Why Is Amtrak Service So Slow in Most of the U.S.? | WSJ
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 มิ.ย. 2024
- Outside the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak service is often slow and infrequent. The company’s worst performing train is delayed by an hour and a half on average. But the rail network says it has wanted to invest in new and improved routes for years.
Amtrak’s biggest obstacle? Freight railroads. Here’s why.
Illustration: Ryan Trefes
0:00 Why hasn’t Amtrak expanded?
1:17 Why most Amtrak trains run on freight-owned tracks
1:47 How freight rail is an obstacle to Amtrak today
3:06 Why Amtrak hasn’t asserted its legal right against freight companies
4:05 Amtrak files a complaint against Union Pacific Railroad
5:05 Amtrak says it’s in a better financial position now to expand
WSJ Explains
News moves fast, and there's not always time to untangle the complex forces driving the day's biggest stories. WSJ Explains breaks down big market moves, business and economic trends, and scientific developments to help you stay ahead of the curve.
#Amtrak #Rail #WSJ
Over investment in roadways.
Underinvestment in track infrastructure.
These decisions were made consciously and repeatedly over decades by the preceding generations.
Over investment in wars and interfering in other country’s affairs imagine what could be done with the hundred billion +usd sent to Ukraine or the trillion dollars spent in afg
@@B21_raider while I don't support our imperialist wars, they are not the reason why money was spent subsidizing cars above and beyond trains.
Different people, same rot
outside boston-washington, maybe all the way to miami cars are better though the east coast corridor could and should be primarily rail.
If Amtrak was a railroad, they would lay their own track on federal land, such as the ROW for interstate highways where the grades allow. They would be building their own stations and transit support. Cities that want downtown service would be required to build their own connector spurs of interurban from downtown to the express Amtrack station out where space is broad and rail congestion is low.
Instead it is more fun to just bi+ch about it for 50 years and never reach any promised goals...but everyone on the team gets paid and pensioned.
@@QuizmasterLaw true at least Brightline is bringing trains back in modern way in Florida with these expansions from Miami to Orlando then Tampa and possible Jacksonville
Amtrak needs its own exclusive tracks all across the US. That would be a win/win situation for both Amtrak and freight rail carriers.
Someone has to pay for that.
@@akivaplutno Yes, us. And we should. The long term benefits of getting people out of cars should far outweigh any costs associated with building out the network. The longer we take to do it, the more difficult it will get. This is something that should have been done 50 years ago as we started to realize that the "suburban experiment" wasn't really working. Instead we continued to damage our cities and way of life to the point where it's now going to be extremely painful and expensive to get back to a sane development pattern; but as I said before, the longer we take to do it, the worse it will be for us.
I have been saying that for years.
@@akivaplutno yes, and it should be those of us riding the trains. Amtrak is already getting government subsidies. It said in the video they got 22 Billion and are slated for another 44 Billion. They need to use that money to build their own infrastructure.
One size fits all is too simplistic. Passenger rail in the Northeast Corridor (NEC) works not only because Amtrak owns the trackage, but also given that the geographic proximity of large population centers allow high-speed passenger rail to compete effectively with both airline and bus/automobile roadway travel. The Interstate 95 Boston-New York-Philadelphia-Wilmington-Baltimore-Washington DC corridor is unlike any other in the United States. There is simply not enough consumer demand to run the frequency of passenger rail traffic between most of the other large metropolitan areas in the United States that would warrant the huge outlay to acquire and or build independent trackage assets, nor the enormous annually recurring required maintenance cost in a manner similar to which it occurs on the NEC. This is why it has not - and likely will not - ever happen at scale. The rest of the nation is just not a good fit from a geographic and a population density standpoint. If individual states were to step up and do it in targeted intrastate rail corridors, it could improve those service performance times, but the long distance Amtrak trains like the *Empire Builder, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited,* etc, are not going to purchase or build (let alone maintain) the thousands of miles of track required to isolate those services from the freight-owned trackage.
I remember riding the sunset limited all the way from L.A to New Orleans, we ended up 4 hours late, and I remember we spent a lot of time in sidings waiting for freight trains to pass
I don’t take the train because I’m worried about on time performance …. I like to relax and arrive…. So what if I’m late? That’s why I have a sleeper room… wake me when we get there
@@RandomRandomnessKCMO What if you have a hotel reservation and if you’re too late you lose that room? If the hotel is fully booked you’re screwed.
@@FatherManusHow can you reserve something and still be overbooked?
@@FatherManus I always book Airbnb’s. I do not deal with hotels and normal accommodations but generally issues like that be resolved with a simple phone call. Again I don’t take the train because I’m worried about on-time performance. The train as part of my journey part of the vacation if something happens during the vacation it’s just part of the experience
Let's start with connecting nearby cities instead into an isolated circular route / express that runs every 2 hours. Make new rail and passenger hubs around the cities grouped in 3, controlled by Amtrak and local Transit authority. This would increase commuting between these major cities.
For example: [LosAngeles Vegas Phoenix] | [Atlanta Nashville Charlotte] | [Dallas SanAntonio Houston]
Living in NJ, I have frequently used the local rail to commute to NYC and it can be used to go to places such as DC, Baltimore and elsewhere along the coast. It is ideal when you don't want to be driving several hours and you know at your destination you can easily get around by either light rail, ride share, bus, or even walking. If the infrastructure at these cities allows for commuter friendly options, expanding rail would be very beneficial for the grouped cities who rely on their neighbors anyway.
If we can reduce flights and traffic between neighboring cities, rail can become a more convenient, affordable, and green option. It's a start.
i dont see why we dont ban trains! right?
