Random thoughts #19

1. This says a lot about the nation's transit policy that a successful rail agency is in this position
2. When it comes to possible replacements at the Miami Airport Station in the wake of Amtrak's snub, the city and state couldn't go wrong by urging upstart Lunatrain to occupy the space
3. Ms. Christensen is spot on when it comes to the costly feasibility studies--sometimes, it seems as though they're done as a way of discouraging new passenger train service. In the recent past, it was Amtrak that conducted this practice in order to wave away states that wanted new or restored train service
4. The Northstar was set up to fail in Minnesota
5. After thinking it over the last couple of months, I now understand why the historic location in Palmer, MA was rejected, but it would have provided the perfect connectivity. Imagine traveling from Springfield on Compass Rail and transferring to the Central Corridor to continue onto Storrs, CT to watch a UConn basketball game. A direct Amtrak-New England Central transfer would have done wonders
6. Potential good news for a troubled commuter rail system
7. Some places get it and some don't
8. The current POTUS spent two out of the last three elections complaining about China having faster trains than America but has done next to nothing to catch up, and the Texas fiasco tells me all I need to know about what he really thinks about trains

Train Stations: Good news, bad news?

Scoop: Amtrak, MDOT eye Michigan Central for new Detroit train, bus station - Axios Detroit

A pleasant surprise is in the making because it looked as though the Motor City was going to have two non-connecting train stations. If MDOT or the city wants another station in Detroit, it could build it somewhere other than the New Center location. In the meantime, with Ford having restored MCS to its former glory, curve out a space for the station to actually serve trains.

Site selected for future Palmer train station along West-East Rail line

MassDOT Chooses “Site B” As Its Plan A to Locate Palmer’s Rail Stop…

Meanwhile in the Bay State, I just don't get this decision. The Steaming Tender Restaurant was there for the taking--not to mention, a perfect symmetry with New England Central's planned Central Corridor and potential connections galore. The platform for Amtrak could have been raised. Instead, the best-case scenario is now that the town will end up with two tiny stations and passengers would have to use rideshares or local buses if they want to change trains. So much for connectivity.

This also brings me to another point: The New England coordination has been all out of whack over the last decade and a half. Massachusetts has been receptive to restoring passenger service to the Berkshires- Pittsfield route via Housatonic Railroad but cool to the Central Corridor (it even dismissed the notion of the New London-Palmer-Brattleboro route in 2017). Meanwhile, Connecticut has welcomed the idea of Housatonic operating service while having very mixed opinions on the Central Corridor. The leaders in both states need to overcome their aversion to track-owning railroads operating intercity service. If Herzog can operate the Hartford Line, then, there's no reason that Housatonic and New England Central can't.

When Two Train Routes Become One

The transistion of the Capitol Limited and the Silver Star into a Temporary Floridian.

• The final full-length northbound Silver Star left Miami on Friday (which had to skip some stops in SC due to flooding)
• The final eastbound Capitol Limited on Saturday
• The Silver Star that turned into to the first northbound Floridian
• The final northbound Silver Star was annauled north of D.C. as it was combined with the final westbound Capitol Limited (I sure hop NEC-bound passengers were told about it in advance)
• The Capitol Limited that became the first southbound Floridian

I plan on doing the reverse when the tunnel work is done in NYC.

Random thoughts #18

1. Regarding the "new" Floridian train, it may be nearly as productive to run a stub train to and from Indy, bus the passengers to Atlanta, put them on a train that runs nonstop between Atlana and Jacksonville before resuming stops in Florida.

2. The epitome of it can always be worse somewhere else

3. That clockface scheduling would work wonders

4. A really tough break for Western North Carolina passenger service

5. Renationalization in Britain, y'all

6. Uh, just get the station renovation done

7. Amtrak's tunnel and equipment problems are affecting multiple routes

The Floridian is coming back...sort of

For the first time in 45 years, Amtrak is providing direct Chicago-Florida service, but if you read the fine print--from the horse's mouth itself--it becomes evident very quickly that it's just a combination of the Silver Star and Capitol Limited and that it's only happening because the East River Tunnels in NYC are being rehabilitated.

