third-world impression of tattered and worn, ill-kept, trains. Signage is worn out or missing, or crudely hand-written and taped up. Things are literally falling apart inside the cars.

   The lounge cars are not well-kept, with many seats patched, and floors worn out. And again, this is supposed to be Amtrak’s best effort (in the west).

   I have NEVER seen any main-line train in this kind of physical condition in Europe (except in the United Kingdom).

   The dining car, on each trip on No. 7, has sold out at dinner and turned away customers, despite serving from 5 P.M. through to well after 9 P.M. Sporadically, for a variety of reasons, the diner has resorted to plastic plates and utensils (“the dishwasher is broken” or “we weren’t stocked properly at Chicago”).

   There have been discussions inside and outside the company this summer about promoting this and the other long distance trains with a renewed advertising effort. But, I have to say I am skeptical, based on my trips this summer. I fear almost any ad campaign is likely to create a consumer expectation which will be inevitably disappointed by the actual travel experience, even if employees are well behaved, and the train is on time.

   A majority of the other customers with whom I have interacted are still first-timers or foreigners, so even in 2009 many “first impressions” are being formed with every trip. Since mid-June, each Empire Builder I have ridden has had more than 300 passengers on board between St. Paul, Minnesota and La Crosse, Wisconsin, or vice versa. Conductors frequently make public address system announcements to the effect the Builder is or will shortly be completely full, and people cannot use two seats for one person.

   The sleepers appear to be heavily – if not fully – booked. They are operating a single coach as an extra car between Chicago and St. Paul, and it appears to sell out each trip (it runs in the computer as “Train 807/808″). Amtrak turns over anywhere between 90 and 125 passengers at St. Paul on each train. One cannot help but wonder how many other would-be customers have been turned away this summer for lack of carrying capacity. That adds up to a lot of people who, if not exactly “never-agains,” are at least left with negative impressions, and far from a “come back soon” experience.

   It is hard to experience an on-board environment like this, where there is both physical/mechanical decay and a slow erosion of service quality, in a train carrying so much promise and potential. It’s almost heartbreaking at times. And, at times one gets angry, wondering what this train could be if management had chosen to invest a trivial fraction of the $1.3 billion dollars in subsidy they get each year from congress into keeping these cars in an actual state of good repair, and supporting the on-board service people, to create a truly premium travel experience.

   Northwest Airlines airplanes aren’t rolling junk, even though parts break periodically, and I’ll bet money no brand-name cruise ship is even remotely like these aging Superliners. It just doesn’t have to be this way on a premier passenger train. Amtrak already has that much money available. They just haven’t chosen to spend it here. It has gone to other uses, because first former President and CEO Alex Kummant and now Interim President and CEO Joseph Boardman have chosen to use it elsewhere instead of here. And that is disappointing, and a lost opportunity.

   Cordially,

   A perpetual optimist

   This is yet another example of a promise Amtrak management made to its employees it has made a conscious decision not to keep. When the crew base for the Empire Builder was moved from Chicago to Seattle, there was a promise made to employees who chose to work this train, telling them they would have first-rate equipment to work with and provide their passengers good service. Oops! It didn’t take very long for Amtrak to slip back into its wicked ways, and start putting junk equipment back on the Empire Builder.

   The country this train traverses is breathtaking. The route of the Empire Builder rivals that of its VIA Rail Canada cousin to the North, The Canadian. between Vancouver and Toronto. Tourists from all over the world are willing to pay big bucks to ride the Canadian and experience a level of passenger service often unknown on Amtrak.

   But, here’s the kicker. Most of the equipment on The Canadian is half a century old, or older. The Canadian runs Budd built equipment originally designed and ordered for Canadian Pacific Railway when The Canadian was the flagship of a combined travel system that stretched nearly around the world and included passenger trains, ocean-going cruise liners, and an airline.

