More aboard! Amtrak weighs long route improvements

Associated Press ^ | April 14, 2010 | MATT LEINGANG

[Willie Green]

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In many states, travelers who take Amtrak's long-distance trains for vacations or out-of-state business trips board in the middle of the night and return home from such cities as Chicago or New York City at times that are just as inconvenient.

But some improvements are on the way. Amtrak, the country's only major passenger train system, is re-examining timetables and finding other ways to improve its 15 national routes to bring in more riders and revenue. Among those under review are two routes that dip into Ohio and are practically hidden at night, their trains passing through when most people are sleeping.

Businessman Dave Shreiner, 63, typically boards around 1:30 a.m. at a tiny Amtrak stop in Alliance, Ohio. He travels exclusively by rail half of the year, visiting clients around the U.S.

"It makes planning a trip a challenge," Shreiner said.

The push for upgrades comes as Amtrak is on pace for record ridership this year, carrying a best-ever 13.6 million passengers in the first half of fiscal year 2010. That's a 4.3-percent increase over the same period last year, and 100,000 more than 13.5 million posted in the first half of 2008, Amtrak's previous highest ridership of 28.7 million passengers.

Amtrak cites an improving economy and high fuel prices as factors in ridership growth.

President Barack Obama is also giving $8 billion in stimulus money to 13 high-speed rail projects and 31 states, though Amtrak's role in those projects is murky, since states will control the funds. Some of the projects are years away from completion.

In the meantime, Amtrak is putting all of its long-distance routes under review through 2012, including five this year.

[Grizzled Bear]

I have a 1 ton diesel truck, a luxury fifth-wheel trailer and freedom of choice/movement.

Why should I give that up in exchange for your liberal-socialist illusion of utopia?

I know AMTRAK offers free WIFI; but I really don’t want to sit in a cattle car next to a pervert downloading porn.

[Grizzled Bear]

Why on Earth would anyone use Amtrak for anything other than a creative way to blow time and money?

They offer free wifi!

[Willie Green]

Why should I give that up in exchange for your liberal-socialist illusion of utopia?

Promoting passenger rail transportation systems to improve national security by decreasing our dependence on imported oil is NOT a liberal-socialist illusion, you Grizzled TWIT.

[Grizzled Bear]

Promoting passenger rail transportation systems to improve national security by decreasing our dependence on imported oil is NOT a liberal-socialist illusion, you Grizzled TWIT.

Willie. You've posted since 1998 and you still don't know the rules!

Please: NO profanity, NO personal attacks, NO racism or violence in posts.

Please run along and enjoy downloading pornography with your free wifi.

Personally, I'd rather drill and exploit our own resources. Afterall, the Chinese are drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Why the hell shouldn't we?

Them Chinese are pretty smart. They know how to make their subjects take the train!

[Willie Green]

Willie. You've posted since 1998 and you still don't know the rules!
Please: NO profanity, NO personal attacks, NO racism or violence in posts.

Hmmmmmm... perhaps "twit" is a bit harsh...
"Grizzled Pansy" is much more accurate...

Personally, I'd rather drill and exploit our own resources. Afterall, the Chinese are drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Why the hell shouldn't we?

As much as I'd also like to see us drill offshore and in ANWR, I don't suffer any delusional expectation that the current regulatory restrictions will be eliminated quickly enough to reduce our dependence on imports. We need to curtail our consumption as well. And since transportation is our primary use for petroleum, passenger rail transport in our most densely populated regions is an obvious part of the solution.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

1. Interesting data.
2. I imagine when you said “Lake Shoe Ltd.” you meant to say “Lake Shore Ltd.”?
3. So their (Europe’s) trains are faster, and more expensive?

Another example of “you get what you pay for”, then. I took a train from Paris to Madrid once - it was in 1978 - took all night and a good bit of the next day. You had to change trains at Hendaye/Irun because the Spanish rail gauge was different from the French - I think this date back to the Franco era - Franco figured this would keep the French from invading LOL.

[Willie Green]

2. I imagine when you said “Lake Shoe Ltd.” you meant to say “Lake Shore Ltd.”?

There's a rational explanation for that:

1. I have a crappy old computer with a worn-out keyboard.
2. I have crappy old eyes with worn-out bifocals.
3. I had a crappy day yesterday and was feeling all worn-out.
4. All of the above.

ǝʌoqɐ ǝɥʇ ɟo llɐ (p sı ɹǝʍsuɐ ʇɔǝɹɹoɔ ǝɥʇ

3. So their (Europe’s) trains are faster, and more expensive?

Yeah, but from what I've heard, owning/driving a car is even worse... not only very high fuel taxes, but also very high fees for getting a driver's license and stuff like that. Of course that probably differs from country to country and I could be misinformed. But that's the impression that I have.