This temporary route will use the Broadway Limited/Three Rivers old numbers of 40 and 41, which may be more of a preview of the Long Distance Service Study version of the Floridian, which will serve Atlanta instead of Birmingham (side note: since the Midwest Connect route is a corridor route, it's very likely that the Chicago-Fort Wayne-Columbus-Pittsburgh route will get triple-digit numbers).

What this means for the long-heralded New York-Florida service is that it will once again be reduced to one frequency. For most of 2022, it was the Silver Star that was picking up the slack while the Silver Meteor was suspended due to Covid-19 related issues. Now, it'll be the Meteor having to ferry all the people north of D.C. This is where an extended Palmetto would have been helpful. 

The FRA Identifies New Long-Distance Routes

Last week, the FRA released its list of preferred routes for the Long Distance Service Study. This would double the Long-Distance Network to 30 routes, the list "spreads the wealth" as all regions are covered, and there a number of nonlinear routes.

The longest is the North Coast Hiawatha at 2,096 miles while the shortest is the Atlanta-Fort Worth service at 870 miles (50 hours vs 22 hours).

My only gripe is that neither one of these two routes should have been forced to use the Corridor ID Program just to secure funding. That's a large failing on Amtrak and the feds.

Direct Chicago-Florida service is long overdue as it hasn't had as much as connecting service in 32 years. This is a missing need since the late 1970s and the reroute via Atlanta would serve more people along better tracks.

Another need regarding Florida service is east-west service via the "suspended" Sunset East route. Reimplementing the Gulf Wind and extending it to Dallas/Fort Worth would provide riders with a brand new train running on a much more reliable schedule. Also, the Gulf Coast route would have more roundtrips with three long-distance routes between New Orleans and Mobile as opposed to the beleaguered corridor service.

The plan shows that Phoenix can be a hub with two overnight routes and planned corridor service without rerouting the Sunset Limited as the former depot and the airport would both draw a lot of passengers.

Going back to Chicago, it's nice to see the FRA paying attention to the city's congestion issues enough to move northern termini of three routes to Detroit (one) and the Twin Cities (two) and to use Indianapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City as hub cities for northeast-southwest routes instead funneling everything to a crowded Union Station.

Other interesting tidbits:

• The Northeast Region has the fewest routes at two
• The Central Region has the most routes at 11
• The Gulf Wind would be Amtrak's way of utilizing the FEC route
• The FRA flipping the script on the Desert Wind and Pioneer in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming
• The Atlanta & West Point route via Montgomery being used is a long overdue alternative between Atlanta and New Orleans
• South Dakota would finally get Amtrak service with two routes

Left out:

• Additional Silver Service routes
• Service via the S-Line in Florida
• Direct service from the Carolinas to Texas
• Other Midwest-Florida service
• Broadway Limited revival

For the excluded routes, I think that it's a case of having to make due with what's already in place with Silver Service. For some of these routes, the Nightjet and Dreamstar models would be useful in filling gaps (*cough* direct NC-FL service). Other Midwest cities that could use Florida service could have connecting cars to either an existing route or one these new routes. As far as the S-Line in Florida, it may be a lost case outside of a future Gainesville-Miami route as part of an expanded Southeast Corridor. Parts of the western half of the Broadway Limited are expected to be covered by the proposed Chicago-Fort Wayne-Columbus-Pittsburgh route and the eastern half will be covered by the second Pennsylvanian.

In conclusion, I think that the "spread the wealth" approach is tbe FRA quitely nudging Amtrak management to actually behave as a national operator instead of an NEC-first entity that also shakes down non-NEC states for money to operate routes under Section 403(b). Perhaps, once the next reauthorization rolls around, we could eventually see other operators handling state routes while Amtrak fulfills its obligations under the 1970 law that created it.

How the Dutch Model Could Work Here

The Background

Applying the Dutch Model to Each Amtrak Business Unit

The Northeast Corridor

The NEC is the U.S. equivalent of the Main Line Network. The logistics and politics would at very best require major compromises. Under the Dutch Model, Amtrak would keep the service via a no-bid contract but in exchange for that exclusivity, track and infrastructure would be transferred to a new USDOT entity--nullifying any false claims of the NEC being "privatized" once and for all.

