Posted on 05/29/2012 9:17:57 AM PDT by Feline_AIDS
Alternate title for this post:
Dreams from My Freightcar: A Story of Pace and Incompetence
1. Why can't private passenger trains operate like plane companies?
2. Why don't we rip up some old tracks and turn them into true high-speed elevated rail that travels at 500 kilometers/hr?
3. Why is Amtrack, as it is now, so inefficient and crappy when train transportation is supposedly so efficient (CSX's 430+miles/gallon fuel)
4. There seems to be an inverse relationship of luxury to efficiency. Plane travel is torture, but it's efficient. Train travel could be luxurious since it's not fuel inefficient, but is time inefficient. Why is this ratio not considered for leisure travel? In other words, weight doesn't seem like it should be a serious consideration in train travel like it is in air travel, so why don't we have palatial luxury compartments? Is there a limit to the length of a passenger train?
5. Is Amtrack not as bad as I think it is? (All I know is I thought maybe I'd take a train on a leisure trip, but found the prices were outrageous, at least compared to flying.)
The only reason people take the Boston to NYC trains is because the cab ride in from the airport is $40 and 45 minutes. The Amtrack drops you off at Penn station 34th Street and 7th/8th Avenue right under Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan. That is the only reason I ever took it.
Also, it cost $45/day or more to park a car in NYC. It adds up if you are going to be there for a few days.
I watch Top Gear and they do a lot of races across Europe car vs different public transportation. So far, I don’t think public transportation has won yet.
Even flying a small private plane from the south of France to London was slower than the drive.
One disadvantage is the poor scheduling. Taking a train at 5:00 am isn’t fun. On the other hand, so far at least, you and your luggage don’t have to go through TSA screenings.
ShadowAce, you bring up a very good point. All trains must run on track. To save money during the building of track, most of the track in the United States is single track. Since it is privately owned, it is like a private road. Private companies use the track for their own trains, and charge other freight companies to use their rail lines.
To make the train transportation market similar to the air carrier market, you would need to nationalize all of the physical rail, many of the rail stations, and then create a national rail managment center to direct traffic. Considering that there are some rail lines / corridors that are already heavily used, you would need to further invest the building of additional rail lines / bridges / corridors / spurs
All of this adds up to a very expensive proposition.
I think that he got tombstoned awhile ago. He was starting to get more and more militant and less and less rational with his postings. I suspect that he angered the wrong admin/mod.
Trains only compete with highway and planes in high density populations like the northeast but only for 2 people or less. Once you have more than 2 people in your traveling party driving a car is more economical.
Ask John Galt.
Simple answer- AMTRAK is a Government-Run Company.
‘nuf said...
"The Peter Principle" lives.
I remember that episode. (Great show, Top Gear)
Are you watching that new show with Richard Hamond, where he tries to learn to operate big equipment in three days?
Very entertaining.
Yep, the train is slow and easy - I still love train travel.
Too many destinations...something like 500 cities served. Some of those routes have got to be losers.
Here is the explanation from the Amtrak Historical Society:
The Chiefs, the Limiteds, the Zephyrs. They were more than passenger trains. They surrounded us with impeccable comfort and tantalized our palates with elegant dining fare as they whisked into a world of romance and mystique.
During the 1940s the passenger train began fighting a battle against the airplane and private automobile. By the 1960s the passenger train was rarely considered as a means of travel. Schedules were erratic, trains were run down, and more often than not the journey was a miserable experience.
Then, in October, 1970, in an attempt to revive passenger rail service, congress passed the Rail Passenger Service Act. That Act created Amtrak, a private company which, on May 1, 1971 began managing a nation-wide rail system dedicated to passenger service.
__________________________________
I’m old enough to have ridden the Super Chiefs when they were in their prime, but as the explanation notes they went downhill rapidly with the advent of air and interstate. In the 70s, Amtrak had reasonable rates and we could go to New York from North Carolina on an overnight ride cheaper than flying. Some parts of the journey were slow due to bad track and the trains were always late even then. Now the rates are often higher than flying and the schedules are just as bad.
Amtrak was supposed to be a temporary measure until somebody figured out how to run passenger rail profitably in a world of freeways and airplanes. That was 40 years ago. Clinton gave them a big boost in funding that was only supposed to last 5 years at the end of which they were either supposed to become self sustaining or cease to exist, neither happened. If you take the time to understand those facts all your questions are answered.
Yeah I like trains too. I just don’t want to make taxpayers fund them.
As a frequent user of the Amtrak Cardinal, I think I can answer a few of those questions.
The direct line Indy-Lafayette tracks (NYCentral Line) were pulled up in the 80’s. The train now must go Indy-Crawfordsville-Lafayette, adding 40 miles to the trip, over rail lines owned by two different companies.
The real problem for this train is the bottleneck on the Chicago Southside. Amtrak has to add 60 minutes to the schedule due to this, and sometimes sits for far longer than that, just short of the east-west mainline. This effects the train both ways.
Once off the Chicago area tracks and on the Monon, heading southbound, it usually does very well.
Wow... Total highway miles of road in the United States (all public roads/streets):
1960: 3.5 million miles
1960: 3.7 million
1980: 3.8 million
1990: 3.9- million
2000: 3.9+ million
2009: 4.05 million
Total Rail miles (excluding doubled tracks and sidings):
1960: 207,334 miles
1970: 196K
1980: 165K
1990: 120K
2000: 99.2K
2010: 93.9K
(AMTRAK miles: 24K in 1980... declining to 21.1K in 2009)
Meanwhile: there were 254.2 MILLION registered passenger vehicles in the US in 2009. Why take the train if you spent the money to have the convenience of a car?
(Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics/Research and Innovative Technology Administration)
“I’m asking why private companies don’t do this.”
Because private companies want to make a profit.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.