Exactly and Brightline which is a privatized passenger rail service is executing this philosophy for it's Florida Miami - Soon Orlando operations with enough Train stock to support hourly services.
@@rodimcgeesums633 Brightline is supported by the state of FL. This is socialism as is AMTRAK. The govt controls the operation, which any corporation won't touch because there's no profit to be made. Buses run all over FL, but apparently that wasn't good enough.
@@ernestimken6969 Uhm no they're offloading the operation costs by selling the real estate for development within proximity of their stations. They have strong negotiations with the railroad as they are the subsidiary of the parent company of the freight rail operator. The state of Florida does provide subsidies yes, but the operations is run by Brightline. Nothing against national rail or AMTRAK but the operator doesn't have consistent enough service for high populated areas aside from the NE corridor.
@@rodimcgeesums633 Selling real estate near stations was, I've read, how the streetcar system in greater Los Angeles was (privately) funded, and, I understand, the reason that the system later failed (no more real estate to sell). Real estate sales also seem to be how otherwise money losing golf courses support themselves (until the land runs out, then redevelopment of the bankrupt golf course). It's an interesting model (with its limits).
A suggestion I've seen that could help, is tell the Government the railways are a matter of national security, that way they will throw massive amounts of money at the problem so that the railways have a large capacity, meant for troops trains, but also benefiting freight and passenger trains.
Agree. National security makes things bipartisan
@@bigfella3411 wrong. it's not an issue. just use trucks!!!
@@bigfella3411 imagine if we spent $200 billion on building trains and amtrak instead of giving it to dictator vlad in ukraine.
Nope...The Govt. can already take over rail tracks during a time of war to move troops.
@@555Trout Physically impossible. Freight trains are too long to get out of the way. Plus, they built the interstate highway for army trucks, so why on earth a different standard for rails?
US needs to improve regional public transit in parallel with intercity services. Suburb to suburb transit is sorely lacking, and a good segment of people commute from 1 suburb to another. Almost no city has a suburban commuter rail loop. They all go from downtown out to the suburbs.
We really need Amtrak to be the express line and bypass the traditional cities completely. Interurban spurs and loops built by the metropolitan authorities should provide downtown and suburb to Amtrak station connection. Therefore making Amtrak a railroad high speed "airline".
But neither you or I matter in this. Amtrak officials know this but they fly to conferences and drive cars to the Amtrak offices
@@STho205 What's wrong with routing Amtrak through cities? I rode from Philadelphia to Washington and the train went just as fast through cities as it did in the more sparsely populated areas.
@@bobbyc1120 because that's where you lose major time on the train and where you lose time as a traveller.
If you don't live downtown, and most of the nation's travelling public dies not, you have to
spend hour(s) slugging through congested traffic.
Get your vehicle parked in expensive garages and walk through often sketchy areas to the station with luggage....or take a uber/taxi for an expensive interurban ride.
You arrive at a downtown....say Richmond VA or New Orleans on Tulane in a very sketchy slum neither part of the hotel and shop district but an open railyard.
You then need to find a rental car but most of those offices are out at the airport....so it's Enterprise or nothing that's still a taxi ride to get there.....or you can taxi the whole trip.
The train averages 30-60mph on most routes including stops, so it is the same speed as a car, but unless your business and intent is within a quick walk to the station....the trips add hours and $$$$ to the train ride.
If you want to do NYC or downtown Philly or DC Smithsonian museums or visit Williamsburg VA then those stations work. If you are going to visit relatives or do business in Cleveland, Chicago, New Orleans, Richmond, Salt Lake City, Denver, LA, ..... then you are dumped off at the wrong spot.
@@bobbyc1120 I've sat for 3 hours on Amtrak owned lines to get into DC from Virginia because the south Amtrak approach is full of Amtrak freight (yeah they carry freight too)....so it happens, but in most cities as you roll into the congested freight yards the delays begin. If you keep rolling into congested yard districts or industrial corridors then slow running is mandated. If you have to back the train into a terminal, expect an extra hour.
You're riding a special bubble Philly, NYC, DC where Amtrak is really just an interurban commuter service of three close cities. If you ride real distance you'll see why trains:
Leave when you don't want to
From a place you'd rather not be
To a place you'd rather not be
At a time you don't like.
Pulling into a downtown slum in middle america at 11pm or 3am is not fun, even if you have family waiting for you in their car.
@@STho205 the major cities are what justify the trains in the first place.
The lack of high speed rail in this country is an absolute disgrace. We have ALL the money. We have billions for another freeway lane that won't fix traffic, but none for trains. We should have the best rail system in the world by now!
America does NOT need high speed rail. We first need to improve our current regular rail system before wasting a bunch of money on hsr
@@664theneighbor5 We need both, really.
@@664theneighbor5 Both please!
Highspeed rail doesnt really make sense when you consider ticket prices are more expensive than airplane tickets and planes are faster. Trains are really cool but not economical for mass long distance transit
@@kipter how about we just build the highspeed and not charge outrages
Prices. I’m sure If the system is used a lot this will offset the costs.
I love riding Amtrak and I've only had 1 delay that was quite long. I'd love to see more comapnies like Brightline pop in in the next 5-10 years and offer local train services in other states.
Brightline has mentioned 15 potential city pairs to run service on in the coming decades. Finger crossed they make it happen
If they nationalized rail here that would definitely happen, and other companies would pop up and create competition, similar to the airlines boom.
There's a big positive externality with rail infrastructure that companies like Brightline can't benefit from. Therefore, waiting for private investment means leaving opportunity on the table.