That infrastructure company would be responsible for restoring the 457-mile route back to acceptable shape, leaving Amtrak to exclusively focus on running trains (let's face it, the 1976 decision to burden Amtrak with NEC ownership has been a bane on passenger rail). 

State-Supported Routes

For routes under 750 miles, the tender system will be used and applied to individual states, multistate compacts and California's Joint Powers Authorities. These routes would be put up for bid for contracts ranging anywhere from five to 10 years, and the commuter rail model could also be worth a look.

This would allow these entities more freedom to explore other companies who could expand and vastly improve service in ways that are currently unimaginable. The West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition is currently doing a version of competitive bidding with its proposed Eau Claire-Twin Cities service which last saw passenger service six decades ago.

If enough states use the tender system, innovations from the most ambitious of these companies could largely render the Amtrak Connects US plan obsolete outside of Virginia (has a 30-year contract), Illinois (home to the Chicago Hub), Michigan (only place outside of the NEC where Amtrak has track rights) and parts of Southern California (Pacific Surfliners and future Coachella Valley and Las Vegas routes).

Long-Distance Routes

The overnight trains should be handled via the open access model. In addition to the FRA's Long Distance Service Study being utilized, other companies would run overnight service on the track via intense negotiations and assuming full responsibility. 

Two potential examples are Dreamstar Lines and the Southeast Passenger Rail Initiative. The former plans to launch an overnight route between Los Angeles and San Francisco (in the mold of the SP's Lark route) while the latter is a rail advocacy group pushing for the Nightjet model, which would provide express or semi-express services throughout the Southeast.

Random thoughts #16

1. The FRA Long-Distance Study is definitely a nice start, but the whole thing of Amtrak being the only operator of the revived routes rubs me the wrong way (entities like AIPRO operators partnering with other companies as part of my rail consortium should also be a part of new long distance routes). That issue aside, I am willing to give this a shot because adding back some long distance routes is something that should have been done more than a decade ago. Existing areas should be amplified and other regions without service should be represented so people aren't forced to make lengthy transfers to New York, D.C. or Chicago.
2. The feds could be forcing Amtrak to focus more on overnight routes than state-supported routes, which would reorient the company into focusing on serving the entire nation rather than just the Northeast. 
3. Another thing about this possible decentralization of Amtrak is that a future Congress could split Amtrak into two or three units and that Stephen Gardner or his successor could subsequently be the leader of only the Northeast Corridor once competition for intercity services is underway while the long distance person ends up being more tuned into the overnight trains.
4. There's no excuse for North America not being more electrified.
5. Ever since the threat of a rail strike loomed back in the fall, there have been calls to nationalize the railroads with one YouTuber even wanting the feds to recreate Conrail at the Class I level. I've been mixed on the idea. I've long understood that railroads are businesses first, but on the other hand, the major railroads have shot themselves in the foot way too many times--lobbying to keep a late 1860s braking system in place rather than adjusting to the 21st century, Precision Scheduled Railroading, the sick day fiasco that almost led to the railworkers striking in the first place.
6. Regarding the station situation in Jacksonville, the Regional Transit Center opened in May 2020 to buses and the elevated Skyway trains. The JTA and FDOT have discussed moving Amtrak closer to downtown since the late '00s. The city's proposed commuter services list the JRTC as the downtown location rather than the Prime Osborn Center. 
7. Speaking of the Osborn Center, the city has deemed the site of the historic Union Terminal as too small given that Jacksonville has lost out on events to cities the size of Daytona Beach. The city is pondering a new, larger convention center.
8. Once the City of Jacksonville has a new convention center in place, it will be possible for both Union Terminal and the JRTC to host passenger rail. Union Terminal: Amtrak, FDOT intra-Florida corridor service, Rail Consortium East, Rail Consortium Central. JRTC: Brightline, future HSR, Nightjet, JTA commuter rail.

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.

