How is Amtrak doing now?
How is Amtrak doing now?
I've been out of the loop for a while, so I was wondering if any body know what condition is Amtrak in now. Are they doing better, worse, what does the future hold for Amtrak? How will it affect passenger service in Michigan?
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BNSF 1088
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Amtrak Long distance trains are in danger of being pulled off by the Bush Administration
The date i have been given for the studies of what trains that are to be taken off is June 30th 2006 Then you will see the 180 day notices come out after that.
No, Amtrak Long Distance train or manned Amtrak station is safe from being pulled off or unmanned.
Now is the time to contact your elected officials and tell them to
Fund Amtrak
Keep all Long distance trains running
Keep all Manned Amtrak Ticket offices Staffed and opened
Here is a list of elected officials to contact
Senators
http://www.senate.gov/
Representatives
http://www.house.gov/
The President
Phone #(202) 456-1111
Fax #(202) 456-2461
E Mail president@whitehouse.gov
US. Senate/House of Representatives
Phone #(202)-224-3121
The date i have been given for the studies of what trains that are to be taken off is June 30th 2006 Then you will see the 180 day notices come out after that.
No, Amtrak Long Distance train or manned Amtrak station is safe from being pulled off or unmanned.
Now is the time to contact your elected officials and tell them to
Fund Amtrak
Keep all Long distance trains running
Keep all Manned Amtrak Ticket offices Staffed and opened
Here is a list of elected officials to contact
Senators
http://www.senate.gov/
Representatives
http://www.house.gov/
The President
Phone #(202) 456-1111
Fax #(202) 456-2461
E Mail president@whitehouse.gov
US. Senate/House of Representatives
Phone #(202)-224-3121
Director of Save Our Trains Michigan
BNSF Conductor Lafayette LA
BNSF Conductor Lafayette LA
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GP30M4216
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Around the system and in Michigan, ridership seems to be up on most trains. Michigan trains are all increasing significantly, following a trend of great ridership increases over the last three or four years. Great to see. This includes Michigan lines: Pere Marquette, Wolverine, and Blue Water. Many long distance trains are also showing healthy increases in passenger counts, which is EVEN BETTER in my opinion. I think we will always have some sort of corridor style train service, but long distance service is constantly threatened - not by lack of ridership, but by the penny pinchers the government wastes money on which could be used elsewhere... Both the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited, which operate just below the Michigan border through Ohio and Indiana, are showing some of the best gains among long distance trains.
The most recent major cut in Amtrak service was the elimination of the Three Rivers in April 2005, itself a corridor style train with poor hours of service and and even worse timekeeping record, which was stuck on a long distance run tailored to mail and express services with passenger accomodations lacking.
Amtrak is currently studying the possibility of operating trains between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA. I also understand they'd like to operate a round trip between Palm Springs and Los Angeles in California, but that's a long ways in the future.
Rebuilds of cars, locomotives, and other equipment continues both on the east coast and at Beech Grove, IND. (Now if only they'd fire the guy that keeps putting the "businessclass" labels on the outside of ordinary Horizon Coaches!) In summer 2005, Amtrak completely refurbished all the trainsets which operate on the Empire Builder, renewing it's status as a truly first class train, whether traveling in coach or sleepers. The schedule I saw showed that the California Zephyr would get the same upgrade this summer, and the Southwest Chief the summer of 2007. However, I think that was before David Gunn was let go, and I know he was a real backer of excellent long distance service, which is part of the reason long distance service may be doing as well as it is now. Amtrak has also been doing major improvements in infrastructure to their NorthEast Corridor, and they are working up upgrade their Kalamazoo, MI-Michigan City, IN segment of former NYC trackage up to 110MPH service. It is currently up to 95MPH between these towns and slated to increase to 105MPH soon, with the final 5MPH increase to 110 not long after.
The government seems to think that people will still ride the train with no sleepers, no diners, no lounges, and no baggage service. They have pretty much forced Amtrak to cut way back on it's food spending, and they are returning to pre-plated meals on plasticwear, rather then the chef prepared meals on real china, continuing the cycle back and forth from one to the other every few years. This is a setback as I see it... I was on the Southwest Chief in February all the way from Chicago to California and the meals in the diner were fantastic. The Empire Builder with its upgraded status will not see any cutbacks of this type, but nearly every other long distance train on the Amtrak network will.
Honestly, Amtrak's future based upon the rising numbers of people riding the trains and using the various stations across the system makes me hope for the best, as people seem to slowly be renewing their interest in train travel. With $3 a gallon gasoline and Airline employees striking left and right, I think this will continue. We just need to "assist" the government in realizing that Amtrak is just as important today, if not moreso, than it was back in 1971, and it could provide a great role in this country in the future.
