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Coal trains over Blue Ridge Grade in 1957. Filmed with cooperation of N&W manage- ment! Go aboard A & Y class engines as they struggle to move long coal drags over N&W’s most famous grade! Filmed in 16mm. Real sound! 45 mins. Chapters! Original film by E.C. Eddy. Item 049-D $34.95
Pocahontas Glory 7
J, K2, A, Y, Z & S1 a Class locomotives on passenger, freight & coal trains at Cincinnati, Portsmouth, Roanoke area and the Pigeon Creek Mine Run! Turbine Jawn Henry in pusher service with Live Sound! 78 mins. Chapters! Watch with or without narration. $39.95
Also available:
Pocahontas Glory Volumes 1 - 6 Vol. 1: Kenova, Abingdon Branch; Vol. 2: Roanoke & Blue Ridge; Vol. 3: Shenandoah Valley Line; Vol. 4: Coal Trains WV to Norfolk; Vol. 5: Passenger Service; Vol. 6: A’s west from Norfolk, Electrics on N&W & VGN
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20 DECEMBER 2012 •
RAILFAN.COM
Examples, Freight BNSF says its capacity for shipments of crude oil out of North Dakota will shoot up to one million barrels per day. That comes on top of a 25 per cent capacity hike this year. David Garin, BNSF group president says
there’s nowhere for BNSF to go but up con- sidering that pipelines will be an additional factor. (Read, for conspicuous example the Keystone Pipeline rejected — at least as of this writing — by President Obama, who has heeded the expressed concerns of profes- sional environmentals).
Even pipelines
planned for Bakken shale oil won’t keep up with Bakken’s rate of growth. However, rail- roads, he adds, are prepared to fill that gap. All through this recession, freight railroads have been getting some good breaks and have succeeded in taking advantage of them.
Issues, passenger Charges and counter-charges flew at a House hearing on whether Amtrak is “goug- ing” the taxpayer with its subsidized service or on the other hand, is actually a bargain for the taxpayer. That argument rests on the premise that Amtrak’s very existence as the “third leg” of the passenger transportation infrastructure stool is a bargain. Its subsi- dies are considerably less than those of the air and highway transport.
In the opening statements from commit-
tee members, Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.), said Amtrak henceforth should develop a “new mindset” and forsake “business as usu- al.” Rep. Nick Rahall (
D-W.Va.) lamented the hearing had set the stage for another round of “Amtrak-bashing” and that (facetiously) with the proliferation of T&I hearings, per- haps a special train could be arranged to fer- ry Boardman back and forth to the commit- tee’s Amtrak inquiries. Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) said as a fresh-
man lawmaker, he — as a small business- man — wanted to ascertain if Amtrak em- ployed the same businesswise methodology that he does. As one who had to pray every time he went to the post office, that a check would be waiting so that he could pay over- head, the congressman knew something about watching every penny.
Rahall added that when the committee majority speaks of providing more private sector jobs, Mica was likely referring to low- wage non-union jobs, as opposed to high- wage union employment for operating and on-board personnel. Mica responded he an- ticipated no change on employment status (no union-busting), only better use of em- ployees and perhaps renegotiation with unions as to work rules. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) noted Am-
trak was but a “tiny fraction of the overall DOT budget.” ”Let’s be honest,” he added. (Presumably meaning that in his view little old Amtrak by itself was not worth the rivers of ink to take testimony, and hours of com- mittee staff time preparing for multiple hearings). Lame Duck Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) who lost her re-election bid in a primary race back home was still concerned that Am- trak had paid $6.10 for a hot dog that was sold in the Amcafe for just $4.00. “Can we do more for less?” the Ohioan wondered. “If we don’t get smart,” she added, “there will be problems [considering the $16 trillion in- debtedness] no matter [which political par- ty] has the gavel.”
Amtrak’s view
In making his case, Amtrak President Joseph Boardman made the following points: • Last year (FY ’11) — when all Amtrak business ventures are considered — “Feder- al taxpayers pay just 15 cents for every dol- lar Amtrak spends on our operations.” • Ridership has grown “more than 44 per cent since 2000, and when adjusted for infla- tion, Amtrak’s operating need “has gone down almost 50 per cent since 2004.” • The passenger rail service has reduced its debt from $4 billion to $1.6 billion in the last 10 years. • Long distance trains provide the only intercity passenger train service in several states and many cities and towns (223), and connect with “our 28 short distance corridor routes, creating a national transportation network.”
Privatization? Privatized passenger train services overseas have produced “mixed results at best,” ac- cording to Mr. Boardman: • Japan’s services were privatized after
the government had funded the country’s high- speed rail lines, and also after agreeing to cover future losses from unprofitable services, and continues funding of new high speed lines. • A report on Great Britain’s privatiza- tion ventures in passenger trains concludes that the objectives in the effort “[were] not achieved because public funding needs have increased rather than decreased.” Further, the share “of the railway system’s costs (op- erating and capital) paid by the British pub- lic rose from 40 per cent to 50 per cent.”
He Said, He Said
Representing opposite ends of this debate spectrum were Ross Capon-President of the National Association of Railroad passengers (NARP) and Randall O’Toole of the libertar- ian CATO Institute. Capon says discussions of Amtrak subsidies often ignore or under- state “huge subsidies to other modes,” for ex- ample that”41 per cent of the $133 billion spent on highways [in 2001] came from pay- ments other than the gas tax tolls.” Regarding air travel, O’Toole suggested
he would turn over America’s air space to private companies and in fact would priva- tize virtually the entire transportation net- work. A flabbergasted Rep. DeFazio then said, “Then you would impose devolution?” Note: My copy of Webster’s does not in-
clude the word “devolution.” But Wikipedia identifies that word as denoting “the statu- tory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern- ment at a subnational level, such as region- al, state or local level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administrated by the central government.” Apparently De Fazio believes O’Toole would carry that even be- yond any government at all and repose the control in the hands of private interests.” The CATO analyst says he lives in a tiny rural area without so much as cell phone service (let alone any public transportation) and is willing to tolerate that, and that peo- ple who want a more plugged-in existence, they of course, are free to move. But accord- ing to Capon of NARP, “The role of the long- distance trains has become increasingly im- portant as air and fixed route bus service is withdrawn from rural America.”
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