A Rant About Amtrak Service Reductions

This week was the first of three in which Amtrak will make all of its remaining long distance trains outside of Auto Train triweekly. The criteria the company has in place will set these trains to miss the intended targets by June 30—and therefore fail. The horrendous online booking scheme says it all.

Everyone has to deal with the fact that Amtrak's current management simply doesn't care about the long distance system because There are severed connections all over the place among other things.

Even at previous low points, Amtrak at least kept portions of certain long distance routes daily before breaking them into less than daily segments. Consider these examples:

• Crescent daily to Atlanta
• Empire Builder daily to St. Paul
• Texas Eagle daily to St. Louis
• Some type of daily service between Chicago and Salt Lake City

However, with this pandemic the current management didn’t even have the courtesy to even do that outside of the Florida trains. After all, Stephen Gardner and Anthony Coscia have openly expressed their hostility to the overnight trains as did previous president Richard Anderson. When it comes to current president William Flynn, my initial reaction to him being named was justified because he’s going to go along with whatever Gardner and Coscia tell him. If the presidential election goes the way the polls are predicting, then, Gardner may very well get a chance to finish the job he, Anderson and Coscia started, with the overnight trains going away.

·       Amtrak was caught being dishonest about Florida, and this graph put together by RPA (fka NARP) and retweeted by All Aboard Ohio demonstrates just how much management is willing to sacrifice other parts of the country for its beloved Northeast Corridor.

 The rail community has to be very weary of Amtrak management’s pledge of these cuts being “temporary.” History is an indicator:

1. George Warrington was supposed to be a temporary president, but the Amtrak Board selected him over Andrew Selden in 1998. The result was Warrington nearly bankrupting the company after he bet the farm on Acela Express
2. Joseph Boardman was supposed to be a temporary president after the 2008 presidential election, but the Board removed the “temporary” tag at the beginning of 2010. Amtrak stagnated because the expansions that took place were done by the states, not Amtrak itself. The company didn’t show any interest in proactively operating any new routes—its interest was in trying to keep well-established HSR operators out of the country and trying to prevent its commuter competitors from entering the intercity market (the Tea Party wave made the former possible and Congress’s inaction was responsible for the latter)
3. A now ex-CFO went behind Boardman’s back to take the diners off #91 and #92 five years ago. A few months later, the alleged “experiment” was made permanent. The only reason why the diners were put back on the Silver Star was because the Anderson regime downgraded meal service on all long distance trains

Tackling the Headlines 100: The Finale

NOTE: The Hoosier State situation will be covered in a future article

Sweden and Night Trains
The Scandinavian country is doing something that was endangered just four years ago: Entering the European overnight market. This is an example of the government backing up its green agenda.

The funding portion would be like the government seeking an alternative operator to run a long distance route.

Amtrak's strategy
Over the last three months or so, Amtrak has made it clear that it doesn't really care about its originally mandated mission to provide a national system, and its leaders are emphasizing corridors instead. 

Given that Charlotte-Atlanta is on the railroad's radar, it should be clear that Amtrak is on the defensive since Virgin Trains already announced its plans for the same route six months ago. A few years ago, this route was complexly off the radar of "America's Railroad" and it was little more than a long-term thing planned by NCDOT and GADOT.

The thing is, Amtrak's record with the corridors it currently has is mostly lacking and the railroad has taken next to no initiative so this idea of focusing on corridors is typical of a reactive organization. When Richard Branson took over Brightline and announced its plans to develop corridors and even challenge Amtrak in its backyard, it was reminiscent of Joe Boardman's response to foreign entities submitting their bids to operate high speed rail a decade ago. 

Boardman got a reprieve as the 2010 elections curtailed HSR fever but Richard Anderson is unlikely to be as lucky because of how unpopular he already is among the rail public for his passenger-hostile approach. 

Detroit studies the obvious
A decade after members of the City Council recommended demolishing MCS, the Motor City's leaders are studying restoring passenger service to its crown jewel. However, it doesn't necessarily have to have Amtrak trains stopping there. A Chicago-Toronto HSR route could be set up either privately or like Eurostar.

