Will segmented train routes work?

   An issue that is bound to be heavily debated in coming months is the idea of breaking up long distance Amtrak routes into segments
that involve a series of day trains covering the same routes. 

   The idea originated with anti-Amtrak sources in the Administration, but actually dates back further, having been proposed by various think tanks with anti-rail orientations. 

   The apparent money- saving idea is that there would no longer be a need for sleeping cars and the crews to man them. The day trains would cover the same route, but there would be no overnight operation, so that travelers whose routes included an overnight portion would have to occupy hotel rooms between train segments. 

   The National Association of Railroad Passengers has been performing comparison analyses of existing long distance routes and the segmented routes that would most likely substitute for them. The results are so weighted in favor of the long distance routes that no logical justification could be made for the segments.

   Rather than creating cost saving for Amtrak, the segmenting would actually either yield no savings or raise costs, while reducing patronage to such an extent that the segmented route would fail altogether. 

   Of course, creating a route failure might be the ultimate aim of the anti-rail originators of this scheme. 

   Amtrak President Kummant and other company officials continue to mention this plan while being fairly noncommital and saying it would be evaluated carefully. If the evaluation is indeed done carefully and rationally, it would seem that no possible case could be made for segmenting. 
 
 

   A study prepared for the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority shows that proposed investments in the Downeaster (Boston-Portland ME) Amtrak service would pay off in billions of dollars of economic benefits to Maine and New Hampshire by 2030. 

   The investment proposal is as follows:
(1) Maintain the annual Downeaster operating subsidy, projected to be $8 to $10 million in 2010, so that TOD (transit-oriented development) on the line between Boston and Portland will be sustained and continue to unfold.
(2) Make a capital investment of $31.5 million to extend Downeaster service from Portland to
Brunswick and to establish a rail service connection between the Downeaster and the Rockland Branch. This investment is the key capital improvement that will make extensive TOD throughout southeast and mid-coastal Maine practicable.

 Here is an overview of some of the economic benefits:
• Cumulative construction investments of approximately $7.2 billion
• Construction/rehabilitation of over 42,000 housing units and 6.8 million sq ft of commercial space,
• Creation of over 17,800 jobs,
• Generation of $244 million per year in transportation cost savings for resident households,
• Generation of $2.4 billion per year of increased resident and visitor purchasing power,
• Generation of $76 million per year in state and local tax revenue.
   The complete report (pdf format) can be found
here.

   Around 5pm on April 4 a young man and woman, the man's father and the man's dog were walking on a railway trestle over Halls Creek, which runs into the Petitcodiac River near the Moncton, New Brunswick VIA Rail station. Suddenly the Halifax-bound Ocean train appeared, heading to the station. The trespassers attempted to get out of the way of the train, but the young man went onto the tracks to pull his dog to safety. The man was hit by the train and knocked off the trestle into the creek. The creek was at high tide and its width is approximately less than the length of a railway car. Read more...

Pope Benedict XVI will visit the United States from April 15 to 20, and apparently no train riding will be included in his itinerary. Read more...

The Federal DOT Office of the Inspector General on Mar 28  released the results of a study that found that Amtrak in FY 2006 lost potentially almost $137 million because of low on-time performance, most of it caused by problems on the host freight railroads. The DOT's summary follows:

This report presents the results of our audit of the effects of Amtrak’s poor on–time performance (OTP). This audit was requested by the Surface Transportation Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The objective of this audit was to produce a quantitative assessment of the impact of Amtrak’s poor OTP on Amtrak’s finances.

Achieving reliable OTP would substantially improve Amtrak’s finances. We estimate, for example, that an 85 percent OTP off the NEC in FY 2006 would have reduced Amtrak’s operating loss by 30 percent or $136.6 million. Amtrak’s revenues would increase by $111.4 million as more travelers would choose to take the train if they become more confident that it will arrive on time. Amtrak’s expenses would be reduced by $39.3 million mostly due to less required overtime as a result of fewer late trains, and lower fuel costs as a result of less time spent idling and less frequent accelerations and decelerations. The improved OTP also would require an increase in net performance payments paid to the host railroads of $14.1 million.

Working with the host railroads to achieve an 85 percent OTP off the NEC would be a difficult task. However, Amtrak may be able to utilize a portion of the projected benefits to further incentivize the host railroads to provide this enhanced level of service.
The full report can be downloaded at the DOT's website: http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2273

CSX Transportation Announces Establishment of Huntington Dispatching Center

HUNTINGTON, W.Va., April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- CSX Transportation is establishing a new dispatching center at its division headquarters in Huntington, with approximately 80 train dispatcher and related positions being relocated here, CSX Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer Michael J. Ward announced today. Read more...

   Columnist Wes Vernon reported on Jan 28 that likely GOP presidential candidate John McCain would kill off Amtrak if he were elected president.

   Vernon was discussing influential conservative rail advocate Paul Weyrich's reaction to McCain's candidacy. Weyrich said he would leave the GOP if McCain were the candidate.

   Vernon wrote: "Weyrich knows that Senator McCain, throughout his career, has been very anti-rail, and in that respect 'would be [even] worse than the present [Bush] administration,' whose Transportation Secretary Mary Peters (a big highway booster) has fought tooth and nail (as commission chairman) to block the pro-rail efforts of Weyrich and others allied with his 9-to-3 [National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study] commission majority."

   Vernon also reported "The Arizonan has said shutting down Amtrak —  if he's elected — would be 'a non-negotiable issue' for him. Short-sighted, indeed."

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