Amtrak Ridership Hits Record High Amid GOP Attack.

[elleng]

Source: nyt/ap

Amtrak says its trains carried 31.2 million passengers in the fiscal year ending in September, the highest annual ridership since the railroad was formed in 1971.

The nation's intercity passenger railroad said ridership grew 3.5 percent over the past 12 months compared with the previous budget year, and ticket revenue jumped 6.8 percent to a best ever $2.02 billion.

Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman said the numbers show there is "an undeniable demand to travel by rail."



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/10/09/us/politics/ap-us-amtrak-record-passengers.html?hp

[Kennah]

1. Here's hoping TSA doesn't start jamming probes up the asses of train riders

[AllyCat]

9. That's why we take it instead of flying.

I'm not about to let my family be irradiated or groped.

[Speck Tater]

2. I rode Amtrak from Oregon to North Carolina last year.

It was a lot of fun. I got to spend a day in D.C. and half a day in Chicago. I'd like to take more Amtrak vacations.

[freshwest]

4. Could you tell me, how much did that run? I'd like to go from WA. to CT.

[AllyCat]

10. Last year, our family of 4 took part of that route (Empire Builder-Capital Limted)

from WI to VA. Round trip for 4 people cost $700 (we did buy during a sale). Once in DC, we found another train that was going to get us to our final destination 2 hours sooner. We asked to change tickets. Cost? $9 for all 4 of us. See if an airline could do that.

Kids had a blast. Adults had some annoyances, but overall, it was awesome. Stopped in Chicago and found plenty to do on our layover. DC was springtime/cherry blossoms and we spent a couple hours stretching our legs after paying the in-station porter to hold our luggage for a few hours (that cost a couple bucks; totally worth it).

[freshwest]

17. Did you guys get a Pullman cabin, or whatever it's called now?

When I was a kid my mom got us a ride on the rail route from TX to GA and we had our own room to slept in. It had seats that turned into beds at night.

It sounds like you all had an unforgettable trip. I hope you took lots of pictures!

[AllyCat]

25. cabins were more expensive one way than the whole fare for all 4

What we found out is that you can ask the conductor when you get on the train if they have a cabin open. If there is anything that has not sold, they sometimes will let you have it for a nominal fee (word in the aisles was anywhere from $30-50) but it was spring break and nothing was available when we went. If you sleep in the seats, you'll want a back support or something (I brought a bolster). The seats tip back much more than on a plane, but not flat like a bed. Seats are big though and you have room to move around.

If I was doing a long, multi-day trip, I'd probably want a cabin.

[Speck Tater]

29. I got a sleeper room on a trip from Portland to L.A. a couple years ago

It was riding in the lap of luxury!
For my cross country trip I rode coach.
To be honest, I don't remember what the cost was. But you can go to the Amtrak web site and get a quote on any combination of starting points and destinations.

[happyslug]

37. My Sister takes the Empire Builder From Minnisota to Chicago, then the Capital Limited to Pittsburgh

She does this during Christmas, Thanksgiving and the 4th of July. I joke she gets only ONE week of Vacation each year, but she is given paid time off when her boss closes his business for the weeks (The Week of Thanksgiving, 4th of July and the two weeks of Christmas and New Years). In effect she gets 5 weeks off per year.

She catches the Empire builder and then wait the six hours or so before the Capital Limited is ready to leave for DC. When she returns Amtrak sets up the trains so it is about a four hour wait between the time Amtrak hits Chicago from DC and the Empire Builder leaves for the West.

She has had some problems over the years. During the Flooding of the Upper Mississippi a few years ago, they would stop the train at Minneapolis and Amtrak set up buses to take people to Chicago from Minneapolis and from the various stops in between. When the Empire Builder was snowed in one year, she had to catch a bus. Another time the train only ran to Minneapolis. One time her train was late (Amtrak is late more due to problems with the Freight railroad they on operating on then due to any problems with Amtrak) and Amtrak put her up in Chicago and put her on the next train (Amtrak will try to hold a train IF the incoming train will get in within a hour or so of the outgoing train leaving, but any later it just causes problems with other connections). During one return trip out of Pittsburgh, the line was so tied up her connection was cancelled (due to snow) and she had to wait three days to get another train (She was doing this during the Christmas period, and the trains were booked solid).

