by eolesen
In other words, the fees Amtrak pays for accessing the BNSF/CN/CP/CSX/NS/UP need to increase so they can be as profitable as the Z trains? That money would have to come from somewhere, and it shouldn’t be taxpayers. It needs to be reflected in the fares. People already pay more for Acela vs Regional, but I don’t think they’ll want to pay more for cutting an hour or two from the existing schedules.
Ultimately, Amtrak’s problem on the LD “network” isn’t speed. It is a lack of interest by the general public to take a “rail cruise” when they simply want to get from A to B as quickly and economically as possible. Nothing anyone at Amtrak can do will overcome that. We aren’t Europe where freight rarely goes by rail, or Asia where population density and dedicated ROW make high speed practical.
Those seeking the nostalgia factor of rail travel are literally dying off. Few of us now in our 50’s rode LD trains prior to Amtrak, and we are decreasingly the ones making vacation purchasing decisions for family vacations. Amtrak can’t survive as a network reliant on retirees...
There really is no easy solution to the LD network. Yet the corridors are strong.
Typically, a business would focus on its strengths, not fixing its perpetual weaknesses.
Look at retail. Those who clung to 1960’s retailing models are now dead or dying. The large retailers who accepted the Walmart model survived, and now they’re having to adapt to Amazon. Others turned to high value/quality specialties, and survive in spite of mass merchandisers and the Internet.
It’s time that Amtrak supporter he realizes that airplanes and cars are here to stay, much like Amazon and Walmart. Someone had better figure out how to adjust the business model, and yes, that would mean alienating some of the current customer base. When you’re in survival mode, that option has to be on the table.
Ultimately, Amtrak’s problem on the LD “network” isn’t speed. It is a lack of interest by the general public to take a “rail cruise” when they simply want to get from A to B as quickly and economically as possible. Nothing anyone at Amtrak can do will overcome that. We aren’t Europe where freight rarely goes by rail, or Asia where population density and dedicated ROW make high speed practical.
Those seeking the nostalgia factor of rail travel are literally dying off. Few of us now in our 50’s rode LD trains prior to Amtrak, and we are decreasingly the ones making vacation purchasing decisions for family vacations. Amtrak can’t survive as a network reliant on retirees...
There really is no easy solution to the LD network. Yet the corridors are strong.
Typically, a business would focus on its strengths, not fixing its perpetual weaknesses.
Look at retail. Those who clung to 1960’s retailing models are now dead or dying. The large retailers who accepted the Walmart model survived, and now they’re having to adapt to Amazon. Others turned to high value/quality specialties, and survive in spite of mass merchandisers and the Internet.
It’s time that Amtrak supporter he realizes that airplanes and cars are here to stay, much like Amazon and Walmart. Someone had better figure out how to adjust the business model, and yes, that would mean alienating some of the current customer base. When you’re in survival mode, that option has to be on the table.
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Owner/operator of TrainSim.com (the internet's largest train simulation community)
Owner/operator of TrainSim.com (the internet's largest train simulation community)