There is definitely a consensus among some other videos and articles I’ve seen on the matter that agree this is the way. Private companies coordinating with governments to make this happen because they are way more agile and have more flexibility. Brightline’s partnership with Orlando is bringing multiple station that connect to the local train system that lets people quickly switch
You've explained technical issues that are blamed. The real issues are of course political. If the politicians don't use the train, they won't improve the service. You talk about it all as if its all about private companies doing business with each other and its all about those companies interests. Well that too is the problem. If you totally privatize what should be at least partly publicly managed, you don't get the service that is best for the people, you get the service that is best for the owners.
Lol, literally this. The freight rail industry has by far the highest profit rate from any industry, and they go around bragging that they spend $20 billion a year on maintenance and capital upgrades
@@yossisprei1664 Exactly. They do the minimum to keep their trains going. Double track? Nope if it's not needed.. Extra long trains (that don't fit on sidings) to maximize freight and keep low crew numbers? Yep.. Oh did we mention the woes of the crews/working. They should probably try to strike or something..😏
@@Ven100 The only company that I have seen upgrade their tracks to improve experience for passenger service is the Florida East Coast Railway/Brightline. It's a smaller company run by a capital investment group, and has nowhere near the amount of resources that the big four have. Make this make sense!
@@funtomco.studios8106 Because their business is passenger rail. The freight companies decided not to do passenger rail, so they have no reason to improve it.
@@funtomco.studios8106 It does help that the Florida East Coast Railway freight and Brightline share a parent company. It just goes to show that if other freight companies actually wanted to work with Amtrak on scheduling, ect - they could.
Force all US politicians to use the service.
True Joe Biden only used the Metroliner service in the Northeast no surprise that are added more project expansions there which is good but everywhere else is still just in legal battles or slow progression
Awaiting Alan Fisher’s response to this video…
N a t i o n a l i z a t i o n. Its the only way to save the railroads from eating themselves in the name of the almighty operating ratio.
He doesn't need to. He has already covered half of the points mentioned in this video.
the issue is making "public" transportation a private business...
Facts, some things cannot be run for profit.
@@afaxmachine5045 yeah like car infrastructure lol
Buses and planes are for profit and they work pretty well 🤷♂️
@@ling636 busses aren't run for profit, when they are they do not work. planes are not public transport.
@@afaxmachine5045 Greyhound, Megabus etc. are not run as for-profit?
Whenever a video about US passenger rail comes out, it might be by someone who doesn’t understand trains. Use at your own risk
What train?
In Europe rail is nationalized while operators aren't. Maybe the US should follow our example
Not sure exactly what this means, if you could elaborate in a bit more detail.
@@HRHolm-bi6zu I think they mean that the rails other infrastructure are owned by state corporations, while the companies that own the trains and provide the actual service are private.
@@HRHolm-bi6zu the rail network is controlled by the govt while the trains have both state owned and private investment
@@HRHolm-bi6zu it means that rail is similar run than roads - the rail is owned by state and everyone can use it for a fee and who is able to follow the common rules.
Europe is not exactly doing that great so im not sure why we should be emulating them lol.
This happens because of Privatized of railroads by freight companies. No matter what government does, it can't solve this situation.
I can think of one thing the gov can do to ameliorate the situation, but I don't want to get shadow banned by TH-cam for saying the n word
They didn't privatize rail in the US (or Canada). They were always private businesses since the B&O and others opened in the early 1830s.
Nationalization
@@whoisthatkidd2212 Let's start by nationalizing your Mom's house. Then you can apply for residency in the basement, but there are 3 million needy new arrivals ahead of you.
Some people are quite free thinking with other people's property.
@@STho205 there are 16 million unoccupied homes in the US, this isn't the own you think it is.
The funny thing is, in many places this is not a question of space for extra trains. Many lines in America, particularly main lines, were originally built with two and sometimes three or four parallel track, to accommodate trains running in both directions, along with expresses. But these extra track cost money to maintain, and many freight owners have had them pulled up. Even in this video, like on the trestle at 5:07, one can see where these spare track used to be. If these lines were to be put back, both freight and passenger service could run at the same time, without having to excessively wait on sidings. But the freight companies don't want to pay the extra expense, and Amtrak can't afford to pay the expense. Still, it's nice to think about.
Well if they double tracked everything that would mean double the maintenance cost for the freight companies and they might not be able to afford that either...
@@marknystrom1984 I did acknowledge that. Honestly my pipe dream scenario would be having the surplus track space on the lines sold to Amtrak for exclusive passenger use. But that is unlikely to happen since Amtrak doesn't have the money for it, and even if they did, I doubt the freight companies would be willing to sell, on the off chance they need the surplus track space in the future.
@@marknystrom1984 then Amtrak needs to pay its share from the Billions of dollars in government subsidies. Or, the government should subsidize freight railroads so they can afford to maintain the extra track.
@@marknystrom1984 can’t they just there trans even longer
@@David-yo5re Amtrak basically inherited the old passenger rail obligations held by the freight RRs. The only reason these RRs existed to begin with was because they were required to run regular passenger services in exchange for their grants. When Passenger Service became unprofitable due to competition from highways and airlines, the government stood up Amtrak to take over these obligations IN EXCHANGE for trackage rights these RRs are trying to weasel their way out of.
That said, Amtrak is frequently used as a piggy bank by the freight railroads to build new infrastructure for new service. See the recent fiasco with the Gulf Stream service. CSX basically wanted Amtrak to pay BILLIONS to restore rail service to Mobile that consists of TWO trains a day despite the fact that Amtrak already paid to expand the infrastructure decades ago when they were running the Sunset Limited to Jacksonville. It would be better for the government to straightup purchase the ROW outright than to keep paying into this scam RRs are running. That is what Virginia did with CSX in 2019.