Toledo may be taking rail into its own hands
A consultant has clearly been paying attention to Florida when he was tasked with tackling the feasibility of a Toledo-Ann Arbor/Detroit route. Linking Toledo with Southeast Michigan will be something that requires innovative thinking because the historical default partners are completely unreliable

The Ohio DOT is likely to continue putting highways above passenger rail even if the new governor isn't as bad on the latter as his predecessor. Meanwhile, Amtrak would give this T-shaped route the same treatment that it gave the 3C Route that it studied a decade ago. Also, any feasibility study done by Amtrak will result in exorbitant costs.

Clearing up the CAHSR mess
Whatever the new governor's motives, at least someone from the Authority clarified what's going on in Sacramento.

The future of UK rail franchising
Great Britain's rail operators want an independent body overseeing the network. If the railroads get their way on commuter routes, then it would be like the German model in a way--and it'd allow them to focus on intercity routes. I mean what's good for the goose (London) is good for the gander (Liverpool, Manchester, etc.), right?

Virgin being forced out in Britain
It looks like Sir Branson may flourish here while unraveling on his side of the Atlantic. His and Stagecoach's joint bid was disqualified over pension issues. Obviously a complex issue and it would be a shame if an innovative operator were driven out of its homeland.

Tackling the Headlines 98

I'm doing something a bit different--rapid fire responses to recent topics:

• Amtrak announces Amfleet I replacement
• Southwest Chief could be replaced with buses
• Portion of Catskills Mountain RR to be turned into a trail
• New stations open in Marks, MS and Raleigh

One Big Take: It's nice and all that Amtrak is finally talking about replacing equipment that's nearly a half century old but, the company should have made it is main focus a couple of summers ago instead of replacing Acelas that are less than two decades old. The Southwest Chief situation is yet another reason for the private sector to jump in because Amtrak no longer cares about overnight travelers even though the demand is there. The CMRR is an ominous sign for the Adirondack Scenic Railroad and railroad advocates must be vigilant since the governor of New York is on the side of elitists. It's about time that both cities opened their new stations.

Addendum: Amtrak's Hostility to Its Partners and Passengers

Here are some more links that relate to the previous article:
Boardman's letter to Railway Age
Amtrak vs Metra, Chicago Union Station
Amtrak station destaffings: 1 2 3
Anderson's stance on long distance trains: 1 2
M.E. Singer on Amtrak's treatment of state supported routes: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Amtrak's cutback on food on certain routes

Tackling the Headlines 93

No anti-HSR laws passed in Texas
The legislature only meets in odd-numbered years so Texas Central can largely continue building its line unabated.

Take: It's a very good thing that the yahoos in Austin aren't around to sabotage a privately operated rail project.

Trains running on renewable energy in Europe
Germany will roll out a train that's powered by hydrogen and only emits water while the Netherlands has all of its trains running on wind power--a year ahead of schedule!

Take: Meanwhile, this country is wholly incapable of having electrified rail lines outside of the Northeast. 

Woes for long distance travel in Germany
Locomore's failure once again exposes that the playing field for intercity competition is still heavily tilted in favor of the national railroad and is something that needs to be fixed.

Take: Rather than pointing to Locomore's situation as some kind of alleged "proof" about competition's shortcomings, True Believers should be trying to see the whole picture. Furthermore, German regulators need to remove restrictions imposed on private operators so they can provide the public with more choices rather than letting DB have a such a lock on everything. 

A commentator's take on the latest NEC mess
Singer's response to the New York Newsday's article is worth a read.

Take #1: I've wondered at the back of my head if the Amtrak Board would let Moorman clean up the mess his predecessor left behind or if it would attempt to sabotage the former Norfolk Southern boss. At least I'm not the only one who wonders that way anymore.

Take #2: The whole thing going on with Penn Station right now would have never been a full blown crisis if the former Amtrak president, NARP, and Northeastern congressmen and senators hadn't yelled "privatization" and stifled any debate six years ago when there was a plan to hand the NEC infrastructure to a new government-owned company.

They're getting restless in southern Idaho
It's been 20 years since the Pioneer left for the last time and almost eight since the infamous Amtrak study.

