Passenger Trains > NARP/RPA asking for help

From: narp@narprail.org
To: (redacted)
Sent: 4/24/2018 6:18:53 PM Eastern Standard Time
Subject: Upset about recent changes to Amtrak service? We are too.

You can help us do something about it. We need your help!


Amtrak has sprung a lot of changes on passengers in the past few months,
including last week's unwelcome changes to dining car service. A lot of
our members are upset about these changes, and I wanted to let you know:
we hear you.

Your Rail Passengers staff is busy advocating for improved service—both
in DC and in our regional offices. We're reaching out to Members of
Congress and Amtrak management to let them know exactly what America's
passengers think.

Now, we need your help!

First, we're launching an Amtrak Mayors' Petition, and we want to get
every community currently served by an Amtrak train onboard. If you
are willing to send emails and call mayor's offices as part of this
campaign, please contact our policy staff directly and we will add
you to the volunteer pool. Our staff will provide volunteers with
numbers, scripts, and sample emails to promote a petition that makes
the following argument:

"In light of record public investment in passenger rail and recent
actions by Amtrak management affecting National Network service,
Amtrak must report to Congress and Amtrak-served communities how
it will invest these funds to ensure continued service to all towns
on the national rail system."

"We support growing service along densely-populated corridors, but
insist it must happen in addition to National Network service,
not at the expense of rural and small town passengers."

If you can't participate in our Amtrak Mayors' Petition, please
consider supporting Rail Passengers advocacy work with a special
contribution. Your advocacy and generosity is vital to building a
modern, efficient rail system for future generations of passengers.

Thank you for your unwavering support of America's trains.

Jim Mathews, President & CEO
Rail Passengers Association

https://mailchi.mp/narprail/upset-about-recent-changes-to-amtrak-service-we-are-too?e=bdec5ccbc0



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/18 17:21 by GenePoon.

For most of us LDT supporters making a contribution to RPA is the best way we can lend our voice to getting an effective message to members of Congress and to Amtrak's senior leadership that there are substantial numbers of us taxpayers that want a truly national rail passenger system to not only survive but improve.

Therefore, I would urge all who are in a position to do so to use the above link and make an online donation so that our message can get to the right people.

Thanks, Ross Rowland

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> From: narp@narprail.org
> To: (redacted)
> Sent: 4/24/2018 6:18:53 PM Eastern Standard Time
> Subject: Upset about recent changes to Amtrak
> service? We are too.
>
> Now, we need your help!
>
> First, we're launching an Amtrak Mayors' Petition,
> and we want to get
> every community currently served by an Amtrak
> train onboard. If you
> are willing to send emails and call mayor's
> offices as part of this
> campaign, please contact our policy staff directly
> and we will add
> you to the volunteer pool. Our staff will provide
> volunteers with
> numbers, scripts, and sample emails to promote a
> petition that makes
> the following argument:
>
>

I live in Houston. We are served by the Sunset Ltd three times a week and a bus connection to the Eagle at Longview. The airports here handle something like 50 million arrivals and departures a year...Amtrak around 15 thousand. The people of Houston and the Mayor don't even know about train service and couldn't care less. I have found NARP to be totally useless.

As for service changes, I have advocated for Amtrak trains to serve free breakfast to everyone with something like a buffet as most motels and hotels do now. For sleeping car passengers they could offer one other meal, either lunch or dinner as people sitting all day riding trains just don't need three full meals a day. If they get hungry they can just buy a snack or something. It's really not that hard to figure out. If they really want to save money just eliminate the coach attendants as they are useless and do mostly nothing. The sleeping car attendants can help out in the diner. Amtrak has to save money on these LD trains and this would do it. The only cost saving open to them is labor costs.

My two cents worth.

I agree that NARP/RPA is useless. Their financial ties to Amtrak make them so.

> I live in Houston. We are served by the Sunset
> Ltd three times a week and a bus connection to the
> Eagle at Longview. The airports here handle
> something like 50 million arrivals and departures
> a year...Amtrak around 15 thousand. The people of
> Houston and the Mayor don't even know about train
> service and couldn't care less. I have found NARP
> to be totally useless.
>

I have been a NARP member since it began. I remember in the fall of 1967 receiving a mailing from the NARP founder, Anthony Haswell. I joined immediately. I know NARP it is not perfect but if not for its efforts these many years I feel we would have a lot less now, maybe nothing. So, yes I will send them some money. Having said that, after reading all the comments over the latest bad news from Amtrak, I have to admit to having conflicted feelings. I would really love to see a decent national rail passenger system. No, it will never be anything approaching the scale of the salad days but it should certainly be more comprehensive than now. I see no reason for the corridor vs. long haul arguement. Why should there not be both? They compliment each other. I do agree that there needs to be drastic changes at Amtrak. Unfortunately, I have no faith in Anderson. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but I see nothing but arrogance and total devotion to cost-cutting. I guess time will tell. We certainly live in interesting times don't we?

HOS: 15,000 vs. 50,000,000.

That does make a statement.

reindeerflame Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> HOS: 15,000 vs. 50,000,000.
>
> That does make a statement.

So does Sunset Ltd three times a week and a bus connection.

