Guest Column - Amtrak in the New Century
Article
by George O’Keefe, Jr.Forty years ago this May privately operated intercity passenger rail service came to an end in America. Although historians might note some continuing operations in the Mid-West and South, on May 1, 1971 practically every single intercity passenger train left at that time in the United States was either cancelled or converted to service operated by the National Passenger Railroad Corporation (NPRC) known publicly as "Amtrak".
Due to a combination of factors famously described in a Trains magazine article from April 1959 titled "Who Shot the Passenger Train?" by Mr. David P. Morgan, passenger rail service had become a burden which the railroads were eager to shed. Today, Amtrak continues to function as the lone national operator of intercity passenger rail service. As before there are a few anomalous operators who might be considered intercity either by quirks of law or regulation but none of them are serious contenders for imminent national expansion of passenger operations.
This leaves Amtrak, our national passenger railroad, as the sole viable operation which can run intercity passenger trains anywhere in the continental United States. The first forty years of Amtrak’s history have been marked by the initial consolidation of operations followed by several periods of expansion and contraction that have resulted in the net outcome of a smaller national passenger railroad network by mileage but ultimately record ridership over the past decade.
Throughout its history Amtrak leadership has occasionally struggled to define exactly the company’s purpose, at times pursuing supporting business such as Mail and Express and in other periods attempting to meet the needs of short-haul or seasonal passenger traffic. Many of these initiatives were implemented and failed because the Amtrak leadership at the time ignored the two basic principles for the NPRC. First, that Amtrak’s primary calling is to rapidly transport passengers using trains over medium and long distances, also known as intercity travel. Second, that Amtrak meets demands for intercity passenger rail service across a broad spectrum of markets and demographics.
The first point is obvious enough. Amtrak must be able to rapidly transport passengers using trains. In the American common-carrier passenger transport business of the 21st century this means it must be a reliable and consistent service that meets passenger needs and even caters to some of their desires at a reasonable price. Amtrak struggles to meet this standard even today, but so do all other means of intercity passenger transport including buses and airplanes.
In one area however Amtrak is severely disadvantaged against other modes. This area is speed. Amtrak trains are forced to continually tolerate poor track conditions and corridors whose capacity is so overwhelmed with freight and commuter trains that hinder intercity passenger operations. Much of this is a natural result of Amtrak’s operating agreements with railroads which rarely have enforceable service standards. However, the lack of regular federal and state funding for passenger rail corridors in the United States is also partly to blame. No other mode of passenger transportation receives as little government support as passenger rail. No other mode of transportation has as much potential as rail does to efficiently serve America in communities large and small, daytime and overnight, all across our continent.
The second point, that Amtrak serves diverse demand for intercity passenger rail across varied markets and demographics, is likely a surprise to the casual observer. By now many Americans are familiar with the striped trains that fly through their cities and towns bringing the nation to their local station platforms. However, the polished and uniform appearance that Amtrak has taken on over the years belies dazzling complexity and the unique nature of their many trains.
Amtrak is best understood as a series of rail travel markets woven together by a common operator and brand using pools of equipment that each have their own discrete territory. Although possible in theory the single level coaches used on the East Coast would be a bad fit for services running to Chicago or Los Angeles, while the "Acela" (editor’s note - Acela is Amtrak’s brand for the high-speed tilting train-set operating on the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C. and Boston, MA) electric train-sets of are entirely incapable of operating on the non-electrified corridors in the rest of the country. The Auto-Train from Virginia to Florida is arguably the crown jewel of the Amtrak system, and regularly self-supporting, but operation of this train anywhere else in the country would likely fail.
Since "A-Day" (editor’s note - A-Day is a term used by railroaders and railfans, alternatively with affection, wistfulness, or derision, to mark the birth of Amtrak) policy-makers, politicians, and citizens alike have driven themselves almost to tears attempting to understand how to better improve Amtrak’s operations and reduce its need for operating subsidies, most of which go to their long-distance operations. Some have even gone so far as to propose the elimination of Amtrak as a government-supported-enterprise and the termination altogether of a national network of intercity passenger rail service in America. Others have proposed the dissolution of Amtrak into its constituent parts in an attempt to allow the solvent pieces of the Amtrak network to continue to operate on a stand-alone basis.
