Click here to read The Rail Users Network letter to Congressman Peter DeFazio.
Click here for RUN’s recent letter to West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin in regard to proposed service cutbacks.
Click here for RUN’s recent letter to the West Virginia Governor Jim Justice in regard to proposed service cutbacks.
Click here for RUN’s recent petition to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration.
Click here for RUN’s statement on the future of the Adirondack Scenic Railway
Click here for RUN’s letter on the F.R.A.’s NEC Future Scoping Document
Click here (pdf) for RUN’s statement on the future of the Adirondack Scenic Railway (pdf)
RAIL USERS’ NETWORK BILL OF PARTICULARS AGAINST RICHARD ANDERSON (9/14, 2018)
Since becoming President of the National Railroad Passenger Corp. (Amtrak), Richard Anderson has made decisions and implemented policies to the detriment of the Corporation and its customers. These acts have threatened to destroy the existing Amtrak network, alienated constituencies whose support is vital to Amtrak, and severely reduced the sort of amenities and services that have attracted the public to rail travel. Here are some examples of these detrimental policies and decisions.
He has threatened to destroy the current national Amtrak train network, without justification and apparently without authority to do so.
This threat includes the proposed elimination of a number of trains, from Maine to California, which would not operate because of lack of Positive Train Control (PTC) on track over which such trains operate, despite a waiver of the PTC requirement over such tracks from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), which constitutes a determination by the FRA that it is safe to operate passenger trains on those segments of track.
This action would defy the lawful authority of the appropriate regulatory body, despite the fact that Amtrak is a quasi-governmental organization that is bound by appropriate legal authority.
This action would also defy the United States Congress, which has appropriated sufficient funds to ensure continued operation of the entire existing Amtrak network, and the United States Senate, which voted 95-4 to call for the continued operation of the entire Amtrak network.
The current plan could eliminate eight routes, one of which is a corridor route (the Downeaster), which travel through 23 states and comprise the only passenger trains in twelve of those states, except for local “commuter” lines.
Details of part of this plan have already been revealed: to discontinue the Southwest Chief as a through train between Chicago and Los Angeles and replace the center of its route between Dodge City, Kansas and Albuquerque, New Mexico, with an eleven-hour bus ride; a plan that would almost certainly result in the elimination of the entire route after a short time.
This plan would leave only three long-distance trains still operating from Chicago: the Lake Shore Limited to New York and Boston, the Capitol Limited to Washington, D.C. and the Empire Builder to Portland, Oregon and Seattle; a result that would truly destroy most of the national Amtrak network.
It would also render unlikely the survival of a number of State-supported trains that presently connect with trains that are slated for elimination.
He has alienated constituencies that have historically been supportive of passenger trains, and whose members have a history of riding trains on a regular basis; to the detriment of Amtrak’s future.
The “senior discount” has been reduced by one-third (from 15% to 10%) on riders 65 years of age or older, and eliminated completely for riders 62 to 64 years of age; thus discouraging seniors from riding trains, even though seniors have historically been a loyal constituency for rail travel.
The “student discount” has also been eliminated, thereby discouraging a loyal segment of riders from continuing to travel on Amtrak, both now and for the many years of their future adult lives.
There is now essentially a ban on charter trains and many of the opportunities for owners of private railcars to operate their cars on Amtrak trains; thereby alienating one of the wealthiest segments of our country’s population, which is one of the segments formerly most loyal to Amtrak and to rail travel. This policy was implemented on the pretext that adding such private cars to train consists delays Amtrak operations, although there is no evidence of any such delays.
He has demonstrated a lack of understanding of the differences between airline travel and rail travel, which has contributed to ill-conceived decisions that have discouraged riders in their efforts to travel on Amtrak instead of using other transportation modes, including airline travel.
He has eliminated dining car service on the Lakeshore Limited and Capitol Limited. Sleeping car passengers, who typically pay a premium fare, instead get box meals that they can consume in their rooms or in a special food service/lounge car. He has also issued a request for proposals to provide box breakfast, lunch and dinners on all of the long distance routes. This will not only undermine one of the wonderful features that makes train travel attractive and makes no financial sense since Amtrak has spent hundreds of million dollars to purchase 25 new Viewliner II Dining Cars which were originally ordered in 2010 and are now available for use. There will also be no more meal service for coach passengers for trips that can require more than 24 – 48 hours to complete, end to end. What food is still served on Amtrak is often not available for several hours before arrival at the train’s endpoint, which deprives customers of any opportunity to eat before arrival, and deprives Amtrak of the revenue that would be realized from food and beverage sales prior to final arrival. In many instances, trains were not stocked with sufficient food and beverages to satisfy the demand of customers; again depriving customers of food and drink, and depriving Amtrak of revenue.
Amtrak equipment is maintained poorly, with the result that some runs are delayed for seven hours or more, causing passengers to miss their connecting trains, and causing other passengers to miss their last opportunity to get home on the night of the scheduled arrival day, using local transit.
No passenger, no matter how knowledgeable about trains or about railroad operations, has any access to management personnel who possesses the authority to listen to, or perhaps implement, suggestions from affected passengers, with the result that Amtrak misses out on hearing suggestions that could result in improved convenience for riders and monetary savings for Amtrak.
