1. Here is the text of a speech delivered to the Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers here in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, November 7, 2009 by this writer.
   

   It’s been an interesting week for the railroad business; changes we couldn’t imagine a decade ago have suddenly become true. America again has a “railroad robber baron” – but, this time, it’s a benevolent man who may be the smartest businessman in the world.

   Warren Buffett said he would cheerfully pay $34 billion for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, and BNSF said they would cheerfully accept his offer.

   While many people agree this is not going to launch a series of mergers – there isn’t much left to merge other than creating a transcontinental railroad – this is a game changer. BNSF under private ownership no longer has to act by the dictates of Wall Street.

   Think of the BNSF deal as a giant-sized version of what happened to our own Florida East Coast Railroad: going private allowed it to think radically outside of the box.

   The FEC – after over a decade of waiting – has partnered with the Florida Department of Transportation and Amtrak to restore passenger service on its coast route between Jacksonville and Miami. Now, start thinking about BNSF and passenger service – they have already publicly indicated if the right business opportunity comes along, they will talk about it.

   Reading the FEC/FDOT proposal – which is part of the national grab for high speed rail stimulus money – gives any reader respect for the Florida DOT.

   Amtrak has its usual equipment demands, because both the Silver Meteor and Silver Star will again be split here in Jacksonville, and half of the consists will go to Miami via Orlando, and half go on the FEC.

   The best part is the request for additional local regional trains running between Jacksonville and Miami to provide a higher level of frequencies. The most obvious part left out is extending the Palmetto south of Savannah and running it down the FEC or perhaps over to Tampa.

   The only part of Florida’s rail plan found wanting is mention of doing something to bolster Tampa’s conventional train service. In the Tampa Bay area we have Florida’s second largest metropolitan area, and its level of train service is less than that of Sebring and Palatka.

   If you really want to look at the unfairness of it all, take a look at Florida’s panhandle. The people living there pay all of the same taxes we pay, but their train – the Sunset Limited – went away because Amtrak doesn’t want to bother restoring the train after a hurricane that happened over four years ago temporarily tore up some track.

   As I join you today on behalf of United Rail Passenger Alliance, my late friend and predecessor, Austin Coates, was no stranger to this group or many of you personally. We’ve never forgotten Austin’s most famous line regarding Amtrak – “it’s just business as usual.”

   More than half a decade after Austin’s passing, we need to help Amtrak stop its continuing “business as usual.”

   Let’s look at how Amtrak has treated us here in Florida over the past 25 years or so.

   Going back to the pre-Amtrak days, Florida had so many passenger trains you couldn’t walk very far without tripping over one. Florida was a state built by the passenger train.

   We had the Seaboard’s Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Palmland, Sunland, and Gulf Wind. Not only did we have service to Miami, but we also had service down the middle of the state and from Tampa down the west coast to Venice.

   The Atlantic Coast Line provided us with service on the East Coast Champion, West Coast Champion, Gulf Coast Special, seasonal Florida Special, and the Everglades. The ACL on the west coast would take you to Fort Myers.

   From Chicago and the Midwest, you could catch the City of Miami, South Wind, Seminole, or Dixie Flyer.

   Until just a couple of years prior to Amtrak, the Florida East Coast even operated its daily two car train between Miami and Jacksonville.

   Then came Amtrak Day in 1971.

   Amtrak Day wasn’t as bad for Florida as elsewhere, for we still had the Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Champion, and South Wind. We lost the Gulf Wind, and that huge – and currently unfilled gap – between Jacksonville and New Orleans opened up. We lost service south of Tampa on the west coast. But you could still get to Florida from Chicago with single train service, and you had three choices from New York to Florida, and both coasts and the middle of Florida through Ocala were still served.

   We all know what has happened since then.

   The once busy crew and maintenance base in Tampa is gone, with just a single daily train remaining. Naturally, this occurred only after the City of Tampa decided to spend a king’s ransom on the breathtaking restoration of Tampa Union Station.

