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Pick an area in the country with railroad history and be done with it.
Folks, we are no longer a rich country that can afford to throw away money.
Why are we investing in the technology of the 11th century (Windmills) and the 19th century (railroads)??
Cars are so 1897. Why do we invest in them?
Paved roads...also popular in ancient Rome.
Houses are so 10,000 BC. Who needs em?!
PS, the Portland-Seattle-Vancouver route (actually separate routes both end in Seattle) will fill any number of trains, even with just the incremental improvements they've been doing. And even a gold-plated HSR route would be half the cost of adding a lane to I-5.
I think the railroads should be given back to the Indians. . . uh . . . no. . . .
Wait, let's give the railroads back to private enterprise.
How?
Oh, right. Government bankrupted the RRs in 1970s, and "took over." (Aren't they sweet!)
Government regulations, rules, penalties, and subsidies of the competition destroyed American rail companies.
And now, we're going to cheer the government dispensing funds taken from us, minus a cut for their administration.
Meh.
PS, the Portland-Seattle-Vancouver route (actually separate routes both end in Seattle) will fill any number of trains, even with just the incremental improvements they've been doing. And even a gold-plated HSR route would be half the cost of adding a lane to I-5.
If I’m not mistaken they end in Portland. There are two routes for Portland-Vancouver and another two routes for Eugene-Seattle, so a total of four Cascades routes being served between Portland and Seattle. And then there is the daily coast starlight from LA to Seattle so that brings up the total to 5 between Portland and Seattle.
Ridership peaked in 2011 with 852,269 yearly ridership as it started to face competition from bolt bus which provides a cheaper service., it crashed down to 181,500 in 2021 due to Covid and it’s coming back up, interested to see what 2023 turns out to be. 2022 was 390,248.
Going forward Amtrak should probably cut any routes that are not state sponsored and a drain on finances and just be replaced with bus service, having to rent freight rail roads is too expensive when ridership is low. That way Amtrak can beef up its service on the routes people actually use. Also the long range routes in the west need to have newer train sets and be promoted as cruise lines on rails, tourist rail aficionados probably make up most of that ridership anyway.
PS, the Portland-Seattle-Vancouver route (actually separate routes both end in Seattle) will fill any number of trains, even with just the incremental improvements they've been doing. And even a gold-plated HSR route would be half the cost of adding a lane to I-5.
Really, you think windmills and passenger trains are worthwhile technology to invest in for the 21st century??
Railroads do make sense for freight. Not passenger trains.
Paved roads make sense, for some areas. The counties around my area are removing paved roads as they are too expensive to maintain.
We can make better decisions. Did you take any science and economics classes in school??
My primary business is helping general contractors understand the trends that affect who will build what. That crosses a lot of industries. I'm a generalist so this is about listening to the experts in the various sectors. And yes there's a future for both passenger rail and wind power in this region and elsewhere.
What's your profession, related to power generation and transportation?
If I’m not mistaken they end in Portland. There are two routes for Portland-Vancouver and another two routes for Eugene-Seattle, so a total of four Cascades routes being served between Portland and Seattle. And then there is the daily coast starlight from LA to Seattle so that brings up the total to 5 between Portland and Seattle.
Ridership peaked in 2011 with 852,269 yearly ridership as it started to face competition from bolt bus which provides a cheaper service., it crashed down to 181,500 in 2021 due to Covid and it’s coming back up, interested to see what 2023 turns out to be. 2022 was 390,248.
Going forward Amtrak should probably cut any routes that are not state sponsored and a drain on finances and just be replaced with bus service, having to rent freight rail roads is too expensive when ridership is low. That way Amtrak can beef up its service on the routes people actually use. Also the long range routes in the west need to have newer train sets and be promoted as cruise lines on rails, tourist rail aficionados probably make up most of that ridership anyway.
I think the regional services require transfer in Seattle.
I think a line from Pueblo to Cheyenne (in Wyoming, not currently served) would be good for roping in those 2 Senators (since Wyoming Senators are deeply parochial and transactional). Amtrak is proposing that.
Otherwise, I'd prioritize any metro over 2 million without service (like Columbus), then pivot wholly to the Northeast Corridor where the money and demand is. Considering Amtrak is proposing new service to Columbus, Las Vegas and Nashville, I think they get that.
When the Virginia Long Bridge is complete, the Commonwealth is planning on massively boosting trains coming into Richmond. I think Amtrak should be thinking through whether there's an opportunity to link the Piedmont Atlantic to the Northeast Corridor better. I live in Northern Virginia and 99% of my Amtrak use goes north since anything heading South is a ****show (although $13 one-way trips to Richmond is not bad).
Amtrak can barely sustain routes like Pittsburgh (one of the most impressive train stations I"ve ever seen) to Cleveland. I believe there are two trips a day, one in the middle of the night.
If we're being honest, Columbus and Nashville are big cities for people who don't like big cities. I don't even say that as a slight, just that Amtrak getting any traction there doesn't seem likely.
Does anyone have data on the most/least successful lines right now? I'm curious to see what kind of traffic they get between the northeast and Great Lakes.
By 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad had become the largest railroad (by traffic and revenue), the largest transportation enterprise, and the largest corporation in the world. Its budget was second only to the U.S. government.
: : : :
What changed, so that the world's largest corporation, would go bankrupt by 1976, and have to divest itself of its passenger service to AMTRAK (Federally owned corporation)? Government.
As in increased taxes (income tax in 1913), real estate taxes on rights of way, ridiculous rules and regulations, fare caps (in some jurisdictions), and labor laws, etc.
And the "killer" - the end of contracts for mail by rail (US Postal cars), in 1967 - that pretty much made most passenger service unprofitable. (Ironically, the new "zone improvement program" (ZIP) costs far more in personnel and resources and is slower than the old rail mail service. That's why we call it "snail mail" today. In the 1930s, it was possible to send mail overnight on many major routes for 2 cents per letter.)
As in taxpayer subsidy of the competition - buses, trucks, cars, and airplanes. (Even the gasoline tax for road maintenance is a small portion of the overall expense for "public roads.")
Possible remedies:
Transfer all rail rights of way to a tax-exempt non-government organization (NGO) that all private carriers can utilize for their rolling stock. This would also eliminate the waste of parallel routes constructed by competing companies (ex: Pennsylvania RR versus New York Central) that split the passenger revenue between them.
May also deal with the contention between heavy rail and urban streetcar rights of way. (Many streetcar companies chose incompatible track gauges to bar heavy rail from ever accessing them.)
It would also allow private parties to have their own rolling stock to access the rails. Imagine corporations trading in their corporate jets for a self propelled train car.
If the country is going to ban ICE for automobiles, let's do the same for rail - and ELECTRIFY all rail lines. That can save 66% in fuel costs, as well as boost efficiency, once the locomotive doesn't have to carry fuel. This electrification might also work well with connecting remote wind turbine power generators, especially if the rail power grid can integrate the wind power generated. Already, regenerative braking dumps power back into the distribution network. To add in more intermittent sources shouldn't be too difficult nor expensive.
IN SUMMATION - get government OUT OF THE WAY - and get America BACK ON TRACK.
Really, you think windmills and passenger trains are worthwhile technology to invest in for the 21st century??
Railroads do make sense for freight. Not passenger trains.
Paved roads make sense, for some areas. The counties around my area are removing paved roads as they are too expensive to maintain.
We can make better decisions. Did you take any science and economics classes in school??
Tell that to Japan, China, Germany, France, Spain, Britain, Sweden, etc.
Of course, their trains don't look much like 19th century trains,
nor do modern windmills look like the ones from ancient times.
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