There are so many rail trails that they could reactivate as purely Amtrak lines in a lot of busy metro areas. this would be the number one thing they could do to improve service
Perhaps, but the same issue exists of cost, to reactivate and maintain the line. Also a number of rail trails are actually still owned by freight railroads, who would be reluctant to part with them on the off chance in the future they are needed. And of course you have pushback from the rail trail lobbies and the NIMBY's who live along the right-of-way. Some people would rather have a free bike trail, than a railroad that costs to ride.
And those lines in Metro areas go behind someone's house. NIMBY problem.
@@potblack6043 Private RRs are more than happy to sell underused ROW. Virginia just purchased 380 miles of ROW from CSX.
Those places are fertile ground for maglev (medium speed)
Car and plane industry doesn't want them to be fast
Regular people too, unfortunately. Car-centricism is deeply ingrained in so many people's minds.
The best solution is nationalization of main passenger railway lines infrastructures, with passenger and freight private companies running on its in their own slots, with proper rules. The criteria must be that slower trains must always free the path for faster ones, independently from track's owning.
that is the right answer but the trick is getting anyone right of center to play along with "socialism"
@@mitchellb4551 there's nothing of socialist in my proposal, is more open than actual system, that is monopolistic, to concurrency.
@@d1234as any American right of center will "nationalization" and assume you are a "socialist" (used incorrectly but they don't care) and then proceed to cuss you out and raise their taxes and give to "the man". especially today when the cost of living and practical things like eggs are more expensive than ever. they will argue for not spending to magically bring the prices back down (the pheseabilty of this be dammed)
If US really want to cut their Carbon emissions, They should reduce cars traffic and turn to more trains... Electric Trains has been well know other parts of world compared to EV
First those trains would have to actually be electric. So many are diesel in the US
100%
I mean.. even grouping tens to hundreds of cars worth of people onto a single diesel powered train would be more fuel efficient than give everyone their own co2 spouting box on wheels.
@@sheevone4359 it'd be better for them to be electric, but even if they aren't, just having diesel could still make an impact because that's still significantly better than cars.
@Nico Kelly indeed even that would be better
Just build 2 more tracks, work together to build and replace old tracks for higher speeds. Reason why the NEC works perfectly is because it has more than 1 track and mostly 4 which can allow heavy traffic
This completely ignores the fact that the NEC connects Boston, NYC, Philly and DC, AKA four large metro areas with some of the best public transit systems and easily the best walkability in the country. The NEC's popularity is not solely because of trackage; if anything, it has more trackage for the reasons previously mentioned. A train station that functions as a park-and-ride is only so useful.
Try convincing the freight rail companies that own most of Amtrak's rails to do that.
I’d think building 2 more tracks falls under the “massive capital investment” they don’t have money for. Good idea though
Your totally overlooking the fact it costs on average 1 million $/mile to install new track. Which means it ain't gonna happen
@@skyking6989 It can if the will is there. Virginia purchased half the ROW from CSX from DC to the NC state border. The goal is to double train service within the state and introduce new higher speed rail service to Raleigh. In other words, it's happening (in VA).
This was a much more fair look at the issue than I expected from the WSJ, so good job to the journalists. There's so much more to this issue than just the freight companies interfering with operations, but I understand they wanted to make this a short video.
It's funny, though, getting the freight RR response where they basically say they're doing nothing wrong. Of course they would never admit to doing any wrong! First off, that would essentially be admitting to acting against the law. Second, that would be a PR nightmare to essentially admit to screwing over rail passengers across the country.
Thanks to WSJ for covering this issue, though. I'm glad to see more reporting on rail issues that take a look at the actual problems, rather than trying to blame amtrak for everything.
2:50 what that statistic *also* misses is that they spend the same amount on stock dividends, meaning that they spend as much on exepnses as they do on "free gifts to people who gae us money maybe a decade ago.
Your local store also pays its owner a % of what it makes as a dividend....
Dividends are not “free gifts” they are a share of profits that owners are entitled to
@@jackfrancis107 I'm just saying, if Class I's said to their investors that they're gonna reduce their dividends by half, or even a quarter, that's $5 billion more they could spend on improving infrastructure over the entire united states.
@@meganegan5992 investments need to yield results. Companies pay dividends when there are not highly profitable projects to develop.
@@jackfrancis107 they literally are not entitled to it. the only thing they have rights to is the share price, which they took the risk in buying
To obtain financial freedom, one must either be a business owner, an investor or both, generating passive income, particularly on a weekly and monthly basis .that's the key to living a financially stable life. This trick has never failed.I pray that anyone who reads this will be successful in life and put this basis to work and practice
you've remind me of what someone once said "The mind is the man, the poor is in it and the rich is it too".
This sentence is the secret of most successful investors.
and i most tell you the truth.investment is the key that can secure your family future.
You are right and it's the truth 👍
That's true , In-vesting in bit coin now is the best thing to do especially with the current state in the market
In 1991 Amtrak discontinued the Chicago-Valparaiso, Indiana commuter train. It took an average of 2 hours to go the 55 miles. Indiana commuters drove North to catch the South Shore trains which ran on company owned tracks in conjunction with the NICTD. Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. Still operating today, the SSSBRR provides a convenient transport into Chicago from the Northern Indiana suburbs.
