Passenger Trains > "First in a Series: Has Amtrak Declared War?"

https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/intercity/first-in-a-series-has-amtrak-declared-war/

Another retiree sent this to me a couple of years ago... He the same steward that warned me years ago to get my finances in order before the big crash came down on Amtrak. Now watching from the sidelines and found his message to me:

Amtrak is a big piece in the Welcome To Dead America campaign. They can't run the very limited stuff they have now. Stalin was up against these kinds of people back in 1936 and was forced to clear them out entirely in order to rebuild the national railroad system after it was free of the taint of the dead ideas of old line transportation management. I don't think we necessarily have to take harsh measures, just round up all existing Amtrak Leadership and send them to a quarantine/concentration camp near the Arctic circle- let the polar bears do their work as God intended.

Read and be governed accordingly!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/20 15:03 by PC1974.

This is likely a series of deeper economic and political examination of choices -- instead of just going along with the Aamtrak executive cut back plan.
Authored by a lawyer with a distinquished career and a long list of voluntary roles to keep passenger services relevant.
Particularly relevant for the disabled.

When David Peter Alan sets pen to paper...   ...trust me rail colleagues,  its worth reading.

David Peter Alan is Chair of the Lackawanna Coalition, an independent non-profit organization that advocates for better service on the rail lines operated by New Jersey Transit, and on connecting transportation. In New Jersey, Alan is a long-time member and/or board member of the NJ Transit Senior Citizens and Disabled Residents Transportation Advisory Committee and Essex County Transportation Advisory Board.
Nationally, he belongs to the Rail Users’ Network (RUN).
Admitted to the New Jersey and New York Bars in 1981, he is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar and a Registered Patent Attorney specializing in intellectual property and business law.
Alan holds a B.S. in Biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1970); M.S. in Management Science (M.B.A.) from M.I.T. Sloan School of Management (1971); M.Phil. from Columbia University (1976); and a J.D. from Rutgers Law School (1981).

Cheers!  Jim Blaze 

Jim Blaze
Sicklerville, NJ

Mr Alan says:
"...Part of the freedom that many Americans treasure is the freedom to travel, as stated in the First Amendment of the Constitution. The “right to travel” is one thing, in the sense that government cannot unduly restrict travel (as questionable as that assumption may appear these days), but there is also the issue that this sacred “right” can be limited if access to mobility is also limited...."
  
First Amendment says:
"Amendment I 
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
  
I don't see the word "travel."

Freedom to travel is not specifically mentioned anywhere in the Constitution.

True

its part of the body of laws and legislation passed under the Constituitional process.
Now, if you ever trafeled in the old USSR, the interpretation of liberty would I believe be clearer.

Jim Blaze
Sicklerville, NJ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/20 19:44 by Jimblaze.

The long distance trains are dead.  When Amtrak cuts back the "Silver Service" trains while airlines are adding flights on the same lanes, it is clear that Amtrak is on a mission to kill the LD trains.  Period.  3X per week will render them effectively useless, just like the Florida trains are now if you are traveling south from Boston.  Unless you travel on a "Meteor Day," you cannot get back north witout an ovenight stay in a hotel.

Ridiculous.  Tragic.  Happening.  While America's attention is elsewhere. 

I have booked a trip to and from Denver for late month.  I am riding while I can.  Normally I view concerns about the death of LD trains with a smirk.  Not now.  This is real, folks.

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/20 09:29 by Chessie1963.

"Right to peacably assemble" does not specify a location. You have to travel to "assemble," so you can go anywhere to accomplish that. The Supreme Court has ruled Americans have a right to travel. 

Lurch_in_ABQ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Mr Alan says:
> "...Part of the freedom that many Americans
> treasure is the freedom to travel, as stated in
> the First Amendment of the Constitution. The
> “right to travel” is one thing, in the sense
> that government cannot unduly restrict travel (as
> questionable as that assumption may appear these
> days), but there is also the issue that this
> sacred “right” can be limited if access to
> mobility is also limited...."
>   
> First Amendment says:
> "Amendment I 
> Congress shall make no law respecting an
> establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
> exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
> speech, or of the press; or the right of the
> people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
> Government for a redress of grievances."
>   
> I don't see the word "travel."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/20 12:44 by MSE.