Yes, she has had some problems, but as a whole she has liked it. Her discussion with the train crew indicates that occurs mostly on the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter Holidays. Spring break is a lesser problem. Weekends (Including Fridays and Mondays) tend to be busier then Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. During the Major Holidays, and some weekends, Amtrak is booked solid for Amtrak has no real excess capacity. Amtrak can increase ridership even more, but needs more equipment (more cars and engines) to do so. The increase over the last few years is people going on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for they can not get on the train Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday.

As to Seattle Washington to Maine, you have to take the Empire Builder to Chicago, a 45 hour, 15 minute trip. On that Amtrak and I agree, but when I went to the Amtrak Web Site it says to wait only 2 hours and 50 minutes and take the Cardinal to DC, a 23 hour, 21 minute trip, then wait four hours to take the Northeast Regional for 10 hours till it reaches Boston, then you have one hour and 10 minutes to go from The back Bay Station in Boston to the North Station in Boston (an 8 minute Trip) to catch Downeaster which goes to Portland Maine.

http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak

The Cardinal goes Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Charleston WV then DC. The above trip, Seattle to Portland ran from $279 to $425 depending on when you were leaving. The Closer to a Holiday the higher the fare. Please note if you order far enough in advance, you will get the lowest fare, as the trains reaches its full capacity Amtrak raises the rates. $279 was the week before Halloween, $425 was the day before Thanksgiving.

Now, when I went to the Amtrak site and typed in Seattle and DC, it gave me four options,

Option #1, 11 Coast Starlight....Seattle to Sacramento $357

Departs: 9:45 AM...Tue Jan 22 2013...Seattle, WA (SEA)
Station News Arrives: 6:15 AM...Wed Jan 23 2013...Sacramento, CA (SAC)...
Duration: 20 hr, 30 min

Then to take train # 6 California Zephyr, Sacramento to Chicago

Departs: 11:09 AM...Wed Jan 23 2013...Sacramento, CA (SAC)
Arrives: 2:50 PM...Fri Jan 25 2013....Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)
Station News
Duration: 49 hr, 41 min

Then to take Train # 30 Capitol Limited from Chicago to DC

Departs: 6:10 PM...Fri Jan 25 2013...Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)
Station News Arrives: 12:40 PM...Sat Jan 26 2013...Washington, DC - Union Station (WAS)

Option #2, Seattle to LA to New Orleans to DC $402

Train # 11 Coast Starlight

Departs: 9:45 AM...Tue Jan 22 2013...Seattle, WA (SEA)...Station News
Arrives: 9:00 PM...Wed Jan 23 2013...Los Angeles, CA - Union Station (LAX)
Duration: 35 hr, 15 min


Train # 2 Sunset Limited

Departs: 10:00 PM...Wed Jan 23 2013...Los Angeles, CA - Union Station (LAX)
Arrives: 9:40 PM....Fri Jan 25 2013....New Orleans, LA (NOL)
Duration: 45 hr, 40 min

Train # 20 Crescent

Departs: 7:00 AM...Sat Jan 26 2013....New Orleans, LA (NOL)...
Arrives: 9:53 AM....Sun Jan 27 2013....Washington, DC - Union Station (WAS)
Station News
Duration: 25 hr, 53 min

Option #3 Seattle Chicago DC $212
Train # 8 Empire Builder

Departs: 4:40 PM...Tue Jan 22 2013...Seattle, WA (SEA)...Station News
Arrives: 3:55 PM....Thu Jan 24 2013....Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)
Duration: 45 hr, 15 min

Train # 30 Capitol Limited

Departs: 6:10 PM...Thu Jan 24 2013....Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)
Arrives: 12:40 PM....Fri Jan 25 2013...Washington, DC - Union Station (WAS)
Duration: 17 hr, 30 min

Option #4, Seattle Chicago, DC via Cincinnati $212

8 Empire Builder

Departs: 4:40 PM...Tue Jan 22 2013....Seattle, WA (SEA)
Arrives: 3:55 PM...Thu Jan 24 2013...Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)