   Miami, once the golden goose of passenger railroading, now has two trains a day.

   The South Wind, then the Floridian, with direct Chicago service, is gone.

   The Cross Florida service between Tampa and Miami came and went.

   The extended Palmetto from Savannah to Jacksonville, and eventually to Tampa, and then turned into the Silver Palm to Miami – is gone.

   We now have Auto Train, but unless you’re taking along your car and only have a destination of Northern Virginia or beyond, it’s not the most useful service in Amtrak’s stable.

   Then, there is the sad saga of the Sunset Limited. We all worked hard in Florida to bring the Sunset to us in 1993. The State of Florida ponied up over $7 million to help upgrade the CSX line in the panhandle.

   We knew prior to the Sunset’s extension, there was an average of 75,000 calls per year into the Amtrak res centers seeking a train between New Orleans and Florida.

   Now, the Sunset is almost history. I say “almost” because it never officially went away, just in reality went away. As [FCRP member] George Bollinger often asks, “what if it had been the Seaboard and L&N that had suddenly decided to stop running the Gulf Wind, just because it was inconvenient?”

   For a while, unknowing people tried to blame our friends – yes, make no mistake about it, at CSX they are our friends – for not allowing Amtrak to resume service on the Sunset. But, we know CSX gave Amtrak written notice the line was available for the Sunset on April 1, 2006.

   By law, when Amtrak cancels an entire train route, it is supposed to post a 180 day notice of cancellation. This minor technicality to Amtrak has never been honored, with the ongoing excuse of not only did the dog eat Amtrak’s homework, but Amtrak merely “suspended” the service due to conditions wrought by the hurricane.

   A number of union jobs on all levels were lost by the suspension of the Sunset. Yet, Amtrak’s unions have chosen to do nothing about this. No union filed a lawsuit, no union screamed at the top of its organized lungs about this flagrant abuse of the law.

   Congresswoman Corrine Brown put $1 million into last year’s Amtrak reauthorization to study the restoration of the Amtrak route. We know the result of that; a lot of paper with a lot of excuses and reasons why Amtrak doesn’t want to restart the service.

   The quickest, cheapest, cleanest way to restore service is to extend the City of New Orleans from New Orleans to Orlando.

   Because of bad equipment scheduling, the City trainsets sit for a full day in New Orleans before they return to Chicago. On any given day there are two trainsets in Louisiana, the one just departing New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal and the one about to arrive at NOUPT. By extending the route to Orlando, only one extra trainset would be required to bring the train to Florida.

   Amtrak will instantly whine about stations; the only real station problem is at Mobile, where the Eisenhower-era relic of the L&N Railroad’s poor choice of architect station building was mercifully torn down after Katrina. The only problem for Mobile is finding a new spot for a platform and placement of a temporary Amshack.

   Remember, the only manned stations between New Orleans and Jacksonville were Mobile, Pensacola, and Tallahassee. Everything else was just a platform and city-run shelter.

   Many of my readers of This Week at Amtrak know I talk about the Sunset and the City of New Orleans a lot, and there’s a reason for that. From 1996 to 2000, I was a paid consultant to the Gulf Coast Business Group, working with both of those trains, plus the Crescent. My late business partner and I specialized in marketing for these trains, creating onboard services programs, the highly successful 24 hour dining car test runs on the Sunset, and handled special events, such as station openings and helped with the inaugural of the Gulf Coast Limited. Even today, those are still my trains.

   From 1999 to 2000, we ran the Sunset Limited and City of New Orleans Promotional Office for Amtrak from our offices here in Jacksonville. We worked a number of projects that brought new riders to the Sunset and City through radio and television station promotions, worked with local media, and even hosted a dining car gathering in Memphis for local and regional media food critics.

   Like any large company, we found white hats and black hats inside of Amtrak. Some very good people left because of the constant problems caused by the black hats, and others left merely because Amtrak was not the most pleasant place to work if you weren’t part of the good old boy network.

