Came across this going through a list of things mentioned as needing one.
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/26/makeover-needed-amtrak/
Thoughts?
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/26/makeover-needed-amtrak/
Thoughts?
Makeover needed: Amtrak?
- Thread starter StorkNest
- Start date
the price to travel by train has come down considerably recently I have found. I can now go from my home to chicago for about $100 round trip. A couple weeks ago when gas prices were @ $4.00/gal it cost me more to drive.
I think the biggest problem people have with Amtrak is that they will take it until it get delayed or they get a bad conductor, etc and then suddenly forget that they ever had a "good" expirence on it and complain. I have known people who sit and complain about how they one time took Amtrak and were 15 mins late and haven't ridden it since because of that. But then if you do some digging you can find out that before then they took the train all the time and didn't have any problems. However people will very happily fly on a delayed plane with crappy staff and no food and not complain one bit. Yes Amtrak needs a make over; but what I think needs a bigger makeover is people's preception or rail travel. This can be changed I think if Amtrak steps up in advertising; and putting a little flair in what the trip.
peter
I think the biggest problem people have with Amtrak is that they will take it until it get delayed or they get a bad conductor, etc and then suddenly forget that they ever had a "good" expirence on it and complain. I have known people who sit and complain about how they one time took Amtrak and were 15 mins late and haven't ridden it since because of that. But then if you do some digging you can find out that before then they took the train all the time and didn't have any problems. However people will very happily fly on a delayed plane with crappy staff and no food and not complain one bit. Yes Amtrak needs a make over; but what I think needs a bigger makeover is people's preception or rail travel. This can be changed I think if Amtrak steps up in advertising; and putting a little flair in what the trip.
peter
illinoiscentral
SARM Volunteer
Amtrak needs alot of work in the Midwest, at least. We rode the City of New Orleans from Champaign Ill to Chicago and it was 45 minutes late at Champaign, then we rode The Illini home and the cars were junk!
Well, the Midwest, Florida, the Gulfcoast, and the Northwest, along with the Northeast and SoCal are in for a high speed rail study and infrastucture investment. Recently, a local Florida house representative urged the former president to sign a bill into effect, the first in a decade. The bill includes a new signalisation of the national network and a new safety feature and law to prevent Metrolinv Vs. Union Pacific accidents. Also, on the 3rd, Amtrak has priority over any freight train in the United States. The Passenger Rail Investment Act of 2008 also includes the study of a national electrification project, and if such project is feasable. Several state DOTS with a plan met in Washington DC earlier this month with the USDOT, FRA, Virgin Co., Amtrak, Herzog, and Veolia Corp. This is only the preliminary steps that have been taken before they see the feasible options. They are however, making this a top priority for jobs and energy independance.
Isaac
Isaac
Even with Gas at a 5 year low, $1.62 for the mid grade I put in my BMW, I would still rather take the train
Amtrak can, and should be fixed to work. If the goverment would invest in trains, the traffic on the highways and at the airports would go down. People act like those are the only ways to get around.
Rather then spending billions on new roads that cut seconds off your commute and allow for millions more cars, or building huge new airport terminals that will just be to little in 5 years, invest billions in Amtrak and get people off the roads and out of the air. It is a solution that is all to often overlooked. It should be a piece of the puzzle
Amtrak can, and should be fixed to work. If the goverment would invest in trains, the traffic on the highways and at the airports would go down. People act like those are the only ways to get around.
Rather then spending billions on new roads that cut seconds off your commute and allow for millions more cars, or building huge new airport terminals that will just be to little in 5 years, invest billions in Amtrak and get people off the roads and out of the air. It is a solution that is all to often overlooked. It should be a piece of the puzzle
illinoiscentral
SARM Volunteer
I agree 100% with Klinger taking the train is agood way to transport people in bulk, instead of maybe three people in one car, then count how many cars that would make, then you see why trains are better. Want to talk envirement? Ok, long distance passenger or freight, if you can go to Chicago from St.Louis why not train? Or, 100 loads of freight same route, 1 train 50 trucks. Time for the government to open up their eyes!
The first thing Amtrak needs is their own track. http://www.calrailnews.com/issues.coaststarlight.html
They can't run a profitable or reliable service if they have to wait for freight trains to go by, and the owner of the track shouldn't have to stop their own trains because the guest operator wants to go through.
The second thing they need is control of the stations, which should be operated as profit making ventures. There should be commercial and entertainment venues appropriate to the location to generate revenue and attract potential riders.
Some of the larger stations in Japan have everything you need, literally. Restaurants, major department stores and hotels. If you worked at the station, you could live your whole life without ever leaving the building.
Claude
They can't run a profitable or reliable service if they have to wait for freight trains to go by, and the owner of the track shouldn't have to stop their own trains because the guest operator wants to go through.
The second thing they need is control of the stations, which should be operated as profit making ventures. There should be commercial and entertainment venues appropriate to the location to generate revenue and attract potential riders.
