Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
The King of Passenger Trains
Background: This three-part series (1 2 3) is a good place to look
Part 1: Starting things up
After a half century, the time has come to hit the reset button and start over because the Amtrak experiment has only resulted in mediocrity with passenger rail. I would split the intercity into two categories--regional and overnight. The former would be run by the companies that also handle commuter routes while letting new companies run the overnight services.
I would rely on experienced people in the travel industry and implement the best aspects. My main focus would be on long distance trains and leave the shorter runs to multistate pacts. Since the overnight trains are in need of an overhaul, I would revert back to sleeping cars' roots as hotels on wheels as a way of luring travelers.
Speaking of night trains, luring executives from Europe or Asia would be a good idea since they're miles ahead of us at this point.
Part 2: The Matrix
The matrix theory connects passengers to previously unimaginable destinations. For my hypothetical rail company, I will use the Crescent's original route via Montgomery and Mobile as my sample service. Atlanta would be a matrix point as it would be a transfer point for regional routes to Savannah, Chattanooga and Nashville. The current Crescent route would also be used as the Gulf Coast Corridor for daytime travel between Atlanta and New Orleans, a New York-Fort Worth overnight route and a transcontinental Atlanta-Dallas-Los Angeles service.
Part 3: Operations
The trains would be daily and would run every six to eight hours. My Crescent Group would have the namesake train as a premium train alongside a second frequency, and I would also own the Fort Worth service and L.A. transcon as a way of diversifying.
Instead of the depersonalization that has been a main part of the Amtrak Era, stations would be staffed with people who actually know a thing or two about train travel. When it comes to the future of train stations, the Brightline model--which resembles the airline model--is the best way to go.
The statement about host railroads' stance on infrequent trains goes against everything I've seen on message boards.
Monday, August 16, 2021
The New Passenger Paradigm Five Years Later
I remember reading up on a Railway Age article five years ago on something called the New Passenger Paradigm. In the article, AIPRO's Ray Chambers laid out how things were shifting in the world of passenger rail.
Given where things are now, I say that the pace to a post-monopoly environment has been glacially slow. Consider the evidence:
- Congress has consistently failed to back up its action (i.e. it has talked about the need for more competition among corridors and overnight trains but did nothing to make sure the proper provisions in PRIIA and the FAST Act were followed)
- Once the Tea Party backlash happened, the Obama Administration largely lost interest in even building a decent passenger rail system
- The Trump Administration aside from its open hostility towards CAHSR, was all talk and no action on even regular passenger rail, belying its campaign gripes about China having faster trains than America
- The AIPRO itself dissolved last year to no fanfare after it received virtually no support from the rail community and scant media coverage while some of its members formed a separate mass transit trade group
- The U.S. still hasn't had more than one private passenger rail organization at a time since 1983 (the Rio Grande and Georgia Railroad's mixed trains)--or the end of 1978 (Rio Grande, Rock Island, Southern, Reading) if you're talking about true passenger trains. While Brightline started up in early 2018, the Saratoga & North Creek became a fallen flag shortly thereafter
- When it comes to bidding, Herzog's operation of CT Rail is the closest that any Amtrak commuter competitor has come to running intercity rail
- Other than Pennsylvania and the San Joaquin Valley, no state entity is even willing to challenge Amtrak (see the 2018 fiasco with the loss of discounts where only California's three JPAs pushed back against the Anderson regime and kept said discounts)
Even after reading this article and understanding some behind the scenes actions, it still isn't much comfort when it seems like getting there from here is a near impossibility when rail activists are much more comfortable defending the status quo and ridiculing any non-Amtrak passenger operator. Calling the national network skeletal at this point is being way too kind when expansion should have been on the agenda decades ago--oh wait, Graham Claytor did that only for that to be undone by his NEC successors and Congress implemented prohibitions after the collapse of the Mail and Express plan in 2001.
Alternative for Charlotte-Atlanta approved
The Greenfield Corridor being selected last month was a shocker. Just like with the station location at the southern terminus of the Texas Central project in early 2016, it was the FRA that made the final decision. This could potentially lead to all three alternatives being used--the Greenfield being used by a future operator while being the official SEHSR route south of Charlotte; the I-85 Corridor possibly being used by Brightline; and the Crescent Corridor being used by Amtrak. It goes without saying that the Crescent route should have already had a daytime New York-Atlanta alternative to #19 and #20 at a minimum.