My friends, there are 2 sides to every story! In the 1980's when globalism was shutting down the American factories, freight lines were shutting down thousands of miles of *RIGHT OF WAY* railroad lines, Amtrak made absolutely NO ATTEMPT to buy them! They became such an eyesore with no landscaping and out of control growth that municipalities and state governments began converting them into nature trails all over the country!
If you are upset with the freight lines and demand they give priority to passengers, don't start blaming them when your UPS, FedEx Ground & USPS start delivering your orders late, because that is exactly what is going to happen. Unlike Amtrak, freight lines were built and maintained with private money, the idea they have to give priority because Amtrak didn't take action when they could've is ludacris!
Amtrak cost more sometimes and slower. Example, when I flew south West to lake Tahoe/ Reno in June 2020, it was $ 49 one way. Return trip via Amtrak bus/ train $98 one way , took f$##ing 9 hours+ transit time.
Yeah, it's expensive to run under capacity. Solving delays will go a long way towards increasing ridership and reducing the cost per ticket.
The narrator said that little has changed about the rail network over the last 50 years, and the reporter said that freight railroads don't want to give up capacity. But actually, the major change in the rail network over the last 50 years is freight railroads doing just that- reducing capacity via closing redundant routes, or maintaing them to 10 mph standards, and eliminating double (or more) tracked rights of way in favor of single track with inadequate siding capacity.
Metro North between CT and NYC was always running so late on the expected times for so long, that they just set times to be longer. But they didn't account for the cutting times for connection trains to the rest of the state. All because they just don't invest in the tracks. They had huge accident (many people died) that could have been avoided had they installed specific safety equipment. But it was voluntary and they gave a bigger bonus to the CEO that year when they passed.
The last time i used long-distance transportation i went for a plane instead of amtrak. The route i used was kansas city to chicago. Originally its an 8 hour trip, but after a bridge fire and among other things, it makes us have to go towards st.louis for a train change, then go up towards chicago. But it was so bad that on the way back, there was a train derailment or something- it made us stuck for 4 hours in the middle of missouri. That, sucked, and it made me take to the skys for an hour and a half, instead of on rails for the whole day
Freight rail companies need to be held accountable
Moving freight efficiently, like moving passengers is a public need. We have let private freight companies profit from the dismantling of an efficient freight network for too long. The freight companies interests should not be considered. If freight companies refuse to schedule their trains, insist on minmaxing the rail network at the cost of capacity and reliability, and are consistently ceding freight mode share to trucks, then the class 1s should be released from their responsibility in favor of a nationalized freight network with as little compensation for the class 1s as legally possible
Must be so frustrating for the Conductors and customer service reps. I work for a passenger ferry boat system in San Francisco Bay and we take being on time seriously. Our customers appreciate that.
Well as a railroad employee in Savannah, GA. That line from Savannah to Atlanta which stops in Macon is all unsignaled territory from Savannah to Macon and the top speed is only 49 mph. So you can expect delays there daily if they run that way
Without seeing this. The answer is due to freight trains.
The tracks should be owned and regulated by the govt and the RR companies can operate on them for cargo and commercial travel. Just like the skies.
Thats not how it works... The skies are not owned by the government...
@@danielchou5895 correct, sounds silly. I mean in the sense of federal airspaces.
That’s how it works in Europe.
The government could make an offer to buy the rails... Right, just compensation for taking of private property?
@@JamesSmith-ij8nj That would cost billions of dollars and no railroad would accept the offer. RRs earn more money than offered...
Let’s turn Amtrak into an operator instead of a for-profit company and nationalized the tracks and upgrade them to make them run faster!
Amtrak is a non profit government corporation like the usps
AMTRAKs problem is freight gets priority so this causes all the delays which makes passengers not take amtrak who otherwise might.
Let's turn your house or apartment into a migrant shelter or halfway house. Sounds effective and solves a problem.
@@QuizmasterLaw Amtrak's problem is it is a squatter on other businesses property. The service really only exists in 1972 to keep the Metroliner/Acella, Boston and Philly Harrisburg lines open for the political class. They have to make a show of service in other states or Congressmen would cut them off due to their heavy home pork diet.
@@STho205 The Acela and other NEC lines are profitable, the only profitable Amtrak lines in the entire country. They bring in billions in revenue every year. They are the only lines that didn't need any bailing out, and they currently pay for the rest of the Amtrak network.
Every time a freight train illegally makes an Amtrak train wait, the freight company should have to refund the ticket price of all the passengers.
The freight trains have nothing to refund. They didn't sell the tickets; Amtrak did lol. Good luck moving that idea forward.
Old engines, old passenger cars, old rails, 100 year old bridges, and uncooperative freight companies.
It's amazing that the most technically advanced country in the world is still using train tech from the 1800's. Meanwhile much poorer counties like Spain have modern, fast and safe train systems.
USA is not advanced
There used to be like at least five times as many rail routes in the USA, but Americans decided that cars and trucks are the only good way to travel or move goods. So many railroads went out of business and tore up their tracks in the process. The right-of-ways are mostly still clear, unfortunately unlike the Interstate system the government’s never gonna pay to put those rails back. Murrica.
The amount of lobbying against railroads from Tire and Automobile companies also killed many short lines and regional routes.
Don't forget airlines. As rail companies built, maintained and paid tax on their lines, airlines had governments build airports all over.
Airlines and cars and trucks are better and more efficient go cope.
@@warlordop713 cars and trucks are not more efficient lol
@@EthanL21800 Yes they are for sure
Passenger trains make sense in relatively short, high-density corridors, where expansion of the airways and highways is cost prohibitive, i.e., Boston to Washington, D.C.; LAX to San Diego, Chicago to Milwaukee, etc. There are other corridors where passenger trains could be a good alternative to driving, i.e., Dallas to San Antonio, Tucson to Phoenix, etc.