The most recent major cut in Amtrak service was the elimination of the Three Rivers in April 2005, itself a corridor style train with poor hours of service and and even worse timekeeping record, which was stuck on a long distance run tailored to mail and express services with passenger accomodations lacking.
Amtrak is currently studying the possibility of operating trains between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA. I also understand they'd like to operate a round trip between Palm Springs and Los Angeles in California, but that's a long ways in the future.
Rebuilds of cars, locomotives, and other equipment continues both on the east coast and at Beech Grove, IND. (Now if only they'd fire the guy that keeps putting the "businessclass" labels on the outside of ordinary Horizon Coaches!) In summer 2005, Amtrak completely refurbished all the trainsets which operate on the Empire Builder, renewing it's status as a truly first class train, whether traveling in coach or sleepers. The schedule I saw showed that the California Zephyr would get the same upgrade this summer, and the Southwest Chief the summer of 2007. However, I think that was before David Gunn was let go, and I know he was a real backer of excellent long distance service, which is part of the reason long distance service may be doing as well as it is now. Amtrak has also been doing major improvements in infrastructure to their NorthEast Corridor, and they are working up upgrade their Kalamazoo, MI-Michigan City, IN segment of former NYC trackage up to 110MPH service. It is currently up to 95MPH between these towns and slated to increase to 105MPH soon, with the final 5MPH increase to 110 not long after.
The government seems to think that people will still ride the train with no sleepers, no diners, no lounges, and no baggage service. They have pretty much forced Amtrak to cut way back on it's food spending, and they are returning to pre-plated meals on plasticwear, rather then the chef prepared meals on real china, continuing the cycle back and forth from one to the other every few years. This is a setback as I see it... I was on the Southwest Chief in February all the way from Chicago to California and the meals in the diner were fantastic. The Empire Builder with its upgraded status will not see any cutbacks of this type, but nearly every other long distance train on the Amtrak network will.
Honestly, Amtrak's future based upon the rising numbers of people riding the trains and using the various stations across the system makes me hope for the best, as people seem to slowly be renewing their interest in train travel. With $3 a gallon gasoline and Airline employees striking left and right, I think this will continue. We just need to "assist" the government in realizing that Amtrak is just as important today, if not moreso, than it was back in 1971, and it could provide a great role in this country in the future.
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BNSF 1088
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Thats not true the Budget there talking about is for 2006/2007 not the budget were in now which is 2005/2006
rsinoms wrote:For now amtrak in michigan is safe. Granholm just signed a transportation bill reinstating the $1 million funding for the Blue Water and Pere Marquette.
Director of Save Our Trains Michigan
BNSF Conductor Lafayette LA
BNSF Conductor Lafayette LA
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BNSF 1088
- Railroadfan...fan
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Appropriations; transportation; state transportation department; provide for fiscal year 2006-2007. Creates appropriation act.
Last Action: 2/21/2006 - referred to Committee on Appropriations
House Bill link
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(s1khmx45 ... 06-HB-5737
Senate Bill link
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(s1khmx45 ... 06-SB-1097
Appropriations; transportation; state transportation department; provide for fiscal year 2006-2007. Creates appropriation act.
Last Action: 2/28/2006 - REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Last Action: 2/21/2006 - referred to Committee on Appropriations
House Bill link
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(s1khmx45 ... 06-HB-5737
Senate Bill link
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(s1khmx45 ... 06-SB-1097
Appropriations; transportation; state transportation department; provide for fiscal year 2006-2007. Creates appropriation act.
Last Action: 2/28/2006 - REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Director of Save Our Trains Michigan
BNSF Conductor Lafayette LA
BNSF Conductor Lafayette LA
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MSchwiebert
- Railroadfan...fan
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- Location: Perrysburg Ohio
A few comments
I've been wrestling with the Amtrak situation for some time now, what it boils down to is this: The organization continually asks for more money, but never shows that they are using the money/assets that they have in the most efficient way possible. The express business would have become a good niche market that could have assisted their bottom line - if they would have stuck it out for example. If Amtrak would be run more like a business than a government agency - I'd be more willing support them. Until they start showing some financial accountability and take the subsidies that they do get and use them efficiently (how many times do they need to change the paint scheme on their equipment for example), It'll be hard pressed for me to throw my support behind them. Another queston on Amtrak is if they are the best enterprise to transition towards high speed operations - on the one hand they do a very good job of operating the NEC, but on the other, the Illinois & Michigan experements have been fraught with delays (granted, not have all been Amtrak's "fault" ). With the midwest initiative continuing along, what has Amtrak done to illustrate that they would be a viable operator for the the operation when that time comes?