TAW

Houston ridership is actually somewhat higher: 19786 in 2017, or 63 on and offs per train.

Meanwhile, at Sanderson, Texas, annual ridership was 193, or 0.6 on and offs per train. Many think Amtrak's strength is in serving small towns.

Houston's answer to better rail service is not some kind of enhanced Amtrak service, but HSR to Dallas/Fort Worth and eventually San Antonio.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/18 09:04 by reindeerflame.

reindeerflame Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> HOS: 15,000 vs. 50,000,000.
>
> That does make a statement.


Almost no trains = Almost no ridership

jfrank39 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> GenePoon Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > From: narp@narprail.org
> > To: (redacted)
> > Sent: 4/24/2018 6:18:53 PM Eastern Standard
> Time
> > Subject: Upset about recent changes to Amtrak
> > service? We are too.
> >
> > Now, we need your help!
> >
> > First, we're launching an Amtrak Mayors'
> Petition,
> > and we want to get
> > every community currently served by an Amtrak
> > train onboard. If you
> > are willing to send emails and call mayor's
> > offices as part of this
> > campaign, please contact our policy staff
> directly
> > and we will add
> > you to the volunteer pool. Our staff will
> provide
> > volunteers with
> > numbers, scripts, and sample emails to promote
> a
> > petition that makes
> > the following argument:
> >
> >
>
> I live in Houston. We are served by the Sunset
> Ltd three times a week and a bus connection to the
> Eagle at Longview. The airports here handle
> something like 50 million arrivals and departures
> a year...Amtrak around 15 thousand. The people of
> Houston and the Mayor don't even know about train
> service and couldn't care less. I have found NARP
> to be totally useless.
>
> As for service changes, I have advocated for
> Amtrak trains to serve free breakfast to everyone
> with something like a buffet as most motels and
> hotels do now. For sleeping car passengers they
> could offer one other meal, either lunch or dinner
> as people sitting all day riding trains just don't
> need three full meals a day. If they get hungry
> they can just buy a snack or something. It's
> really not that hard to figure out. If they
> really want to save money just eliminate the coach
> attendants as they are useless and do mostly
> nothing. The sleeping car attendants can help out
> in the diner. Amtrak has to save money on these
> LD trains and this would do it. The only cost
> saving open to them is labor costs.
>
> My two cents worth.

Does this mean you want passengers to clean the toilets ?

SanDiegan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jfrank39 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > GenePoon Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > From: narp@narprail.org
> > > To: (redacted)
> > > Sent: 4/24/2018 6:18:53 PM Eastern Standard
> > Time
> > > Subject: Upset about recent changes to Amtrak
> > > service? We are too.
> > >
>
> Does this mean you want passengers to clean the
> toilets ?

When I rode trains in the 1960's there were no coach attendants, yet the toilets stayed clean. When I took the bus connection to the Eagle, the driver gave a little speech before we left. He pointed to the toilet in the rear of the bus and said..."for emergency use only". Then he pointed out the trash cans located about the bus and said to use them and he didn't want to see any trash on the floor. It's pretty sad when you have to tell people not to be pigs.

jfrank39 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> He pointed to the toilet in the rear of the bus and said...
> "for emergency use only". Then he pointed out the trash
> cans located about the bus and said to use them ...

It is best not to run those two thoughts together. :)

jfrank39 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Then he pointed
> out the trash cans located about the bus and said
> to use them and he didn't want to see any trash on
> the floor. It's pretty sad when you have to tell
> people not to be pigs.

Somewhat reminiscent of my last trip out of Montana to San Diego via the Portland section of the Builder. (Sleeper all the way to LA.) By the time we pulled into Pasco one of the sleeper bathrooms had a full garbage can. But never mind that. Papers towels were just thrown on the floor. It left me wondering just what to expect on the Starlight. So....who gets the blame? The attendant initially. But passengers didn't seem to mind adding to the mess. BTW: the Starlight was immaculate. Jesse my slpr attendant on the Starlight, was up late cleaning and up early cleaning. He was tipped accordingly. The pride he put into his work was outstanding!

> When I rode trains in the 1960's there were no
> coach attendants, yet the toilets stayed clean.
>
That's not true, at least not in the West. The difference was that on the SFE, NP, GN, Q and WP the service staff kept after the cleanup and it wasn't necessary to have the gigantic trash sacks at the ends of each car or expect the toilets to be "self cleaning". Somebody wiped the kiddie smudges off the windows too, which I thought was pretty amazing. Then there were the dumb waiters from the bars in the SFE Big Domes to the upstairs deluxe lounge; NRPC would not have had two men for those cars had they even bothered to buy them, which they did not. The Penn Central maintenance and service ethic infected Amtrak early on; with Delta Dick it appears they've bought into DJR's "how to kill long distance passenger trains" policy too.

WP-M2051 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > When I rode trains in the 1960's there were no
> > coach attendants, yet the toilets stayed clean.
>
> >
> That's not true, at least not in the West.

Yes it is true, on the trains I rode.

I remember a former Santa Fe coach attendant working early on for the Amtrak El Cap/Super.

He would make an announcement such as " Folks we all will be together for some time. Lets all work together to pick up after your self, it will be more enjoyable for all".

In speaking with him, he said it worked.