Take: It's important to note what the story omitted. The fact is that the Cascadia Center conducted its own study with the conclusion that a private operator could restart the Pioneer at a much lower cost than Amtrak. An organization was set up partly due to the original study. It's also worth noting that local and state officials promptly ignored the Cascadia Center's recommendations. 

Let that be a note to all communities seeking restoration of their long distance services: By continuing to put all your eggs in the Amtrak basket, you will never see any service restored. Oh, by the way, Magliari is being absolutely preposterous by telling Idaho and the other states to pay for a train that was once part of the national system. The new government in D.C. really needs to enforce Section 205 of the FAST Act so other operators can save the long distance network from Amtrak's inertia.

Two more train stations lose full Amtrak access
This time, the victims are Sebring, FL and Greenville, SC.

Take: Maybe, some of Joe Boardman's leftovers still hold some kind of sway in Amtrak management. Maybe, Moorman's treating these station destaffings the same way he's treating the loss of the dining car on the Silver Star: a low priority. Whatever the reason, it's a situation that continues to be unacceptable. In the case of the latter city, this now means that there will be no Amtrak staff to assist passengers between Charlotte and Atlanta and that South Carolina as a whole is now down to three staffed stations--Charleston, Columbia, and Florence.

Addendum: Updated Gulf Coast Schedule

2	Gulf Wind	1
23:00	New Orleans	0:35
0:53	Biloxi1	22:31
2:18	Mobile	21:27
11:00	Tallahassee	15:32
13:50 14:10	Jacksonville-Marietta	12:32 12:12
14:35	Jacksonville-Naval Air Station	11:47
17:55	Orlando-LYNX Central	8:28
18:08	Orlando-Sand Lake Rd.	8:15
21:44	West Palm Beach-S. Tamarind Ave.2	4:47
23:49	Miami Airport2	3:05

Notes

1. This excludes future planned New Orleans-Mobile routes that extend to Birmingham as well as local services
2. No local passengers between West Palm Beach and Miami

A twist to Gulf Coast service

Here's something no one's thought about: Extend the Gulf Coast Service to Miami.

That move alone would take it out of the PRIIA 750 mile requirement by making the route 1,033 miles long. A Tampa extension is doable but at 787 miles long, it's barely outside of the area where the four states would have to fund the route.

As I have said before, Amtrak would not operate this version of the route. Instead, it would be in the hands of an independent operator because it would be able to run the route at a lower cost and out of pride rather than the reluctance that has emanated from Massachusetts Avenue ever since PRIIA mandated the company to study restoring the missing link between New Orleans and Orlando. This would not preclude local routes from being operated by Amtrak in partnership with the Southern Rail Commission or regional service by Corridor Capital.

When it comes to Florida, I have the train stopping in two different locations in Jacksonville--the Marietta neighborhood in the west side of town and the Naval Air Station in the southwest portion--in order to avoid backup moves at Union Terminal. However, the Gulf Wind will be complemented by two Jacksonville-Pensacola roundtrips that will stop at the historic terminal as well as the Marietta stop. In Orlando, the trains will call the LYNX Central and Sand Lake locations home. For its eastern terminus, the Miami Airport will host the trains, which would really turn that station into an intercity hub for trains in addition to intrastate Florida service.

Tackling the Headlines 85

Politico's coverage of the FRA's Pilot Program hearing

Take: On the private companies' concern that the FRA is rigging the process in Amtrak's favor, it would not surprise me if it is.The FRA has been nothing but vague to this point and has gone out of its way to impose arbitrary barriers on non-Amtrak operators.

TTD to FRA: Amtrak, Not Private Entities, Should Run National Passenger Rail System

TTD Secretary-Treasurer Larry Willis, appearing at the Agency’s public hearing, emphasized that Amtrak and its experienced employees are in the best position to provide inter-city passenger rail - “not private entities that seek to turn a profit by lowering labor costs or cutting and eroding service.”

Take # 1: Tell that to the folks in Britain and continental Europe.

“The idea that a private entity can come in and provide more efficient service at a lower cost than Amtrak simply because it is a private entity is a myth,” Willis said. “Too often, private sector business models in the rail industry contemplate downgrading existing service, avoiding obligations under rail labor statutes, or undercutting collective bargaining agreements. The FRA must ensure that the pilot program shuts the door to this misguided model.”