Saturday, August 7, 2021
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Open Access, American Style
On the issue of open access, this nation can learn from Great Britain's mistakes. A test run can be done in Florida where the state DOT can allow multiple entities to run passenger service on the same route.
An example of what such a scenario would look like:
- Amtrak runs the Cross-Florida and FEC Local services
- Bombardier gets the Jacksonville-St. Petersburg A-Line and Jacksonville-Naples routes
- First Transit has Jacksonville-Venice and Tampa-Venice
- Herzog's lone route would be the Jacksonville-Miami A-Line
- Keolis runs the Panhandle and Tampa-Naples routes
- Transdev operates Miami and St. Petersburg S-Line routes out of Jacksonville
Sunday, April 11, 2021
A Response to Amtrak Connects US
Northeast
In the long overdue department are restoring St. Albans to
Montreal service, new frequencies between New York and Toronto and some version
of the Inland Route. Long Island service, on the other hand, is a head
scratcher.
Southeast
The missing link between Petersburg and Raleigh, Western NC,
Wilmington service and the Christansburg extension are due to state efforts by
North Carolina and Virginia. The Raleigh-Jacksonville portion of what used to be
SEHSR does not make the cut even though NCDOT’s Southeast Corridor site has it
listed. Another demerit is the lack of an east-west service in Virginia. Charlotte-Atlanta-also
a part of future SEC service--is likely to be a competitor to Brightline, which
is more than can be said in Florida (more on that later).
The Atlanta Hub is quite interesting. There has been talk
about service to Chattanooga for years but extending it to Nashville would be
the first time since the pre-Amtrak era is as much of a home run as reviving
the Nancy Hanks route (to Savannah via Macon). The latter route was first
brought up by Armstrong State University a decade ago so it’s a welcome
surprise for Amtrak management to inadvertently follow a suggestion from the
outside.
Producing a natural corridor in Florida is long overdue but
even that comes with major baggage. Is this really a noble effort or is it a huge
reaction to Brightline? When Brightline was first launched in 2012, the
conventional Jacksonville-Miami FEC route was still in play despite being
passed over for stimulus money by the Obama Administration. However, it is conspicuously
missing from this map. Also missing are any kind of service via the S-Line,
restoration to St. Petersburg and extensions to Naples and Venice. I would
imagine that with corridor service along the A-Line, that a) the Silver Star
will become a New York-Tampa train with Miami bound passengers transferring in Jacksonville;
b) the Cross-Florida service will be a replacement so #91 and #92 don’t have to
do the crisscross in Tampa; and c) both the Silver Star and Silver Meteor will have
their restrictions on local travel extended up to Jacksonville.
South
Mobile-Jacksonville still being listed as “suspended” is extremely
weak. We all know that Amtrak management and BOD have no interest in restoring
service along that segment of what used to be Sunset East, so all involved need
to drop the charade and officially list it as discontinued upon the Gulf Coast service
turning a wheel.
Going to Central Alabama, while the service to Montgomery is
nice (after all, it was the original route of the Crescent), the lack of connections
is inexcusable. Birmingham-Montgomery-Mobile should be a thing at a minimum.
Connecting it to the Gulf Coast as an alternative path between Atlanta and New
Orleans should be the long-term goal.
Baton Rouge service resembles a commuter route more than an
intercity one. Additional Fort Worth-Oklahoma City frequencies after 22 years
are long needed while extending service to Newton, KS has been discussed for a
long time. A conventional Texas Triangle corridor is a no-brainer.
Midwest
The Ohio Hub has been in the news over the past couple of
months that I don’t need to say anything else. The Chicago-Indianapolis route, which
should have never been eliminated, is back and extended to Louisville and
Cincinnati. The Toronto restoration via Detroit instead of Port Huron is a natural
and is a preview of future Chicago-Montreal HSR service (Michigan Central is a
must).
It’s surprising to see Quad Cities service extended to Iowa
City but completely unsurprising to see nothing between Iowa City and Omaha given
Iowa’s sharp turn against passenger rail.
We’ll see with Madison and Green Bay. Eau Claire is a clear
reaction to the West Central Wisconsin-Corridor Capital venture (i.e., it’s as
scared with this one as it was with foreign companies showing interest in HSR
11 years ago and Brightline’s plans a few years ago).
