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  • U.S.: Amtrak will have competition on both existing and new routes as Congress has mandated

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
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U.S.: Amtrak will have competition on both existing and new routes as Congress has mandated

Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

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Re: U.S.: Amtrak will have competition on both existing and new routes as Congress has mandated

 #1623210  by eolesen
 
BandA wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 3:16 pm Amtrak's right to run passenger service over freight lines needs to somehow be extended to states and their designated operators. A solution to insurance liability needs to be found.
I agree. There's no reason that Metra shouldn't be able to bid to operate some of those "under 100 miles" routes like Chicago-Milwaukee, Chicago-Rockford and Chicago-DeKalb, or that the State can't bring in CN or Keolis to operate the Saluki or Illini services.

Re: U.S.: Amtrak will have competition on both existing and new routes as Congress has mandated

 #1623215  by eolesen
 
Their financial situation is not why the service was a failure. Amtrak did everything possible to make sure it didn't succeed, and everybody else just stood on the sidelines and watched it happen.

Arguably, had Amtrak not sabotaged the hoosier, Iowa Pacific might have been able to survive a little longer with the appropriate cash flow. But no, Amtrak was too butthurt over losing the contract. They ultimately shot themselves in the foot because now there is no Hoosier

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Re: U.S.: Amtrak will have competition on both existing and new routes as Congress has mandated

 #1623307  by STrRedWolf
 
urr304 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 3:28 pm Inside the range of the commuter agencies, [IIRC] Amtrak is not allowed to sell tickets except if beyond commuter trains' destination?
It depends on the contract. Amtrak still sold WAS-BWI and BAL-BWI tickets early on, even though they were (by contract) selling MARC tickets as well. Now, they're still doing those pairings even though MARC ticket sales are exclusively though TVMs.

Re: U.S.: Amtrak will have competition on both existing and new routes as Congress has mandated

 #1623677  by BandA
 
eolesen wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 12:14 amTheir financial situation is not why the service was a failure. Amtrak did everything possible to make sure it didn't succeed, and everybody else just stood on the sidelines and watched it happen.
There is the problem with government bidding that the low bidder is often unstable or New or only marginally qualified. But if there were several choices then things can settle out and everyone would benefit.
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