Take #2: Somebody ought to tell Mr. Willis that Amtrak has already done that with the downgrades to the Silver Star and the City of New Orleans so for him to accuse other operators of downgrading service is laughable and is deflecting Amtrak's deficiencies. For instance after Amtrak lost the Virginia Railway Express contract, it was Keolis that added special events for VRE's riders.

Take #3: As I said in early 2014,

If [the unions] are opposed to non-Amtrak operators, then they are in effect opposed to more jobs.

That is the bottom line. It's Willis and Ed Wytkind who are depriving others of jobs, not the AIPRO members or Ed Ellis, and they are doing so because they are afraid of having to adjust to a world of multiple operators who may in due time provide superior service to Amtrak.

Fragmenting Long-Distance Passenger Trains?

Railfan & Railroad, August

NEC a different matter 

• Not only is the NEC huge but the region but the region's congressional delegation would block any effort by AIPRO members to compete against Amtrak
• Maybe when the folks in D.C. get serious about infrastructure, then, we'll see Amtrak face competition in its home region. Until then, I wish the LEO Express people good luck because they'll need it
• By avoiding the NEC, Chambers is sticking to what he knows since the bulk of the AIPRO's commuter contracts are outside of Amtrak-friendly Northeast and Chicagoland territories

Opaque

• By opening the overnight routes up to competition, we'd finally be able to find out the truth about the financial condition of the routes

Cutting a deal?

• By capping the subsidy at 90 percent, the FAST Act is actually doing all potential Amtrak competitors a favor because these newcomers will be hungry and eager to demonstrate that the long distance train of the future is better off without Amtrak

Amtrak--another shot at the target

• "America's Railroad" may get the chance to counterbid but it'd be wise to figure out just which three routes it can do without

Role of Class Is

• As far as the major railroads go, Sections 209 & 214 of PRIIA as well as Section 205 of the FAST Act supersede their long-held Amtrak-only stance
• If the major railroads (continue) flout(ing) the laws, then Congress will have to play hardball: Allow non-Amtrak operators who fairly get contracts for state-supported or overnight routes on your rails or you'll be in charge of every intercity route outside of the Northeast--and in the process, reducing Amtrak to an NEC-only entity

Who bids?

• To me, it's simple: A partnership between independent and Class I railroads--shades of my rail consortium

Another thorny complaint

• Vernon discusses how the major railroads have griped about how Amtrak has never paid them market rates for access on their tracks. As it turns out, a fellow AIPRO member Stan Feinsod advocated a scenario in which other operators would use the commuter model in order to access freight tracks
• In the event the AIPRO is able to see its vision happen, then perhaps we could actually see some of its members revive and actively push for the restoration of service along routs Amtrak abandoned

High mountains to climb

• As far as the RRIF loan scenario goes, whatever it takes

The New Passenger Paradigm

Railway Age, July

Initial takeaway: Rail activists would be keen to read and reread the first sentence on what really led to the creation of Amtrak so they can stop spewing their defeatist nonsense whenever someone tries to propose out of the box ways to expand passenger travel in this country.

Third paragraph: Herzog was prescient and took notes before anyone on Capitol Hill even drafted PRIIA. Even though the AIPRO is small, it should say something that its members have the bulk of commuter rail contracts when a couple of decades ago, Amtrak had a near monopoly outside of the Northeast and Chicago.

Fourth paragraph: This expert nails it: The status quo cannot be maintained after 45 years when multiple operators have expressed interest in running intercity trains.

Fifth paragraph: The New Passenger Paradigm matches up with the late Gil Carmichael's Interstate II and my rail highway concepts.

Sixth paragraph: Based on what Mr. Chambers is saying, all that's needed is for the feds to actually enforce the laws and end the stasis once and for all. After all, when the time came to enforce the Pilot Program in accordance to PRIIA guidelines, the FRA waited a full two years to do so and by that time, there were too many loose ends that the old program just withered away despite immense interest. Another thing is to make sure that the feds do not play favorites--i.e., rig the process to maintain Amtrak's near monopoly (the 2012 near miss comes to mind).

