|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
SUPPORT AMTRAK - INVEST IN AMERICA'S INFRASTRUCTURE
"President Bush is willing to spend billions to send a couple of people to Mars, but not one dime for Amtrak`s 25 million annual travelers who want better rail service to destinations on this planet," said Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
 |
Its Monday, October 12, 2009, and here is the Downeaster arriving in Exeter, NH, on its way to Portland from Boston at around 10:30, a few minutes late. But who cares. A beautiful early autumn day and a successful train. Makes one glad to have a camera. Almost as good as a ride....and on this one I'll let the photo do the talking. Camera: Olympus 510 with Olympus 70-300 zoom lens at 300mm (600mm, 35mm equivalent) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Friends of Amtrak Features :
NEW: Ron
Goodenow's Attic
- a photo collection
of railroad memorabilia including timetables,
tickets, menus and more.
Generally, children from 2 to 15 are half-fare when traveling with
an adult. There is a 15 percent discount for adults over 62.
PHOTOS
Florida
Support Amtrak Advocacy
Books on Amtrak--an annotated
bibliography.
| |
February 14, 2009 |
Not enough details yet ... but the final version of President Obama's Stimulus Bill is good news for passenger rail advocates. It appears that there will be $8 billion for construction of high-speed railways. This is in the form of capital assistance for the combined categories of Intercity Passenger Rail Service (the federal-state matching grants program first introduced in the Fiscal 2008 appropriations) and High Speed Rail Corridors, the new program authorized under Section 501 of last year's passenger rail authorization. There is an addional $1.3 billion in capital funds specifically for Amtrak, of which $450 million is to be set aside for "security improvements to include life safety improvements." That leaves $850 million for normal capital grants, of which no more than 60% "shall be spent for capital improvements on the NEC. That means that $340 million is the minimum which Amtrak could devote to non-NEC service.Word on the Hill has it that President Obama himself intervened on this package to secure these funding levels.
Return to the top of the page.
| |
|
by Bruce Watson, Oct 29th 2009
"On Tuesday, Subsidy Scope, a subsidiary of the Pew Charitable Trust, reported that Amtrak, America's passenger rail company, "lost" an average of $38 per passenger. Citing a new metric for train depreciation, the report suggested that the train line has been less than transparent in its estimation of its own profitability.
"While it is interesting that the government spends an average of $38 on each Amtrak passenger, this isn't really news. Over a year ago, in fact, Amtrak president Alex Kummant stated that each passenger on the train line represents a public capital expenditure of approximately $40, and similar figures have been bandied about for years. In fact, the only truly surprising thing is that some conservative think tanks and advocacy organizations continue to criticize the corporation for its failure to turn a profit. The underlying message seems to be that Amtrak is a financial failure, and that if rail travel were privatized, it would somehow be able to make a profit.
"The truth is that Amtrak is not designed to make money; rather, it is designed to provide a public service. The same could be said of the rest of America's transportation network: none of the country's transportation systems generate profit or pay for themselves. The airlines, for example, rely on a patchwork of municipal, state, and federal funding to finance the cost of airports. Meanwhile, federal funds pay for airport security and taxes pay for the FAA. Many pilots are trained by the military, and much of the avionics used in private aircraft is developed under military contract. If these costs were transferred to airline passengers, the price of a plane ticket would be prohibitive.
"And what about America's roads? The highway trust fund, which is ostensibly funded by gas taxes, still receives money from Congress, while the various agencies that oversee its administration and police its passengers are all funded by taxes. Again, if these costs were transferred to individual travelers, few people could afford to drive.
"Taken on a passenger-by-passenger basis, trains cost taxpayers far less than cars, planes, motorcycles or rickshaws. The big difference, as National Corridor Initiative president and CEO James P. RePass noted in a recent interview, is that "Subsidies for airlines and highways are far less obvious than Amtrak's single line item."
