How anyone could oppose this is way beyond me but the people on the Railroad.net board have exposed themselves yet again
https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/intercity/a-two-amtrak-concept/?RAchannel=passengerhttp://www.railroad.net/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=170434
https://discuss.amtraktrains.com/threads/railway-age-column-on-splitting-amtrak-to-two-operations.76294/
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4882035
Unlike Buffalo Central Station, Cleveland’s Union Terminal is smack dab in the middle of a transit hub and isn’t far away from its downtown. The opportunity is still there before expansion kills off any chance of adding track capacity.
https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2021/04/16/amtrak-station-at-tower-city-awwww-hell-yeah?fbclid=IwAR3dsnFrfvAoi9ut46DvKQyZI_I6u9TsG1jitV9ICSoBkAqOE-0JWFKW_ig
http://allaboardohio.org/2021/04/15/aao-favors-amtrak-mini-hub-at-clevelands-tower-city-center/?fbclid=IwAR1UqeDnemWosFrzaiDtn-LCwETti-CwUCRP_p1gwQoVWa8WT02XDsM6rCk
https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2021/04/aao-why-amtrak-hub-at-tower-city-makes.html?fbclid=IwAR2CYKSH0smeNmIMUzQ9Dk4cPrslgz-72D3HdN8jQBGwTo4dA2V-2tbwzDA
Whatever one has to say about the allegedly temporary diner-less Silver Star, it’s just so convenient that Amtrak decided to reinstate the diner to Trains 91 and 92 after it started downgrading meal service on long distance trains
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4936009
So, as some commenters pointed out, Boardman did not sign off on removing the diners. So, it was a matter of the ex-CFO going around his boss’s back and getting the Amtrak Board to sign off on the silliness.
Unless Gardner and the Board go very soon, Amtrak’s darkest days are ahead. The political winds will be changing soon and if these corrupt idiots are still in charge Amtrak as we know it will be gone…
If it leads to a complete overhaul of passenger rail and more options, them I’m all for the possibility of Gardner dragging Amtrak into the ground and Congress having to step in and providing a new alternative to what’s basically a 51-year-old placeholder
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,5404185
I guess that more people are wising up to how much of a mess Amtrak Connects US really is.
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,5372315
Effective 1/1/22 trains 311 and 316 will be discontinued due to lack of Missouri state funding. Trains 313 and 314 will be the only remaining trains supported by the State.
I wonder how different things would have been had Herzog operated that second Missouri frequency nearly two decades ago.
Missouri’s loss of the River Runner speaks to a higher concern. Amtrak is banking on the U.S. Corridor Connect plan to have increased service, and to dump the operational expense to the States after five years. Missouri is an example of what could happen in year six to ten after a corridor is developed, regardless of what language gets put into the overall agreements between Amtrak and the States from onset etc.
Good point
If the States want Corridor service - to a degree they really don’t even need Amtrak and could apply for federal grants. NC even has its own equipment as opposed to Amtrak’s to operate the Piedmont service.
Hence, why the San Joaquin Valley and Pennsylvania advocates publicly wanted to sever ties with Amtrak a couple of years ago
Connect US is a hoax. It is totally dependent on PRIIA-209 so as to overcharge states, and give the excess cash to the NEC. Do remember that the current Amtrak President wrote PRIAA when a Congressional staffer. Huge conflict of interest. That may be why the CEO will replace the President as an Amtrak Board member. Do note the gaps between Pueblo and Denver and with Louisville and Nashville. Those gaps are deliberate so that they cannot morph into LD routes. Doesn’t matter. I don’t think anything will come of them, except some more extensions in Virginia, North Carolina, maybe something to Dubuque, Quad Cities, or Rockford and a 2nd St Paul train.
It’s Section 209 all over again. The gaps are pretty deliberate and if anything, Stephen Gardner is essentially telling everyone that he’s the anti-matrix theory guy. In conclusion, we need the SJJPA and PA at a minimum to dump Amtrak in favor of Herzog and whoever the PADOT could come up with.
If it’s a first step towards any of these agencies breaking away from #Amtrak, then, good
https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/intercity/california-agencies-team-on-intercity-rail-advocacy/?RAchannel=intercity
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,5348849
Comments from Trains Magazine
Andrew Selden says:
October 21, 2021 at 2:44 pm
Amtrak needs California far more than California needs Amtrak.
The JPAs will never have transparency or market rate costs until they solicit competitive bids from independent providers fo all state-sponsored services.
Reply
Mark Shapp says:
October 21, 2021 at 7:55 pm
I’d like to see the JPA’s do what Mr. Selden suggests with the end result of finding a more honest and less arrogant operator for its trains. I wish all the PRIIA 209 states would “solicit competitive bids” and kick Amtrak out. The resulting negative publicity might not trouble the NEC-centric Steven Gardner, to him NEC also stands for Nothing Else Counts. But it might put a little scare in William Flynn. Problem is all these states are captive to Amtrak providing the equipment and crews. Do they have the incentive and wherewithal to form their own rail operating authorities, buy their own equipment, and hire their own crews? Pretty clear Missouri won’t from today’s Newswire article citing the probable demise of one of the KC-STL round trips. I’ll tell ya’ two more definite No’s; NY and MA.
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