A tale of two countries

JR West apologizes for a train leaving a central Japan station 25 seconds early.

VIA Rail apologizes for a train arriving into Vancouver 45 hours late.

Says it all, doesn't it?

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

Rescuing the Passenger Train From Amtrak

Consequently, it has become the greatest of ironies that the passenger train, which was purported to be saved by Amtrak, now has to be saved from Amtrak. Daniel Carleton, This Week at Amtrak 9/8/11

It is clear that Amtrak is no longer the tool to keep passenger trains going in the United States. Over the last several months, "America's Railroad" has made the passenger experience more and more unpleasant. M.E. Singer lays out why Amtrak's woes are institutional rather than financial. 

Boardman's rebuttal to Anderson's cuts

So, the former CEO has issues with what the current one is doing and even a onetime Boardman critic has backed him.The problem with all of the Boardman praise is that he's the one who started the cutbacks at Amtrak in the first place. In 2015, the first series of station destaffings occurred when nobody was even talking about the idea of Boardman retiring. On top of that, he imposed airline-like baggage policies and began the process for shutting down Quik-Trak ticket machines--a process that has been delayed to 2019. The worst part of the Boardman Era was the fact that he squandered a golden opportunity to make passenger trains thrive in this country.

It didn't have to be this way

It is ironic and perverse, that our greatest hope for high speed rail is to not destroy or eliminate, but to force Amtrak to competitively bid on services with other prospective providers. Transit Sleuth responding to me, 11/8/11

Never mind high speed rail, we can't even get Congress or the President to force Amtrak to bid for long distance or state-supported routes as not one but two rail re-authorizations mandate the organization to.

Let's face it, Sections 209 and 214 of PRIIA and the FAST Act should have been enforced by Congress. If that had happened, then Brightline's amenities would have been the norm rather than the exception.

European countries are introducing competition with little resistance outside of France and Finland and yet it's a dirty word here. The status quo cannot be allowed to continue because after 47 years, the pendulum has swung back in favor of expanded passenger service. It's Amtrak management that has resisted expansion outside of the Northeast.

The bulk of the rail community: Just as bad as the Amtrak Board

I would take the status quo compared to the damage the Republicans are about to inflict.

That is a paraphrase of a quote that I saw on a transit forum after the Tea Party fused 2010 midterm wave. That quote is exactly the attitude the bulk of railfans have exhibited over the last seven years. By acting as though Amtrak is the be all end all to U.S. passenger passenger rail and ignoring others who want to shake up the industry, this batch of rent seekers in the railfan community has done everyone a grave disservice.

By going all in with Amtrak, here are the ways that most in the rail community are worse than useless:

• These advocates were silent on the Senate's failed power grab six springs ago. 
• They added nothing of substance when states were ironing out Section 209 requirements and they were just as silent as 18 of the 19 state agencies (the Capitol Corridor split from Caltrans earlier this decade) who never even explored the idea of selecting another operator
• I saw with my very eyes as these rent seekers and True Believers threw a major hissy fit at the one state agency that did pick someone else (Corridor Capital in mid-2014) as a contractor, were gleeful when that bid fell apart (fall '14), threw another fit when another entity (Iowa Pacific) was selected as the contractor, and finally celebrated the day the Hoosier State reverted back to full Amtrak control after the private contractor pointed out that the raw deal it got

Goodbye TIGER, hello BUILD

The grant program that aided many passenger rail projects and helped to build train stations is being replaced by a program that is tilted towards rural projects.

The only thing that is shocking is that it took this long for the TIGER name to disappear.

Tackling the Headlines 96

Ford may buy Michigan Central Station
Take: While having a dedicated tenant is better than having the absentee family, I am worried if the automaker gets MCS that passenger access will be permanently cut off.

Saratoga & North Creek is going out of business
Take #1: I'll start off with this quote: "So Ellis way be right about his new outfit, but he may also be wrong, and it's worth waiting a while before hailing his new effort as a success." I have to give this person a prize because I was way too optimistic about S&NC.