   But, there is a shrinking core group of dedicated people who are there because they like running passenger trains.

   What can we do to help those at Amtrak who want the company to succeed?

   First, everyone must realize there is more than one answer to Amtrak’s problems. Those who constantly plead “we all have to work together” generally mean we all have to agree with them, and forget about any other solutions.

   Second, we have to realize the reality of passenger rail around the world. Amtrak constantly wants us to believe no passenger rail system in the world makes money. This is only an excuse to enable Amtrak’s dysfunctional behavior.

   I invite you to do your own research; scan credible publications like the International Railway Journal and read the stories about passenger rail systems in The Netherlands, Germany, and Japan which make money.

   Doubters say this isn’t true, these companies are still propped up by their governments. Wrong. Some of these systems may operate over government owned right of way – just as trains do on the Northeast Corridor – but they still pay a train mile fee. Some of the systems share the rails with freight trains – just like Amtrak – and they receive a benefit – just like Amtrak – from the shared cost of infrastructure.

   For years, URPA has been crunching numbers and seeing almost every long distance train in the Amtrak system makes money “above the rail.” This is the same system used by other countries – based on operating costs, not full infrastructure maintenance costs – and revenue passenger miles.

   One thing URPA has talked about for decades is Amtrak’s erroneous use of warm body counts in the form of ridership instead of the real world metrics of load factor and revenue passenger miles. Amtrak wants us to be wowed by warm body counts, which are meaningless. What matters is how far you carry a passenger, and what revenue you derive from a passenger, not how many passengers.

   Which passenger would you rather have: one passenger traveling the 608 mile average length of trip on the Silver Meteor at 15.7 cents a revenue passenger mile … or four passengers on Oklahoma’s Heartland Flyer, traveling an average length of trip of 175 miles at 12 cents a revenue passenger mile? That one passenger on the Meteor not only makes Amtrak more money than the four passengers on the Heartland Flyer, but that one passenger will also spend more money onboard in the diner and lounge, had less cost to the national reservations system, less to reach through marketing, and tracks all the way through Amtrak’s accounting system with less costs because Amtrak is handling one passenger instead of four.

   When the late Graham Claytor – without a doubt Amtrak’s best president – retired from Amtrak in 1993, the company was generating internally enough money to cover 72% of its 1989 $1.7 billion operating budget, up from 48% in 1981. Today, that number has slipped dramatically, down to about 60%.

   Since Mr. Claytor retired, we have seen a virtual parade of permanent and semi-permanent interim chief executive for Amtrak, from Tom Downs to George Warrington to David Gunn to David Hughes to Alex Kummant to today’s Joe Boardman.

   Every new Amtrak president seems to have made the company worse in so many ways. We’ve seen the Heritage fleet – which is highly valued and treasured by VIA Rail Canada today – sold off. The original Pennsylvania Railroad Metroliners were scrapped. The Turboliners were rehabbed with someone else’s money, and then suddenly hidden and stored, and are now for sale.

   We have seen the delivery – and subsequent running off the wheels – of the too small order of Viewliners, with a promise, but no firm order for any more. We’ve seen a more than decade old order of Superliners, but those numbers are thinning due to neglected maintenance. We’ve seen the much heralded arrival of the Acela trainsets, but their mechanical troubles, too, have become legendary.

   In short, Amtrak has no reserve equipment pool it can activate quickly to expand or create new services. Even though there are still nearly 200 cars sitting in the wreck line, most of that is needed just to restore existing consists to previous levels of productivity, or put a service back east of New Orleans.

   During all of this while we have seen meaningless ridership numbers rise, we’ve also seen abysmal systemwide load factors; during some years more than half of Amtrak’s highly perishable inventory goes unsold.

   We have seen train consists shrink and shrink.

   So, Amtrak is running fewer seats miles for occupancy, creating less of a chance for success. Its equipment is old and getting more worn out by the hour. We know some equipment is being rehabbed by this year’s stimulus money, but it’s only token amounts for the national system.

