A "Two Amtrak" Concept

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, a poster at Trainorders:

Passenger Trains > Dick Spotswood: A "Two Amtrak" Concept
Date: 10/10/19 23:22
Dick Spotswood: A "Two Amtrak" Concept
Author: GenePoon

A “Two Amtrak” Concept
Railway Age
by Dick Spotswood

{snip}

October 10, 2019 Commuter/Regional, High Performance, Intercity, Passenger
A “Two Amtrak” Concept
Written by Dick Spotswood

The dilemma: It’s now clear that Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, and its new management under former Delta Airlines CEO Richard Anderson and Executive Vice President Stephen Gardner, regards its principal responsibility as making the Northeast Corridor America’s first true high-speed rail route. That’s a worthy goal and no easy task. Running from Boston south through seven states and the District of Columbia, the Northeast Corridor is the central transportation axis for southern New England and the Middle Atlantic states. The dilemma is that Amtrak’s mandate is not limited to the Northeastern states.

Amtrak’s official name is the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. Some, particularly in the Northeast, forget that the rail passenger corporation’s Congressional mandate has always been to provide a truly national rail system. Unfortunately, it’s a role to which the current Amtrak board and much of its senior staff give mere lip service.

The great losers in this Middle Atlantic-centric approach are south of Richmond, Va., and everything west of Buffalo/Harrisburg/Washington. The rumor, given Amtrak’s legendary aversion to transparency is all we can expect, says that the first train-off will be the Chicago-Los Angeles Southwest Chief. Amtrak has promised Congress to continue the number one train linking east and west … for now.

Another to go may be the daily Chicago-Seattle/Portland Empire Builder and the tri-weekly New Orleans-Los Angeles Sunset Limited. The fate of the St. Louis-San Antonio Texas Eagle is dubious. That would leave the West with only two Amtrak-funded services: the Seattle-Los Angeles Coast Starlight and the Oakland-Chicago California Zephyr. It appears Amtrak’s hope is that those two tokens will satisfy their legislative mandate to provide a truly national service.

It’s time for America to have two intercity rail passenger operators: The current Amtrak in the eight-state/District of Columbia Northeast Corridor should be matched with a brand-new entity in providing high levels of passenger-oriented services for America west of the Allegheny Mountains and south of Richmond.
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[ret5hd]

1. I believe that idea (break Amtrak into 2 entities)...

is a sure way to end up with the northeast corridor as the ONLY passenger rail service in the U.S. Split everything else off, remove the nationwide mandate from Amtrak, then kill/starve the other, leaving only the northeast corridor.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. Oh, dear lord, I hope they don't get rid of

either the Southwest Chief or the Empire Builder.

I've already booked a roomette on those two to get from New Mexico to Seattle next April. Overnight from Lamy, NM to Chicago on the Southwest Chief. Hotel there. Then two nights on the Empire Builder to Seattle. I know, it's the long way around but I've taken Amtrak several times in recent years, most recently from Lamy to Kansas City in May.

I love the long distance trains. If you have the time, it's a wonderful way to travel.

What's sadly missing is a good north-south route from, say Albuquerque, to Denver. To get from NM to Denver by train I'd have to go to either Los Angeles or Chicago, which is absurd. Although, maybe someday I'll do that just for the pleasure of going the long way around, like my trip next year to Seattle.

[customerserviceguy]

3. Spirit Airlines, etc.

the low-cost, no frills, jam-em-in-like-sardines airlines have killed passenger train travel outside of the Northeast.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. All of the airlines have trained almost all their passengers

to go for the lowest fare, regardless of flight time or weird/inconvenient routing, or how much it will cost to check a bag and select a seat.

I refuse to play that game, and the rare times I fly I always book a first class seat. I've learned that if I plan correctly, I can get first class at a price I'm willing to pay. And it's not as though if I went for the cheapest seats I'd be flying a lot more. I love to travel and do a reasonable amount, but I'm willing to drive fairly long distances. The last time I got on an airplane was in June, 2017. I will be flying a couple of times next year in conjunction with my Hawaii cruise (to and from San Diego) and the Seattle trip. I'll fly home from that city, after having taken four days to get there by train.

[customerserviceguy]

5. Good for you

I, too, get first class seating, but from using miles. When you go to pay for a first class seat, it's 4,5, 6 times as much as a cattle class seat, but when you use miles, it's only twice as much. I keep my American Airlines miles up with survey sites, an AA-branded credit card, and i-Dine. Even my cell phone plan dumps miles into my account every month.

Like you, I'm willing to drive, and being retired, I have the time to do it.

It's good to have options when travelling, and even better to create those opportunities.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. I don't fly enough to be able to use miles.

I also don't have a credit card that gives me miles. So I cheerfully pay. Perhaps more to the point, I have zero loyalty to a specific airline, so an airline connected credit card doesn't work for me.

Here's something else that's important. I used to be an airline employee. I was a ticket agent at DCA from January, 1969 to August, 1979. Back then the travel benefits, especially working for a smaller airline which I did, were phenomenal. We were almost always boarded first class, so I got spoiled. Even before the current cattle car configuration of so many airlines, first class was, in my opinion, well worth it. Okay, so back then I wasn't paying for it. But now I'm willing to do so.

The secret is to book about three, maybe two months before the flight. Right now I keep on checking on the San Diego and the Seattle flights. At present the fares are higher than I'm willing to pay. In another month or so they'll drop for the flights I want.

I am likewise retired and have plenty of time. That's why I'm happily taking the train from New Mexico to Seattle, which will be four days of travel. I can hardly wait! I've done Amtrak a couple of other times and I'm totally sold on it. Especially booking a roomette.

I have a good friend who cannot imagine spending the money for a roomette, and would take the same trip in a regular coach car. Shudder. I want the privacy and access to a shower I get in a roomette, especially if I'm going to spend more than one night on the train, which I will from Chicago to Seattle. Plus, I'm a really sound sleeper, and I'd honestly be concerned about my purse or overnight case being taken while I'm totally asleep.