"The Subsidy Scope study also pointed out that some portions of the Amtrak infrastructure are more profitable than others. For example, the Northeast Corridor's Acela Express makes an average profit of $41 per customer, while the Northeast Regional, which is more heavily traveled, costs $5 per passenger. In Subsidy Scope's estimation, the biggest loser in the land is the Sunset Limited, which runs from New Orleans to Los Angeles at an average cost of $462 per customer.
"The Sunset Limited has long been plagued with problems and Amtrak is still working to increase its performance. However, the idea that one can parse a railway system into profitable and unprofitable lines is probably shortsighted. As Kummant noted, "it's an entire network that matters. And if you don't have an entire network, you end up with a ridiculous patchwork of short little lanes of things that make no sense from a national system." To put it another way, while certain portions of an interstate highway may be more popular than others, closing off several less-traveled miles would vastly reduce the overall effectiveness of the system, as some regions would be cut off from the grid and others would face longer, more costly routes.
"RePass addressed this point, stating: "The benefit of a transportation system doesn't accrue to the system itself, but rather to the economy and to the cities and citizens it services. Pew, by looking at the cost of tickets, reinforces the notion that transportation systems have to pay for themselves." As policymakers, pundits and politicians assess the value of America's passenger rail, they need to get past the idea that it must pay for itself. The measure of a rail line's profit is the energy and vitality that it brings to an area and the commerce that it supports."
In a recent article in "The Baltimore Sun" Michael Dresser says that it came as no surprise "that the United States is far behind Japan or Germany or France in high-speed rail. We've known for years that visitors from these highly developed industrial nations have been laughing behind our backs at our woefully antiquated rail system." But Dresser sounds a wake up call when he notes "But it came as a shock to be confronted with the reality of how far behind we are in high-speed intercity rail compared with such countries as China, Turkey, South Korea and Brazil. Even Iran is planning a line from Tehran to Qom that will reach 200 mph - a speed that will make Amtrak's Acela (maximum 135 mph) look as if it were being pulled by Thomas the Tank Engine." And in Spain, "the service is so reliable that the operator will refund a passenger's full fare if the train is more than five minutes late. Riders also get their money back if the air conditioning or toilet malfunctions."
Imagine that in the USA?
Dresser goes on to say that "Much of the opposition to high-speed rail in this country stems from an ideological opposition to a government role in just about anything but fighting wars. But history shows that there has never been a significant advance in U.S. transportation without federal involvement on some level. Many of the same arguments made against high-speed rail could be made about the Erie Canal, transcontinental rail and the interstate highway system."
"This is all information gleaned at the inaugural conference of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association in Washington last week," writes Dresser. The association has a definite point of view. "It's advocating construction of a 17,000-mile high-speed rail network in the United States and parts of Canada - carrying trains at speeds up to 220 mph - by 2030."
How do we fund such a system?
Dresser turns to one authority for a possible answer. "Norman Anderson, chief executive of CG/LA Infrastructure LLC, suggested a way to fund such big projects. He supports the creation of a National Infrastructure Bank - a concept President Barack Obama has embraced and for which he proposed $5 billion in the budget. Anderson said that such a bank could be financed through the sale of federally backed bonds to private citizens, pension funds and other investors. The bank would finance the construction of rail lines - and other capital projects - that would be leased to operating companies. Without the burden of maintaining obsolete infrastructure like Amtrak's, he said, the operating companies could make a decent profit."
So there you have it, folks. Even Iran is surpassing us on creating a first class rail transportation network.
The Senate voted Wednesday to permit passengers on the Amtrak passenger railroad
to transport handguns in their checked baggage.
The proposal, approved by a 68-30 vote, seeks to give Amtrak riders rights comparable
to those enjoyed by airline passengers, who are permitted to transport firearms
provided that they declare they are doing so and that the arms are unloaded
and in a securely locked container.
"Americans should not have their Second Amendment rights restricted for
any reason, particularly if they choose to travel on America's federally subsidized
rail line," said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who made the proposal.
Wicker's amendment would deny the railroad its $1.6 billion taxpayer subsidy
unless it changes the gun policy.