The Sunset Limited, which is one of Amtrak's 15 long-distance trains, makes no sense. Like the others, it is a once-a-day train, or in the case of the Sunset Limited, once every three days, that calls on many markets in the middle of the night or the wee hours of the morning.
The freight carriers that host Amtrak's long-distance trains don't have an economic incentive to give Amtrak's trains priority. Amtrak only reimburses them for the marginal cost of hosting its passenger trains. If Amtrak paid the freight railroads the fully allocated cost of hosting its trains, it would probably get a better outcome.
Running 15 long-distance trains is a political outcome. If Amtrak could get rid of the long-distance trains, it could use its limited resources to expand the existing corridors, as well as develop new ones. Unfortunately, the politicians won't allow rational thinking when it comes to passenger rail in the United States. Who would have guessed?
A well-reasoned and well-outlined answer. I read a Reddit comment once that described Amtrak's long distance routes as "land cruises for senior citizens", subsidized in part by revenues generated from Amtrak's Northeast Corridor operations. They don't make a whole lot sense the way things are currently organzied with Amtrak.
That's not true. Both NEC and long distance services are subsidized. The NEC most of all as it requires huge infusions of capital funding to keep it going. There is currently a huge maintenance backlog most notably the Hudson tunnels which is in dire need of repair/replacement. In fact, the amount of funds required to bring the NEC to a state of good repair can fund expansions of long distance rail many times over. In other words, canceling long distance rail is barely going to make a dent to improve its capital needs in the NEC.
As to existing corridors, Outside the NEC Amtrak is pretty much completely reliant on State funding and support. State supported routes consists of HALF of Amtraks passengers, and States are responsible for funding these routes. Not only do these routes carry the most passengers and have the most growth in ridership, it is a lot more cost effective to fund them than the NEC.
@@taoliu3949 At long last, in FY22 Amtrak began showing the fully allocated cost for its three service line, i.e., NEC, state corridors, and long-distance.
In FY22, on a fully allocated cost basis, which includes depreciation, interest, and miscellaneous capital charges, the NEC had a profit of $1 million. The state corridor trains had a loss of $185 million, while the long-distances trains had a loss of $563 million. The losses for the state corridor trains does not factor in the state subsidies.
The impact of the infrastructure upgrades on the NEC's financlal outcomes will depend on the cost, funding mechanisms, timing of the expenditures, and ability of the carrier to raise fares to cover them.
Those that point to the need for the NEC infrastructure improvements seem to assume that they have to be done at once. That is not true.
Amtrak's long-distance trains incurred a combined operating loss of more thant $1.9 billion for the four years ended September 30, 2022. They have never come close to covering their operating expenses, and they never will. If it were not for the politics, no reasonable management team would argue for their continuance.
@@paulsmith3820 That "profit" of $1 million does not include the literal BILLIONS of dollar it is asking for to bring the NEC back to good repair. Amtraks own audit from 2020 states that it requires $42B to restore the NEC to a state of good repair.
@@taoliu3949 A future expenditure is not a factor in current operating and/or fully allocated financial results.
Amtrak's estimeate of the amount of money to required to bring the NEC up to "standards" is a wish list. Whether all the projects really need to be done is problematic. Moreover, depending how the projects are scheduled, which is likely to be over many years, the hit to Amtrak's NEC financials will be spread out for 30 to 50 years.
This makes me so upset because I like riding the train and wish long distance train travel was more affordable and more successful
Depends on the route depends on where you're going from point a to point B
Most of the long distance journeys you will find that Amtrak shares right away with the major freightlines and they have priority
We need Brightline in more of the country.
Can they focus on further building the northeast and trying to get small amounts of tracks?
Amtrak is a thing of the past. Most rail passenger services occur within state boundries.
On the West Coast, from Seattle to San Diego, and back, there are only three trains per WEEK. And, of course, often late. A new route with new track is needed, out of the mountains (it's wonderful to be 'scenic,' but it takes 12 HOURS to get from Sacramento to Eugene, OR). No wonder people fly or drive.
After spending several weeks traveling in the EU by train last summer, it's clear why, in the age of planes, passenger trains won't work here except in certain routes (NE corridor for example). The country is big and traveling by plane is cheap--often cheaper--than rail.
Amtrak is on life support b/c the politicians don't have the guts to go ahead and kill it off. Rode on Amtrak from Chi to Seattle to SF and back and I'd rather have spent the time in prison. The accommodations were third-world, the food was about what you'd get at an out-of-the-way gas station (despite the fancy brochures), and the showers were filthy by FEMA natural disaster standards. Won't do that again.
Even in Europe you don't ride trains long distance except for maybe overnight trains. Most trips are within 400~500 miles. Chicago to Seattle is 2000 miles, nobody is going to ride trains for that distance even in Europe. People will however ride trains from Chicago to St Louis, or from Srattle to Portland.
I was on the Amtrak derailment in Missouri in June, it makes me sad that it was barely given any attention
Did you get a settlement?
The freight companies are trying to build goodwill and play innocent because they're spending $20 billion on maintenance, but really that's not even close to enough to keep the rails in good shape.
Meanwhile the freight companies are running trains too long to be compatible with sharing the tracks with Amtrak to save a buck. Oh, and denying their crews even unpaid time off. Record profits, people losing out. A tale as old as time.
Spain, and France, have high speed rail links, an impressive means of transportation, smooth and comfortable, at up to 310 kph, from the heart of Paris to Madrid.