   Which brings us back to, what can you do to help change Amtrak?

   I urge everyone in this room to start a new campaign.

   The Cardinal is the only train in Amtrak’s entire system which is run by federal mandate. Senator Robert Byrd slipped into federal law that his train – the Cardinal running through his home state of West Virginia – has to be operated. Amtrak uses and abuses this train, but it’s helpless to cancel it the way it did the east end of the Sunset Limited.

   My conservative soul is tortured by this next suggestion, but it may be necessary until Amtrak can be made to run like a real business. FCRP needs to convince the Florida Congressional Delegation the Silver Meteor, Silver Star, and an extended Palmetto south from Savannah to Jacksonville and beyond, and some sort of restored service east of New Orleans, must be mandated to be operated by federal statute.

   Your sister organizations in other states need to do the same with their trains. Remember – if it happened to the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans – it can happen to any train. Most of you know the very most basic rule of railroad safety: when on railroad property, be prepared for a train to be coming towards you at any time, from any direction. You know the second most basic safety rule – the one which separates real railroaders from rail fans – never, never, never, step on top of the rail; always step over the rail.

   Florida – and every other state – is currently standing on top of the rail, unaware a train is bearing down from an unknown direction. Amtrak’s management is much more interested in seeking free federal monies than in operating trains.

   We’ve seen no new equipment orders to date – just promises of a single-level order for Viewliner cars – and the just released update of Amtrak’s ongoing five year plan calls for no new cars.

   If Amtrak is serious about keeping its system intact, it would be at least talking about a new car order, especially for Superliners. But, the silence is all we need to know.

   Paul Dyson, President of the Railroad Passenger Association of California and Nevada, has openly raised the question of whether or not Amtrak is actually planning to exit the long distance route business because of a lack of equipment order.

   A few weeks back, one of our URPA associates was attending a rail fair in the Northeast. He ran across an Amtrak Engineering Department intern who wanted the world to know how important he was – after all, he was an intern at Amtrak.

   The question of equipment orders came up, and this young man offered a glimpse into Amtrak’s corporate thinking. He said, “Amtrak isn’t interested in slow trains, it’s only interested in fast trains.”

   Just shortly after that, Tom Carper, Amtrak’s Chairman of the Board, gave a presentation to the Midwest High Speed Rail folks touting Amtrak as the logical and national operator of all of the nation’s high speed systems. When you read Mr. Carper’s presentation, you realize the young intern wasn’t just whistling “Dixie.”

   So, if you’re [FCRP member] Jerry Sullivan and you want to travel west to visit your grandchildren in Texas, it’s not likely to happen any time soon on a restored Sunset Limited. If you’re George Bollinger and you just want to ride trains, you better plan your trip early, because too often you can’t get there from here.

   Until Congress mandates Amtrak must operate its long distance trains, every one of those trains is in danger. The train may not go away today, but it’s consist will be constantly shrinking, the level of service will deteriorate worse and Amtrak will remain – as Union Pacific’s official spokesman labeled it – “novelty transportation.”

   Amtrak today accounts for only two tenths of one percent of America’s transportation output, hardly enough for anyone to take seriously. Even worse, Amtrak isn’t doing much to change that.

   The only people Amtrak listens to is Congress, when it mandates Amtrak do something. It’s time for Congress to mandate – without exception – Amtrak must run all of its long distance trains, and throw in some restorations like the Sunset back to Florida, the Pioneer, with a full second frequency operating all the way between Chicago and Denver, the North Coast Hiawatha, and take the Sunset and the Cardinal daily.

   Amtrak will kick and scream and whine everyone is being mean to it by making it run trains it doesn’t want to run. But, if someone doesn’t do something this drastic soon, long distance passenger rail in America will be only a memory like steam locomotives, dome cars, and Pullman berths.

   Thank you so much for allowing me to be with you today; it’s a pleasure to be here.

2. Warren Buffett’s privatization of the venerable Burlington Northern Santa Fe rocked the railroad world. Here is what William Lindley of Scottsdale, Arizona had to say.
   

