Posted on 08/30/2005 5:49:21 AM PDT by OESY
Children's literature is full of bad-tempered railway engines that get overheated, blow their tops and make angry whooshing sounds -- only to get their comeuppance in the end. Amtrak President David Gunn just did his best imitation of a huffy little engine, lashing out at Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta for saying that the railroad should become more efficient.
All Mr. Mineta did was agree with a report by his independent inspector-general, who found Amtrak could save $1.2 billion in operating and capital spending over five years by eliminating costly sleeping cars and modifying food and beverage service. The splenetic Mr. Gunn said such comments "may make sense to someone who knows nothing about railroads" and suggested it's difficult to take the "irrational" Mr. Mineta seriously. He further belittled the DOT by adding, "Next thing they'll want to take toilets off and save money that way."
What the DOT actually said was that food for passengers is necessary but should be provided without federal subsidies. It urged Amtrak to sell food from carts (as on Europe's trains), outsource or have long-distance passengers buy meals during stops. The GAO found that for every dollar Amtrak earns on food-and-bev, it spends $2. That's just the tip of the iceberg: Don't forget that Amtrak designed faulty Acela... trains, is virtually bankrupt, and is lightly used in most of the U.S. as 50% of passengers ride on just 10% of the system....
Amtrak's waste of $27 billion in subsidies thus far calls for ruthless remedies. It's time to eliminate long-distance trains, except for a few better-used "corridor" segments. Let's discontinue market-irrelevant routes and open remaining lines to competitive bidding. Mr. Gunn's contemptuous blast at Mr. Mineta demonstrates that true Amtrak reform is a delusion. It cannot turn itself around any more than its trains can.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
be a shame if these C-men had to travel the roads they milk the taxpayers so much for to keep repaired, like the rest of us
catch a 5 hour I-95 tie up
Maybe someone can explain to Senator Lautenberg that Amtrak is nothing more than a tool of Northeast liberal politicians to get back and forth from their districts.
Shut the beotch down. By the way, who built the Acela anyway? Maybe they should be sued and forced to pay back everything paid to them for creating faulty equipment.
O well, so goes another "Market Driven" institution. Amtrak should go - the way of the stagecoach. If a private corp cant or wont buy into running rail passenger service, why should the taxpayer?
Is rail passenger service that important or just an anachronism that some diehard sentimentalists cant let go of? If thats the case, let the diehards open their wallets and shell out the cost, so he keeps his hands out of mine.
They're mostly 'undercover' but over the years I now know them by sight. During the day they keep the drunks and beggars out, oops "homeless people" and luggage thieves are caught almost immediately.
Hmm, all things considered I guess that isn't too high of praise for Amtrak. Their trains suck, but their cops are good.
Get rid of the Railroad UNION.
They sit around and do nothing !
Memo to Congress: Spend that money on the fence!
If there is a need, let the market provide it. If you can't run your company at a profit, do not come looking for the Government to bail you out. Same should apply to the airline industry.
That about sums it up except for the schedule as others on this thread have noted, Amtrak is almost always late and the cost for even a short trip is prohibitive to the common pocket book. The Union rules and salaries have left this mode of once fun travel on the chopping block.
You're right and man does that bring back memories.
When I was kid (I just hit 57) and locomotives were going diesel electric (yeah do I remember a few old steam engines chugging down the rails), the railroad union fought like 'heck' to keep the job of "Fireman". That's the guy who shoveled the COAL into the firebox. And the UNION WON!(my maternal grand father worked for the Soo Line RR, so 'we' followed that kind of stuff)So for a few years while that contract was in effect, there sat a Fireman in the cab next to the engineer doing absolutely NOTHING and getting paid to do it.
"catch a 5 hour I-95 tie up"
or... I can step 100 feet out behind my shop and watch the "hi-speed" Acela cruise by at 45 miles an hour.
Pick your poison, at least my tax dollars are not wasted on an I-95 traffic jam.
Considering that the food costs as much as stadium concessions, with $3.00 for a microwaved hot dog, I have to wonder where the heck they're spending their money. Probably union wages for surly cafeteria staff.
Until they want to add a few lanes and decide to jack up taxes to pay for it.
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