In my opinion, the tired refrain of "all modes of passenger transportation receive a subsidy - so why shouldn't Amtrak get more of their share?" is a crutch. If they cannot visibly illustrate that they are efficient with the money they do get, they should not get one dime more until the management is in place that can do so.
In my opinion, the tired refrain of "all modes of passenger transportation receive a subsidy - so why shouldn't Amtrak get more of their share?" is a crutch. If they cannot visibly illustrate that they are efficient with the money they do get, they should not get one dime more until the management is in place that can do so.
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OwlCaboose2853
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After 35 Years, Amtrak's Future Uncertain
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 00342.html
WASHINGTON -- Last year, President Bush proposed no federal aid for Amtrak. Its highly touted high-speed train was sidelined for months with brake problems and its president was fired. Still, the passenger railroad chugs on toward its 35th birthday Monday.
To mark the occasion, a group of analysts who have followed Amtrak's woes over the years will gather in Washington to discuss what critics call Amtrak's "35 years of subsidies, waste and deception."
"Amtrak keeps making promises that things would get better, one promise after another," said Joseph Vranich, a former Amtrak spokesman and former member of the Amtrak Reform Council. "But people fall for the promises, and Amtrak survives."
Keith Ashdown with the group Taxpayers for Common Sense said Congress shoulders some of the blame for Amtrak's financial woes. The railroad always seems to teeter on the brink of failure, only to be pulled back by a last-minute infusion of cash from Capitol Hill.
Amtrak has debt of more than $3.5 billion and its operating loss for 2005 topped $550 million.
"Congress has been practicing schizophrenic leadership, trying to give Amtrak tough love, but then giving them the money anyway, but no real clear consensus opinion on how they want Amtrak to change," Ashdown said. "There's never been any real direction given to Amtrak except saying that they have to be more fiscally responsible."
David Hughes, Amtrak's acting president, said the railroad's future is bright. It has begun a host of initiatives to revamp some long-distance routes, streamline its finances and boost customer service while looking at several cost-cutting initiatives such as revamping its food and beverage service.
Hughes said one important thing Amtrak has accomplished was agreeing on a mission statement with its management, board of directors and the Transportation Department. The mission is to provide the country with "safe, reliable intercity passenger service in an economically sound manner that will exceed customer expectations."
"We have some common ground here that hasn't existed in a long time for Amtrak," Hughes told The Associated Press.
But his predecessor, David Gunn, isn't buying it.
Gunn, fired last November after opposing the Amtrak board on a host of issues, said he believes the board will hire a president who "won't challenge City Hall" and will not block the Bush administration's goal of dismantling Amtrak.
Administration officials say they want to reform Amtrak, not destroy it.
"If they hire a serious person, someone who believes there should be intercity passenger service in this country, that person is being hired by a government that is trying to destroy the company," Gunn said from his home on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada.
"Reform is their code word for `Make it go away,'" he added.
Gunn's firing capped off a bad 2005 for Amtrak. It had to suspend all high-speed Acela service in April due to cracks discovered in some brakes. The congressional Government Accountability Office said Amtrak must improve how it monitors performance and oversees its finances in order to reach firm financial footing.
Bush had proposed no money for Amtrak in 2005, but Congress approved $1.3 billion in subsidies. Amtrak's budget request for the next fiscal year is $1.59 billion, while Bush is calling for $900 million.
Gunn said $900 million would force the railroad to "eviscerate the system," saying that is too little for capital costs.
Analysts say Amtrak must stop relying on subsidies. Rail routes with low ridership should be cut, new labor rules negotiated and some operations privatized, they say.
Ronald Utt, a transportation analyst with the conservative Heritage Foundation, said Amtrak should look to Japan, Britain and Canada for some ideas.
In Britain, the country was sliced up into 26 different train routes that were put out for bid. Private companies now operate various routes, with some having turned profits.
In Japan, a big chunk of the rail system was privatized and is now making a profit, Utt said. Canada simply reduced its railroad's annual subsidy.
"Rail problems are not unique to the United States," Utt said.
___
On the Net:
Amtrak: http://www.amtrak.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 00342.html
WASHINGTON -- Last year, President Bush proposed no federal aid for Amtrak. Its highly touted high-speed train was sidelined for months with brake problems and its president was fired. Still, the passenger railroad chugs on toward its 35th birthday Monday.