   Warren Buffett’s offer for BNSF the first week in November might prove to be a pivotal event for intercity passenger rail, having come at a time when, as Don Phillips in his recent Trains magazine column recently highlighted, dissatisfaction over Amtrak’s seeming refusal to participate in a renaissance of train travel is at a peak.

   Undoubtedly, Buffett has a record of making sound business decisions; and BNSF, being among the best managed and progressive of large railroads, does fit a motif of acquiring something good and making it better.

   Over the next weeks we will look at some of the synergies (much as that word is overused, it does apply here) and economies of scale that could apply to an enlarged role for BNSF in the passenger train business. But right now a single move would signal a positive direction. Words and attitude cost little but mean much; as you may know, trademarks, unlike copyrights and patents, are most defensible when they are in continuous business use. BNSF could gain much publicity, and build on its widespread and long standing – even if subconscious – recognition, by reviving its classic red, yellow, and silver “Warbonnet” scheme.

   A new interpretation of their classic corporate symbol would show a revived interest in being a participating citizen in every railroad town and city. Not to mention the free advertising garnered from rolling under practically every child’s Christmas tree. Renewing interest in today’s youth will perpetuate the recent industry rediscovery that trains are good for more than just hauling coal – they are the future of transportation, as well as the history.

   Yes, we undoubtedly will consider details in our upcoming columns here, but for now, Mr. Buffett, we simply convey – Welcome to the world of railroading.

3. Professor James McCommons of Northern Michigan University has a new book out this month, and it’s required reading for anyone interested in the business of passenger railroading.

   For full disclosure, this writer was interviewed for the book here in Jacksonville by Mr. McCommons. The interview was full of serious, well thought out questions and observations; it’s very clear the product of all of his interviews and research has led Mr. McCommons to creating a book far any beyond anything else on the market today regarding passenger rail as it stands in America.

   “Waiting on the Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service – A Year Spent Riding Across America” is much more succinct than its title, and presents a wide variety of honest opinions and thoughts about passenger rail. More than just the usual viewpoints are presented with conclusions both obvious and left for the reader to determine.

   The book is actually too short; Mr. McCommons reports his publisher, Chelsea Green (www.chelseagreen.com) had him remove about 40,000 words of his original text to fit into a predetermined format. What a shame; when you read the book, you are wanting more, and another brief 40,000 words would be welcomed by any reader.

   There is a lengthy review of the book in the current issue of Passenger Train Journal magazine by Karl Zimmermann for those wishing more detail, but, please, if your buy just one railroad book this year, buy “Waiting on the Train;” it’s time and money well spent. We can only hope Mr. McCommons will one day do a follow-up book.

4. Speaking of the latest issue of Passenger Train Journal (2009:4, Issue 241) which just hit the newsstands in the past week or so, there is an ever-so-timely article on Amtrak’s Pioneer, the subject of much discussion for an expensive route restoration, as well as the usual mix of good articles and photos. Editor Mike Schafer’s On The Point column – as always – not only hits the mark about the Pioneer, but covers some other good points, too. Other rail magazines may publish more frequently, but Passenger Train Journal remains the magazine of record for the business of passenger trains.
5. And, this e-mail to TWA arrived shortly after the last issue was published regarding VIA Rail Canada.
   

   I am a big fan of VIA and have been doing a yearly trip from Toronto to Vancouver on that lovely train, the Canadian for quite a few years. About a year ago, I wrote a comment to Crain’s Chicago Business online about Amtrak and their lack of interest in taking care of their equipment. When we board the Canadian in Toronto, she is shining, the windows are spotless,  (glass, not micro scratched plastic), flowers are fresh and the crew seems happy to see us!

