Amtrak's Performance Improvement Plans during FY10 for its five lowest performing routes (i.e. Capitol Limited, California Zephyr, Texas Eagle, Cardinal, and Sunset Limited) were released in September 2010. It then released its PIP for the next five routes (i.e. Silver Meteor, Crescent, Palmetto, Silver Star, and Lake Shore Limited) in September 2011. It's now October 2012, and we still haven't seen the PIPs for the "top five" routes (i.e. Auto Train, Empire Builder, City of New Orleans, Southwest Chief, and Coast Starlight). What's happening here?
FY12 Performance Improvement Plans
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VentureForth
Engineer
Key word is "Plan". I don't think they have any intention of actually implementing any of the ideas.
Ryan
Court Jester
Obviously false, given several of them have been implemented.
The next round of PIP reports will probably be posted soon. If Amtrak upper management has to sign off on the reports, they may have been busy dealing with Charmain Mica trying to beat Amtrak up in hearings, fending off related attacks in the press, and FY2013 planning with the threat of sequestration.
Congress is in recess for the election, so there is probably no one on the Hill waiting on the reports except for a bored staffer. May not be much of a push to get the reports out.
I'm guessing they'll be up in a few days. I've been wondering this myself, but I won't start hitting the berserk button until after the Gathering.
Edit: Just speculating, but what should be interesting will be:
1) Which trains (if any) get recommended for extra sleepers;
2) Whether serious talk of exchanging the CONO's Superliner consist for a Viewliner/Amfleet one emerges;
3) Whether the Business Class plans actually show up for the Coast Starlight;
4) What plans emerge regarding handling the relatively heavy corridor-ish traffic on the CS and EB;
5) Whether any talk of adding more coaches (see #3/4 on this front as well) to trains emerges; and
6) Whether the mooted dome lounge plans mentioned in the fleet plans get discussed (alongside with how to deal with the PPCs in the coming years and/or any discussions of other trains getting first class lounges).
I'll also be interested to see the ridership distributions on the Starlight, Builder, and Chief in particular.
Edit: Just speculating, but what should be interesting will be:
1) Which trains (if any) get recommended for extra sleepers;
2) Whether serious talk of exchanging the CONO's Superliner consist for a Viewliner/Amfleet one emerges;
3) Whether the Business Class plans actually show up for the Coast Starlight;
4) What plans emerge regarding handling the relatively heavy corridor-ish traffic on the CS and EB;
5) Whether any talk of adding more coaches (see #3/4 on this front as well) to trains emerges; and
6) Whether the mooted dome lounge plans mentioned in the fleet plans get discussed (alongside with how to deal with the PPCs in the coming years and/or any discussions of other trains getting first class lounges).
I'll also be interested to see the ridership distributions on the Starlight, Builder, and Chief in particular.
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I'm curious what the PIP recommendations will be for the AutoTrain. Setting aside the often crazy ideas posted here, there is only so much Amtrak can do within the limits of the AT operation to improve cost recovery. Maybe they will blow everybody's mind by discussing prospects for a second AT once/if new Superliner equipment is available.
Meanwhile, for those wanting to read Amtrak reports, the October Amtrak Ink has been posted. Has a rather blunt letter from Boardman with a smiling picture that really does not match the tone of his letter.
There is a short heartwarming customer service story about a passenger who left a bag in his roomette which was turned in by the LSA. Turns out the bag contained over $50,000 and the passenger was so grateful to get his bag back, he tipped the attendant $900. Ok, so there are people with serious money who travel on the LSL, but over $50K in cash? Just another day on the LSL? :blink:
Meanwhile, for those wanting to read Amtrak reports, the October Amtrak Ink has been posted. Has a rather blunt letter from Boardman with a smiling picture that really does not match the tone of his letter.
There is a short heartwarming customer service story about a passenger who left a bag in his roomette which was turned in by the LSA. Turns out the bag contained over $50,000 and the passenger was so grateful to get his bag back, he tipped the attendant $900. Ok, so there are people with serious money who travel on the LSL, but over $50K in cash? Just another day on the LSL? :blink:
It's the long end of the tail, but things like that happen at times. Mind you, I've never done that, but there are people out there that just don't trust banks with their savings, for example.
The Amtrak Ink bit on the Downeaster was interesting...assuming that PPR followed about the same pattern as last year, ridership was definitely up...but by no more than 1-2%. Revenue was obviously less than $7.5 million (or they'd have said that it broke $7.5m instead of $7.4m), but also over $7.4m (duh). That gives rough brackets of about 521,500 and 528,500 riders assuming PPR of $14.19 (it was $14.182 through July, and last year the full year came in $.005 higher than Oct-Jul did). Definitely a record, which I'm glad to see, though nothing to write home about.
The most interesting (and, in a way, amusing) story was the bit about Williston, ND having to get a larger station because of the oil boom. I've said it before, but I'll say it again...there's something about that situation that just seems strangely displaced in time.
The Amtrak Ink bit on the Downeaster was interesting...assuming that PPR followed about the same pattern as last year, ridership was definitely up...but by no more than 1-2%. Revenue was obviously less than $7.5 million (or they'd have said that it broke $7.5m instead of $7.4m), but also over $7.4m (duh). That gives rough brackets of about 521,500 and 528,500 riders assuming PPR of $14.19 (it was $14.182 through July, and last year the full year came in $.005 higher than Oct-Jul did). Definitely a record, which I'm glad to see, though nothing to write home about.
The most interesting (and, in a way, amusing) story was the bit about Williston, ND having to get a larger station because of the oil boom. I've said it before, but I'll say it again...there's something about that situation that just seems strangely displaced in time.
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I was in Williston three weeks ago, and the area is nuts. Trucks everywhere. Shops and restaurants are swamped and can't find workers. The once open two lane road between Williston and Watford City now carries more traffic than the Interstate between Bismark and Billings. Rumor has it that Delta is considering main line flights into ISN. It's like a 2012 version of the gold rush.
I have met people who live in the (almost) all cash lifestyle and don't trust banks, credit cards, etc. Getting harder to live that way, but they mostly stay off the grid, so to speak. That group has to be a sub-set of the Amtrak LD train customer base. Carrying $50K in cash in your carry-on bags through airport security is going to draw extra attention and questions if they search the bag and find the cash. Perfectly legal to carry that much cash on domestic flights, but the scrutiny, the need to show an ID, and hassles of dealing with DHS agents (the Federal government) would lead them to take intercity trains and buses.
The Downeaster had a very good August. The Downeaster monthly ridership history posted by NNEPRA shows 57,853 passengers in August, a +13.8% increase over August 2011. The Ink is referring to the NNEPRA fiscal year 2012 which is from July 2011 to June 2012. The effect of the service extension to the Freeport outlet shopping mecca and Brunswick will be interesting to see.
Ah, alright. I figured that was a little quick, but it was also possible that they just had some quick bean counters up there. Sometimes we do get absurdly quick turnaround on numbers, especially if somebody is hurting for a good PR (witness Amtrak's preliminary numbers on Thanksgiving last year being out by the ensuing Wednesday), especially considering how rough the numbers in question are.
Checking the monthly data, YTD as of the end of August, the Downeaster was +18313 YTD (493366 vs. 475053), an increase of 3.85% for the YTD. However, 38.4% of that was in August alone.
With that said...I'm wondering how much the revenue increase was YoY and what that number is going to look like for the whole year.
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