Second column: Regarding the push for new legislation, somebody has to do it because the resident rent seekers sure won't. When it comes to Section 301 not being enforced, one can only look at the executive branch and ask: What happened, President Obama, USDOT, FRA? Was it in any way retaliation to some states returning stimulus money? Was the lack of enforcement actually stimulus related?

If the feds had followed the German model, we would already have: 1) states having greater flexibility to select operators and set their own standards and 2) Amtrak having a surplus amount of equipment due to it experiencing the same type of contract losses of its intercity routes that it's had with its commuter service. The next president and Congress would be very wise to adopt AIPRO's statutes. The second proposed statute would be an excellent way to make money. JR West does this now and Brightline and Housatonic plan on turning their station areas into prime real estate.

Tackling the Headlines 84: New Amtrak CEO

Last Friday, the Amtrak Board surprised everybody by announcing that former Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman will succeed Joe Boardman on September 1--a month early.

The People Who Were Passed Over

Various magazine issues speculated as to who could replace Boardman presented various names earlier this year. In the May issue of Trains, AAF's Gene Skoropowski gave Don Phillips a list of four railroad leaders who were in their 30s or 40s. In the following issue, Phillips looked at former Amtrak veterans Al Engel and Richard Phelps--both of whom left Amtrak in 2011 (it is worth noting that in that same June issue, the Amtrak Board ignored Boardman's handpicked search firm/successor).

In the Second Quarter issue of Passenger Train Journal, NARP CEO Jim Mathews warned about the dangers of an NEC-centric board could have on the next president's agenda. The magazine reported that the Amtrak Board also ignored suggestions from the States for Passenger Rail Coalition.

As Jim Wrinn said, Amtrak was on time for once. When Tom Downs was replaced, the Board named George Warrington as the interim president and didn't remove his name when challengers stepped up. The result? Amtrak almost went bankrupt due to his all-in focus on the Acelas. It took the Board a year to transition from David Gunn to Andrew Kummant. Then, after Kummant left, Boardman, fresh off of his FRA duties, was appointed as the interim boss for over a year before the Board removed the interim tag. Until last Friday, it looked as though the Board would appoint yet another temporary person who would become the permanent head.

My Prediction vs Actual Outcome

I thought for sure that the Board would pick someone who would continue along the same path of taking the states for granted and still be in reactionary mode in the wake of competition. As far as Moorman goes, he falls outside of the names listed by magazines and rail experts only because he initially told everyone that he was going to just enjoy his retirement.

Amtrak's Path Forward

The operator is in need of fresh blood. The last railroader to run Amtrak--Andrew Kummant--was a low-level Union Pacific leader and had a very uneventful two-year tenure. Amtrak is staring at a future where: 

1. All Aboard Florida's Brightline is about to resume the era of private passenger service. A successful run may mean that Florida's leaders implent their version of a California-like system without even talking to Amtrak
2. Regional and shortline railroads are either providing intercity services or are planning to
3. A trade group representing Amtrak's commuter competitors is chomping at the feet of "America's Railroad" to grab intercity contracts of state-supported corridors and overnight routes courtesy of the FAST Act (and PRIIA before it)
4. Congressional pull alone may not be enough for Amtrak to maintain its near monopoly on passenger routes. Ironically, the tipping point may have been the Senate's failed attempt to drive private competitors out of the business in the spring of 2012
5. The states themselves may be tired of paying high prices to keep Amtrak as the contractor of their routes when they have budgets to balance and expansion is met by the national operator by endless studies to nowhere. Indiana may have gotten the ball rolling by contracting the Hoosier State to Iowa Pacific, but there will be a state or group of states that will completely break away from Amtrak

What It Means for Competitors

With a former Class I executive running Amtrak, it may or may not be a bit more difficult for AIPRO members and others to get existing routes away from the national operator but time will tell. However, I will say this: It's very unlikely that Mr. Moorman will be as combative towards other operators. If anything, the new Amtrak CEO may decide on his own just which routes are worth keeping in the Amtrak system and which ones would be better off in the hands of someone else.