None of these scenarios acknowledge the importance of continuing to have a national operator of intercity passenger rail service. Amtrak’s operations have produced previously unheard of efficiencies in rail passenger operations through the consolidation of maintenance facilities and specialized work functions unique to passenger rail service, they have adopted uniform standards for passenger equipment and service levels, and they have downsized administrative functions to a single major headquarters at Union Station in Washington, D.C. Any proposal which seeks to continue parts of Amtrak in any form would immediately lose the advantages inherent in the unified command and operations structure that Amtrak pulled together over the years from the ashes of the old passenger train system.
After forty years of federal operating subsidies without reliable capital support the time has come for the creation of a sustainable model for capital funding of Amtrak that pays for additional capacity and service improvements along the lines that host Amtrak. We have already seen the result of several rounds of federal appropriations to improve Amtrak’s operating conditions. In several cases privately operated railroads have received funds that will allow them to maintain, operate and support additional capacity and speed for passenger trains on their corridors for decades to come. The savings generated in lower capital expenses for highways and airways, and reduced health care costs from pollution are immense and worthy of substantial scientific study that would quantify exactly how much the taxpayers have saved themselves.
Amtrak can and should continue to operate America’s intercity passenger trains.
Given that the Federal government continues to fund and operate these trains, in exchange for access and service guarantees by the private railroads, the rights of way Amtrak operates on should be exempt from local and state property taxes. The private railroads would have major financial incentives to ensure efficient Amtrak operations with the assurance that if the service is ever removed they would face severe increases in their tax burdens from tracks that were previously exempt. Giving tax advantaged status to rail passenger corridors is the most expedient and reasonable way for the government to ensure continued support for passenger service in the United States. Most importantly it avoids placing taxes or fees on users of other modes of transit and it also reduces Amtrak’s reliance for capital funds on the general appropriations of Congress.
Ending taxation of private rail corridors carrying publicly supported passenger traffic would be much to the benefit of the American traveler and would forever change the relationship between Amtrak and its host railroads. Virtually overnight Amtrak’s status with the private host railroads would transform from strategic obstacle to strategic advantage. Executed properly it is conceivable that Amtrak service would become a sought after addition to host railroad networks thus making the private railroads advocates for rail passenger service for the first time in over half a century. The resulting improvements in service and additional ridership would drastically alter Amtrak’s finances for the better, and at a minimum help control or gradually reduce the annual federal operating subsidies.
Finally, Congress and other policy-makers must awake to the reality that Amtrak meets diverse needs for rail passenger service in diverse ways. Attempts to force Amtrak to use a single solution set for travel routes that are as varied as the nation the railroad serves must end. Instead every effort possible should be made to ensure Amtrak is sufficiently funded to allow continued rehabilitation and acquisition of rolling stock while encouraging new sustainable rail travel solutions along emerging and established passenger corridors.
Much like our highway and aviation passenger infrastructure a national passenger railroad that is sustainably and consistently funded through public-private cooperation and continued operational support as needed will ultimately grow into a system that will make Amtrak and U.S. passenger trains a symbol of American creativity and innovation once again.
The views and opinions expressed within this article are those of the author alone.
About the Author
George O’Keefe, Jr., lives in Winthrop, Maine with his wife and son. Born in the Netherlands, George graduated from the Munich International School with an International Baccalaureate Diploma in Munich, Germany in 1999 and from the Catholic University of America with a Bachelor’s Degree in History in 2004. He has maintained an interest in public policy for many years and has placed a special emphasis on studying the people and heritage of the State of Maine. George is also a certified Firefighter on the all-volunteer Winthrop Fire Department and a combat veteran with the Maine Army National Guard.
This is his first RAILROAD.NET byline.