Current Amtrak policy, put in place after the bombings of passenger trains in Madrid five years ago, prohibits weapons, including firearms, from being carried on its trains.
Prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Amtrak permitted firearms to be carried on its trains so long as they were separately secured in locked baggage or carrying cases. But it added restrictions on carrying weapons after 9/11 and imposed a total ban on all weapons after the Madrid bombings.
Wednesday's vote was the latest in a string of victories for gun rights activists in the Senate despite Democrats' sizable majority. Some 27 Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, voted for the amendment, many from western or southern states. Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who aligns with Democrats and is one of the chamber's most liberal members, also voted on the pro-gun rights side.
Opponents of changing the policy back, such as Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., say it would be too costly and burdensome to return to the old policy. Durbin said that "Amtrak doesn't have the security infrastructure, the processes or the trained personnel in place to ensure that checked firearms would not be lost, damaged, stolen or misused."
The chief author of the underlying transportation appropriations bill, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said implementing the policy would be too costly.
"Amtrak would have six months to build a process for checking and tracking firearms. It would have to find the manpower necessary to screen and guard firearms and it would have to purchase the equipment necessary," Murray said. "If they do not comply, Amtrak will shut down."
Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said
he "doesn't have problems with people transporting guns on trains so long
as steps are taken to make sure they're secured and properly stowed."
He added that some senators are eager to get back in good stead with the National
Rifle Association after crossing the group by voting to confirm Sonia Sotomayor
to the Supreme Court and to defeat a proposal to permit people with concealed
weapons permits to carry hidden guns outside their home states.
The legislation still must be reconciled with a House-passed measure than does not contain the gun rights provision.
Source: Associated Press
ROLL-CALL VOTE:
| Alabama: | Sessions (R-AL), Yea | Shelby (R-AL), Yea |
| Alaska: | Begich (D-AK), Yea | Murkowski (R-AK), Yea |
| Arizona: | Kyl (R-AZ), Yea | McCain (R-AZ), Yea |
| Arkansas: | Lincoln (D-AR), Yea | Pryor (D-AR), Nay |
| California: | Boxer (D-CA), Nay | Feinstein (D-CA), Nay |
| Colorado: | Bennet (D-CO), Yea | Udall (D-CO), Yea |
| Connecticut: | Dodd (D-CT), Nay | Lieberman (ID-CT), Nay |
| Delaware: | Carper (D-DE), Nay | Kaufman (D-DE), Nay |
| Florida: | LeMieux (R-FL), Yea | Nelson (D-FL), Yea |
| Georgia: | Chambliss (R-GA), Yea | Isakson (R-GA), Yea |
| Hawaii: | Akaka (D-HI), Nay | Inouye (D-HI), Nay |
| Idaho: | Crapo (R-ID), Yea | Risch (R-ID), Yea |
| Illinois: | Burris (D-IL), Nay | Durbin (D-IL), Nay |
| Indiana: | Bayh (D-IN), Yea | Lugar (R-IN), Yea |
| Iowa: | Grassley (R-IA), Yea | Harkin (D-IA), Nay |
| Kansas: | Brownback (R-KS), Yea | Roberts (R-KS), Yea |
| Kentucky: | Bunning (R-KY), Yea | McConnell (R-KY), Yea |
| Louisiana: | Landrieu (D-LA), Yea | Vitter (R-LA), Yea |
| Maine: | Collins (R-ME), Yea | Snowe (R-ME), Yea |
| Maryland: | Cardin (D-MD), Nay | Mikulski (D-MD), Nay |
| Massachusetts: | Kerry (D-MA), Nay | |
| Michigan: | Levin (D-MI), Nay | Stabenow (D-MI), Nay |
| Minnesota: | Franken (D-MN), Nay | Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea |
| Mississippi: | Cochran (R-MS), Yea | Wicker (R-MS), Yea |
| Missouri: | Bond (R-MO), Yea | McCaskill (D-MO), Yea |
| Montana: | Baucus (D-MT), Yea | Tester (D-MT), Yea |