To mark the occasion, a group of analysts who have followed Amtrak's woes over the years will gather in Washington to discuss what critics call Amtrak's "35 years of subsidies, waste and deception."
"Amtrak keeps making promises that things would get better, one promise after another," said Joseph Vranich, a former Amtrak spokesman and former member of the Amtrak Reform Council. "But people fall for the promises, and Amtrak survives."
Keith Ashdown with the group Taxpayers for Common Sense said Congress shoulders some of the blame for Amtrak's financial woes. The railroad always seems to teeter on the brink of failure, only to be pulled back by a last-minute infusion of cash from Capitol Hill.
Amtrak has debt of more than $3.5 billion and its operating loss for 2005 topped $550 million.
"Congress has been practicing schizophrenic leadership, trying to give Amtrak tough love, but then giving them the money anyway, but no real clear consensus opinion on how they want Amtrak to change," Ashdown said. "There's never been any real direction given to Amtrak except saying that they have to be more fiscally responsible."
David Hughes, Amtrak's acting president, said the railroad's future is bright. It has begun a host of initiatives to revamp some long-distance routes, streamline its finances and boost customer service while looking at several cost-cutting initiatives such as revamping its food and beverage service.
Hughes said one important thing Amtrak has accomplished was agreeing on a mission statement with its management, board of directors and the Transportation Department. The mission is to provide the country with "safe, reliable intercity passenger service in an economically sound manner that will exceed customer expectations."
"We have some common ground here that hasn't existed in a long time for Amtrak," Hughes told The Associated Press.
But his predecessor, David Gunn, isn't buying it.
Gunn, fired last November after opposing the Amtrak board on a host of issues, said he believes the board will hire a president who "won't challenge City Hall" and will not block the Bush administration's goal of dismantling Amtrak.
Administration officials say they want to reform Amtrak, not destroy it.
"If they hire a serious person, someone who believes there should be intercity passenger service in this country, that person is being hired by a government that is trying to destroy the company," Gunn said from his home on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada.
"Reform is their code word for `Make it go away,'" he added.
Gunn's firing capped off a bad 2005 for Amtrak. It had to suspend all high-speed Acela service in April due to cracks discovered in some brakes. The congressional Government Accountability Office said Amtrak must improve how it monitors performance and oversees its finances in order to reach firm financial footing.
Bush had proposed no money for Amtrak in 2005, but Congress approved $1.3 billion in subsidies. Amtrak's budget request for the next fiscal year is $1.59 billion, while Bush is calling for $900 million.
Gunn said $900 million would force the railroad to "eviscerate the system," saying that is too little for capital costs.
Analysts say Amtrak must stop relying on subsidies. Rail routes with low ridership should be cut, new labor rules negotiated and some operations privatized, they say.
Ronald Utt, a transportation analyst with the conservative Heritage Foundation, said Amtrak should look to Japan, Britain and Canada for some ideas.
In Britain, the country was sliced up into 26 different train routes that were put out for bid. Private companies now operate various routes, with some having turned profits.
In Japan, a big chunk of the rail system was privatized and is now making a profit, Utt said. Canada simply reduced its railroad's annual subsidy.
"Rail problems are not unique to the United States," Utt said.
___
On the Net:
Amtrak: http://www.amtrak.com
While I dont know the numbers, or the politics concerning Amtrak, I know the Bluw Water on April 2nd, westbound was 8 seats short of a sell out train! The Empire Builder, both on the 2nd and 6th were sold out, and the Wolverine (354) on the 6th was a near sell out as well. I dont know the national number..but to me and my brother in crime, this told us that the media and critics comments on Amtrak are incorrect..as usual.
Dave c
Dave c
If Amtrak folds up would any of the other railroads get back into the market? Like Union Pacific?
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GP30M4216
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Railnut: you're exactly right. Many trains are close to full, and not just during peak periods such as weekends and holidays. Yesterday morning I spoke with a passenger who had gotten off the Lake Shore Limited from New York at Elkhart, IN and he said their train was mostly full - and that they had made up a bunch of time being only 6 minutes late into Elkhart while being over an hour late upon his departure from Buffalo. Ridership is growing on many routes, some quite significantly. The Michigan Assoc. of Rail Passengers hosts some ridership counts under their link on the left bar called "Transit Scorecard." http://www.marp.org.