The Cornell Law School's  legal institute reviews the elements of  an asserted "right to travel" for individuals and finds textual support quite limited.  That is separate from support for interstate commerce.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-14/section-1/the-right-to-travel

Chessie1963 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The long distance trains are dead.  When Amtrak
> cuts back the "Silver Service" trains while
> airlines are adding flights on the same lanes, it
> is clear that Amtrak is on a mission to kill the
> LD trains.  Period.  3X per week will render
> them effectively useless, just like the Florida
> trains are now if you are traveling south from
> Boston.  Unless you travel on a "Meteor Day," you
> cannot get back north without an overnight stay in a
> hotel.
>
> Ridiculous.  Tragic.  Happening.  While
> America's attention is elsewhere. 
>
> I have booked a trip to and from Denver for late
> month.  I am riding while I can.  Normally I
> view concerns about the death of LD trains with a
> smirk.  Not now.  This is real, folks.
>
Ah! I forgot about the Boston connection. Interesting how that has morphed even since Warrington sought a better connection for the Boston-Florida service.......This is definitely a nail in the coffin. At one time, you could ride north/south from Boston, Montreal, Burlington, VT, upstate NY, etc. and still be able to get a "same-day" Florida train to/from (via NYC or Washington DC). These key connections started to really disappear at an alarming rate in the mid 2000's. Amtrak didn't care it decreased ridership and connectivity - and it did for sure! It wasn't the Montrealer that started the "same-day" connection decline, it was a combination of even the Vermonter and Silver Meteor when the Meteor would leave NYP at 7:01 pm and Amtrak made an effort to get the Vermonter scheduled in to NYP no later than 6:15 pm. 

If demand for the Florida service is falling off, it makes sense to decrease supply and contract/merge services. But 1) I don't think this is necessarily what is playing out and 2) the days that the Silver Meteor is to operate, and the Silver Star is to operate makes VERY little sense at first sight. Can't make any rhyme or reason to it. Seems it would almost be more efficient to try and operate the Silver Meteor DAILY but split/combine the consist at say Rocky Mount and run one section over the Silver Star's route to Columbia and on south to Tampa. I;ve never seen the Star carry any substantial traffic in recent years from Tampa to Miami. I think there are reasons for this - not getting into it here....

PC1974 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Another retiree sent this to me a couple of years
> ago... He the same steward that warned me years
> ago to get my finances in order before the big
> crash came down on Amtrak. Now watching from the
> sidelines and found his message to me:
>
> Amtrak is a big piece in the Welcome To Dead
> America campaign. They can't run the very limited
> stuff they have now. Stalin was up against these
> kinds of people back in 1936 and was forced to
> clear them out entirely in order to rebuild the
> national railroad system after it was free of the
> taint of the dead ideas of old line transportation
> management. I don't think we necessarily have to
> take harsh measures, just round up all existing
> Amtrak Leadership and send them to a
> quarantine/concentration camp near the Arctic
> circle- let the polar bears do their work as God
> intended.
>
> Read and be governed accordingly!

Could we maybe all just agree not to cite Stalin and concentration camps -- even in jest -- as models to emulate? It is in extremely poor taste and doesn't really further anyone's arguments.

There are other, better ways of saying that Amtrak should clean house on the leadership level that do not leave a "glorification of genocide" aftertaste.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/20 09:11 by pennengineer.

Godwin's Law states that the longer an online argument goes on the probability that someone will invoke Hitler or the Nazis approaches 100%.

 

filmteknik Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Godwin's Law states that the longer an online
> argument goes on the probability that someone will
> invoke Hitler or the Nazis approaches 100%.
>
>  

Yes, but in most cases it leads to someone comparing a person or persons of disdain to Hitler or the Nazis, not in saying, "you know what, they did have some good ideas...?"

In either case, it's abhorrent and has no place in a discussion about trains.