| Nebraska: | Johanns (R-NE), Yea | Nelson (D-NE), Yea |
| Nevada: | Ensign (R-NV), Yea | Reid (D-NV), Yea |
| New Hampshire: | Gregg (R-NH), Yea | Shaheen (D-NH), Yea |
| New Jersey: | Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay | Menendez (D-NJ), Nay |
| New Mexico: | Bingaman (D-NM), Yea | Udall (D-NM), Yea |
| New York: | Gillibrand (D-NY), Nay | Schumer (D-NY), Nay |
| North Carolina: | Burr (R-NC), Yea | Hagan (D-NC), Yea |
| North Dakota: | Conrad (D-ND), Yea | Dorgan (D-ND), Yea |
| Ohio: | Brown (D-OH), Nay | Voinovich (R-OH), Yea |
| Oklahoma: | Coburn (R-OK), Yea | Inhofe (R-OK), Yea |
| Oregon: | Merkley (D-OR), Yea | Wyden (D-OR), Nay |
| Pennsylvania: | Casey (D-PA), Yea | Specter (D-PA), Nay |
| Rhode Island: | Reed (D-RI), Nay | Whitehouse (D-RI), Nay |
| South Carolina: | DeMint (R-SC), Yea | Graham (R-SC), Yea |
| South Dakota: | Johnson (D-SD), Yea | Thune (R-SD), Yea |
| Tennessee: | Alexander (R-TN), Yea | Corker (R-TN), Yea |
| Texas: | Cornyn (R-TX), Yea | Hutchison (R-TX), Yea |
| Utah: | Bennett (R-UT), Yea | Hatch (R-UT), Yea |
| Vermont: | Leahy (D-VT), Yea | Sanders (I-VT), Yea |
| Virginia: | Warner (D-VA), Yea | Webb (D-VA), Yea |
| Washington: | Cantwell (D-WA), Nay | Murray (D-WA), Nay |
| West Virginia: | Byrd (D-WV), Not Voting | Rockefeller (D-WV), Nay |
| Wisconsin: | Feingold (D-WI), Yea | Kohl (D-WI), Yea |
| Wyoming: | Barrasso (R-WY), Yea | Enzi (R-WY), Yea |
A major hurdle in the development of Moynihan Station was cleared over the weekend, when Amtrak announced its intention to relocate its operations to a new train hall in the Farley Building. Specifically, Gov. David Paterson, Senator Charles Schumer and Amtrak President Joe Boardman announced a general agreement on the basic terms and conditions for the redevelopment of the Farley Building into a new train station. The terms of the agreement will be finalized in the coming weeks and memorialized in a Memorandum of Understanding.
Amtrak's New York City operations, the busiest in the country, is now located at Penn Station. The new Farley Post Office location is just a couple of blocks away. The new station will be named after late U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) who championed the new station several years ago.
This is all around good news. By moving to the historic Farley Post Office, Amtrak will gain a world-class flagship building for its busiest and most important station. All three transit agencies (NJ TRANSIT, MTA-LIRR and Amtrak) will benefit from a more efficient and spacious Moynihan Station complex, east and west of Eighth Avenue, with Amtrak relocated to Farley. Finally, the fact that Amtrak and the State of New York are working in partnership helps to clear the way for federal stimulus funding, which is necessary to see the project through.
The latest cost estimates are between $1.1 billion and $1.5 billion. Though the Port Authority, New York State, New York City and others have committed significant funding to the project, there remains a several hundred million dollar shortfall.
Courtesy of Friends Of Moynihan Station
Amtrak has released a list of overdue projects that will be funded by the $1.3 billion from the Amtrak American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The investment package is broken into two separate accounts: One for railroad and station projects that will be funded at $850 million, and one for security and life safety projects at $450 million.
Amtrak also announced that it would restore 60 Amfleet passenger rail cars using $58.5 million in ARRA funds.
Meanwhile, officials said they had received applications for 278 high-speed
rail projects that could be selected for funding under the economic stimulus
package.
"The response has been tremendous and shows that the country is ready for
high-speed rail," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.