Give the railroad companies the obligation to provide sidings long enough for their freight trains would be the first step…
not one mention of "precision scheduled railroading"
"It is essential that we work together, now that after several decades, you are no longer letting us be unilaterally unreasonable."
Amtrak needs it's on trackage... We need to work on Amtrak having some of its own track it that way you won't have to worry about what a freight railroad company says does or dictates...
That will only cost a Trillion, or so...
@@HardRockMaster7577 or, an emergency nationalisation...
@@HardRockMaster7577 they can start off with small sections City to City... Or one route at a time ... We send that much money overseas every couple years...
The government just needs to switch up its priorities and work on the people...
Can we fix the issue of all the sleepers on long distance train cost way too much?
And honestly, the American railroad industry should learn from Russia in many aspects, as they have super cheap sleepers, extensive long distance passenger train network while their freight operation is nice in the meantime
Sleepers are equivalent to first class on Amtrak. Only way to make them cheaper is to introduce shared cars. And honestly, Amtrak hasn't even saturated the overnight services. Many 8~12 hour corridors perfect for overnight trips are still underutilized.
@@taoliu3949 yeah, what they offer now is way too luxurious
@@Clippercarduser That's not really an issue if the demand is there. Not to mention sleepers does have a market, I just feel like Amtrak is not making full use of it. Sleepers are perfect for 8~12 hour corridors where people can get a full night's rest between their destinations. Not saying Amtrak is screwing up as they have a shoe string budget, but there's a lot of missed opportunities out there.
@@taoliu3949 given that greyhound does operate quite a lot of overnight buses, it’s not a question that overnight transportation does have a market in the us, but Amtrak for some reason is just not offering any product in this sector
@@Clippercarduser That's probably why Amtrak only does private rooms. They offer a level of luxury buses can't match. Until they can increase overnight trips to speeds that beats buses, I don't think it's going to change much.
Just see the amount of investment into amtrack and compare it with building and maintaining highways you'll figure out the reason behind it
highways are far more expensive to build and maintain than rail projects!
@@marcoroberts9462 so maybe let's build more trains instead of wasting that money on highways
China : Zoom Zoom High Speed Rail
USA: Choo Choo Train
Problem with Amtrak is that is so expensive near where I am.
things need to change
As a central Florida resident I love the Auto Train. If only trains were better here in the US…
If you draw a line from San Antonio, Texas straight north to Canada, 80% of the U.S. population lives to the east of that line & only 20% of the population lives to the west of that line.
Best of luck Amtrak! ❤
Amtrak needs to lay their own track.
I’m not a communist, but we can give train powers to the government. Tell them they can afford the expense if they take money from road maintenance and tolls. People won’t trash trains anymore!🎉
Yup, it's a dispatching problem. Essentially every other country uses public-sector dispatchers (and every other country is not communist). US roads, airways, and waterways are all publicly controlled and don't have any of the same issues that rail has allowing multiple carriers to share the same lanes.
Once tracks are actually required to serve passenger trains, with real penalties for delays, even private track owners would be incentivised to invest in infrastructure upgrades like electrification and straightening.
Whereas anyone in, say, Italy, can catch a train to pretty much anywhere in the entire country on a fairly good schedule for a decent fare. When they aren't on strike. Sad we dropped passenger rail so long ago
Upgrading to ETCS would basically solve the problem in Software with fixed block sizes.
All true; plus you still cannot get a direct train from Chicago to Miami and haven't been since 1976.
same in india
Took amtrack once and I will never do it again
This is why we need railway nationalization. Government owns the tracks, private companies and Amtrak/Conrail run the trains. A state-owned service is not a bad thing if it means that it creates better service between cities that no other railroad wants to pursue. At the end of the day owning the tracks will allow the government to do things that the freight companies were unwilling to do for decades: electrify, upgrade sidings and improve tracks, and run better signalling systems.
Just get a car.
@@JohnSmith-bx5fg And sit in traffic for several hours? No way, that is why people like taking the train across the country. They may be delayed but they still have amazing food on board.
Time to end the "precision" "scheduled" barely railroading BS implemented by the Class I freight rail companies.
Also, nationalize the tracks. You know, just like what the rest of the world has done.
@Zaydan Alfariz you’d be surprised to learn that the Class 1s that own the lines are also terrible at maintaining the tracks
Nah. Its better privatized. Stop trying to be „like the restof the world” and focus what is the best
@@ling636 and that mindset is what made the US railway system disintegrate into the clusterf*** it is today.
Nowhere to go but up.
@@EthanL21800 Yes, terrible, just look at the multiple derailments, DAILY..
Well maintained rails are important to the safe transit of goods, do you really think rail companies don't want safe rails?
Disingenuous arguments hurt more then help your cause.
build new track instead of nationalization
Even though I love trains, the most that I hate is Amtrak because it runs on rails that freight company owns
Same reason this is an issue in Mexico and Brazil and other countries in North and South America
2:43 "Improving" lol
That is a lie. Freight rail companies rarely spend any money on track maintenance. Nor do they ever spend money on any stuff that would really matter like building new trackage. I remember when there use to be 4 tracks on the main line (2 for freight North/Southbound, and 2 for passengers), but after the mergers in their everloving wisdom they ripped up almost all of the "excess" trackage just so they could report a bigger profit year for stockholders. Now look where they are.
Railroad capacity issues now are because since 1960, many railroads tore up track of double and triple track main lines to save money on property taxes and maintenance. It would have been better to provide a tax break to encourage railroads to keep the additional tracks in mothballs for potential future needs. Main routes should be restored to at least double tracks to improve two-way traffic.