Some of the larger stations in Japan have everything you need, literally. Restaurants, major department stores and hotels. If you worked at the station, you could live your whole life without ever leaving the building.
ClaudeI'm remembering a program I once used, I think it was Railroad Tycoon 1 and/or 2, where passenger trains had the highest priority and the manual explained something to the effect that the passenger commodity was considered the most perishable therefore got priority over everything else. Course, since you owned and ran the passenger trains similar to before Amtrak existed, it can be seen as easier to handle and route them. Odd that nowadays, we're not higher in terms of "priority freight" than say an intermodal train.
Railroad Tycoon 3 is basically the same
If there were more stations set up like Chicago's Union and Northwestern Station, Amtrak would get a bit more income
However, remember, just adding Stores and food at the stations does no good at all if people are not going through the stations to board the train. Here in Denver our FastTracks project will turn Union Station into a huge city Hub for mass transportation. I do not think shops will have as large an impact the middle of nowhere in Nebraska as they would in Denver and Chicago, where people will both ride the train, and commute to work in the same place.
If there were more stations set up like Chicago's Union and Northwestern Station, Amtrak would get a bit more income
However, remember, just adding Stores and food at the stations does no good at all if people are not going through the stations to board the train. Here in Denver our FastTracks project will turn Union Station into a huge city Hub for mass transportation. I do not think shops will have as large an impact the middle of nowhere in Nebraska as they would in Denver and Chicago, where people will both ride the train, and commute to work in the same place.
Stations would always be placed in populated areas where people are, and people always want entertainment. Small commuter stations might only have a newsstand and convenience store for things the travellers and local residents might want to grab on the way by, but the larger urban stations would be arranged to cater to people who might never ride the train but still have money to spend. Each location would have to be planned out carefully for best effect, but it would add considerably to the viability of Amtrak.... There should be commercial and entertainment venues appropriate to the location...
ClaudeHmm i could think of a few things amtrak could do.
-bring back the good food! I rode with amtrak back in 2001 and they had some pretty darn good food, but alas when i took them in 2006 the qaulity had decreased dramaticly (I really only ate out of the snack car because everything in the dinner was expensive and really bad). Supposively i've heard this has come back but i'm not shure.
-open up more heavily traveled corridor routes. these seem to be the life-line of amtrak as they handle like 75% of its profits. LA-SJO sounds like a great next route (maybe combining the Surfliner and Capitol Corridor services into one for a corridor all the way from SAN-SAC)
-I agree with Tokkyu40, amtrak needs more of its own tracks. While in the first half of the 20th century fright was the lower of the 2/ passenger is like THE lowest possible now. WHile the fright railroads do have to pay for delays they cause amtrak they still do it anywhey. This would fit in with the corridor routes idea ^, amtrak owns the trackage (maybe operates their own fright service on non-peak hours) and operates it however they like.
-on the stations idea, some stations could use an overhaul while others (like williams, arizona which is nothing more then a concrete slab with lights.) are fine for the amount of passenger traffic they get daily.
-THe reason amtrak is not too popular is the philoshpy, there slow. I recently did a poll at my high school and found that 80% of people dislike trains because they are slow. and the remaining 20% was divided apon they take too long at crossings and that they use all our fuel. so if we could just convince people otherwise.... I think we're good.
Other then those i think amtraks accually pretty good right now. Ridership is WAY up compared to 5 years ago and it appears people have started returning to the rails.
-bring back the good food! I rode with amtrak back in 2001 and they had some pretty darn good food, but alas when i took them in 2006 the qaulity had decreased dramaticly (I really only ate out of the snack car because everything in the dinner was expensive and really bad). Supposively i've heard this has come back but i'm not shure.
-open up more heavily traveled corridor routes. these seem to be the life-line of amtrak as they handle like 75% of its profits. LA-SJO sounds like a great next route (maybe combining the Surfliner and Capitol Corridor services into one for a corridor all the way from SAN-SAC)
-I agree with Tokkyu40, amtrak needs more of its own tracks. While in the first half of the 20th century fright was the lower of the 2/ passenger is like THE lowest possible now. WHile the fright railroads do have to pay for delays they cause amtrak they still do it anywhey. This would fit in with the corridor routes idea ^, amtrak owns the trackage (maybe operates their own fright service on non-peak hours) and operates it however they like.
-on the stations idea, some stations could use an overhaul while others (like williams, arizona which is nothing more then a concrete slab with lights.) are fine for the amount of passenger traffic they get daily.
-THe reason amtrak is not too popular is the philoshpy, there slow. I recently did a poll at my high school and found that 80% of people dislike trains because they are slow. and the remaining 20% was divided apon they take too long at crossings and that they use all our fuel. so if we could just convince people otherwise.... I think we're good.
Other then those i think amtraks accually pretty good right now. Ridership is WAY up compared to 5 years ago and it appears people have started returning to the rails.
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