   VIA Rail Canada has lately let some of that equipment slide into a less than perfect state of repair, but it is still much better maintained than newer equipment on Amtrak which is half of its age, or even younger. The VIA equipment underwent a major renovation, but that was about 20 years ago.

   With all of the cash Amtrak’s long distance trains throw off to the company, why is there constantly a choice made to squeeze these trains until it hurts, even though they are the geese laying the golden eggs?

2. This came from another part of the country.
   

   Dear Mr. Richardson,

   I have really enjoyed your TWA articles and the website for the last nine years since they provide an alternative to the doom and gloom that I’ve read from most railfans. Your group’s solutions to this country’s passenger rail system are very unique.

   I have some thoughts in regards to a recent column. I would actually go a bit further than the reader in the August 19th issue and turn O’Hare into a second main Chicago station based on former Amtrak Reform Council member James Coston’s comments in the April 5, 2007 edition, where he talked about Union Station being “beyond obsolete” due to “crowd control and user friendliness problems.” Why not have a stop at one of the world’s busiest airports? It would provide air travelers and locals another option. I will also suggest Union Station be skipped by some O’Hare trains and be served by a select few trains primarily for transfer purposes to/from other trains.

   Even though I don’t live in the Windy City, it’s a good thing they have four major train stations left over from the Golden Age of Rail. I believe once we know the operators of certain Midwest High Speed Rail routes (and it’s very likely that Amtrak will be outbid on some of these contracts), some of the other companies may want to leave Union Station to less crowded areas.

   Here are how the other three main stations in addition to Union Station could play a role in a post-monopolistic intercity rail industry:

   A) The Oglivie Transportation Center (former CN&W station) could provide service for Hiawatha service to the Twin Cities and Green Bay, Wisconsin. Also, another operator could choose to serve alternate stops between Chicago and Milwaukee, like Kenosha and Racine.

   B) Millennium Station. The Randolph Street station could host Illini and Saluki routes, the super HSR St. Louis service (if it can get pulled off), and maybe, Cleveland service; and

   C) The La Salle Street Station could host Quad Cities/Iowa/Omaha service and/or Cleveland service.

   To alleviate the problem of changing trains and operators, HSR authorities like MWHSR should work out a special transfer program for passengers if they have to transfer from one station to another operator at a different station in the same city. That would guarantee passengers a connection (e.g., A passenger on the westbound Capitol Limited needing to take a high-speed train to Madison would get his or her transfer at Union Station and take a cab to the Ogilvie Transportation Center to continue on to Madison).

   Impressive thoughts, aren’t they? Passenger rail historians will recall it was common in the pre-Amtrak days to shuttle both passengers and passenger rail cars between stations in Chicago for through-train service.

   It’s not hard for many people to peer into the future and see a fascinating world of passenger rail. Amtrak seems to be the only group of people constantly incapable of doing this.

3. And, finally, these thoughts came from Georgia.
   

   Thank you again for this [last] weekend’s editions of TWA. As always, they continue to be enlightening. Here are some random thoughts from my Monday Morning brain.

   I do not wish to disparage Dr. Herzog’s academic mind and practical experience. In reading his proposal, has Host Railroad cooperation been taken into consideration? I feel like three routes daily on all those lines listed would work great on a privately owned, passenger-only right of way, but in the real world of constant delays (some Amtrak’s fault, others the Hosts’ fault) and even one-per-day run trains regularly (quarterly, perhaps?) encroaching on the train ahead of it, and then turn-arounds and bustitution to get people where they need to go, to multiply that liability as well by three, would seem to clog up the freight network in a manner that the Hosts would not care to take such risk on.

   My random thought on HSR is that it should overlay current Amtrak routes and be completely separate (preferably not even run by Amtrak). If you take Dr. Herzog’s plan and you overlay an HSR system on top of it, you would have major cities connected with few, if any, stops in between.

   Stations would be co-located with current Amtrak stations, but all new. It would have to be all new because HSR should never be envisioned without being at least Class 8 service with a dedicated ROW and no grade crossings.