[Mr. Lucky]

...Government should own and maintain the actual right-of-way and rails.

Yeah, and then railroads could become as efficient as those other government owned businesses, such as ...

[Willie Green]

Such as our Interstate Highways and Air Traffic control system.

What's the matter, Mr. Lucky?
Are you too intellectually lazy to finish your sentences and tell the truth???

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Agree with all your points. Sorry about your day yesterday. To some degree, the US is going to become more like Europe - not saying we should - but anyone can see it coming.

[Mr. Lucky]

Actually, I was thinking of the very New York to Chicago rail line which now handles the Amtrak service you seem to like so much. (The route, by the way, is 960 miles in length, not the 780 you imagined).

When there was a real world market demand, the privately owned New York Central operated the 20th Century Limited in 15 1/2 hours, and it always ran on time. Now that the government operates the service, the Lake Shore Limited is scheduled at 19 1/2 hours and is never on time.

A smarmy demeanor is a poor substitute for knowing what your talking about.

[Willie Green]

A smarmy demeanor is a poor substitute for knowing what your talking about.

The New York Central fell victim to post-WWII government subsidy of the airline industry and Interstate Highway System.

Your misleading assertion that the service decline is due to government operation is deserving of ridicule.

We no longer live in the 1950s era of cheap, plentiful Oil.
Quite the contrary, $4/gal OPEC profits are subsidized by American military blood that's shed to subdue the jihadists.
We need to do everything we can to reduce our addiction to imported oil. Utilizing energy efficient passenger rail in our more densely populated regions is an obvious step in the right direction.

[dfwgator]

The New York Central fell victim to post-WWII government subsidy of the airline industry and Interstate Highway System.

Trains are not as crucial for national defense as having planes and having an efficient way to transport military supplies in case of war. That was the main factor in subsidizing the airline industry and the Interstate highways over trains.

[Mr. Lucky]

Broad, poorly thought out, socio-political platitudes are, apparently, a perfectly acceptable substitute for a smarmy demeanor.

Private rail service faltered because of the heavy hand of government regulation. When that hand was lifted, private rail freight service flourished because the market demanded it. If there is a market demand for rail passenger service, lifting the dead hand of the government would allow private business to provide that service as well.

The historical fact remains that when there was a market for rail passenger service, private industry not only provided it, but provided it with greater comfort, speed and efficiency than the government does 60 years, and Billions of taxpayer subsidies, later.

[Willie Green]

The historical fact remains that

that private transportation stagnates unless stimulated by government subsidy...It was government that developed our inland waterways with canals, locks and dams,It was government who subsidized the the railroads with land grants,
And it was government who subsidized passenger airline travel with municipal airports, the federal air traffic control system, national weather service and, of course, military aircraft R&D.

[Mr. Lucky]

You don't really know a thing about railroads, now do you?

The government "stimulation" of American railroads almost killed them. The US now has a very efficient and profitable national rail system precisely because the government is no longer involved in pricing, service and investment decisions.

[Willie Green]

The US now has a very efficient and profitable national rail system precisely because the government is no longer involved in pricing, service and investment decisions.

Those actions are regulatory, not stimulative, nitwit.
And they were necessitated by practices that were not in the national interest: local and regional mopolistic freight rates in restraint of trade, petty territorial disputes that hindered national security in time of war.

Trucking companies do not own our highways.
Airlines do not own our air corridors or airports.
Riverboat/barge companies do not own our rivers, locks & dams.
Freight railroads should NOT own the tracks or railroad right-of-way.

[Mr. Lucky]

Which rail lines, specifically, do you think the government would be a better steward of than the current private owner and what, specifically, would the government owner do differently or better than the current private owner?

[Grizzled Bear]

We need to curtail our consumption as well. And since transportation is our primary use for petroleum, passenger rail transport in our most densely populated regions is an obvious part of the solution.

Most of our densely populated inner city regions already have subways and elevated trains. Their passengers mugging/rape/murder victims enjoy the convenience and tender ministrations of their enthusiastic fellow riders. I guess that mission is accomplished. Your work is done, Willie.

A few years ago, John Kerry lobbied unsuccessfully for a tax on gasoline. He said the purpose of this tax was to change public behavior, specifically to discourage the use of motor vehicles and encourage mass transit. Would you support a two dollar per gallon tax on gasoline if the revenue supported your precious trains?

I really don't expect an answer. You've ran out of intelligible arguments to support your ideas and, as usual, turned to Alinsky insults and misdirection. Pitch a fit like you always do when called out as the liberal you are. It won't make a difference. Everyone can see you are a socialist. You claim to be a conservative, but your philosophies are in line with the Progressive/Socialist-Libs who struggle to destroy our freedom.

[Grizzled Bear]

Ping to my post #39.