   A couple of weeks ago, we went from Portland, Maine to New York City, and while waiting in Boston to transfer trains, several Acela’s came and went: they were already grimy and neglected looking. One of my stories about VIA involved what I consider to be a remarkable piece of quality railroading when the Canadian from the west was delayed by a blizzard and a freight accident making it too late east to turn. VIA put together a very spiffy “shuttle” consist which left on schedule from Toronto with a complementary lunch, complementary wine too!, and in several hours we rendezvoused with the now turned train and proceeded west, right on schedule. I asked a supervisor how this feat was accomplished, to which he replied, “it is all a matter of attitude.” Says it all about the difference between VIA and Amtrak.

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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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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.

It was an interesting project, because our group of professional passenger rail consultants had the opportunity to say “what if?” on almost every topic relating to creating and operating a successful railroad.

For those of you wondering, our figures were created using standard North American accounting principles (we used railroad accounting where necessary, but converted our facts and figures to real-world accounting for the benefit of the government – it was an interesting conversion). Both our marketing and operating figures (as well as corporate overhead) were always conservative to a point where if we knew a coach seat headrest paper towel costs 15 cents to replace, we tripled that cost to err on the side of caution. We used VIA historical ridership figures for marketing calculations.

The only part of VIA for Amtrak to emulate is their customer service. They consistently rank very high with their customers, with high satisfaction scores constantly running above 95%.

The rest of VIA currently emulates Amtrak, and Canada uses the U.S. as a positive model for their arguments.

VIA cuts its annual federal government subsidy each year by improving their efficiency and passenger counts. However, the last time I looked, they were still only recovering  about 40% or less of their operating costs at the farebox.

They have slashed their route system to the bone, where all but one of their long distance trains is tri-weekly. The Ocean, running between Montreal and Halifax is six times per week. VIA started its life with a huge corporate staff. They have trimmed some during the years, but many think they are probably still overstaffed.

Their version of the NEC between Sarnia and/or Windsor and Toronto and Ottawa and Montreal has daily service, but much less dense than our NEC.

VIA has always hauled express service and mail, but only because many of their routes are “social services” where there are no roads. The only form of transportation is either the train or a small airplane. Because of the nature of tri-weekly service, there is not much advantage to mail and express service of much consequence.

VIA has learned correctly that while it is a vital part of Canada’s domestic transportation network, they make huge money from sleeping car service. They also split their coach business into two classes. The long-distance advanced coach service (called VIA 1 on corridor trains) is similar to Amtrak’s regular coach service in terms of spaciousness and amenities. (VIA 1 on corridor trains is similar to first class airline service.) The riff raff in the lower class coach service on long-distance trains have an experience similar to riding in a short-distance Amtrak coach for a couple of days. It isn’t very pretty.

Their dining and lounge car services are exceptional. The diner has a much more upscale atmosphere than an Amtrak diner. The food is excellent.

VIA has no new equipment. They reworked the old Canadian Pacific coaches and sleepers at Pointe St. Charles about seven years ago, and it was on the same level as when the heritage sleepers were reworked at Beech Grove. VIA spent a bit more money and updated the equipment a little better, but they had the benefit of Amtrak’s previous experience to draw upon.

Their corridor equipment is about 20 years old and holds up well. Other than GO transit equipment in Toronto and some other isolated areas of Canada, there is no bi-level equipment that in Canada that VIA owns or operates (other than 35 year old dome cars).

VIA union contracts are not as progressive as Amtrak’s contracts.

VIA is a crown corporation, which means, like Amtrak, it is a creature of the federal government. Unless something has changed in the last few years, VIA has never even had the benefit of statutory authority from Parliament; it was created by an act of the cabinet, not the Parliament. Canada’s form of government is a copy of the English system. Therefore, the Prime Minister and cabinet have considerable powers that automatically flow to them that Congress does not afford our President in our system.

VIA is envious of Amtrak. The Canadians think we have a better system and wish they had our frequencies and routes. VIA management through the years made many of the same mistakes and Amtrak management, and paid as heavy of a price in 1989 when over half of their system was slashed by the government.

