Passenger Trains > biggest missed opportunity in the last half century?

What you think was the biggest missed opportunity for USA intercity passenger rail in the last 50 years? I am talking about a specific project that could have been done even if it would have cost a lot, but not a answer such as "we should have been subsidizing Amtrak $10 billion a year".

I have my answer in mind already, though it is subject to change.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/20 07:35 by ts1457.

The 3C corridor.  Thank you Gov. Kasich.....

cahsr..............

66

Daily sunset discounting the Florian second largest travel market

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/20 07:49 by KansasCityChief.

The New Haven to Providence Acela bypass across northeast CT

Texas high speed rail, Houston to Dallas

In a global sense, not converting McGuire AFB /Fort Dix in NJ into a giant supersonic airline and freight cargo terminal.  And connecting it to NY / PHL / DC by high speed rail

As a reservationist for Amtrak for nearly 7 years  in the CHICAGO office, my 'vote' is a tie: Chicago/Midwest to Florida and Chicago/Midwest to Phoenix/Tucson. So many daily calls were requests for those destinations. My guess is market demand for those routes has increased significantly, especially with the focus on the Midwest market desire to get out of long winter weather. These routes are HIGHLY unlikely to happen in my lifetime given the 'atmosphere' surrounding long distance trains. 
Silver View Mike

Gateway Project between NWK and NYP- I can’t stress how many times I must say we need double the amount of track capacity underneath the Hudson River for not just NJT trains but also Amtrak. That would enable more daily NJT express service from outlying points(Bay Head, Dover, Trenton, High Bridge). The RVL would not only have daily service to NYP. The line would end in the Lehigh Valley Region.

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Population control as in China.

the head of the post office came from the airline industry around 1964, you are talking about preamtrak?

or amtrak's limited handling  of mail, which was better than today?

I think EEE policy of express to help subsidize amtrak  had some merit, just going all in overnight was a bit much.

Exploring perhaps some auto train routes in the west with a carrier on the rear of existing trains has been a lost opportunity.

Floridian, Pioneer, Desrt Wind  Texas Chief in favor of the much slower interamerican, NCH  and perhaps the National limited termination suck.

When the truck freight companies forced Amtrak to quit carrying freight, bulk mail, cold items.

rantoul Wrote:
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> Letting the US Post Office move their traffic from
> train to plane (gov't was going to subsidize
> Amtrak anyway, why not get something for the
> money).
>
> Allowing the last round of freight railroad
> mergers (CN - IC...EJ&E...DM&E / NS - CSX -
> Conrail / UP - SP / BN - ATSF) creating a bunch of
> Wall Street oligopolies tone deaf to any public
> good.

USPS seems doing doing a great job moving express and mail today.  I'd bet good money Amtrak couldn't match it even between limited pairs.  

gnr999 Wrote:
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> When the truck freight companies forced Amtrak to
> quit carrying freight, bulk mail, cold items.

the freight rr's raised an eyebrow, never heard about trucks complaining, they are just trying to find drivers.

I believe it was David Gunn that pulled the plug, wanting to concentrate on the core business, smaller is better philosophy, iirc 

biggest missed opportunity in the last half century?

Rail transportation.

TAW

as somebody that grew up in southern california, eliminating most of the pacific electric line's r.o.w. sure seems like a huge missed opportunity now...........

66

rantoul Wrote:
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> Letting the US Post Office move their traffic from
> train to plane (gov't was going to subsidize
> Amtrak anyway, why not get something for the
> money).
>
Agree!  A lot of routes would have continued and many routes might have retained multiple frequencies.
 

Service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, NV with track improvements to speed the journey to make it competitive to the auto. With a LV metro population over 2 million this was a lost opportunity.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

The specific project of building an adequate fleet of passenger equipment. In light of the shortened consists and sold-out trains I've been reading about, a missed opportunity was not building a fleet of cars in reserve for adding to trains at times of heightened traffic. Pre-Amtrak, the private railroads had coachyards full of cars they could add to trains when more capacity was needed at short notice. I do not understand how adding one car so appreciably adds to the cost of operating a train, if enough fares can be collected to cover it, that they can justify turning away customers. The current philosophy seems to be to increase demand, and ticket pricing, by restricting the number of seats and rooms, thus making the same amount of money having to carry fewer passengers. The result is potentially thousands of missed opportunities daily. What's wrong with carrying all the passengers that want to ride?

webmaster Wrote:
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> Service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, NV with
> track improvements to speed the journey to make it
> competitive to the auto. With a LV metro
> population over 2 million this was a lost
> opportunity.

AMEN!

webmaster Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, NV with
> track improvements to speed the journey to make it
> competitive to the auto. With a LV metro
> population over 2 million this was a lost
> opportunity.

i agree!  I got caught up Sunday night in the Vegas traffic, Cajon Pass was stop and go.   I loved the Desert Wind, but it wasn't even a blip on the traffic radar.   High speed, frequent service MIGHT draw enough traffic off the road to manage the growing traffic load.  .  

Trans Texas Corridor

https://www.conservapedia.com/Trans-Texas_Corridor