Passenger Trains > Amtrak CEO: Phasing out LD trains in favor of corridors

Amtrak CEO: Phasing out long distance trains in favor of
“corridors”.

Report – Richard Anderson, Amtrak CEO – Remarks to California Rail
Summit and Questions and Answers

by Paul Dyson, president
RailPAC-Rail Passenger Association of California and Nevada

19th April 2018

Richard Anderson, CEO of Amtrak, gave a keynote address to about 150
passenger rail officials and industry professionals, plus a handful
of advocates. I have the feeling he had not counted on there being
any advocates in the audience. To the best of my knowledge there was
no audio or video recording of the meeting, which is most
unfortunate. I have done my best to give a reasonably concise
account from my notes and from memory and have conferred with others
who were there. I am reasonably certain that I have captured both
the tone and overall content of his remarks and replies. I wish I
had had the presence of mind to turn on my Iphone, at least to
capture my own question. I have used quotation marks when I have
recalled actual words used, otherwise it is my best recollection.

Anderson had some positive items to report about reforms and
initiatives he has undertaken. These include:

Union Contracts – All Unions are now covered with 7-year contracts
which have been ratified with high percentage votes in favor.

On Time Performance – He’s genuinely concerned about OTP and says
they have achieved days on the NEC with 100% on time. He did not
mention private cars.

Safety – He is also very concerned about safety and noted that
airline safety is superior to rail. He seems to be shocked at the
concept of dark territory, although he did not repeat his threat to
cease operations on those routes. PTC implementation is continuing
and is very complex as a tenant on 20 railroads. Amtrak is hiring
more Road Foremen to help their engineers improve safety, and they
have upgraded their route qualification rules.

Fleet renewal: His remarks on fleet renewal focused on the Amfleet
Ones that are 45 years old and operating under FRA waiver, and the
P42 locomotives. They will be replaced by DMUs and a few locos. The
P42s are unreliable, forcing them to use two units instead of one. “I
don’t like carrying a spare”. The locomotives are Tier Zero and
operate with an EPA waiver, which “they would not get if a private
company”.

Finance – He claimed that Amtrak is “debt free” and is “stockpiling
cash” for fleet renewals.

Stations – Spending money on stations. I think he regretted saying
that, as Amtrak doesn’t own many out West.

Operational Concept – Amtrak’s market opportunity is in corridors of
100 to 400 miles (he wavered a couple of times on that and said 300
miles) and would be operated by DMUs. DMUs are lighter weight, more
environmentally friendly. His concept is something like an Acela
with diesel power. This would need investment by the States and
cooperation by the freight railroads. I noted that he did not
specifically say that the long-distance trains would go, only that
corridors are the future.

He hinted that spare Superliners would go to the Surfliner and other
corridors.

Questions and answers:

There was a question by David Cameron of the Teamsters about
enforcement of passenger priority on the Class Ones. His answer was
that this has never been enforced but that they were “working” with
the freights to improve matters.

I then had the mic and introduced myself as President of RailPAC, a
nonprofit volunteer group that represents rail passengers. A lot of
RailPAC members are regular customers of the long-distance trains and
spend many thousands of dollars on tickets. There is a concept in
business of having a “Unique selling proposition”. Passenger rail has
many unique features, like dining cars, lounges, the Pacific Parlor
car, which you seem to be destroying. I note that you have skirted
the question of the long-distance trains. Does this mean there will
be no more long-distance trains?

Main points from his answer: His demeanor was angry and agitated.
The long-distance trains cost $750 million a year to operate.
Corridors are better. Only 4% of passengers travel end to end.
Under PRIIA he believes that he has to operate at lower cost and more
competitively. “That’s what the law says”. He angrily challenged me
on that, expecting me to tell him to break the law. He said “There
is some room for experience travel” but did not elaborate.

Another person in the audience asked “What will you do about the
studies from a few years ago of the Pioneer and Sunset? Answer:
“Nothing, they don’t make economic sense.”

Next came a question from Dana Gabbard: What about the National in
NRPC? Are you not supposed to operate a National System? Are not
these corridors going to fall into the category of State supported
trains? Anderson was fuming by this time and again stated, I am
following the law. “Anyone have a question about policy?”

I thought our questions were about policy! I suppose he was
expecting some softball questions.


Editorial: There we have it. This is how Anderson will restructure
Amtrak and destroy a connected national system. I have the feeling
he expected the audience to be in agreement with him as many there
represented the State Corridors. We’ll see what the reaction will
be, if any.

The objective of the policy is obvious. By terminating the
long-distance trains and establishing state supported corridors in
their place there will be a further transfer of dollars to the NEC.
It also means that Amtrak will not have to expend any of its capital
budget on renewing or augmenting the Surfliner (I think Paul meant
"Superliner") fleet and P42 locomotives. Any replacements will be
charged to the States with their cost plus formula.