You can build parallel tracks on current mainlines capable of at least 110+mph service. You don't need a completely new ROW. Tracks "rattle" because you're running on tracks not suitable for higher speeds.
Glad I live in the northeast where speed is key
I used to live in Boston, and once made a trip to New York via Amtrak. It was an absolute joke, it took 5.5hrs. Can't imagine how bad it is in other parts of the country
It's 3:40 by car. Add a 45 min break, you are at 4.5 hrs. Traffic delays 1 hr. You are at 5.5 hrs. You can't sleep, relax, or do any work in your car. I'd say it's a good deal. It could be better, but it's not bad.
@@truthalonetriumphs6572 good point
@@truthalonetriumphs6572 it’s quicker by plane, however, you always have to factor in a delay, travel to and from the airport, and airport check in. The best thing about Amtrak to NYC is the stations is in Midtown West, and your not fighting traffic to get into Manhattan or paying 60 plus dollars for a taxi from JFK to Manhattan.
It's improved a lot since then. You can make the trip today in 3.5~4 hours.
You need a train service like in Sydney or Melbourne Australia
Americans are hooked to gas for their comfort of their own personal vehicles. Take that away for 2 days they will cry it is cruel and unusual punishment.
Literally at that point gas became an addiction when there’s a oil crisis blames it on the government even if it’s external factors + still running gas guzzling cars cause automotive manufacturers thought a couple of decades ago gas will be cheap
🥱
Being able to go where you want, when you want, is invaluable. Anyone would be correct to throw a conniption about having that taken.
Already have a plan with my ticket to ride board.
Everyone avoids the solution. Amtrak needs infrastructure funding to pay the freight railroads to extend sidings and add track and pay maintenance for additional Amtrak rail so the freight railroad can host Amtrak while running freight, dispatching and running both timely and efficiently. That's it.
Wendover and Armchair Urbanist both take a great in depth look at this. Congress has willfully allowed their own laws regarding rails to go toothless. Negotiating with private companies is not sustainable as they have a profit incentive. The rails should be nationalized and the freight companies should lease from the government.
Both have no idea about how politics or railroad ops work.
I think the best solution for Amtrak and the freight rail companies is to construct railroads dedicated to passenger trains as it is now the freight rail companies can always claim willingness to give passenger trains right of way, but use the excuse that their trains are simply too long to fit into the sidedings and this is also why I think that dragging the freight rail companies to court is just a waste of money and time for amtrak.
That's basically what Virginia is doing. They just purchased 380 miles of ROW from CSX to expand passenger rail services across the State. But that requires the States to be actually on board and doesn't apply to long distance lines that are not State supported.
Interesting
A real history of rail and government is special and enlightening.
Corruption is baked in from inception.
Feels like a dumb question but then would’ve been easily answered in the video and it wasn’t-how impossible would it be to lay another track that allowed freight and passenger rail to travel the lines simultaneously? I assume it may be expensive, but is it prohibitively expensive? Would it necessitate additional land purchase? It seems like a doomed setup to attempt to run them both on the same tracks indefinitely.
depending on the area the sheer cost won't be terrible, it's a question of who putting up the $$. the freight lines that run the current tracks don't have an interest too since they won't get anything out of it and the federal government is too hamstrung by bureaucratic and the gas/ oil lobby to put meaningful full money (thanks Biden for at least trying with BBB) toward the project. the best answer as of late has been the private angle with Brightline in Florida.
Not difficult at all. Many mainlines historically had 3 to 4 tracks to deconflict passenger and freight trains. What happened after deregulation was many of these extra tracks were torn up by the railroads to reduce costs. It would be significantly more cheaper to acquire underutilized ROW and build tracks than trying to acquire completely new ROW (property acquisition issues, grading, etc).
The issue is the lack of political will. Amtrak is operating on a shoestring budget that's mainly focused on the NEC. Outside the NEC the routes are reliant on State funding which ranges from not a lot to non-existent. That said, Virginia just recently purchased 380 miles of ROW from CSX as part of a $ 3.7B initiative. The goal is to double rail service throughout the state by 2030 with almost hourly trains running from DC to Richmind. If Virginia can do this, so can any other state but they don't.
Trying to figure out why Boston to Los Angeles is 86 hrs on Amtrak??
Why is it so much faster to drive?
Enact laws requiring no trains longer than available sidings. RR's can run shorter trains or build longer sidings.
Because trains are from the 19th Century and we invented a device that can route around hazards and inconveniences. We call it the "Aeroplane."
Well unlike all other passenger train services before it, Amtrak does not own the rail lines that it runs on. Where as if BNSF, Union Pacific, etc, had passenger rail service, it would be far more efficient and faster. Unfortunately due to changing times, the private railroad companies were out of the railroad passenger service sector by 1971.
Six years ago the rail service north of New York City seemed dangerous and barely able to run trains. I hope it is better today .
In America, we drive cars. We like to go other places than train station to train station
I take Amtrak to work. I love Amtrak and hope they invest in green energy to power their trains. Amtrak is essential for America and should be invested in year after year
Thought it was because of that chef guy in the movie under siege 2. Steven seagull?
This is like the government complaining it can't use the middle lane of roads as bus lanes. Ridiculous excuse, build more track
Instead of making route from coast to coast, Amtrak should split those into metro-to-metro. Running it at the regular rider's schedule. Leaving unprofitable long-haul for the airline.
Freight railroads should be forced to quad-track each of their lines that they share with Amtrak.
Better would be for governments to just purchase half the ROW outright and build their own two tracks. That's what VA is doing.