Amtrak Boss Challenges the Freights.
On Thursday, in a House subcommittee hearing on the subject of Positive Train Control, Amtrak’s President/CEO Richard Anderson delivered some startling testimony . . . testimony containing a pretty clear message to both the Congress and to the freight railroads.
In an obvious reference to the recent derailments, Anderson minced no words. He said Amtrak has been ”running a freight railroad that carries passengers” and he vowed to bring the same kind of safety culture to Amtrak that’s found in commercial aviation.
Then Anderson dropped a bombshell: Amtrak, he said, has completed installation of the Positive Train Control system on all track owned by Amtrak. But, he said, at the end of this calendar year, he would stop running Amtrak trains over any stretch of track owned by a freight railroad that had not implemented the PTC system.
Wow! That’s terrific! Amtrak socking it to the freights, demanding that they quit dragging their feet and finally meet the Congressional mandate to get the safety system in place.
But wait a second! It’s no secret that after 50 years, the freight railroads have come to hate the original agreement — specifically, that they would not only allow Amtrak trains on their track, but they would give Amtrak priority. It would now appear that if the freight railroads just do nothing … just don’t finish implementing PTC … Richard Anderson could actually do what John Mica and a gaggle of GOP members of Congress haven’t been able to do: shut down some portion of Amtrak’s long distance network. Maybe even most of it.
Never a dull moment, eh?
I believe that we must keep repeating that the railroads were essentially “given,” by the US Government in the 19th Century, the western lands that these freight railroads now control. In my view, they have a responsibility to serve the public as well as their own interests, as these lands, as well as the low cost construction loans they also received, were a gift from the American people to promote rail traffic and settlement in the west. This was a very generous gift and these Amtrak routes of today fulfill a need that many of us wish to preserve.
I understand the message that Anderson was trying to deliver for the benefit of the public – that we at Amtrak are trying our best to promote safety in train travel but it’s those nasty freight railroads that are the problem.
But I’m rather disappointed in his gamesmanship, and when I first heard his statement I found myself wondering if he was, himself, trying to torpedo parts of the national network. Gad, there are enough constituencies already out there who would like to do away with the long distance system that we don’t need any more threats – bluffs or not – from within to do just that.
Anderson is being disingenuous. He knows – and we all know – that the entire nationwide long-distance route will not have – cannot have – the very PTC system installed and up and running by the end of the year. (And does he really want to discourage travelers today who might be considering long distance rail for next year to start questioning their plans?)
Anyway, case in point on PTC by the end of this year is the SW Chief in Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. This is a BNSF route
that see very little, or really, no freight traffic. And a lot of towns along the route – Hutchinson, Dodge City, Garden City, Lamar, La Junta, Trinidad, Raton,Las Vegas, and Lamy have worked very hard to keep that route active for the Southwest Chief. Yet, with the significant costs involved, it’s hard for me to believe that BNSF would consider prioritizing that route for PTC capability in 2018. Of course I could be wrong.
But at a minimum it seems to me the kind of statement Anderson made would really be making Amtrak proponents from Hutchinson, Kansas, to Lamy, New Mexico, very nervous (if not questioning his dedication to the route they’ve worked to hard to keep).
I think most of us are already frustrated enough with Amtrak’s cheapening the long distance product with some trains that have limited menus and no on-board cooking, no more newspapers, no all day coffee, fewer juice choices (and no ice for them), no china dinnerware, no wine and cheese sessions, no more Pacific Parlour Cars, the Silver Star running with no diner, and not even any route guides placed in the roomettes anymore.
What we don’t need is to have to wonder if our favorite long distance trains will be running come January 1, 2019.
So I would ask Mr. Anderson to quit posturing for the public and the media, and making reckless public comments, and get to work on enhancing the long distance service. And, in PRIVATE with the railroads (and Congressional decision-makers), sure, be as assertive as necessary to try to achieve desired outcomes.
I found this to be a real double-take as well Jim, it has my mind spinning waiting and watching for commentary on all this. Yours is the first I’ve seen so far. I see two different possibilities as well:
(1) Mr. Anderson “secretly” questions the value of long-distance and so is conveniently aligning himself in disguise with the freight railroads hoping to divide the system (divide and conquer), or
(2) He is aligning himself and Amtrak as a whole with the general public and Congress so that there is a very great concurrence for PTC and intolerance for any further train accidents preventable by it. With this view his alliance would have a great appearance of public force and unity against lagging freight companies. Based on last year I take it that there does seem to be a majority (how great I don’t know) that are willing to support the National system.
So which is it? Sure anxious to know. Would like to hear Wick Moorman comment as we knew where he stood. Now who is ready? From what I was able to find, besides Amtrak only BNSF and CP? UP seems to have made a lot of progress but wants 2 extra years testing time. I’m guessing CSX is the worst of the Class I’s. Presumably this means only the Southwest Chief and Empire Builder are currently in the clear?
Personally, I’m guessing Door Number Two.
Wow! What a dumb threat! Now the GOP and the freight railroads can get exactly what they want – the shutdown of the national network – AND it will be in the name of safety rather than ideology or bogus cost savings. Talk about playing right into your enemy’s hands…