   Boston would be connected to Miami with stops in Providence, Hartford, New York Penn, Trenton, Philadelphia,  Wilmington, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville, Orlando, and West Palm. You could break it up with Washington being the focal terminus. The existing Amtrak system would then be Dr. Herzog’s “milk run” stations, taking people from the co-located Amtrak/HSR stations and moving them to their local destination.

   My thoughts aren’t completely random, as this is very similar to the way HSR was introduced in Japan nearly 50 years ago. “Shinkansen” means “New Trunk Line,” and that’s what they did – all new ROW with major stations co-located with local service to intermediate locations (that were not necessarily along the same ROW).

   Additionally, there is a desperate need for SE to NW corridors. But I think you know that already.

   Dr. Herzog was a primary supporter of changing the way Amtrak deals with its host railroads. Like many others of us at United Rail Passenger Alliance, Dr. Herzog felt Amtrak underpays its host railroads for use of tracks and dispatching, and Dr. Herzog felt a new bond should be forged where everyone played equally, without winners or losers when it came to private, freight railroads hosting Amtrak passenger trains.

   For so many years, we have all been indoctrinated with the thought Amtrak can’t run trains because host railroad main lines are clogged with freight trains.

   While there is some validity to this, that concept has often been a convenient excuse for host railroads to subvert the law which they agreed to at the formation of Amtrak which allows Amtrak access to any two chosen steaks of rust in the country, pending a deal where maintenance costs are worked out if upgraded rails are necessary to host passenger trains safely and comfortably.

   For Amtrak to grow and prosper, the word “no” needs to be filtered out of its corporate vocabulary.

   If a passenger route can support more than one daily frequency (which is the case on EVERY passenger route Amtrak runs.), then what adjustments need to be made between Amtrak and its host railroad to make this happen? More sidings? Some other type of realignments? Never has the time been more providential than now to determine what needs to be done to host more passenger trains and at the same time have the freight railroads not suffer any inconvenience for the sake of Amtrak passengers.

   The freight railroads, through the Association of American Railroads, have indicated a willingness to sit down and discuss more passenger trains. Government has indicated a willingness to come up with funding mechanisms to make this happen.

   Now is the time to focus on the future and why things can be accomplished, not why not things can’t be accomplished.

4. Had a conversation with the map maker referred to in the last edition of TWA about the continuing work of creating a map of the late Dr. Adrian Herzog’s vision for a full and robust Amtrak system.

   The map maker is still hard at work.

5. To date, we have heard no official word from Congresswoman Corrine Brown of here in Jacksonville in regard to Amtrak’s Gulf Coast Service report she inserted a million bucks into Amtrak appropriation last year to pay for.

   However, her primary aide which handles transportation issues, Nick Martinelli was quoted this week by reporter Leo King on www.examiner.com.

   from Mr. King’s article of Thursday, September 3, 2009

   Returning to Amtrak and trains along the Gulf Coast, he said, “Any rational person would say, ‘We need to address some of the issues with the costs on the long lines, – the Sunset Limited, when we get that back – and, of course, running the whole way to L.A. Those prices are really expensive and there are flights that are cheaper, but you have to think of the system holistically, and I think that’s the way the Congresswoman and a lot of people do.”

   The Sunset may not return, but there is movement to bring passenger rail service from New Orleans to Jacksonville and on to Orlando.

   “No question. The Congresswoman would kill them if they didn’t. That’s ideal. It is expensive and the problem that we’re facing now is that states have to be partners in this system to maintain the things and do that instead of ‘Look, we’ve got no money. The federal government wants us, they need to do it.’

   Martinelli said “They presented a couple of options. Amtrak isn’t even love with running that Sunset Limited line because it’s expensive for them, so they weren’t going to kill themselves to rebuild the line, but CSX was up in a year, had the system up and going. That’s something we’re going to have to pressure Amtrak [on].”

   Well. Many of us were waiting for a comment from Congresswoman Brown on what she got for her (our) money with the Amtrak report.

