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$: Out Amtrak - The Transit Coalition · 2012. 3. 15. · 6hareOn/inked,n 6end7oFriend htp //nib.l\/iAOi &op\7o&lipboard Feedback ... authorities like a goose laying a golden egg; and$
9/11/12 Railroads, Republicans Muscling Out Amtrak - Forbes

1/6www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2012/03/15/railroads-republicans-muscling-out-amtrak/

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America’s leading freight railroads

are plotting their return to

passenger service as Amtrak faces a

threat from privatizing politicians in

Congress, a former Amtrak CEO

said in Chicago Wednesday.

“This is a difficult time for Amtrak,”

former Amtrak Chairman and CEO

Tom Downs told about 70 people

gathered at a rountable hosted by

the Metropolitan Planning Council.

“One branch of the Congress has said that it’s time to phase out Amtrak.”

Republicans in the House of Representatives have pressed to cut Amtrak

funding in the federal transportation bill, and Republican presidential

candidate Mitt Romney recently said in a TV news interview that he would

eliminate Amtrak’s subsidy, among other programs:

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Railroads, Republicans MusclingOut Amtrak

““Of course you get rid of Obamacare, that’s the easy one, but there are others: Planned

Parenthood, we’re gonna get rid of that. The subsidy for Amtrak, I would eliminate that.

The National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, both

excellent programs, but we can’t afford to borrow money to pay for these things.”

via ABC News.

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451 58 9

Former Amtrak CEO Tom Downs

As a result, Amtrak has not seized upon opportunities for expanding

passenger service in the United States, said Downs, who now serves as

chairman of the North American Board of Paris-based Veolia Transportation.

“I think the corporation [Amtrak] tends to be

more conservative and risk averse when the

atmosphere is perceived to be risky. So while

there may be interest, I’m not sure there’s the

right climate for them to be aggressive.”

The private railroads, meanwhile, are not so

shy.

“All of the Class Ones are now getting back

into the the passenger rail service,” Downs

said, naming Union Pacific, Burlington

Northern & Santa Fe, and Norfolk-Southern:

“The Union Pacific is going to be adamantabout control of the railroad passenger service

from Chicago to St. Louis,” Downs said. Thefederal government is investing $2 billion to prepare that corridor, which requiresthe use of Union Pacific right-of-way, track, and equipment.

“The Burlington Northern Santa Fe has said that any real passenger service on

their tracks is going to be run by Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

“And Norfolk-Southern is in somewhat the same position.”

Downs led Amtrak from 1993-98. He has also served as executive director of

the Federal Transit Administration, a White House fellow to the U.S. Dept. of

Transportation, president of New York’s Tri Boro Bridge and Tunnel

Authority, director of the District of Columbia Department of Transportation,

among other roles.

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Comments

This railroad operation of railroad passenger service is out of the blue. The railroads

want control – something different. Does each of those railroads have the specialized

passenger marketing, service, equipment, and other expertise of Amtrak? Is privatization

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Harvey Kahler 5 months ago



Author

Author

a way around the covenants of the Amtrak law that protect the service to the public?

Currently, the railroads and Amtrak negotiate service and improvements as equals –

privatization would subordinate passenger needs and utility.

The public needs and deserves a voice and advocate for service schedules and reliability.

This is possible with Amtrak and the regional commuter authorities. If the public needs a

train from Chicago to Springfield for a 10:00 am meeting or session; 10:30 am won’t do

it. If the best time to leave Chicago is at 5:30 pm, a 5:00 pm train could miss half the

market; and a 6:00 pm train gives the competition a 30-minute head-start.

Tom Downs hardly is neutral in his position with Veolia, a private rail passenger service

contractor not saddled with Amtrak’s fixed infrastructure costs and in competition with

Amtrak for operating contracts. The public-supported services are operated on a cost-

plus basis with fares and subsidy established usually by a regional public authority; while

it’s privatized, it isn’t “profitable” except for Veolia. This also says something about the

lack of transparency of Amtrak costs, even with public authorities, and treating those

authorities like a goose laying a golden egg; and I speak on experience with the Valparaiso

commuter service.

Beside, the UP took a little less than a billion in public funds to get this far on the Chicago

– Saint Louis Corridor; and the rest of the $2 billion was slated for a second main track

and positive train control. Other railroads have benefited by public investment for

passenger service as well. Is it right to turn over public investment without compensation

and without a say in service?

Reply

Great comment, Harvey, thank you.

Reply

I have nothing against the Class I railroads getting back into providing passenger service.

However, competitive passenger service does require separation of freight and passenger

traffic, both to avoid scheduling conflicts and to maintain track conditions for the higher

speed passenger rolling stock.

If the private sector wants to develop regional routes, than fine, let them publicly

propose alternatives to Amtrak expansion.

However, in the long run, I’d prefer to see our railway network modeled more like our

highways, airways and waterways. Government should own/maintain/upgrade the tracks

& right-of-ways. The private sector can own/operate & schedule the appropriate rolling

stock.

Reply

I love railroads. But I wonder how well they can do when for much of the nation you need

to rent a car once you arrive.

Reply

I once took an Amtrak from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo, California (the

most beautiful way to enter that beautiful city), then boarded a regional bus to

Los Osos, then—undeterred by the storied grizzly bears—hiked up a dune to a

good friend’s house. That was a fairly rural adventure, but it was in California. I

wonder if you’re right that such connections are impossible in much of

America, or if they’re actually possible but usually overlooked.

Reply

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Jeff McMahon , Contributor 5 months ago

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williegreen 5 months ago

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bobshanbrom 5 months ago

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Jeff McMahon , Contributor 5 months ago

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Oh, don’t get me wrong, I think intermodal travel is efficient and great fun, but I

don’t think most Americans feel as we do. Also, I would guess that your

intermodal adventure took about 8 hours door-to-door, about double the car

time. Compare this to taking a trip from Paris to say, Burgundy, the San Luis

Obispo of France. That trip is probably faster by TGV and regional transport

than by car. It’s going to take a whole ecological change to make trains work

well: improving the inner cities, reducing crime, local transit, re-urbanization.

My favorite bridge technology would be e-bike sharing systems once you get to

town.

Reply

I just spent the first 3 months of the year working on a web project for a client in

Portland. When it came time for us to deliver our final presentation to him yesterday, he

was delayed an hour in getting to Bothell, WA, because he took Amtrak. The freight

trains have priority right of way, and the poor dumb passengers have to sit on the

sidelines and wait for them to pass before they can resume their trip. Amtrak doesn’t

advertise this fact to riders. It’s been going on for years. I know because in the 80s I took

the train from Philly to NYC for the first leg of my trip, and I’ll bet the same thing

happened to cause the delay that made me too late to catch my flight to Hawaii from JFK.

Don’t take the train if you have to get somewhere on time; it’s just not dependable.

Passengers don’t pay as much as freight shippers, so passengers are screwed.

Reply

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