I will be writing further and discussing with the RailPAC Board and
other like-minded organizations what our actions should be. Watch
for more postings.

http://railpac.org/2018/04/21/amtrak-ceo-phasing-out-long-distance-trains-in-favor-of-corridors/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/18 22:13 by GenePoon.

How long is the notice he has to give to end a train?

Posted from Android

We need to get this Clown out of Office Fast, not slow. What H*** is doing with 1.9 Billion Dollars. This is really making me very Mad.

180 days and from what Gene reported, Airline Boy isn't the guy Amtrak needs, the announcement on the meals on the Lake Shore and Capitol and the cancellation of trains when it shows? Airline Boy sure is doing a great job getting more enemies than friends since he took over back in January!

Posted from Android

He can be whacked if enough of us speak up to our reps and senators. This guy is as much of an egotistical bozo as most govt bureaucrats. They have high opinions of themselves and think they can do whatever they want. Truth is, their s*** stinks just as bad as anyone's. I'll submit that Anderson's stinks worse.

Amtrak should Bring Back Joe Amtrak Boardman. He is alot better than clown Amtrak has Now.

How do you think "red state " Congressmen are going to vote when Amtrak's 2020 budget comes up for a vote when there is no Amtrak service to their state because Anderson has destroyed the NATIONAL system of Amtrak long distance trains ?

railcity Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We need to get this Clown out of Office Fast, not
> slow. What H*** is doing with 1.9 Billion Dollars.
> This is really making me very Mad.

What happened to you wanting to give him a chance?

This is not just a red state issue. Do you think California's representatives will vote for an AMTRAK budget that has no long distance trains. We already pay our own way for our corridor trains. AMTRAK does have a mandate that allows them to operate over freight railroad, but ACE in northern California and Metrolink in southern California have negotiated operating agreements over BNSF and UP. The Capitol Corridor has developed agreements with UP that improves on time performance (haven't seen AMTRK do that).

If Anderson wants to eliminate the LD trains he may just find that all he is left with the NEC as the states bail on AMTRAK. And then he may find a sudden drying up of Federal funds.

Delta Dick at the controls of Amtrak-"PULL UP, Terrain, PULL UP, terrain!

"Under PRIIA he believes that he has to operate at lower cost and more
competitively. “That’s what the law says”."

OK...everyone read this? His justification for large changes at amtrak ...his reading of PRIIA.

Yes, I agree its just an excuse. But I still think it might come out ok.

My prediction:
"experience" trains....trains you advertise as the "Experience" Leisure travel market
Empire builder
Starlight
Zephyr
Sunset
Super chief

Overnight trains...Could be used by business or leisure. The kind pf service ud get on a 12+ hour flight..
pre-made food, but relatively good, attentive service.
Florida traibs
NY-CHI trains
City of NO
Cresent

Everything else , as far as I can tell, is a corridor.

So, the biggest change would be for the east coast LD trains,. They would be geared toward overnight transportation., as opposed to being a "Train Ride"

I'm justr sayin....

Reliable sources have indicated that a well-known columnist for a highly respected rail-oriented magazine recently interviewed Richard Anderson and after only a few minutes was convinced he was “totally clueless about how Amtrak works, and his vision for the future was a distorted picture that no well-informed CEO would present to the media or the public”. He further concluded that Anderson came across as aloof and unfriendly, and Anderson felt his ideas were well thought out and researched, and they would have to be accepted no matter how much opposition there was to them.

This turbulent situation brings to mind the reign of David A. Stockman, who was the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 1981-1985 under President Regan. He was an extremely controversial figure who was an avid supporter of “trickle down economics”, an economic theory which advocates reducing taxes on businesses and the wealthy. His ideas were widely unpopular and he resigned in 1985.

Based on Anderson‘s recent comments and his vision for the future of Amtrak he MUST be removed ASAP.

First, it should be noted that Ronald Regan ran a great economy. Second, Mr. Dickens should be happy. He is no longer the most hated person on Train Orders. Clearly Mr. Anderson (again no relation), is clueless about the operation of long distance trains. He needs to take a cross country trip in coach. Most passengers aren't riding from Chicago to LA. Most are "shorts" going from one obscure place such as Newton to Gallup. No air service anywhere near, way to long of a drive, and I won't even count a bus as viable transportation for anything over a few hours. And what about people who can't fly for medical reasons or just can't afford it? Are they left to stay at home? Soon no one will have any clue what lies between the two coasts of our country. Everyone will think NY and LA are only 6 hours apart, not three nights. But I guess it won't matter. Most on the trains now are too busy looking at their electronic devices instead of out the window. That's how I learned about geography and the different states when I traveled with my parents to California at age 6 on the Super Chief. Sadly, that experience seems to be doomed to be no longer available for children of today.