Our plan said it would take 11 years to privatize VIA (and not all of it; just the long-hauls) and would require a number of things to happen, including the purchase of bi-level equipment. It can be done, but there must be a long-term commitment to doing it and a workable plan everyone agrees to in advance.

Bruce Richardson

As to the question of privatization of long hauls, ask someone who has gone through this complete exercise. Thank you, I’m glad you asked. In 1990 a group of us took VIA Rail Canada apart and put it back together again on paper. This was not an amateur or academic exercise, but a real-world study to determine the future of rail transportation in Canada. The result? Over a eleven year period, the VIA long-hauls (national system) could be privatized and turn a modest profit. But, this only occurred if their version of the NEC between Toronto and Montreal stayed in government hands. Other details include radical changes in the way the company was operated by senior management, and even more radical changes in marketing practices. It also required new bi-level equipment and the operation of MORE daily trains, not tri-weekly or less trains. The project did not go forward because of the necessary huge capital investment needed and a change in federal government from conservative to the present liberal government.

The same can be done with Amtrak, but it will take far beyond 2002 to do it. And, before it can be privatized, the Amtrak corporate culture must undergo radical surgery to harmonize the company and eliminate many hurtful and wasteful things which now occur on a daily basis.

Also, Amtrak ownership will have to be structured similar to that of the old Pullman Company. Own equipment and motive power, have reservations and marketing, but leave everything else to others, including the NEC. The NEC should remain a government agency because it operates more like a highway than anything else.

Dr. Adrian Herzog of URPA has created a thoughtful White Paper on the future of passenger rail in our country, and he envisions tax credits and a number of other issues, including perhaps cheerful participation by the managements of present freight railroads. Dr. Herzog put much effort into this work, and it is an admirable document, in fact, the only long-term plan now on the horizon.

If others with to think differently than Dr. Herzog, they should put the same time and effort into possible solutions. This could only have a positive effect, with new ideas being openly debated.

As someone who in the regular course of business has conversed with more than one freight railroad president on the subject of passenger rail, it is my opinion – and please read the word opinion again – that the senior management of the major freight railroads today do not wish to become any further involved with passenger rail beyond a commuter capacity. When a workable national play is drawn where the freight railroads can participate on a basis they can justify to their stockholders, then they will come to the table. Before that, they will stick to what they know best now, which is hauling boxcars.

From a non-emotional, business standpoint, the present senior management of Amtrak has a series of problems which must be addressed immediately. These problems were created by their past actions since 1993. Who will answer these remains to be seen.

The next president of Amtrak must be a risk-taker, who is willing to put in place sound principals and be a student of history. Amtrak’s history is spotty at best, and to know where the company has failed before will help in not making the same mistakes again.

When Graham Claytor became president of Amtrak, he did so as the capstone to his career. He had “been there, done that” in about every capacity in the railroad industry, and therefore, was able to go to Amtrak and use his personal credibility to bolster the entire company.

Someone of his stature, age, and wisdom needs to do this again. It us unlikely someone from the freight industry will view moving to Amtrak as a career enhancement on the way to higher position. Too many risks that are too great and too many chances of failure are present. The best candidate will be someone who knows innovation and is far-sighted, but also does nothave a personal agenda for the extended future.

The next president of Amtrak should be someone who is willing to put a lifetime of talent and wisdom into stabilizing Amtrak, and then start it to grow again. Amtrak’s problems will never be solved by cost cutting, but only by orderly growth through revenues from passenger miles, state or regional tax support, and other ways, such as a rational plan to increase express business in such a way everyone can accept it.

Congess appointed a Blue Ribbon panel earlier this year which came up with several good ideas about the future of Amtrak and passenger rail in general. What has happened to this document? Was it only a “feel good” exercise that will never again see the light of day?

Let’s don’t destroy Amtrak now. Let’s work with our politicians to make instrumental change and have a long-term view of solving passenger rail problems. Let’s stabilize and take what we have and build from there. Let the regional needs be met by their own constituencies, and let’s together face the national challenges.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Bruce Richardson
Jacksonville, Florida