He said his agency received 278 pre-applications for grant funding under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for high-speed rail project, which aims to rival the express trains of France, Japan and other nations.
"It's time to look beyond our highways and invest in public transportation
services like rail, which will enhance regional mobility and reduce our carbon
footprint," LaHood said.
The stimulus, or recovery act, included an eight billion dollar competitive
grant program as a down payment to develop high-speed and intercity passenger
rail networks.
Amtrak lowered some fares on its high-speed Acela Express trains between Boston and Washington by as much as 25 percent to attract leisure travelers as ridership falls because of fewer business trips.
Amtrak will offer one-way nonrefundable Acela business-class tickets for as low as $99 between New York and Washington, down from $133 or more, and as low as $79 between Boston and New York, from $93 or higher. The prices are available for travel from March 3 through June 26 and tickets must be purchased 14 days in advance.
From Railway Age Magazine
As Congress tinkered last week with final details of the proposed Stimulus Package,
some transportation analysts lamented that funding for all rail modes totaled
only 2% of the $787 billion plan.
Within that segment, however, passenger rail, including FRA "high speed" options and Amtrak, were well rewarded. By contrast, rail transit funding, while significant, was cut as the bill neared final approval and headed for the President`s desk.
About $8 billion was targeted for "Capital Assistance for HSR Corridors and Intercity Passenger Rail Service," up from the Senate’s $2.25 billion and an even bigger increase from the House’s original recommendation of just $300 million. The two categories (HSR and conventional intercity passenger rail, are "appropriated ... under a combined heading," and the Secretary of Transportation is given "flexibility in allocating resources between the programs to advance the goal of deploying intercity high speed rail systems in the U.S. The Capital Assistance to States program first received funding in fiscal year 2008. The High Speed Passenger Rail program is a new initiative recently authorized under the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008."
Separately, Amtrak is awarded capital grants of $1.3 billion, also up roughly $500 million from earlier House and Senate numbers. Of that amount, $450 million is earmarked for "security improvements to include life safety improvements." Conference Committee members also cap any expenditure on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor to "no more than 60%" of the remaining funds. About $850 million in funds for non-security measures is for "the repair, rehabilitation, or upgrade of railroad assets or infrastructure, and for capital projects that expand passenger rail capacity including the rehabilitation of rolling stock."
Transit capital assistance, overseen by the Federal Transit Administration, gets $6.9 billion in the measure, down from $7.5 billion the House envisioned and $8.4 billion recommended by the Sena te. FTA is to distribute 80% of the funding through its urbanized formula, 10% to rural areas, and 10% to "growing states and high density formula" funding. Capital investment grants of $750 million are to be distributed on a discretionary basis for New Starts and Small Starts projects, including light rail and streetcar programs as well as "Bus Rapid Transit," that are already in construction or are nearly ready to begin.
WASHINGTON - At its regularly scheduled meeting yesterday, Amtrak's Board of
Directors unanimously agreed to name Thomas Carper of Illinois as Chairman of
the Board. Carper, who has served in various Illinois state and local government
positions, including Mayor of the City of Macomb, has been a director on the
Amtrak board since March 2008. At the same meeting former Chairman Donna McLean
was named Vice Chairman, replacing Hunter Biden, who remains as a board member.
Carper said, "Everything we have done as a board, we've done as a unified body, and this change in our hierarchy is no exception. That this was a unanimous and non-contentious decision is testimony to that fact. I look forward to tackling the exciting challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Amtrak is ready to play a growing role in strengthening our transportation system and our economy."
The five-member board consists of four voting members, two Democrats, Carper
and Biden, and two Republicans, McLean and Nancy Naples. Amtrak President and
CEO Joseph Boardman is a non-voting member of the board.
Former Chairman McLean, who was named Vice Chairman, said, "With the change
in administration, its best for the company to have Tom as Chairman. I am pleased
to be able to work with Tom and the rest of the board as we face the exciting
and challenging years ahead."
As part of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, the Board
of Directors of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) is expected
in 2009 to expand to nine members from its current allotment of seven positions,
five of which are currently occupied. The President nominates and the U.S. Senate
confirms Amtrak Board members.