Take #2: This all stems from the railroad not being able to operate freight service, which is a real shame.

SNCF opposes Texas Central's plan
1. The French operator says that the spinoff of JR Central would "doom" passenger rail in Texas
2. Texas Central hits back at SNCF

Take: On one end, SNCF has a point about TX Central's routing but on the other end, it was the feds who imposed the restrictions on where TX Central could place its Houston station. It brings up some good points, but, ultimately, it may come off as sour grapes by others.

SNCF has to worry about its own backyard
Take: Just like everywhere else in EU countries, the French operator has to prepare for competitors.

Another year of profits
Finland and Germany

Take: This is the second year in a row now. At this point, anyone in the rail community who utters "no country in the world makes money on passenger rail" will be trivialized and then ignored.

Tackling the Headlines 95: Another All-Amtrak Edition

Tunneling the Hudson
It's really about the Gateway Project vs AIRNet-21

Take #1: Amidst all the talk over funding new tunnels underneath the Hudson River, most people are ignoring the latter solution to the nation's peril.

Take #2: Of course, Gateway is the wrong way to go. The reason? It forces Amtrak to spend countless billions while the rest of the system suffers. Also, other states may be more willing to look elsewhere if "America's Railroad" becomes Northeast Railroad.

Rockland update
Amtrak won't be running service along the old Maine Eastern route this summer after all.

Take: Oops.

New year, new president, same old hostility towards passengers  
1. Stations continue to lose staffing, checked baggage, and ticket sales
2. Business Class will be discontinued on the Auto Train and the Crescent on May 1
3. Eliminating other amenities systemwide
4. Outlawing private cars

Take #1: It clearly doesn't matter who's in charge of Amtrak--Boardman, Moorman, Anderson--because it's the management team and/or the Amtrak Board that's cutting back on these things.

Take #2: Business Class "failed" on Trains #19, #20, #52 & #53 because management wanted it to fail. The buffer between Coach and Sleeper was not marketed properly so it's going away after only two years.

Take #3: So, as Brightline is operating its route at brand new stations and offering all kinds of goodies to South Floridians, Amtrak wants to cut back like it's the late 1960s Southern Pacific. Way to go, guys. At this point, Washington needs to do an intervention by handing the long distance routes and all state supported routes outside of the NEC and the Chicago Hub to AIPRO members.

Take #4: A lot has been said about the ban of private cars, so I'll just say this: Losing out on revenue is the ultimate cutting of one's nose to spite his face.

Take #5: With the way things are going with Amtrak trying to become Greyhound on the rails--we're past the point of the company acting like an airline--it wouldn't surprise me that a certain segment of railfans would rather see Amtrak reduced to next to nothing than letting other operators succeed with enhanced amenities and overall improved customer service.

Cascades #501 Crash & PTC

Last month's crash in Lakewood, WA has sparked a rash of overreactions nationally and a bunch of unnecessary "I-told-you-sos" from locals.

Let's Get Something Out of the Way

First off, the reroute was not a mistake, it was something that the state thought out in advance. As scenic as the Point Defiance route was, it was also single track.

Second, the blame for what happened last month can be attributed of a deficient safety culture inside Amtrak.

The PTC Bug

Certain members of Congress have urged the UDSOT to make December 31 a hard deadline for all railroads to install Positive Train Control (under the 2015 law, extensions to the end of 2020 will only be granted under certain circumstances).

I find this to be a bit of pretentious grandstanding by Congress since it created the problem by overreacting to another tragedy! For those unaware, the tragedy that sparked PTC in the first place was the Chatsworth disaster in 2008. The problem with the way it was implemented was that Congress told every railroad that it not only had to install the device but that said railroads would have to pay out of their own pockets. That demand reflects just how much of an anti-government attitude Washington has had since 1981. If Congress had taken the lead, it would have footed the bill instead.