Amtrak: Still in the Red, But There's Green At the End of the Tunnel
by Andrew Posner, Providence, Rhode Island on 12.23.07
Despite numerous challenges, including delays, derailments and 'dinero' (or a lack thereof), Amtrak is enjoying its fifth-straight year of record ridership across the country. The usual suspects are driving people (pun intended) to take the train: high gas prices, traffic, and dour TSA employees. But, according to the AP, another factor seems to be "the investment by Illinois and 13 other states in short-distance corridors Amtrak wouldn't otherwise offer, essentially paying for a service where they see a need." The result has been a consistent rise in ridership, with numbers climbing to 24.3 million passengers last year.
While trains may be the green way to travel, Amtrak has still been unable to green its bottom line, relying on government help to stay afloat as it struggles with more than $3.3 billion in debt. One problem is that Amtrak gets enough funding to survive, but not to flourish. As Sen. Trent Lott, a supporter of the bipartisan Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, points out, "We can't keep asking Amtrak to operate like a business while we string the company along year to year." The bill would "authorize $3.3 billion for operating expenses and $4.9 billion for capital improvements over the life of the bill, from 2008 to 2012."
Until now, the ticket to increased ridership has been increased frequency of trains, something that added funds can provide. For instance, eight trains have been added to the Capitol Corridor service between Sacramento and the Bay Area, helping to triple ridership on that route compared to eight years ago. The caveat, however, is that "with no federal funding to call upon, the Capitol Corridor-the nation's third-busiest rail line in the Amtrak system-runs solely with state and local funds."
So with increased ridership, a bill in Congress that would provide funding, and rising interest in efficiency, it seems that for Amtrak there indeed is green at the end of the tunnel. Rick Harnish, of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, couldn't agree more. He argues that
the era of cheap oil is over, and we have to find ways to take costs out of the system. There should be a lot more trains running, and they should be faster. If ridership is growing this strongly with the kind of delays they get, just think what kind of response they'd get if they ran on time.
Oh, and imagine if the trains were not only faster and more reliable, but also truly green: that is, profitable, and even more efficient.
Via: ::AP
See Also: ::How Carbon Neutral Are British Trains?, ::Allison Rogers On Taking A Train From DC To Rhode Island, ::Japan: Producing Electricity From Train Station Ticket Gates, and ::Dual Mode Trains in Japan.
GE's new hybrid engines, and some bio diesel is a little easier than hydrogen.
One thing that has always hurt the trains service in Washington State is that Amtrak has to pay for upgrades to the rails for faster and smoother service. None of which the freight traffic pays for. But the freight trains are over loaded, or do other issues and they damage the tracks, which Amtrak then has to pay to fix.
It's been a sore subject around here.
Amtrak wants to make money, then let them upgrade their technology to maglev. Keep the lobbyists from the airline industry from getting a say so in the matter.
Amtrak wants to make money, then let them upgrade their technology to maglev. Keep the lobbyists from the airline industry from getting a say so in the matter.
If Amtrak wants to make money, then Congress should let them upgrade their technology and rail infrastructure to maglev and the airline and air freight industry lobbyists should get a say in the matter.
If Amtrak wants to make money, then Congress should let them upgrade their technology and rail infrastructure to maglev and the airline and air freight industry lobbyists should get a say in the matter.
Perhaps the subsidies should go into equipment rather than into fares. It costs $129 for me to go from Toronto to Montreal, just slightly cheaper than flying) and only $ 95 to go from Toronto to New York City (a third the price of flying), over three times the distance. They are almost giving it away.
Maglev is the wave of the future :-)
I feel that the airline/air freight industry should be in cahoots with the rail industries -- a recent trip to germany allowed us to purchase a plane ticket AND a rail ticket (issued by American Airlines, operated by deutchbahn) and it made our travel that much smoother.
America needs to take a tip from Europe: Train travel is simply the smarter way to go.
We should federalize all the train tracks in this country, and improve them so they'd be worth having. Then put license plates on all the locomotives / cars that ride the rails. Follow that by putting in more high speed tracks so more trains can run and see what happens. That should help to reduce the number of semi-trucks running down our highways, too.
Is Amtrak as green as a Prius? Is it energy efficient? At http://tinyurl.com/n22lr it says Amtrak energy intensity was 2,935 British Thermal Units (BTUs) per passenger-mile. A Prius uses 1,706 BTUs per passenger-mile (46 MPG, 124,000 BTU/gallon, 1.58 passengers per vehicle). Even a single occupant Prius is 2700 BTU/mile. Amtrak is capable of much higher efficiencies when the trains are fully loaded, but they are not. European and Japanese trains operate much more efficiently than Amtrak.
Some US public transportation is very efficient, such as San Francisco’s BART. One report said “During the lowest day time ridership hour in the midday lull (noon – 1PM) BART averaged 360 watt hours per person-mile (wh/p-m). From 4-5PM the average was 251 wh/p-m and from 5-6PM it was only 171 wh/p-m.” 171 Wh is 583 BTU, so BART at rush hour is almost 3 times the efficiency of the Prius. Better, it is electric, so it has the potential to be zero GHG with the right electric grid.
Electric cars are pretty efficient at 250-300 Wh/mi. That's more efficient than BART during the midday lull, but with a single occupant less efficient than BART during rush hour (put two people in an electric car and you beat BART even during rush hour).
It's freaky to know that Capital Corridor is the 3rd busiest rail line in the nation! I rode that route for about a year until I gave up because of all the delays and random badness (hitting bikes, abandoned cars, people(!!), breakdowns, freight traffic, etc).
I love Europe's rail system, but it simply wouldn't work in the US. The distances involved are just too great. For certain regions, trains moving at 250-300mph would be ideal. The western corridor is a good example. A maglev between Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angles, San Diego, Phoenix and Las Vegas would make a lot of sense. At 300mph, a ride from Seattle downtown to San Diego downtown would be roughly 4 or 5 hours. I'd take that any day over the airport traffic, lines, and security checks. Currently a train ride between San Jose and Los Angeles takes 10 hours!!! That's a ridiculous amount of time to travel 315 miles. If you cut that down to 3 hours with the CHSR project, I'd be riding it back to visit my folks every month!
For a young adult age 23 I traveled from Bruges Belgium to Brussels to Paris much cheaper than any amtrak train I've ever taken. Keep in mind I was on the high speed train too. In Ghent, Belgium the streetcars were as silent as any car I have ever seen. You could almost be hit by one and not see it coming. (That's a side note BTW) :)
Amtrak offers student rates, which is pretty much a joke at only 15% and you pay for membership 20$. I go one way to NYC from Baltimore and it's 80$. People think I'm joking when I tell them the cost.
We need cheaper and more available transportation. It's really pathetic. Younger travelers also should be offered discounts as they are in Europe.
For a young adult age 23 I traveled from Bruges Belgium to Brussels to Paris much cheaper than any amtrak train I've ever taken. Keep in mind I was on the high speed train too. In Ghent, Belgium the streetcars were as silent as any car I have ever seen. You could almost be hit by one and not see it coming. (That's a side note BTW) :)
Amtrak offers student rates, which is pretty much a joke at only 15% and you pay for membership 20$. I go one way to NYC from Baltimore and it's 80$. People think I'm joking when I tell them the cost.
We need cheaper and more available transportation. It's really pathetic. Younger travelers also should be offered discounts as they are in Europe.