Duration: 45 hr, 15 min

Train # 50 Cardinal

Departs: 5:45 PM...Thu Jan 24 2013....Chicago, IL - Union Station (CHI)
Arrives: 6:06 PM.....Fri Jan 25 2013.....Washington, DC - Union Station (WAS)
Duration: 23 hr, 21 min

Once at DC you can decide to take any of the Northeast Trains. You have the choice of 18, for 3:15 AM to 10:00 PM, From $167 to $279. The Acela high speed train tend to be higher, but the 1:00 pm was $167, the same as the northeast regional train.

Northeastern Schedule:
http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/118/785/Boston-Springfield-DC-Schedule-070212,0.pdf


From Boston you have five trains to Portland leaving the North Station at the following times :05 am 11:05 am 5:00 pm 5:40 pm 11:20 pm

Northeastern Schedule:
http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/414/770/W03,1.pdf

I can come up with a fifth route, From Chicago you take the Capital Limited to Pittsburgh and the depart, Then take the Pennsylvanian to Philadelphia and catch the Northeast Corridor trains to Boston. The problem, is while it is faster to go from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia then to DC, once you on the train, if you include the layover in Pittsburgh it is much longer.

I recommend the Capital Limited to DC, it is the cheapest, shortest and quickest route. On the other hand, I can make the argument for the Empire Builder

I also would look into a Sixth Route, Chicago to Boston via Albany New York

448 Lake Shore Limited, The Empire builder arrives in Chicago at 3:55 pm, the Lake Shore Limited leaves at 9:30 pm.
22 hr, 33 min

You could make a round trip of it, Seattle to Chicago, to Boston via Albany, the return from Boston to DC, then to New Orleans, to LA back to Seattle. A long trip but doable.

Go to the Amtrak web site and play around with the routes, it gives you prices on the routes.
http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak

[athena]

34. I rode from NJ to FL round-trip twice.

We got a "roomette". For two people, it's about the same price as flying. Plus, you get all your meals for free, and they're good meals, prepared in a real kitchen. It takes 24 hours each way, which is great if you want a chance to catch up on your reading. It's much more pleasant than flying, which takes 6 hours when the trips to and from the airport are included. I can't wait to do it again.

[JDPriestly]

3. I love Amtrak. Love it, I tell you.

It's pretty crowded, but still you have room to sit comfortably and read -- and you don't have to wear a seatbelt and put your bag under the seat in front of you.

[AllyCat]

11. And no car seats for the kids! n/t

[JDPriestly]

13. Kids ride upstairs!

[Cha]

5. There should be some Obama-Biden Voters

in that group! The Pollsters should target them with candidate preferentials?

Thanks elleng

[SleeplessinSoCal]

6. Why are they out to privatize our best and finest? Seems vulture capitalistic to me.

[elleng]

8. Passenger transportation of any kind is very expensive,

usually due to need for labor 24/7 among other things. 'They' are looking for easy, sound bite 'solutions' to financial problems. No sane capitalist wants to provide passenger rail service. Railroads which did both freight and passenger gave it up in 1970.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak

[happyslug]

38. No one has EVER made money moving paying passengers

I have to use the term "Paying Passengers" for the old slave ships did make money shipping "Passengers" to the new world, but with that exception, Adam Smith in his book "The Wealth of Nations" made that observation AT THAT TIME and remains true today. When you hear of successful passenger service, it is either for a very short period of time, heavily subsidized or both.

Airplane service is an good example, air lines received direct subsidies from the Post Office from the 1920s to the 1940s. Afterward Airlines received indirect subsidies (Mail is ship on Passenger planes on a "Space available" basis, this permit the planes to fly with their cargo hold full, even if they have very few passengers). Similar indirect subsidies were provided by the Post Office to Streetcars and Buses when they were privately owned from 1900 to the 1960s. The Post Office could have dropped off its mail cheaper if it used its own trucks, but used Streetcar drivers and Bus Drivers to pick up and drop off mail not only to other Post Officers, but to Letter Carriers on their route by dropping the mail to be delivered in mail boxes on their route (Both the boxes that take mail, and the grey boxes you can NOT drop mail into). Till the 1970s, in many urban areas, Carriers were expected to get to their route by public transportation, the Post Office would buy them passes to do so. These streetcar and bus systems received the subsidy whether the carrier used the passes or not.