   Now, we know. Her office wants to pressure Amtrak on restoring service, BUT, Mr. Martinelli said “now that state have to be partners [financially].”

   So, does this mean no train unless Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida pony up the money?

   And, of course, we know this brings us to the precipice of the very, very slippery slope that if Amtrak can put on a mask and use a gun to hold up the three states east of New Orleans, then a precedent is set and it can try this type of robbery ANYWHERE ELSE in the country (Except, probably, the sainted Northeast Corridor, where no states EVER have to pay for anything.).

   Somebody needs to stop this madness, right now.

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1. The folks on the Loonie Right – you know the type, they drive the BIG Hummer, not the wimpy small version, don’t care much about the cost of gas, and keep a hunting rifle handy in case while they’re driving home from work they want to shoot Bambi for dinner – are adamantly opposed to high speed rail, transit, and any type of transportation other than the automobile, pickup truck, or SUVs.

   Then, there are the folks on the Loonie Left – you know the type, they hate automobiles, demand walking paths everywhere, want the price of gas to be taxed through the roof, adore the use of transit, no matter how inconvenient, and want everyone on the subway to join in singing a few choruses of Kumbaya between station stops after they have led a scintillating group discussion on the myriad benefits of herbal tea – who always know what’s best for everyone, and think the higher and more confiscatory taxes are, the better.

   A survey of talking heads, columnists, allegedly learned academicians, and experts on various types of transportation produces such extremes in opinions it’s difficult to find any common ground.

   As high speed rail and expanding transit has been discussed this year, conservatives, citing the same statistics over and over and over, demand no money be spent for high speed rail or transit because more money is needed for roads and air travel. These folks cite the absolute, complete freedom of personal vehicle travel, such as the ability to leave and arrive at will, total control over stops and route, and choice of speed. They go on to cite airline statistics, and repeatedly say Americans only want to drive or fly; who has time for other types of what they call wasteful and expensive surface transportation?

   Coming from the liberals, who apparently must swear they adore transit in order to receive their cherished government identification papers, is the argument to build! build! build!, sparing no expense or higher taxes to put new transit and high speed systems in place, hoping someone will want to ride them. Never mind the ongoing costs of operations or maintenance, just build the systems so we can save the planet.

   Ugh.

   Here’s a reality check. As said in this space many times before, not every rail project is perfect, and any rail projects which are ultimately built must be of the highest quality and have the best chance for success so other projects may follow without controversy.

   For all of us who live in suburbia, and plan to stay in suburbia, don’t force us to do anything against our will, no matter how smart you think you are, and how much you just know it’s for our own good, so it must be the right thing to do.

   Instead, provide us reasonable options.

   Now, is that so hard?

   Let’s talk about Amtrak, our favorite monopoly common carrier. One tenth of one percent is Amtrak’s market share of domestic transportation output. Less than 29 million people a year climb aboard an Amtrak train of any description, and since the same person is counted twice for round trips and repeat riders, the actual number of Americans riding Amtrak is significantly smaller, probably in the range of 10 million or so.

   Yet, we know it’s important to have a balanced mix of transportation options in our domestic network. Passenger rail is an important part of that mix, and it should grow in an orderly and financially responsible manner.

   Let’s talk about SunRail in Central Florida, the proposed commuter rail system from the Northeast of Orlando to the Southwest of Orlando’s metropolitan area. Much of the proposed system will parallel Interstate 4, which runs from Daytona Beach on the Right Coast of Florida to Tampa on the Left Coast of Florida, and goes through the middle of downtown Orlando. Interstate 4, which most of time if it isn’t 3 A.M., resembles a long, long parking lot, is about to be expanded – yet, again. It already seems it’s a few dozen lanes wide at some points, but, hey, they want to make it wider.

   With the way Central Florida will continue to grow after this pesky recession abates, a larger I-4 will only be a larger parking lot unless it’s 3 A.M.

