What's bad for the Airlines is good for Amtrak

[battalion51]

This is a mostly fact based opinion here. But in light of all the new restrictions the TSA has put down because of the London bombings it seems apparent Amtrak is going to clean up in the Northeast. Business travelers will likely be packing the trains starting tomorrow. After doing some quick fare checks Amtrak has already kicked almost all fares up a bucket because of how heavy travel is. A ticket on 172 NHV-BOS:

Yesterday $51.

Tomorrow $65.

Amtrak has the distinct possibility of being able to greatly increase revenue, draw in and keep new passengers. They need to just not screw this golden opportunity up.

This should also be a clear demonstration to Congress we need a strong rail transportation system to cover up for a failing airline industry, especially in a world that is increasingly afraid to fly.

 

[RailFanNebraska]

God i hope they dont screw it up either lol.

Like i said, from now on, im taking the train lol. (I'm doing that anyway but this just reinforces it).

 

[rmgreenesq]

Here is a problem for the high priced Madision Ave. marketing firm. How exactly does Amtrak take advantage of this? How do you go about advertising the fact that there is no security screening process before boarding a train and spin it as a good thing?

You want to protray your product as more convenient than the competition, without protraying it as dangerous. As other posters have pointed out, heavy rail trains have been targets of terrorists (Madrid, Mumbai) in the past. I wonder if Amtrak's management and advertising firm are working on this.

Rick

 

[battalion51]

Well many of the people who live in the Northeast as far as I can tell are aware of Amtrak's service since the Northeast relies heavily on Commuter Rail and Subways, Amtrak is a natural part of that equation. If Amtrak continues to advertise with something along the lines of "Avoid the airport hassle, take Acela Express with ___ convienent departures to ________" you have a great campaign. Or advertise pricing, like the $99 Acela BOS-NYP.

 

[lepearso]

Trains have an obvious safety advantage over airplanes and buses when it comes to terrorist attacks. It is the simple fact that trains cannot be driven off their intended pathway and crashed into buildings or driven through security gates that makes them safer. The only real exception to this rule involves rail tunnels, but they are much easier to guard and protect than an airport. Also, trains are a less attractive target for terrorism because train bombings almost always leave plenty of survivors and trains often travel through more isolated landscapes where such attacks would have a lesser impact on the surrounding area. (Even the densely populated Northeast Corridor travels through miles and miles of unpopulated farmlands and wetlands!)

Of course, despite all these advantages, I wouldn't expect Amtrak to capitalize through advertising. All Amtrak needs to do is focus on running a reliable and safe railroad and the passengers will come by the thousands.

 

[yarrow]

i don't agree. if the purpose of these attacks is to cause fear and disruption a single incident on a train in a major station would do that. what would four or five at once do? thus we need a rational foreign policy based on engagement with the rest of the world to keep us safe at home.

 

[AlanB]

I don't believe that we can ever discount an attack on Amtrak, such is the nature of the world that we live in. However to put it crudely, the terrorists want maximum bang for their buck. The more deaths the more sucessful they view the attack.

That makes commuter trains and subways much better targets in their eyes, than Amtrak. It is also much harder to control access to the commuter trains and the subway. Amtrak at least has a bit of an oportunity to search the database for known terrorists. Neither commuter rail or the subways gets that chance.

It's only thru technology, like that which was just tested on the PATH system last month, that we can hope to better protect all modes of rail. But that technology is going to cost big bucks and so far no one is stepping up to the plate to pay for it. Our politicians are just going thru the motions of making it look like something is being done. I fear that sadly it's going to actually take an attack to fix things. It took one to get some of the needed changes for air travel, even though they didn't go far enough IMHO.

 

[sidewindercxe]

Here is a problem for the high priced Madision Ave. marketing firm. How exactly does Amtrak take advantage of this? How do you go about advertising the fact that there is no security screening process before boarding a train and spin it as a good thing?
You want to protray your product as more convenient than the competition, without protraying it as dangerous. As other posters have pointed out, heavy rail trains have been targets of terrorists (Madrid, Mumbai) in the past. I wonder if Amtrak's management and advertising firm are working on this.

Rick

Of course they aren't. Management is far to concerned over whether or not employees are wearing the proper colored epilettes ...