tion partners New Jersey Transit’s and Long Island Rail Road’s commuter service. The more immediate agenda would include the replacement of hundred-year-old bridges and tunnels along the Washington-Philly- New York-Boston corridor. Over the years, any hint that money that
had been allocated outside the NEC might be used to bolster only the NEC would be met with strong objections from non-NEC law- makers with war cries of “No national sys- tem, no Northeast Corridor.” I sought a com- ment from Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm, whose e-mailed response read as follows: “Amtrak is strongly supportive of all three
of our main business lines —Northeast Cor- ridor, long-distance, and state-supported. The NEC infrastructure is decaying, rider quality is degrading and every year Con- gress underfunds critically needed capital improvements, it runs the risk of significant failure. Something has to change and we be- lieve that change involves Congress paying the full cost of the long-distance trains which have been a core federal responsibili- ty since 1971. By doing so, NEC revenues would no longer be diverted to cover some long-distance costs, but would be kept in the NEC as a source of direct funding or be available to pay back loans to address criti- cal NEC infrastructure issues. More funding will still be needed so that is why we are asking Congress to establish a multi-year capital funding program for inter-city pas- senger rail to ensure that we can get Con- gress to make the necessary policy and fund- ing changes to allow it to happen.” “Necessary policy and funding changes?” Obviously, Mr. Boardman is anxious to carry forth with his plan to make the NEC over time to become America’s true high-speed- rail operation, (hopefully up to 220 m.p.h.?) as the conventional 79 m.p.h. overnight trains continue with specific outlays from Congress (that presumably would be the on- ly change from the present; Amtrak still ac- tually operates those trains). The NEC Acela (at 150 m.p.h. max) does make an “operating profit” that is used to bolster the long-dis- tance trains. But wait. Can that be the whole picture?
Beyond the NEC, there are corridor opera- tions such as Chicago-St. Louis, set to go with a semi-HSR “gradualist” speedier serv- ice envisioned in some instances; the cur- rently quite successful Capitol Corridor in California; the expanding Chicago-Milwau- kee route; other lines under serious plan- ning; and even others remaining as lines on planners’ maps for decades. They fall into Amtrak’s “third category” — the state-sup- ported trains (whose states have ponied up beaucoup bucks to keep their operations vi- able and usually have the ridership figures to justify it.) What all this comes down to: Amtrak
needs more money and cites the NEC (its most heavily used operation) as the means by which to make its case. Unless priorities change, the current Amtrak management will use that factor as Exhibit A to attain for “America’s Railroad” the “full funding” its backers believe the passenger service has never had. But in order to reach that goal, the NEC must be something other than a system cash cow. It, too, must be strong (without which: there goes the whole thing?).
At Amtrak: From the Boss Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman is making a
pitch for more support in other ways. In a March 28 memo, the passenger rail service’s ninth president told his employees, “Here’s the problem: Our expenses are too high, and our revenue is too low. We have great oppor- tunities to be better as a place to work, bet- ter in the service we deliver, and better in the control of our own future. However, we continue to struggle with overhead costs and lack of efficiencies.” And then this: “Through February of FY
’14, Amtrak’s total payroll (including all ben- efits and taxes) is 93.6 per cent of Amtrak’s ticket revenue. The company cannot sustain this level of payroll or overtime going for- ward.” Mr. Boardman seems particularly disconcerted that his company in recent times has lost all but five out of a dozen op- erating contracts for maintenance of equip- ment and support service for commuter rail agencies, including such heavy hitters as MBTA (Boston); Caltrain (California) and VRE (Virginia/D.C.). The Amtrak boss signs off by telling his employees, “Thank you for all you do,” but al- so adds what appears to be an admonition: “It is time for all of us to wake up and under- stand that we are in a very competitive en- vironment,” and that “we can pay our debt to the future by engaging in the vision it will take to stay in front of the growing list of competitors who would like to take away our business and jobs.”
Think Forward Determined efforts, accompanied by studies, continue toward the goal of creating the in- frastructure that would support a new pas- senger train from Boston to Montreal, by way of Greenfield, Mass. The state in fact is completing the purchase of north-south rail track. The contemplated operation is a 484- mile route through Springfield and beyond the St. Albans terminal where Amtrak’s Ver- monter now completes its journey as it has since the former Montrealer ended its sched- ules a few years ago.
Speaking of New England Amtrak is considering plans to improve cur- rent service on the Downeaster. Or more to the point, communities are presenting ideas for expanding that train northward to Auburn, Augusta, and to Montreal, and im- proving service south to New York City, by- passing Boston and instead visiting Worcester. Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Au- thority says there are certain issues that would have to be dealt with first, such as track upgrading. (Well, yes. That, and how to run the train from the NEC at Boston South Station to the Downeaster’s stop at North Station. Last we heard, railroaders were warning that the switch is so convoluted as to be not worth the effort. Passengers appre- ciate timeliness, after all.)
The Bookshelf Most of us have been regaled for generations with bugaboo tales of how the railroads were created by “robber barons” who stole every- thing and that there is nothing more to the story than that. Now, along comes author Larry Haeg with Harriman vs. Hill. He ac- knowledges that yes, everyone knows that the “steel wheel on steel rails” did encounter a messy launch. So what? Since when (be- fore or since) do we expect to see nothing but choir boys in every executive suite? Yes, one
Canadian Trackside Guide® 2014
The ONLY comprehensive guide to Canadian railways,
includes U.S. based operations. 5½” x 8½” 736 pages
$39.95 (American addresses)
$35.95 (Canadian addresses) (all ppd., taxes included
Locomotives of CN (including IC, WC, GTW, B&LE, DW&P, EJ&E, DMIR), CPR, VIA, Regional & Shortline railways, plus all Industrial locomotives;
Urban Rail Transit, Passenger Cars, Cabooses; Preserved Canadian Locomotives & Equipment; Work Service Cars & other Non-revenue Equipment; VIA, Commuter and Excursion Train schedules; Subdivision details for all railways: station names, mileposts, radio frequencies, talking detector locations, divisional maps, detailed maps of major rail centres;
Passenger Equipment
BY GAY LEPKEY 8.5” x 11” hard cover
$49.95 (all ppd.,taxes included)
This 2nd volume features additional details on CNR passenger equipment: Great for a CNR fan or modeller with 249 B&W equipment photos, 297 car diagrams, a listing of preserved equipment and details on passenger car technology.
(U.S. Orders in U.S. Funds) Send Cheque or Intl Money Order to:
BYTOWN RAILWAY SOCIETY P.O. Box 47076, Ottawa, ON Canada K1B 5P9 Or order online at:
www.bytownrailwaysociety.ca
17 National Railways
A Companion to Canadian
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64