   Will SunRail stop that from happening? Most definitely not. Maybe, if Sunrail has three minute headways all day, and 10 car trains, it may make a trifling dent in I-4 congestion. But, it won’t. Instead, SunRail will offer a reasonable rush hour schedule with convenient schedules other parts of the day.

   But, what SunRail will accomplish (As Tri-Rail in South Florida, running parallel to Interstate 95 already does.) is offer a reasonable choice for those commuting from one point on the SunRail route to another.

   If you want to creep along on I-4, you can do that. If you want to zip along on SunRail, you will be able to do that, too, if the Florida legislature ever approves the project.

   The few hundred million dollars cost of SunRail compared to the cost of expanding I-4 is a reasonable investment. SunRail, because of a number of factors, has a good chance of financial success, so bloated predictions of budget-busting operating costs are scare tactics.

   Back to Amtrak, and making the case for an expanded Amtrak, including a healthy long distance system instead of the anemic and embarrassing skeletal system Amtrak boasts today.

   If Amtrak had the will – and, don’t even start the baloney about never having enough money, because that just isn’t true – it could find ways to partner with its host railroads to expand the long distance system (See the three press releases press release below.). Equipment costs too high? Nah, lease it. New station costs too high? Nah, let local governments, using Amtrak specifications, provide depots and stations. Operating costs too high? Nah, not if the service is priced honestly and marketed properly.

   Some Amtrak True Believers believe it should be a social program, with low cost transportation for all. Why is that? Amtrak isn’t some sort of museum or monument, or public beach – it’s a passenger railroad, tasked with moving people from one city to another in an efficient manner. Nobody said it has to be a welfare program like most transit systems think of themselves. Nobody is going to be penalized by not being able to get to work on Amtrak if a fair fare is charged for transportation; we’re talking about Amtrak’s true mission of long distance, intercity travel, not commuter rail.

   But, more True Believers wail, nobody will ride Amtrak if it’s priced too high. It’s too slow, it’s too shabby, it’s too non-cool to be competitive, so it has to be priced low to attract riders.

   Such uninformed piffle.

   Amtrak boasts it is the largest single passenger carrier in the Northeast between Washington and New York City. Okay, if Amtrak is as smart as it claims to be and can achieve that goal, why can’t it be smart enough to expand in the rest of the country?

   If you were the CEO of Amtrak, would you be boasting to your CEO buddies “Hey! My company commands one tenth of one percent of domestic transportation output, which is significantly lower than motorcycle riders!”?

   But, again, you wail, “All it takes is more money for poor, starved, emaciated Amtrak!”

   And, again, no, it doesn’t.

   What it takes is a refocusing, and a rededication to Amtrak’s core purpose of providing a national passenger rail system, not just a loose combination of distinct corridors with little connectivity.

   In reality, probably a refocusing of less than $100 million would be required to beef up ridership in the national system, using existing routes and trainsets. What would happen? A new wave of riders – many for the first time discovering America’s best kept secret, Amtrak – dropping money for fares into Amtrak’s coffers which would quickly replace that spent $100 million or less for sales and marketing.

   Is that so hard?

   How much vision does that take?

   How much initiative does that take?

   How much reality is Amtrak willing to absorb?

   Or, will Amtrak just continue on its slovenly way, happy to eat slops at the United States Treasury trough instead of even attempting to become somewhere close to self-sufficient?

2. If you have any reservations whatsoever about Amtrak not getting into the swing of things and not realizing what is happening in the railroad world around it, read this press release from the Association of American Railroads. The world of passenger railroading – whether it’s conventional or high speed – is very quickly changing.
   

   Freight Railroads Join Midwest Governors in Planning for High-Speed Rail

   Joint Rail Efforts Should Complement, Not Compromise Freight Rail’s Future

   Washington, D.C., July 27, 2009 – Association of American Railroads President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger today said the national rail network is critical to meeting the mobility needs of the 21 century. Speaking before the Midwest High-Speed Rail Summit in Chicago, Hamberger said striking the right balance between passenger and freight rail expansion is key to the success of high-speed rail in America.

