by Suburban Station
mcgrath618 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 11:18 pm Why should SEPTA not have rights to operate over the NEC? I'm not trying to get into the whole "good, widespread service vs turning a profit" debate, but why should a commuter agency that is an essential service to one of the largest metro areas in the country not have rights? SEPTA already pays Amtrak a hefty sum of money, and as said in the article, there are six stations that the two entities share that Amtrak doesn't have to pay a dime for.here's what I know:
1) the article is clearly a rant by a publication that has a history of them. there are no facts and figures , the claims are taken at face value from one entity only. there are always two sides to a story and there is barely one.
2) I've been riding SEPTA for 3 decades and there are immutable facts about SEPTA. they lie when it is convenient, their current president has no issue with this. secondly, they are cheap to a fault. it would not surprise me at all if SEPTA is refusing to pay their fair share. they are always willing to throw their own passengers under the bus.
3) SEPTA does not have rights to operate on other people's infrastructure for less than cost. it took an act of congress to get them to pay more (PRIIA) and there are no facts or figures to say one way or another whether it is enough. after decades of underpaying it will likely take years to bring the SEPTA sections to a state of good repair.
4) SEPTA is always more interested in controlling who gets contracts than anything else. https://www.inquirer.com/transportation ... 90530.html
5) I also don't trust Amtrak but I'm not fool enough to assume SEPTA is being bullied.
6) what are the six stations? Is SEPTA including PennDOT money in their $228 million figure as if it's their own?
7) why would anyone think VRE shouldn't have to pay access? they should have been paying it all along instead of receiving a back door subsidy from intercity funding.
Last edited by Suburban Station on Thu Jun 20, 2019 10:15 am, edited 1 time in total.