At least he's honest enough to show his true agenda. Why fool around the edges. Just eliminate ALL food service on the LDT's ( strictly bring your own coach & sleeper), no attendants in sleepers ( all beds in the down position and made up upon leaving initial terminal) don't ever put the LDT cars through the car wash and in no time the ridership will plummet so that taking the train off with the next time change will be a piece of cake.

IMHO-Ross Rowland

andersonb109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> First, it should be noted that Ronald Regan ran a
> great economy. Second, Mr. Dickens should be
> happy. He is no longer the most hated person on
> Train Orders. Clearly Mr. Anderson (again no
> relation), is clueless about the operation of long
> distance trains. He needs to take a cross country
> trip in coach. Most passengers aren't riding from
> Chicago to LA. Most are "shorts" going from one
> obscure place such as Newton to Gallup. No air
> service anywhere near, way to long of a drive, and
> I won't even count a bus as viable transportation
> for anything over a few hours. And what about
> people who can't fly for medical reasons or just
> can't afford it? Are they left to stay at home?
> Soon no one will have any clue what lies between
> the two coasts of our country. Everyone will think
> NY and LA are only 6 hours apart, not three
> nights. But I guess it won't matter. Most on the
> trains now are too busy looking at their
> electronic devices instead of out the window.
> That's how I learned about geography and the
> different states when I traveled with my parents
> to California at age 6 on the Super Chief. Sadly,
> that experience seems to be doomed to be no longer
> available for children of today.

Reagan did not run a great economy. He inherited a disastrous economy from Carter and improved it tremendously. But in the process he established budget deficits that began the increasing national debt which is out of control today. And both parties signed on to it so here we are. And trickle down economics (their guru Arthur Laffer is well-named) didn't work then and they will not work now, as we will again find out in the next few years.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/18 10:51 by utwazoo.

John Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is not just a red state issue. Do you think
> California's representatives will vote for an
> AMTRAK budget that has no long distance trains.
> We already pay our own way for our corridor
> trains. AMTRAK does have a mandate that allows
> them to operate over freight railroad, but ACE in
> northern California and Metrolink in southern
> California have negotiated operating agreements
> over BNSF and UP. The Capitol Corridor has
> developed agreements with UP that improves on time
> performance (haven't seen AMTRK do that).
>
> If Anderson wants to eliminate the LD trains he
> may just find that all he is left with the NEC as
> the states bail on AMTRAK. And then he may find a
> sudden drying up of Federal funds.

You may have hit the nail on the head. They (Congress, the Executive branch et al) may want to end up with only the NEC and let the states sort out and pay for whatever rail service they want. And Anderson is their messenger so to speak. I suspect the politicos calculate that, in 2018, there simply aren't enough people that care about trains to affect their political futures.

I don't like the decisIons Anderson has been making. He is by far "the WORST" CEO Amtrak has had.

ANDERSON IS A VERY EVIL MAN!

HE HAS NOTHING TO OFFER AMTRAK! HE IS A DESTROYER!

ALL HE CARES ABOUT IS MONEY!

HE MUST BE ELIMINATED FROM AMTRAK!

HARASS HIM! DEFAME HIM! WHATEVER WORKS!

I AM VERY, VERY ANGRY!

utwazoo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> John Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > This is not just a red state issue. Do you
> think
> > California's representatives will vote for an
> > AMTRAK budget that has no long distance trains.
>
> > We already pay our own way for our corridor
> > trains. AMTRAK does have a mandate that allows
> > them to operate over freight railroad, but ACE
> in
> > northern California and Metrolink in southern
> > California have negotiated operating agreements
> > over BNSF and UP. The Capitol Corridor has
> > developed agreements with UP that improves on
> time
> > performance (haven't seen AMTRK do that).
> >
> > If Anderson wants to eliminate the LD trains he
> > may just find that all he is left with the NEC
> as
> > the states bail on AMTRAK. And then he may find
> a
> > sudden drying up of Federal funds.
>
> You may have hit the nail on the head. They
> (Congress, the Executive branch et al) may want to
> end up with only the NEC and let the states sort
> out and pay for whatever rail service they want.
> And Anderson is their messenger so to speak. I
> suspect the politicos calculate that, in 2018,
> there simply aren't enough people that care about
> trains to affect their political futures.

I would add that Rick Mulvaney now head of OMB, was not a supporter of many federal programs in his role as a congressman from SC.

He always had Amtrak on his hit list, from what I could tell.

Posted from Android

railcity Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We need to get this Clown out of Office Fast, not
> slow. What H*** is doing with 1.9 Billion Dollars.
> This is really making me very Mad.

You will have to start at the top. The politicians, starting at the WH, in order to save the national network. Clearly the WH has little if any concern about the national network. Of course it could all change if the House changes hands which would put more friendly-to-Amtrak types in Congress who would control the purse strings.