   “America’s freight railroads support the goal of increased passenger rail investment,” Hamberger said. “It’s good for our economy and the environment when more people and goods move faster by rail.”

   He pointed out that the country’s privately owned freight rail network is the literal foundation for high speed rail in America. Railroads account for 43 percent of intercity freight volume — more than any other mode of transportation.

   “We are critical stakeholders that need to be engaged from the very beginning of project planning and development. Passenger and freight efforts to grow and expand must complement, not compromise one another,” Hamberger said.

   Governors that participated in the summit were Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn, Iowa Governor Chester Culver, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Missouri Governor Jeremiah Nixon, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle.

   Hamberger noted that each high-speed rail project needs to be examined and assessed based on its own merits, taking into account several important factors – including volume of freight traffic, terrain, number of grade crossings, and track configuration. These issues will help determine the feasibility of operating high speed passenger trains on the freight rail network. In addition, Hamberger emphasized that agreements addressing liability, compensation and increased maintenance need to be approved prior to project planning and development.

   # # #

   Editors’ Note: The Association of American Railroads is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association whose members include the major freight railroads, or Class I railroads, of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as well as Amtrak. Class I railroads represent 67 percent of the U.S. freight rail mileage and 90 percent of freight railroad industry employees. Railroads account for 43 percent of intercity freight volume — more than any other mode of transportation. To learn more about how freight rail works for America, the environment and for you, please visit: www.freightrailworks.org.

3. Now, take a look at these two press releases from Norfolk Southern; CSX is mirroring NS and saying much the same thing.
   

   July 20, 2009

   Rail Can Help Relieve Highway Congestion Crisis, Norfolk Southern CEO Tells Nation’s Governors

   NORFOLK, VA – Wick Moorman, CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC), called on the nation’s governors Saturday to consider railroads as “a vital part of the solution to our nation’s transportation crisis.”

   Addressing the National Governors Association at Biloxi, Miss., Moorman said “railroads offer significant economic and environmental benefits while helping relieve highway congestion – which is fast becoming public enemy number one.”

   Our nation’s transportation network is a complex, interdependent system that demands our combined creative efforts to operate it most efficiently,” Moorman said. “Our experience at Norfolk Southern has shown that by working together in public-private partnerships, we can achieve far more in far less time and with far greater public benefits than any of us can by working alone.”

   Moorman cited two rail routes – the Heartland Corridor between the Port of Virginia and Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago, and the Crescent Corridor linking New Jersey to New Orleans and Memphis, Tenn. – as examples of how public-private partnerships “can create additional capacity in our rail transportation network, with public benefits of jobs creation, less highway congestion, lower environmental emissions, and fuel savings.” He said the Crescent Corridor project alone will result in 41,000 “green” jobs over the next decade and move more than a million trucks annually off the highways onto rail, saving more than 150 million gallons of fuel every year and reducing carbon emissions by nearly two million tons per year.

   “It’s clear we must do something,” Moorman said. “Freight volumes in this country are projected to grow 88 percent by 2035 alone. To handle that freight, we must improve our national transportation infrastructure.”

   Norfolk Southern Corporation is a leading North American transportation provider. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

   Norfolk Southern Corporation | http://www.nscorp.com

   July 23, 2009

   Norfolk Southern CEO Says Tax Incentives for Rail Capacity will Generate Economic Benefits, Create Jobs

   NORFOLK, VA. – Tax incentives to expand freight rail capacity would “make sense for America,” generating $1 billion in economic benefits and 20,000 green jobs, Norfolk Southern Corporation CEO Wick Moorman said today on Capitol Hill.

   “America needs more transportation capacity and needs it now,” Moorman said on behalf of the Association of American Railroads during testimony to a U.S. House subcommittee. Noting that today’s transportation network is not designed to handle the doubling in freight demand projected by 2035, Moorman said, “Railroads are the most affordable and environmentally responsible way to meet this demand, and that is why tax incentives for rail capacity would be good public policy.”

