This Week at Amtrak, February 4, 2008

A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203
Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA
Telephone 904-636-7739, Electronic Mail info@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org



Volume 5, Number 5



Founded over three decades ago in 1976, URPA is a nationally known policy institute that focuses on solutions and plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota, California, Arizona, New Mexico, the District of Columbia, Texas, and New York. For more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.


URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from any outside sources.


1) Half of a train is better than no train. Amtrak has reversed its decision on annulment of the Coast Starlight due to the mudslide blocking the Union Pacific mainline tracks near Chemult, Oregon.

Here is Amtrak’s press release.

[Begin quote]

News Release

National Railroad Passenger Corporation
60 Massachusetts Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20002
www.amtrak.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATK-08-008

Contact: Media Relations (510) 238-4360

February 1, 2008 Amtrak Restoring Partial Coast Starlight Service

Service Available Between Los Angeles and Sacramento

OAKLAND - Amtrak is restoring service on a portion of the route of the Coast Starlight, beginning Wednesday, February 6. Following discussions with the Union Pacific Railroad, service on the route was suspended between Los Angeles and Seattle on January 19, due to massive mudslides over the railroad north of Chemult, Ore. All railroad traffic through that area has been suspended and is not expected to resume for many weeks.

The first northbound departure of this version of the Coast Starlight, Train 14, will leave Los Angeles on February 6 at 10:15 a.m., making all regularly-scheduled stops and arriving in Sacramento later that night at 11:59 p.m. The first day of service in both directions will be Thursday, February 7, when the southbound Coast Starlight, Train 11, will depart Sacramento at 6:35 a.m., making all regularly-scheduled stops and arriving in Los Angeles at 9:00 p.m.

Cascades trains between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, B.C., via Portland and Seattle, are operating.

During this partial service restoration, only Coach class will be offered. No sleeping car accommodations will be available. Food and beverage service will be available in a lounge car. The more formal dining service usually offered on the regular Coast Starlight will be suspended until the resumption of full route between Los Angeles and Seattle. The Coast Starlight will continue to operate as an all-reserved train and passengers will be able to check bags at stations that normally offer that service.

About Amtrak

Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail service to more than 500 destinations in 46 states on a 21,000-mile route system. For schedules, fares and information, passengers may call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com.

[End quote]

2) Now, before everyone gets all warm and fuzzy about this partial service restoration, let’s ask some adult questions.

– The announcement was made on Friday, February 1st, and the service will not resume until Wednesday, February 6th, from Los Angeles, the maintenance and crew base for the train. What’s taking so long? The Starlight is a daily train; it takes four days to resume service over a regularly scheduled route, with regularly scheduled crews, using regularly scheduled equipment?

– The best money-making features of the Starlight route, the sleeping cars are not being offered, even for daylight service. The scenery along that route is pretty spectacular any time of the year, and Amtrak seems to be ignoring the desires of many passengers who may wish to travel in more comfort than is offered with only coach service. Couldn’t Amtrak run at least one sleeping car for those willing to pay the extra fare?

– Why is the dining car being eliminated for this shorter run? Don’t people on a nearly 14 hour run still get hungry? Passengers accustomed to riding this train between Los Angeles and Sacramento and points in between will want to know why they are being denied basic food service which has been replaced with lounge food. Amtrak dining cars are already short staffed with quick preparation food; how much money is Amtrak generating in false savings by not offering dining car service?

7) Paul Dyson, president of RailPAC in California deserves high praise for his correspondence with Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant, and his refusal to “say die” on the ability of Amtrak to provide some type of Starlight service to keep the route open during the calamity of the Oregon mudslide and UP’s ongoing effort to reopen its rail line.

In the past two issues of TWA we have published the correspondence between Mr. Dyson and Mr. Kummant, and where we last left the situation, Mr. Kummant had not replied to Mr. Dyson’s second letter. The reply came Friday in the form of the press release from Amtrak printed above. For review, here is Mr. Dyson’s second letter to Mr. Kummant as a response to Mr. Kummant’s letter listing all of the reasons leading up to the decision to annul Starlight service over the entire 1,377 mile route of the Starlight.

[Begin quote]

January 29, 2008

Mr. Alex Kummant
President and CEO
National Railroad Passenger Corporation
60 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E.
Washington, DC 20002

Via fax

COAST STARLIGHT SUSPENSION

Dear Mr. Kummant:

Thank you for your letter of yesterday replying to my concerns about the Coast Starlight. While your response is an excellent tour d’horizon of the circumstances leading to your decision, it contains no real response to the key issues. What is more important to Amtrak, preserving your franchise, providing transportation in accordance with or substituting for your advertised schedules, and preserving thirty years of painstakingly accumulated political goodwill, OR saving a few thousands of dollars each day in operating expenses? It is facile to state that ridership is light, with the inference that therefore providing service is not very important. One could well argue that such light loads should be rectified by better marketing and pricing, but in any event that is beside the point. The point is you have an obligation to provide service, or at least as much service as you possibly can, and I have no doubt that your line managers are capable of rising to the occasion.

On the political front your people will no doubt have told you that ALL expenditure, including the intercity rail budget, is under severe threat here in California. Whether we agree or not your announced policy is to develop “corridors” in partnership with the states. California is the poster child for this process having spent over $1 billion of California tax dollars on its rail programs. Over the next few weeks lawmakers will be fighting over the budget, the end result of which may well be cuts in the state rail corridor services. How can you have been so ill-advised as to annul the state’s premier north-south long distance train at just the time when rail advocates and pro-rail policy makers are trying to sell the state rail program as having relevance to our transportation needs? If you lose California as a corridor partner your entire policy is in shambles.

Regarding diverting passengers to the state rail and bus network, the irony is that for 36 hours I-5 was closed north of Los Angeles, meaning that the Bakersfield/San Joaquin service was not an option. In any event, rail passengers regard buses as a poor substitute for a one-seat train ride. I cannot accept that the “prudent planning and analysis” required for a one train a day service should take more than day or two, nor do I accept that “the challenges presented by running stub trains and bus bridges, especially in winter,” are so much greater than normal operations. You sell your people short by saying so. Indeed you give the lie to that statement by reporting that the bus bridge bedded in quite well on day two. Probably the bus ride between Eugene and Klamath Falls is measurably quicker than the train.

Given what is happening with the Sunset, the Crescent and now the Coast Starlight, RailPAC will inevitably come to the conclusion that there is once again a concerted attempt to shut down the long distance network by driving away passengers with these extended annulments. You are either in business to run these trains and provide the advertised service, or not. The public deserves an honest answer.

Yours faithfully,


Paul J. Dyson
President

[End quote]


If you are reading someone else’s copy of This Week at Amtrak, you can receive your own free copy each week by sending your e-mail address to


freetwa@unitedrail.org


You MUST include your name, preferred e-mail address, and city and state where you live. If you have filters or firewalls placed on your Internet connection, set your e-mail to receive incoming mail from twa@unitedrail.org; we are unable to go through any individual approvals processes for individuals. This mailing list is kept strictly confidential and is not shared or used for any purposes other than the distribution of This Week at Amtrak or related URPA materials.


All other correspondence, including requests to unsubscribe, should be addressed to


brucerichardson@unitedrail.org


URPA leadership members are available for speaking engagements.


J. Bruce Richardson
President
United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.
1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203
Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA
Telephone 904-636-7739
brucerichardson@unitedrail.org
http://www.unitedrail.org