Passenger Trains > Going over "Fiscal Cliff" would hurt Amtrak, airlines

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/12/06/176640/transportation-would-suffer-because.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/12 11:35 by MarinCommuter.

"Amtrak, which has never had a dedicated source of funding since its inception in 1971, would take a $131 million hit.

Joe McHugh, Amtrak’s vice president for government affairs, said the nation’s passenger railroad had anticipated some of the uncertainty over the fiscal cliff and built it into next year’s budget. Amtrak’s critics in Congress have threatened many times to zero out its subsidies.

“We’ve gotten used to this environment of ‘we don’t know how much we’re going to get and when we’re going to get it,’ so we plan accordingly,” he said."

$131 Million is pennies on the subsidy and Amtrak seemed to thrive during the last recession so I'm not too worried, at least in the near-term, about Amtrak's prospects. What scares me is the uncertainty over other, more important things such as ATC and the federal emergency funds.

As a side note, this may also be part of the reason the additional Acela Coaches were cancelled.

The whole issue of a serious discussion of transportation policy investments is way over due. Given the interests involved (Wall Street bond underwriters, the trades unions, the construction companies, the airlines, Big Auto, the energy complex, etc) it's not likely we'll get an honest discussion, however.

This "fiscal cliff" thing is really unusual. It automatically gives both parties the three things they say they've always wanted.

It reduces the national debt; it give the Dems. a huge tax increase; and the Rebubs. a huge cut in government spending. Seems like a perfect solution for everybody (even Mica will get an Amtrak cut without having to hold another hearing).

Of course, we all know when a politician says "cut spending", he actually means cut spending ONLY on things I don't like. This is why I don't think it will happen (only guessing, though).

A cut this big could force Amtrak to drop a few trains; and could be the perfect excuse to drop the Sunset or Cardinal; or discontinue those terrible dining cars serving those Mica hamburgers--this is what I'm afraid of.

Joe



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/12 13:08 by floridajoe2001.

Buckle up boys, the next 4 years are gonna be a wild (and depressing) ride.

Will we still be able to ride Amtrak under the management of the M Brotherhood and how fast will the remnants go, assuming they still run. Remember there won't be any french fry oil to use as fuel. That would not be good for us.

floridajoe2001 Wrote:

>
> A cut this big could force Amtrak to drop a few
> trains; and could be the perfect excuse to drop
> the Sunset or Cardinal; or discontinue those
> terrible dining cars serving those Mica
> hamburgers--this is what I'm afraid of.
>
> Joe

Hey Joe; don't be picking on the hamburgers. Those dining car burgers are big and tasty; one of
the things Amtrak gets right. Only problem is they can't account for a few hundred thousand of them!
Maybe the dog ate them?

And don't demean those juicy delights by calling them Mica Burgers. To us rail enthusiasts (aka foamer)
they are known as "Broadway Joe Boardman's Big'n Juicy Mountaineer Mega Burger."

dcfbalcoS1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Will we still be able to ride Amtrak under the
> management of the M Brotherhood and how fast will
> the remnants go, assuming they still run. Remember
> there won't be any french fry oil to use as fuel.
> That would not be good for us.


?????????

floridajoe2001 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This "fiscal cliff" thing is really unusual. It
> automatically gives both parties the three things
> they say they've always wanted.
>
> It reduces the national debt; it give the Dems. a
> huge tax increase; and the Rebubs. a huge cut in
> government spending.

> Joe

Well, at least you got one out of three right--the Dems will get a tax increase.

But there is no reduction in debt and no reduction in spending.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/08/12 18:01 by Bandito.

To: JBaker

Thought your "Mountaineer Mega Burger" was very funny.

Just think, Boardman thinks he runs the Mountaineer; and Mica thinks Amtrak is a Soviet Style organization. What a world we live in, eh?

Joe

I'm with TS2100, the next 4 years are gonna be rough, especially the way they clash with each other trying to keep "their" (individuals) stuff still going! I'm just hoping no more train cuts, I've been fed up with that since 95!

floridajoe2001 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This "fiscal cliff" thing is really unusual. It
> automatically gives both parties the three things
> they say they've always wanted.
>
> It reduces the national debt; it give the Dems. a
> huge tax increase; and the Rebubs. a huge cut in
> government spending. Seems like a perfect
> solution for everybody (even Mica will get an
> Amtrak cut without having to hold another
> hearing).
>
> Of course, we all know when a politician says "cut
> spending", he actually means cut spending ONLY on
> things I don't like. This is why I don't think it
> will happen (only guessing, though).
>
> A cut this big could force Amtrak to drop a few
> trains; and could be the perfect excuse to drop
> the Sunset or Cardinal; or discontinue those
> terrible dining cars serving those Mica
> hamburgers--this is what I'm afraid of.
>
> Joe


I looked through several summaries of the mandatory sequestrations (the funding cuts) to see if there was specific language about how Amtrak's 8% cut might be directed. I didn't find any.

The company could simply furlough people at less used bases and discontinue routes in and out of those points. Close New Orleans for the duration, and suspend the Crescent, City of New Orleans and Sunset. That also takes some bodies out of Los Angeles and parks several train sets.

The sequestration language also suspends funding for the FAA operations (control towers at airports, regional centers, etc). That would last about one second before Congress realizes that IT is cut off from its districts. Business people are stranded in Europe, Asia, Fort Madison Iowa, etc and screaming.

other than the NEC, California, and maybe some snow birds to Florida, I don't think the number of people affected by an Amtrak reduction in service would be noticed by Congress.

Maybe the burgers will be 8% smaller?

Dave

For those that think their party can gain a political advantage by forcing sequestration, I'm reminded of the line from "Hunt for Red October" spoken by the Admiral played by Fred Thompson. If I remember right it went something like, "This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it."

The results of sequestration would be replete with unintended consequences. You just wouldn't be able to put things back together like they were. No telling what would happen to Amtrak and everything else. I wouldn't even venture a guess right now.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:

> I looked through several summaries of the
> mandatory sequestrations (the funding cuts) to see
> if there was specific language about how Amtrak's
> 8% cut might be directed. I didn't find any.
>
> The company could simply furlough people at less
> used bases and discontinue routes in and out of
> those points. Close New Orleans for the duration,
> and suspend the Crescent, City of New Orleans and
> Sunset. That also takes some bodies out of Los
> Angeles and parks several train sets.
>
> The sequestration language also suspends funding
> for the FAA operations (control towers at
> airports, regional centers, etc). That would last
> about one second before Congress realizes that IT
> is cut off from its districts. Business people are
> stranded in Europe, Asia, Fort Madison Iowa, etc
> and screaming.
>
> other than the NEC, California, and maybe some
> snow birds to Florida, I don't think the number of
> people affected by an Amtrak reduction in service
> would be noticed by Congress.


Yeah, and then watch them have the stupid excuse of not redoing the trains when things clear up, or the usual Point of no return by the host railroad! Nice idea, it'll cause more damage to people who rely on those trains than who knows what!