It's great to see Amtrak trains this full! It would be nice if they had more cars to add to these trains to further increase capacity, but Amtrak hardly seems to have money to provide good meals in the diner (thank you Norman Mienta), let alone purchase more equipment. I don't even know if David Gunn's aggressive rebuild and return-to-service plan as part of the "state of good repair" involving heavy overhauls and repairs to wrecked equipment at Beech Grove is still ongoing since he was fired. If I could give that man a gold star I would - he deserves it for what he did at Amtrak.
It's great to see Amtrak trains this full! It would be nice if they had more cars to add to these trains to further increase capacity, but Amtrak hardly seems to have money to provide good meals in the diner (thank you Norman Mienta), let alone purchase more equipment. I don't even know if David Gunn's aggressive rebuild and return-to-service plan as part of the "state of good repair" involving heavy overhauls and repairs to wrecked equipment at Beech Grove is still ongoing since he was fired. If I could give that man a gold star I would - he deserves it for what he did at Amtrak.
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OwlCaboose2853
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- Location: Chelsea
Regional Amtrak funding cut avoided
Thursday, May 4, 2006
By Tiffani Blade
tblade@kalamazoogazette.com 388-8526
BANGOR -- Amtrak service through Bangor and other West Michigan communities, threatened by funding cuts, will continue at least through September.
A proposal to reduce the state's $7 million transportation subsidy to Amtrak by $1 million had left the future of Amtrak service here in limbo. But officials were relieved to learn recently that the funds weren't cut.
``Everything appears on track, and that's great news for Bangor,'' Bangor City Manager Larry Nielsen said.
But the Pere Marquette line, which stops at stations in Grand Rapids, Holland, Bangor, St. Joseph, New Buffalo and Chicago, and the Blue Water Line, which covers the east side of the state, will once again face an uncertain future when the fiscal year ends in September.
Without these lines, rail passengers would have to ride a bus or arrange for other transportation to reach Kalamazoo for boarding trains to Chicago.
Passenger use at smaller stations, such as Bangor's, is growing, Nielsen said. In March, 223 people got on and off in Bangor, up from 186 the previous March.
``This service is a big boost to West Michigan, and it will continue to be that,'' Nielson said.
He is advocating starting the train's run earlier from Grand Rapids so that weekenders from the Chicago area can stay in Michigan a day longer.
He is proposing that the train depart from Grand Rapids at 5:35 a.m. -- two hours ahead of the current time -- and arrive in Chicago at 8:30 a.m., allowing enough time for people to get to work Monday morning.
John Langdon, chairman of the West Michigan chapter of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, said he also is proposing an amended schedule that allows enough time for people from Chicago to plan day trips to West Michigan for ``beach or business.''
Langdon stressed the importance of the Pere Marquette line to college students.
``With gas at three bucks a gallon, plus the cost of college, the train is a good option,'' he said. ``I think more people will realize that soon.''
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/ind ... xml&coll=7
Thursday, May 4, 2006
By Tiffani Blade
tblade@kalamazoogazette.com 388-8526
BANGOR -- Amtrak service through Bangor and other West Michigan communities, threatened by funding cuts, will continue at least through September.
A proposal to reduce the state's $7 million transportation subsidy to Amtrak by $1 million had left the future of Amtrak service here in limbo. But officials were relieved to learn recently that the funds weren't cut.
``Everything appears on track, and that's great news for Bangor,'' Bangor City Manager Larry Nielsen said.
But the Pere Marquette line, which stops at stations in Grand Rapids, Holland, Bangor, St. Joseph, New Buffalo and Chicago, and the Blue Water Line, which covers the east side of the state, will once again face an uncertain future when the fiscal year ends in September.
Without these lines, rail passengers would have to ride a bus or arrange for other transportation to reach Kalamazoo for boarding trains to Chicago.
Passenger use at smaller stations, such as Bangor's, is growing, Nielsen said. In March, 223 people got on and off in Bangor, up from 186 the previous March.
``This service is a big boost to West Michigan, and it will continue to be that,'' Nielson said.
He is advocating starting the train's run earlier from Grand Rapids so that weekenders from the Chicago area can stay in Michigan a day longer.
He is proposing that the train depart from Grand Rapids at 5:35 a.m. -- two hours ahead of the current time -- and arrive in Chicago at 8:30 a.m., allowing enough time for people to get to work Monday morning.
John Langdon, chairman of the West Michigan chapter of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, said he also is proposing an amended schedule that allows enough time for people from Chicago to plan day trips to West Michigan for ``beach or business.''
Langdon stressed the importance of the Pere Marquette line to college students.
``With gas at three bucks a gallon, plus the cost of college, the train is a good option,'' he said. ``I think more people will realize that soon.''
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/ind ... xml&coll=7