One study has found that if you removed the subsidies provided by the Government in the form of building Airports, none of the Air Lines have EVER made money. People do NOT really value what it costs to move them about and for that reason will NOT pay what it costs to move them about.

If you look at the old Interurban Streetcar system, once the local subsidy provided by the various towns along the right of way removed their subsidy (Given to the Interurban so they would provide an alternative to the Steam Locomotives Railways of the time period), most went bankrupt (The few that did not, did so by converting to Freight operations such as the Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad, "The Laurel Line" which converted to Freight only service in 1952).

You see this over and over again, Passenger Service, on its own, constantly failing unless they is some sort of subsidy. This may be a direct subsidy (government or other) or an indirect subsidy such as Freight carrying most of the costs, while passengers paying only for the additional costs relating to transporting them (How Ships paid for passenger service, even today you can get a cabin on a "Tramp Steamer" for the freighter already has to have a cook and sewards for the crew, so a few additional passengers is no real additional costs. Similar cross subsidies exist in other areas where passengers are being transported.

[elleng]

41. Right. Look at European passenger rail,

about which Americans rave. BritRail fails when it tries it on its own.

[AdHocSolver]

18. For the same number of passengers or quantity of freight transported...

...trains use far less oil than cars, trucks, and airplanes.

Similarly, operation and maintenance of infrastructure for trains is less than for those other modes of transportation.

Overall, train transportation is far less costly than cars, trucks, and airplanes.

Less cost means that trains are a very competitive form of transportation.

Competition means lower profits.

[happyslug]

39. But if you can have a lot of people who buy gasoline and pay gasoline taxes, Trucks are cheaper

Most roads today are built and maintained to be able to handle 80,000 pound trucks. Such trucks tear apart such roads for such trucks sheer weight put the roads under tremendous pressure. Even if you have the same amount of weight in cars and their passengers on the same road, because each car's wheel is putting way less then 80,000 pounds on the road, the cars will do a lot less damage to the road bed.

At the same time the gasoline taxes paid by such car drivers are used to make sure the roads can take 80,000 pound trucks. This is a cross subsidy to the trucking industry and even the Trucking industry knows it. This subsidy makes sure the Trucks do NOT pay for the wear and tear they do to the roads and thus keep them competitive with the railroads (Where no such cross subsidy exists).

Do to the almost 12% drop in gasoline sales in the US, the trucking industry is seeing the Highways they use deteriorate due to the lack of money to repair due to people using less gasoline. The proper solution would be to shift more cost of such maintenance onto the trucking industry, but the trucking industry is fighting that by yelling the hybrids and electric cars are the ones getting a free ride not them. To end this "Free Ride" of such hybrids and electric cars, the Trucking industry wants to shift the tax for road maintenance from fuels used to miles traveled. Even if the trucking industry pays more per mile in a miles traveled system, they would still get pay less then it costs to repair the damage they do to the roads.

I bring this up, for the trucking industry is subsidized and like most subsidized industries will fight to keep its subsidy for without it, it is not competitive.

[msongs]

7. will dems vote to kill it in the name of deficit reduction while the military rapes the budget? nt

[BVictor1]

12. And this is another organization that the republicans want to privatize.

The reason for Amtrak's existence is because of the bankruptcy of all the private operators and the fact that things hadn't been upgraded. Along with the explosion of air travel, there was a massive decline.

Amtrak is a wonderful way to travel. The ridership would be even higher if the average speed wasn't just 79 MPH.

When President Obama is re-elected, I'd like to see a major push for HSR.

Not everyone likes to fly and train travel is a nice way to see the country and relax.

Republicans are useless when regarding anything positive.

It's time to invest in our infrastructure.