   Railroads have spent record amounts reinvesting in their own networks even during the economic downturn, Moorman said – a record $10.2 billion in capital improvements last year alone. “Since 1980, railroads have spent more than 40 percent of their revenues – some $440 billion – to maintain, improve, and expand their networks.

   “Yet as much as railroads are investing, it isn’t enough to meet projected demand,” he said. A recent study found a $52 billion gap between the $148 billion needed for expanding freight rail capacity and the $96 billion railroads can expect to generate. Tax incentives “provide a sensible way to help bridge this gap,” Moorman said.

   In addition to creating economic stimulus and jobs, public benefits would include reductions in fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and highway congestion, as railroads are more fuel efficient than trucks, and a single train can haul as much freight as 280 or more trucks, Moorman said.

   “Numerous states are partnering with us,” Moorman said. “Thanks to the leadership of Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, and others, we are already investing to expand our system to meet the looming demands of moving our nation’s commerce. Congress should bolster these efforts by enacting tax credit legislation to encourage additional freight rail investment,” he said.

   “America today has the best freight rail network in the world. Still, it is clear that rail capacity must increase as the economy and population expand in the years ahead. Tax incentives provide one way to ensure that happens,” Moorman said.

   Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is a leading North American transportation provider. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

   Norfolk Southern Corporation | http://www.nscorp.com

   Why is this important? Because, as private railroads are warming to the idea of government help on infrastructure for freight movement, you can bet the mortgage money government strings will come attached to that help, most likely in the way the government will require any expansion plans to include capacity for passenger trains, either at conventional speeds or high speeds.

   So, again, the question: Will Amtrak have the vision and be capable of handling this type of expansion? Or, will it be just another wasted opportunity on the part of Amtrak?

4. The comments keep floating into This Week at Amtrak about the horribly flawed Gulf Coast Report on restoration of service east of New Orleans. Here’s the latest comment.
   

   Re: Former IG Fred Weiderhold

   AMTRAK = Always Managing To Remove Anyone Knowledgeable

   I like to “have fun” with acronyms.

   Anyway, welcome to August, 2009, the 40th anniversary of Hurricane Camille. Imagine SCL–L&N using Camille as an excuse to discontinue the Gulf Wind! Hell, the ICC and state PUC’s would have attacked SCL like a swarm of killer bees!

5. And, there was one gentleman who sent this comment.
   

   Here is a SMART [The ad hoc private group working to restore the Sunset east of New Orleans and make it a daily train] recommendation draft currently in circulation:

   “There is one configuration that would appear to keep everybody happy and also have the potential for the most ticket sales. It is a Double Y Concept. The eastbound Sunset Limited from Los Angeles to Florida would continue to drop a sleeper and a coach in San Antonio for routing to Chicago on the Texas Eagle (the first Y). Later it would pick up another sleeper and coach in New Orleans coming in from Chicago on the City of New Orleans (the second Y) and carry them on to Florida. Westbound would reverse the procedure.

   “This gives Amtrak the opportunity to sell through tickets to and from Florida to both Chicago and Los Angeles. It vastly extends the ticketing routes of both the Sunset Limited and the City of New Orleans.

   “This solution provides a backbone for national coverage to a large part of the nation, including the second, third, and fourth largest cities in the United States. It covers all of the south and much of the central part of the country. Regional trains can easily connect into this backbone at many locations. All of Amtrak’s “options” are covered.

   – Dan Pugh

6. Former Amtrak Chairman of the Board John Robert Smith has found a new vocation.
   

   John Robert Smith Named Reconnecting America President And CEO

   Four-term Meridian, Miss., mayor recognized for initiatives to promote sustainability, affordability, livability

   Mayor John Robert Smith of Meridian, Mississippi, has been named President and CEO of the national nonprofit Reconnecting America. He has served on Reconnecting America’s board for five years, and was a founding partner and board member of Reconnecting America’s predecessor organization, the Great American Station Foundation, voting to expand its mission and change its name in 2004.

