Amtrak doing a terrific job considering the circumstances

[adamj023]

Been evaluating Amtrak which I have been on a few times before and Joe Boardman and his team have really done an excellent job considering the circumstances given to it. Unlike Airlines which are more simplistic to operate, trains require more ground based infrastructure and equipment so costs are much higher.

But under this team we finally have new cars being phased in and upgrade plans in the works for the most critical infrastructure and cost controls in place. Even the new time schedules out for April show on NY to FL for instance, shorter commutation times. The ACS sprinters are nice and coming online and new baggage cars and eventually diners and sleepers will make the trains even nicer. Congress and supreme court made some key ruilings which I commended them on. Some unfunded projects which I do hope will get rectified in some way.

I look to Switzerland mass transit which I really envy and the USA will never been the same but under this leadership and in the future hopefully Amtrak will use resources more wisely and be good for America.

 

[trainman74]

Hey, I thought "April Fools" topics were going to be removed by the mods!

Where are all the complaints, horror stories, and predictions of doom and gloom?

 

[adamj023]

Was not an April fools joke. For many years Amtrak couldn't get much done but Boardman's leadership really has been good and Amtrak is well on track to be in better shape going forward. Boardman has a lot of foresight and got key contracts even with Amtrak's limitations. Amtrak needs to do more with the funding it has and keep losses down. I know Amtrak has seen some past issues but the right strategies are in motion to resolve them.

When I've been on Amtrak at times, a political discussion has emerged dealing with passengers talking about the government or whatnot. But I do admire Amtrak as a supplement to other forms of transportation contributing to the economic vitality of America.

Current topics and discussions on here tend to be predictable but Amtraks course tends to be steady.

 

[Dakota 400]

Given my recent, and admittedly limited experience in comparison to many on this Message Board, I must agree with the OP. The one area that I saw that needs the greatest improvement was consistency of product. I traveled on 3 different LD trains and received 3 different levels of service and amenities(this includes in the Dining Cars and the Sleeping Cars). [i am seeing the same issue with a cruise line on which I first sailed in 1970.]

Maybe it is a case that the size of these transportation companies have become too large to effectively and consistently manage.

My Amtrak trips were most enjoyable. Would I travel with Amtrak again? Yes, as the opportunity presents itself.

 

[Bus Nut]

I don't think service inconsistency on Amtrak is about size. A lot of it is because of congressional meddling, and also because there are some oddities with state-supported routes. And of course the legacy equipment/routes/issues that make running a national RR in the US so unique. I think Amtrak is well aware that their service levels are inconsistent and they seem to be making incremental progress towards fixing that.

Boardman has actually be lucky to be at Amtrak at the right time. The last two presidents suffered from broken promises by Congress and hostility from DOT and the White House. Boardman came in as ridership was increasing (thanks in part to overall increase in transit riders and in part due to changes made in the 1990s that were finally paying off). I'm not going to defend the previous Amtrak presidents because they had their issues. And Boardman has done a lot of great stuff which I commend him for. But I do want to note that he was really lucky to come in as ridership was burgeoning, cash flow was MUCH better, and the Feds and states were eager to invest in the system. That certainly doesn't come around every day ... heck, hardly ever 30 years. Still, Amtrak could have blown it all but instead they've invested wisely and made good plans to keep the system on an even keel for years to come.

 

[jis]

Inconsistency of service on the same train from one day to another has nothing to do with different equipments and different perceived needs of different corridors. As fa as I can tell Amtrak has not been very successful in fixing the variation in quality of service on the same train from one day to another over all these years.

Indeed, there is nothing wrong for example, with business class being quite different in a short corridor from a longer one, and it being entirely absent in other places. It is only an obsession of the railfans to endlessly bellyache about that one.

 

[Guest]

I watched CSPAN and felt bad when Boardman gets questions from people who are a lot less intelligent and just regular consumers who don't comprehend the system and talk about all these non related personal matters. But as executive leadership and management teams, you can tell the teams are making smart moves across the board. The problem seems to be funding for certain infrastructure projects and lack of additional working capital and it is true trains do get delayed at times which will improve as newer equipment is phased in as well as some necessary work needed on infrastructure projects. And of course Amtrak can do better.

Most people that use Amtrak use the Northeastern corridor and the trains compete very favorably to airlines because of airline security procedures and because of cost of service so time schedules tend to be favorable. On NYP to MIA for instance, New York City to Miami, airlines tend to have cheaper ticket prices than Amtrak. But some people do not like to fly or can't fly due to certain physical conditions. Trains do tend to be much more efficient than bus however and will get more efficient when upgrades eliminate bottlenecks further.

As far as funding goes, Amtrak has added a lot of bus to train connections and a lot of states have cut back on train service so the size seems to be shrinking of the national network. I do believe all passenger rail service should be interconnected whether it be Amtrak, commuter rail from localities and so on and so forth, and hopefully new technologies, reduced costs and private sector involvement can bring the rail system to much better shape.

