The solution to fixing problems with Amtrak is to privatize it and shut down the unprofitable long distance lines or require states that want them to pay for them. Amtrak is already profitable in areas of high density if they weren't held back by all the unprofitable lines.
Amtrak asks fed regulators to investigate Union Pacific handling of Sunset Ltd
51–60 of 128 posts
Re: Amtrak asks fed regulators to investigate Union Pacific handling of Sunset Ltd
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is just plain wrong. In practice, of the 30+ interstate Amtrak trips I've taken in the past 10 years, the overwhelming majority of them are delayed by freight rail. It is standard operating procedure.
Yes, that's what de facto priority means. Since the railroads operate the lines and the freight trains, they (illegally) give their own freight trains priority over Amtrak passenger trains, which by law are supposed to have priority.
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Re: Amtrak asks fed regulators to investigate Union Pacific handling of Sunset Ltd
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
The railroads were sure funded by public money, but it most certainly has not been taxpayer money. Instead, it was money invested by private individuals. Government did help the railroads with vast grants of lands, but most of the value of the granted land stemmed from the railroads that were built nearby. It was in fact a great deal for taxpayers, a win-win situation. > One wonders what the US's rail infrastructure…
> US federal government certainly is not known for providing high quality service at low cost, quite the opposite in fact. The Post Office stands as a prime example of an extremely high quality service provided at a comparatively tiny price, and one that's successful and self-sustaining even while dealing with the immense costs of reliable delivery to extremely rural areas.
extremely high quality service
Really? When's the last time you had to go do something at the post office? It is a nightmare. Dirty building with disinterested workers, and long slow lines. The bulk of the mail I receive is junk mail, and multiple times a week I get my neighbor's mail.
Re: Amtrak asks fed regulators to investigate Union Pacific handling of Sunset Ltd
#54The solution to fixing problems with Amtrak is to privatize it and shut down the unprofitable long distance lines or require states that want them to pay for them. Amtrak is already profitable in areas of high density if they weren't held back by all the unprofitable lines.
Should we shut down all the unprofitable highways too?
Re: Amtrak asks fed regulators to investigate Union Pacific handling of Sunset Ltd
#55The solution to fixing problems with Amtrak is to privatize it and shut down the unprofitable long distance lines or require states that want them to pay for them. Amtrak is already profitable in areas of high density if they weren't held back by all the unprofitable lines.
Should we shut down all the unprofitable highways too?
Yes, we have far too many.
Re: Amtrak asks fed regulators to investigate Union Pacific handling of Sunset Ltd
#56Re: Amtrak asks fed regulators to investigate Union Pacific handling of Sunset Ltd
#57The history of the US's Western freight lines is fascinating (and frustrating): we've allowed these massive companies (UP, BNSF) to extract rent for well over a century, in exchange for having laid down the original lines (which, mind you, were also paid for in land and bonds[1]). [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Railroad_Acts
I'm confused why you think that private rail owned, operated, and built by private companies is somehow "rent seeking". Amtrak is even only allowed to use their rails by forced act of Congress. If things followed normal commercial rules Amtrak would have no right to use them at all. More so, they operate below the cost of any freight rail of anywhere in the developed world. They're incredibly efficient in operation.…
> From 1850 to 1871, the railroads received more than 175 million acres (71 million ha) of public land – an area more than one tenth of the whole United States and larger in area than Texas.
Re: Amtrak asks fed regulators to investigate Union Pacific handling of Sunset Ltd
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Currently the US trades dollars for real goods. One of the major uses of those dollars, since we don't export nearly enough goods to run balanced trade, is to buy US assets. Do you think that maybe our trade partners will stop accepting those dollars if we start nationalizing companies? At that point, doesn't it seem like maybe the USD will crumble?
You should make a case for this, rather than asking other people to make a case against it. We flooded the world with dollars after 2008 and still couldn't manage to get our inflation over 2% until a year or two ago.
I'm just trying to get you all to think a bit about effects before suggesting something as radical (for the US) as nationalizing a company. I think it's fairly obvious that going from being a very business/investor friendly country to one that nationalizes a major company for delaying passengers is going to shake confidence in foreign creditors to the US.
Re: Amtrak asks fed regulators to investigate Union Pacific handling of Sunset Ltd
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
We should look at nationalizing the rail lines and then investing in them to accommodate freight and passenger traffic more effectively. Positive Train Control[1] and judicious expansion of switches/bypass lanes should allow us to better saturate the rails so that throughput is maximized. This could even enable new passenger services other than Amtrak to operate in competition. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posi…
Nationalizing them would be a disaster. They were deeply unprofitable until the federal government de-nationalized them after it had nationalized them and practically ruined them in the process of that nationalization. Let's not ruin what good things there are.
You can nationalize the infrastructure without nationalizing the operations upon it.
Many other countries use a system where one government-related entity manages in the infrastructure, and many private companies can pay to operate rail services on that infrastructure.
This would actually allow market competition instead of geographic monopolies.
Re: Amtrak asks fed regulators to investigate Union Pacific handling of Sunset Ltd
#60The history of the US's Western freight lines is fascinating (and frustrating): we've allowed these massive companies (UP, BNSF) to extract rent for well over a century, in exchange for having laid down the original lines (which, mind you, were also paid for in land and bonds[1]). [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Railroad_Acts
Extract rent? Seriously? They sell transportation. They face competition from the highway system, which is provided at public expense. Nothing about this looks like rent (even in the economic sense).
The interstate highway system for many years paid for itself via the gas tax and other user fees, and could easily do so again.