   Smith will replace Shelley Poticha, who has been appointed Senior Advisor for Sustainable Communities at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she will advise Deputy Administrator Ron Sims and help facilitate the interagency partnership of HUD, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

   John Robert Smith was elected mayor of Meridian in 1993 and was re-elected three times before deciding this year not to seek re-election to a fifth term. He has been an active member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and has served Amtrak as both Chairman and as Board member.

   Mayor Smith was an early practitioner of transit-oriented development, having successfully renovated Meridian’s historic downtown train station, a project that helped leverage the revitalization of Meridian’s downtown. That experience made him a passionate advocate for the power of station renovation projects to link transportation and community revitalization. He has also been recognized in local, state and national arenas for his initiatives to promote sustainability, affordability and livability.

   “John Robert Smith brings real-world hands-on experience to the work that Reconnecting America does. He has initiated and managed the kind of projects that Reconnecting America has long advocated,” said Reconnecting America Board President Janette Sadik-Khan, Transportation Commissioner of the City of New York. “He understands how transit-oriented development can breathe new life into communities and help generate lasting public and private returns.”

   While in office Mayor Smith oversaw a number of development projects to boost investment in Meridian’s downtown and several declining inner-city neighborhoods, including the redevelopment of the historic Union Station, the construction of a new performing arts center and restoration of the Grand Opera House, and the development of a HOPE VI mixed-income housing project. He has been a longtime advocate for the performing arts and raised significant arts funding for Meridian. He also built a coalition that was successful in restoring daily Amtrak service from Atlanta to New Orleans, and has been an influential advocate at the national level for investing in and improving the national passenger rail system.

   “I have been involved in transportation on a national level for many years, due to my passion for inner-city and urban revitalization,” Mayor Smith said. “With the next-generation transportation bill being crafted by Congress now, it is vital that the voices of those who believe in a connected, multi-modal approach to transportation are heard. Transportation touches every aspect of life in cities of all sizes and I am looking forward to working with our nation’s leaders at all levels to incorporate smart urban planning and connections to people across the United States.”

   Reconnecting America provides an impartial, fact-based perspective on development-oriented transit and transit-oriented development, and seeks to reinvent the planning and delivery system for building regions and communities around transit and walking rather than solely around the automobile. Reconnecting America manages the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, the only national nonprofit effort funded by Congress to promote best practices in transit-oriented development.

   Reconnecting America’s main office is in Oakland, California, and you can visit its web site at www.reconnectingamerica.org .

7. In the last issue of This Week at Amtrak we discussed Amtrak’s RFP for 130 Viewliner 2 single level passenger cars, of which approximately 25 are to be sleeping cars. Since that TWA was published, the Russians have announced they are purchasing 200 new sleeping cars for their trains, which will be compatible with most other systems in Europe through a changeable system to accommodate different track standards.

   It’s also notable since the last TWA the federal government has rushed – without debate – to put an additional $2 billion in place for the cash for clunkers automobile replacement program.

   When will Amtrak allow itself grow and be at a point of prosperity so it can be at the point of saying it needs a quick $2 billion without extended debate?

8. Even Trains Magazine, normally a blindly compliant cheerleading magazine for Amtrak is beginning to question why Amtrak seems adrift these days. In the just-out September issue, author Bob Johnston has a major article entitled “Amtrak, time to claim your destiny.” The subhead of the article is, “With an infusion of stimulus money and a new authorization, can America’s passenger railroad ‘be all it can be?’ Here are six things Amtrak can do immediately to capture more riders and chart its own future”

   Particularly interesting is Mr. Johnston’s suggestion for Amtrak managers and members of the board of directors to experience the rigors of overnight coach travel.

   The refreshing article is a good read. It appears Mr. Johnston and Trains Magazine are as anxious as the rest of us about the future of Amtrak unless it makes major changes in its corporate culture.

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