A New York Times article of December 22, 2006 by Matthew L. Wald and Don Phillips
providing some very interesting reading. Here are some highlights from this
piece:
" Amtrak could see a ridership growth spurt of 50 percent in the next
five to 10 years, but it would require billions of state and federal dollars
invested in the tracks of other railroads, and millions more of private investment
in passenger rail cars, the new president of the railroad said Thursday in an
interview.
" ...Mr. Kummant indicated that Amtrak was backing away from some ideas
that had upset Amtrak supporters, including putting the Washington-to-Boston
corridor under separate ownership. He also said he did not intend to slash the
long-distance network because it was a national asset that, once lost, would
probably never be recovered.
" ...Mr. Kummant, a former freight rail executive, said that the rail
network nationally was overloaded, but that strong growth in freight traffic,
and the interest in rail as a solution to congestion and
energy problems, opened the possibility for government investment in private
freight railroad lines that Amtrak used."
Regarding our own concerns about frequent threats to cutback on our nation's
long distance trains, Kummant said: "We're not going to do anything radical
there."
" ...The cost of cross-country trains comes to about a dollar and a half per American per year, he said, and they are irreplaceable. He compared trains like the Empire Builder and the City of New Orleans to assets like national parks. ?I haven?t had the opportunity to go to Glacier National Park since 1976, but I pay taxes every year in the hope that I have the option to go back," Mr. Kummant said.
AMTRAK SLEEPING CAR PLANS AVAILABLE ON FRIENDS OF AMTRAK WEBSITE, August 24, 2000. Friends of Amtrak now has a page that shows in JPG format the layout of Amtrak's sleeping cars. Amtravelers take note! I don't believe that I've seen such a plan anywhere on the net. http://trainweb.org/crocon/sleeperplans.html
NO TRAIN NO GAIN BUMPER STICKER OFFERED FREE -- December 17, 2000. The Railroad Passenger Association of Alabama is offering a free "No Train No Gain" bumper sticker. For information check out the page link by Friends of Amtrak:
FREE with LSSAE, $1.00 for each additional. Black on white, peel and stick variety, sized to fit inside a legal sized envelope. This is a volunteer effort in support of passenger rail. No profits are made. Quantities of 100 available for $34.00 postage paid to organizations and individuals.
For your bumper sticker send to:
THE SIX MYTHS ABOUT AMTRAK
Myth #1 - Amtrak can be profitable. No national rail passenger system in the world is profitable. Without public subsidy, there will be no passenger rail transportation systems in the United States.
Myth #2 - The private sector is dying to take over our services. Remember why we were formed. We are what is left of a once privately run enterprise.
Myth #3 - Long-distance trains are the problem. This is perhaps one of the biggest myths. If you eliminate every long-distance train, your avoidable costs would decrease about $70 million a year-after about a year and a half of making labor protection costs. On a fully allocated basis, after five years, you might save annually about $300 million. Focusing on this problem is not going to save Amtrak. This approach is a red herring.
Myth #4 - Amtrak is a featherbed for labor. Our wage rates are about 90% of the freight industry and are even lower when compared to transit. Wages are not the problem; generating a higher level of productivity, that is the challenge. It is management's duty to seek such improvement.
Myth #5 - The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is profitable. The NEC may cover most of its above-the-rail costs, but it is an extremely costly piece of railroad to maintain. The NEC is not profitable and never will be. Sure, private groups might be interested in having it, but they would take it only with the promise of massive capital infusions.
Myth #6 - There is a quick fix - reform. The word reform is like catnip to those interested in a quick fix to Amtrak. If the answer were quick and easy, we would have solved the problem long ago. What needs to be done is to tightly manage the company and its finances and begin to make incremental but critical improvements to plant and equipment.
|
|
|
|
||||
The counter below indicates the total number of visits to this page since April 29, 1996.
|
Visitors:
|
"Support
An Expanded Amtrak" Bumper Sticker.