New, restrictive cancellation policies that increase penalties and discourage customers from reserving seats or sleeping-car rooms, cause Amtrak to miss out on revenue that it used to earn far in advance of those customers’ days of travel. This impairs the desirably of Amtrak as a mode of transportation, and reducing Amtrak’s competitiveness with other transportation modes.
Equipment consists are often too short on long-distance trains to satisfy customer demand, thereby turning away revenue customers and costing Amtrak the revenue that such customers could bring to Amtrak. This is compounded by the lack of a system for counting how many potential customers are turned away from trains that are sold out, which ensures that Amtrak will not be able to make optimal use of existing equipment for satisfying the demand for transportation that Amtrak offers.
There are no more ticket agents at a number of stations, with the result that customers using those stations are inconvenienced and some may be discouraged from traveling on Amtrak in the future. Such eliminations have left customers stuck in dangerous places in the middle of the night, resulting in a threat to the safety and security of those customers (Cincinnati is the worst example).
There are no more printed timetables, which makes it difficult for actual and potential riders to access train schedules. This inconveniences potential riders, discourages the public from traveling on Amtrak, and sacrifices revenue that could come from potential riders seeing timetables.
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For more info please contact Richard Rudolph, Ph.D., Chairman, Rail Users’ Network rrudolph1022@gmail.com or call 207-776-4961
Rail Users’ Network Vote of No Confidence in Amtrak President Richard Anderson
September 14, 2018
Hon. Bill Shuster
Chairman, House Transportation Committee
Dear Congressman Shuster,
We are writing on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Rail Users’ Network which represents the interest of all rail passengers – long distance, commuter and rail transit riders, to convey our concerns regarding the performance of Richard Anderson, the new President of the National Passenger Rail Corporation (Amtrak). At our most recent Board Meeting (September 8, 2018) the Board unanimously adopted a resolution of no confidence and requested that the appropriate House and Senate Transportation Committees conduct hearings regarding his actions which are threatening the very existence of the national train network without justification and apparently without authority to do so. (see note below).
At various forums, he has indicated a preference for a corridor strategy between city pairs and reducing daily service on some of the national routes to three days a week. At the April California Rail Passenger Summit, for example, President Anderson quoted Title 49 U.S. Code Section 24101 as justification for his actions making it sound like his corridor strategy is mandated by this law. He maintained that the mission of Amtrak is to provide efficient and effective intercity passenger rail mobility consisting of high quality service between city pairs. His claim, however, for what he is doing is not true. Nothing forces a focus on 300-400 mile corridors. As defined in Title 49 United States Code Section 24102(4) “intercity rail passenger transportation” means rail passenger transportation, except commuter rail passenger transportation. If implemented Anderson’s strategy would be extremely harmful to the health of the national network. Instead of cutting some routes back to tri-weekly, we should be making sure ALL routes are daily! A passenger should not have to consult a calendar to see if the _______
Public Law 210-432 Division B Section 228(b) states: It is the sense of the Congress that (1) long-distance passenger rail is a vital and necessary part of our national transportation system and economy and (2) Amtrak should maintain a national passenger rail system, including long-distance routes, that connects the continental United States from coast to coast and from border to border. 49 USC 24701. National rail passenger transportation system also states: Amtrak shall operate a national rail passenger transportation system which ties together existing and emergent regional rail passenger service and other intermodal passenger service.
journey he/she intends to make operates on a particular day jof the week! While it could be wonderful to introduce another daily frequency between shorter distance city pairs such as Chicago to St. Paul / Minneapolis or Chicago to Denver, but not if it means short changing passengers living in remote areas of the nation where there are few mobility options available for traveling from their communities to other places in the United States. His plan would also render unlikely the survival of a number of State-supported trains that presently connect with trains that his plan targets for elimination.
President Anderson has also revealed a plan to discontinue the Southwest Chief as a through train between Chicago and Los Angeles and replace the center of its route between Dodge City, Kansas and Albuquerque, New Mexico, with an eleven-hour bus ride; a plan that would almost certainly result in the elimination of the entire route after a short time. He has also proposed the elimination of a number of trains because of the lack of Positive Train Control on track over which these trains operate in spite of a waiver that the Federal Railroad Administration has issued. By doing so, he is not only defying the lawful authority of the appropriate regulatory body, but also the U.S. Congress which has appropriated sufficient funds to ensure continued operation of the entire existing Amtrak network, and the United States Senate, which voted 95-4 to call for the continued operation of the entire Amtrak network.
Because of the many detrimental actions, in-actions and recommendations which are stated above as well as the other items listed in the attached Bill of Particulars, we respectfully request that Mr. Anderson’s competency be evaluated by the House Transportation Committee before the national rail passenger system further deteriorates and current ridership as well as future growth is destroyed. As a very important part of the national transportation picture, passenger rail should be provided the necessary funding and oversight so generously given to the other modes of transportation that is essential to our nation’s economic vitality. Passenger rail must never again be allowed to be so diminished in this country. It must be enhanced and given the opportunity it deserves to once again unite communities large and small along its current and envisioned new routes.
Sincerely,
Richard Rudolph, Ph.D., Chairman, Rail Users’ Network
211 Ocean Ave., Portland, ME. 04103; rrudolph1022@gmail.com; 207-776-4961