Missouri is MIA, which may not be shocking since it has come
out that the legislature may discontinue one of its two River Runner frequencies.
West
What is composed of the Front Range Rail is shown. Now, we will
find out if Colorado jumps in. I will say though that a lack of extension to
the Southwest Chief between Pueblo and La Junta and a Front Range frequency
between Pueblo and Albuquerque are glaring omissions.
Montana’s efforts are not reflected while Tucson-Los Angeles
is long overdue.
West Coast
The Vegas route is yet another service that is reactive because
Brightline West is eating everybody’s lunch in this area as other private
operators wanting to run service between the City of Angels and the City of
Lights have largely vanished or languished. Another reason to not be impressed
with Amtrak’s effort here is because “America’s Railroad” could have already
had something on this route. That May 12 will mark 24 years since the Desert
Wind left Las Vegas for the last time is preposterous.
The Coast Daylight is the only new route in Northern
California probably because the San Joaquin JPA has given Amtrak management a
major headache over the past 1 ½ years. The lack of improvements on the map may
indicate that Amtrak has considered the possibility that the SJJPA will replace
it with Herzog. Per a previous CAHSR business plan, the Fresno-Bakersfield
portion is moot since it is scheduled to become operated by Germany’s DB by the
end of the decade.
National
There are no efforts to add or restore long distance routes
with the possible exception of the Heartland Flyer to Newton. The biggest
problem is that there is no matrix nationally or regionally. The Southwest
Chief should have split segments at Newton (to San Antonio) and La Junta (to
Denver).
The North Coast Hiawatha, Desert Wind, Pioneer and Floridian
should be restored without question, and the Texas Eagle should once again have
a Houston section.
Other Thoughts
Newton-San Antonio is 683 miles and subject to PRIIA but
extending a train to Laredo would make it 836 miles, putting it outside of the ’08
law. Amtrak Connects US is more reactive than proactive or at best it lists items
that are already a part of states’ wish lists. Bruce Richardson and Jim Mathews
both have excellent retorts to Politico’s clear NEC bias while Richardson also
makes some good points about the plan.
Thursday, March 18, 2021
This Month's Amtrak News
Daily long distance service
The recent stimulus package will restore overnight routes to daily status by early June. The real heroes here are actually in Congress because Amtrak leadership would have never restored the affected routes on its own. The really sad thing is that some advocates signaled their willingness to abandon the affected trains or leave them at triweekly status.
Sleepers return to Trains #66 and #67
This is a long overdue move. The only difference is that Washington, D.C. will be the cutoff point. Perhaps, these trains will resume their Night Owl/Executive Sleeper/Federal name and a replacement Newport News-Boston service will take its place in a new timeslot.
Friday, March 12, 2021
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Saturday, February 27, 2021
Gulf Coast Service: CSX Responds
And now CSX has said "Not so fast!" All of this could have been prevented if Amtrak had actually resumed service 15 years ago when the host railroad told them that the tracks east of New Orleans were ready post-Katrina.
The latest on Gulf Coast service
Amtrak says that service between New Orleans and Mobile will resume next year. If I haven't already said it publicly, I will say it now: The moment that the New Orleans-Mobile service is up and running, Amtrak will officially declare that 144-mile portion to be "unsuspended" and discontinue service between Mobile and Orlando (the operator will tell former Sunset Limited riders to drive to Jacksonville to travel to Central Florida).The basis for the discontinuance will be made even easier by the FG&A's unwillingness to introduce passenger service. As early as the Spring 2007 Timetable, I have had the feeling that Amtrak itself had given up on restoring the Sunset East segment (contrast that to the Fall '06 version for context).
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Saturday, January 16, 2021
A new train hall for Amtrak in the Big Apple
After nearly three decades of stop and go, the James Farley Post Office was rechristened as Moynihan Train Hall to start out the year. It's basically a relocation for Amtrak outside of Trains #65-67, which will continue using Penn Station. Even though the pictures and stories talk about recovering some lost glory post-1963, I tend to agree with Vice, which said that it's "a temple to modern mediocrity." It is very much a reflection of passenger train policy that has dominated America since the 1950s. Nothing really great, just trying to keep up or doing the bare minimum. I stand by everything that I said in 2013 when I said that Madison Square Garden needed to move, and it looks like that plans are finally in place for that to happen.
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