Starlate Bashing

[yarrow]

i pretty much agree with penn central fan. the economic elite are the only ones with real power and anything they see as a threat to that will be done away with. they permit we consumers to have our little toys both because they get obscenely rich and because it keeps us fat and relatively happy. bush also does not like working people's unions.

 

[Boxcar]

'PennCentralFan' date='Thu, Aug 10, 2006, 04:48 PM' post='54613'

.2. Amtrak is the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. It is owned by the government (the state) and that is socialism.

3. Capitalism works for the few since the profit or surplus does not go to the workers but to the owners. The value of goods and profits comes from the labor put into it, not the capital.

4. Yes our government is imperialistic and a state-sponsor of terrorism. Read anything by Noam Chomsky, who's a professor at MIT and this country's most important public intellectual. There are other good writers on this subject as well such as David Harvey.

Hog Wash..........

 

[tp49]

So, all this trouble in Northern California and Oregon. Why don't we get a train that runs daily from Bay Area to LA along the Coast route like tho old Daylight? Leave LA at 9AM arrive Oakland at 8PM and vice versa. At lease those of us living in California could arrive at our destinations on time.

It's a wonderful idea, that has been talked about for years, often called the Coast Daylight. Sadly it's an idea that's been talked to death, but never implimented. In large part because of oposition by UP to yet another train on the coastal route between LA and the Bay area. Lack of funding hasn't helped either.

But it's idea that really should see reality, so we continue to hope.

It would be a good idea, and one that if Amtrak is unwilling to do CalTrans (who funds the surfliners and Capitol Corridor/San Joaquins) should seriously look at.

 

[George Harris]

There is a lot to be said about avioding political attacks as much as possible, It should be done insofar as practical.

However, anybody that considers Noam Chomsky as "this country's most important public intellectual," and the US a state sponsor of terrorism has a severe problem with recognizing reality. In fact I would not want to be in the same room with them or Chomsky either, for that matter.

Political rant ended.

George

(who happens to have both friends and relatives in Iraq in uniform trying to deal with the results of the REAL state sponsors of terrorism.)

 

[Boxcar]

There is a lot to be said about avioding political attacks as much as possible, It should be done insofar as practical.
However, anybody that considers Noam Chomsky as "this country's most important public intellectual," and the US a state sponsor of terrorism has a severe problem with recognizing reality. In fact I would not want to be in the same room with them or Chomsky either, for that matter.

Political rant ended.

George

(who happens to have both friends and relatives in Iraq in uniform trying to deal with the results of the REAL state sponsors of terrorism.)

Well stated George. This being a Rail fan site and not a political one, I refrained from saying what I thought because it would have been a very passionate rebuttal of someones views of our United States.

 

[AlanB]

And with that, I think that we can conclude the current political aspects that go beyond the discussion of the problems and issues of the Starlight.

 

[Highballer]

I don't know anything about dispatching trains, freight or passenger. But yes I think freight trains ought to wait for passenger trains. Is another couple of hours going to make any difference for a bunch stuff that has already taken a couple of weeks or so to get here from China? And if freights won't fit on sidings, then build bigger sidings. Aren't the railroads supposed to be reinvesting their profits in their capital? In the mean time, break up the freight trains so that they will fit. The railroads can afford it.

It is great that private rail booster groups are trying to get our public servants to act to get the railroads to fulfill their obligations to Amtrak and the rail riding public. It sure seems like that ought an Amtrak employee's job

 

[haolerider]

I don't know anything about dispatching trains, freight or passenger. But yes I think freight trains ought to wait for passenger trains. Is another couple of hours going to make any difference for a bunch stuff that has already taken a couple of weeks or so to get here from China? And if freights won't fit on sidings, then build bigger sidings. Aren't the railroads supposed to be reinvesting their profits in their capital? In the mean time, break up the freight trains so that they will fit. The railroads can afford it.
It is great that private rail booster groups are trying to get our public servants to act to get the railroads to fulfill their obligations to Amtrak and the rail riding public. It sure seems like that ought an Amtrak employee's job

It is an Amtrak job and they are making progress with CSX - slow, but it is progress. Discussions are taking place to improve dispatching on the Silver Service and Auto Train routes.

Remember, even though there is supposed to be priority for passenger trains, the reality is that the tracks belong to the freight railroads and they dispatch their trains over Amtrak trains. And yes, it does make a difference to the freight railroads and the shippers of that stuff from China. They make promises to their clients just as Amtrak make promises to their passengers.

Don't underestimate the power of the rail fan groups and other supporters - it all helps.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

And by very carefully making the freight consists longer than the sidings they can justify making the Amtrak trains wait for the freqights by saying the freights can't fit in the sidings.