Thats really where Amtrak is now. A leaner more efficient machine incrementally improving its network and with a smaller network more able to manage its resources better to prepare for the future.

I wonder if the NYC to MIA route will stay for the future considering the losses in revenue. If you look at the statistics on various routes, some routes tend to be huge losses. And some routes like Las Vegas where you would think there would be demand have turned into bus connections and private sector investment has not materialized.

 

[trainman74]

Was not an April fools joke.

Sorry, I probably should have used a smiley in my post. I do agree with you in general.

On NYP to MIA for instance, New York City to Miami, airlines tend to have cheaper ticket prices than Amtrak. But some people do not like to fly or can't fly due to certain physical conditions. Trains do tend to be much more efficient than bus however and will get more efficient when upgrades eliminate bottlenecks further.

And what a lot of people tend to forget is this: that route is not just NYP to MIA. It's Baltimore to Savannah. It's Wilmington to Cary. It's Richmond to Sebring. It's thousands of other city pairs.

 

[Bus Nut]

Guest_Guest, Comparing NYP - MIA train to plane doesn't make a lot of sense. It's more of a comparison to driving. The plane is much faster, while the train is an overnight.

If you want to compare plane to train you need to stick to HSR city pairs. Those are the markets where you have people make one to one shifts based on schedule or fare changes. Basically Amtrak charges what the market will bear for HSR, and that is only a slight premium over airfare in most cases. If the airlines get in a price war, sometimes Acela takes a ridership hit for a while. If airlines jack up their prices, Acela will get more customers, and then Amtrak will raise its prices.

NYP - MIA is a conventional rail corridor and there are very few people out there doing cost comparisons of both modes. If you are traveling for business or if you have a job with limited time off, the train isn't coming into the picture.

Autotrain is nothing but diverted car drivers and it is doing very well financially for an LD train, TYVM.

trainman74, I feel like those shorter hauls will really shine when Amtrak can restore Silver Palm service to Florida. Truncating that train broke a lot of Southeastern round trip journeys. ARROW was always suggesting getting on a train in the middle of the night in Savannah and while I love Savannah, that was not fixing to happen. When my in-laws were alive I made that Florida-SC journey in a car multiple times and would have gladly taken the train if the time schedules had been remotely feasible. It would have been coach, too. Given how popular those intra-Florida Amtrak trips are despite the lack of frequencies and slow time card, I doubt I'm the only one turned away by the Palmetto truncation.

 

[neroden]

Fwiw before overhead nyp to mia is profitable, probably enough to cover depreciation. As long as Hialeah is needed for any train, and as long as there is any business sense, nyp to mia will run. Should have third frequency, silver palm.

 

[Guest]

Amtrak is moving into Miami Central Station. I presume it is in Hialeah now? Tri rail is moving in Sunday to Miami Central and Amtrak will join them in 2016.

Will make a lot more connections easier in Florida. Florida is actually seeing expansion of service in rail at the local level and Amtrak should be able to translate this into growth and revenue when 2016 comes around and Amtrak is at the new terminal.

Tri rail and allaboardflorida will be adding new services and should have linkages to Amtrak for the longer haul commutes and new stations in the future.

While Florida is becoming very rail friendly, there are smaller locations that Amtrak has shut off the network in other smaller towns and migrated even some big cities off the network with bus connections.

Airlines have shut down some routes at smaller airports and train has shut down routes as well. People in the USA seem to migrate around population centers especially the North Eastern Corridor but even the private sector has investment plans for Florida growth which amtrak should be able to take advantage of. Texas also has seen some rail investment. With amtrak more stations have been shut than opened and occasionally a new station has opened due to need or relocated stations to improve services.

In the future I think Amtrak may reopen some routes where additional revenue can be had and hopefully in the future there are positive updates and developments across the network.

 

[jis]

The name of the station that TriTail is moving to is Miami Airport Station as it is spelled out on the boards installed on the platform of that station, and not Miami Central.

 

[Guest]

It actually has three names and the naming is confusing. Miami Airport Station, Miami Central Station and Miami intermodal center.

But integration with the Airport also moves the station to a better location. Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach apparently still use shuttle bus and perhaps these will gret migrated to train one day when further funding comes in.

I haven't been to Miami airport in ages, but I am glad mass transit is more convenient which will help with traffic and congestion in the area.

 

[jis]

It has exactly one name on the name boards at the station, and that is "Miami Airport Station". The rest of the names are now of theoretical interest for having long discussions on AU and elsewhere only

AFAICT "Miami Airport Station" of TriRail is part of the Miami Intermodal Center, but the name of the station is not MIC as evidenced by what appears on the station name boards at the station.

Incidentally, the name of the Miami Metrorail station associated with MIC is "Miami International Airport".

"Miami Central" is the name of the AAF/TriRail Station being built downtown.

We all just have to get past the previous jumble and get used the apparent usage that is emerging from it.