[elleng]

14. Freight carriers didn't want the burden of passenger service,

and gave it over to the feds in '70. No sane capitalist wants to provide passenger rail service. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak

[cliffordu]

15. I travel long distance in exactly two different ways:

either by bicycle - about 1150 miles down the west coast from Seattle to San francisco in the last couple months,

Or by train.

San francisco - (Emeryville) to Salem, Oregon, to get back home from the bike tour, this weekend.


Best of all worlds.

Fuck the airlines. I will not be treated as cattle.

BY THE WAY:

The food is the worst in the world, but having a Bloody Mary with complete strangers in the dining car at 7am is a gas.

[kestrel91316]

30. When I took a 24 hr Amtrak trip back in 2003 I thought the meals in the dining car were excellent.

Not like a great restaurant, mind you, but quite enjoyable.

[Kennah]

16. My Dad retired from Amtrak, and he worked for the railroad before there was an Amtrak

Trains have always had a special place in my heart. They have to maintain their own infrastructure, whereas trucking companies just use the infrastructure the rest of us pay to maintain and build.

I wonder whether we wouldn't be better off if the federal government nationalized the rail infrastructure and regulated the flow, much in the same way that the FAA regulates civilian aviation.

[elleng]

19. Rail transportation has been DEregulated over the years,

including 'the flow.' (I USED to be one of the regulators.) Rail infrastrucure VERY expensive to nationalize and maintain. No one WANTS to provide passenger service; very expensive. Rail carriers persuaded govt. to take over passenger service in 1970. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak

[Suji to Seoul]

20. I live in China. I prefer the Chinese train system to the airports everyday of the week.

airplane suck and airports suck.

IF there were faster trains and more lines in the States, I would have told the airports to kiss my ass.

[peacebird]

21. We are taking our annual trip from Virginia to seattle on amtrak in a couple weeks

We get a sleeper car and LOVE it! This is our fourth trip coming up. Relaxing trip out, visit the in-laws, relaxing trip back.

Much better than flying!

[wilt the stilt]

22. Republicans hate subsidizing Amtrak

but don't realize that the roads they drive on are subsidized. idiots

[OnionPatch]

23. I'm taking my first Amtrak trip next week!

I'm so excited! It will take 48 hrs. from LA to Michigan, via Chicago. The fare is similar to flying....unless you get a sleeper. They are VERY expensive but I'll spring for it this time. Unfortunately, it's not something I can afford to do often unless I sleep in coach and that doesn't sound appealing. If only they could bring down the price of sleepers OR if we had high speed rail, I'd never fly again. Just another reason to vote against the GOP, who seem to despise the idea of high speed rail.

[kestrel91316]

31. I have family in Milwaukee and would love to take Amtrak LA to MW but I couldn't do it sitting up in

coach for 48 hrs and the cost of a sleeper for 1 person is quite high. So I fly when I can afford to go.

[Festivito]

24. Cell phones and internet access. Who wants to drive? /nt

[AllyCat]

26. Yup! No one cares if you use your phone. Outlets at nearly every seat.

We brought a DVD player for the kids.

[MADem]

27. If AMTRAK put a heated baggage car in the back, and beside it put

a travel car for PET OWNERS, and allowed people to travel with their pets (either in a sleeper compartment or in a kennel in that heated baggage car) you would see train travel SOAR. They'd be able to repair and replace cars, pump up their pension fund, and probably lower prices over the long haul.

I'd be buying tickets left and right if I could travel with a couple of dogs...I'd rather go by train than car, but whatcha gonna do?

[Blue Owl]

33. +1

That would be awesome!

[madmom]

28. Several years ago my daughter went by train from Chicago to

Flagstaff to LA to Portland Oregon back to Chicago over the course of several months. She loved every minute and is wanting to do it again!

[Blue Owl]

32. And here Romney/Ryan want to KILL Amtrak by privatization

Again, how is half the country stupid enough to vote for these assclowns?

[Auntie Bush]

35. Because they are brainwashed by Faux News.

Makes for a lot of ignorant people.

[KamaAina]

36. Just think what it could do if it had decent service

outside the Northeast Corridor.

[Aristus]

40. The Amtrak train I took from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C.

while on vacation was sold out. Jam-packed.