Amtrak Today and the Future of Passenger Railroading

Today, Amtrak (officially known as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) and passenger rail, as a whole, are stronger than ever and increasingly gaining support as oil prices soar and we look for cleaner and more efficient ways to travel. Since 2000 when the Amtrak introduced high-speed Acela service (and more trains/routes in general) along its Northeast Corridor growth for the carrier has become much more prominent. Since 2002 Amtrak has broken annual ridership records. Along with Amtrak, state passenger railroading operations are gaining support and receiving increased attention and funding, particularly as highways become increasingly congested. Perhaps the two most noted states that are giving passenger railroading serious attention include North Carolina and California. Both are doing a magnificent job developing passenger rail corridors in their respective states, particularly North Carolina. If you are interested in seeing how a passenger rail network should be properly implemented, planned, and carried out have a look at what the Tarheel State is doing.

In its first year Amtrak earned $163 million with expenses of $310 million. By 1980 things were not much better as the carrier saw $454 million in revenues and $1.08 billion in expenses. Regardless of all of the problems during its early years and the claims by critics that it is a waste of taxpayer money and should be eliminated, travel by train is not only a very needed transportation artery but also continues to receive public support year after year. And, even though a statute expired in 2002 ensuring annual funding for Amtrak, public support has continued and Congress overwhelmingly continues to provide funding for the carrier.

Light rail (or LRT) is also making a splash in cities across the country. Compared to “heavy rail” operations these services are much cheaper and are very efficient by helping to reduce significant wear on city streets and highways (along with reducing traffic and emissions as well). Some cities are even using LRT in a nostalgic sense by bringing back the classic trolley, which has been a huge hit (such as in New Orleans). LRT services can now be found in dozens of cities which include Charlotte, NC; Denver, CO; aforementioned New Orleans; Seattle, WA; Minneapolis, MN; and others. A few cities with future plans to add LRT include Kansas City, KS; Norfolk, VA; and Austin, TX.

Today ridership numbers for Amtrak have broken 30 million in 2011, which was 5 million more riders than just a years ago in 2007! It is also important to point that transportation issues are becoming more of a discussion in our country passenger railroading is gaining more and more support and its future looks very good.

As of today, however, with the political landscape quickly changing Amtrak's future again remains uncertain. Historically republicans have been less receptive to funding a government owned business, like Amtrak, than democrats. With democratic policies losing interest with the general public presently and republicans gaining more control in Washington the passenger carrier's once lofty funding hopes are fading. It looks as if once more Amtrak will limp along with only enough funding to remain operable on a year to year basis. In closing, it is somewhat embarrassing that our country still does not have a more properly developed passenger rail network, particularly when compared to other countries around the world such as France, Germany, Japan, and England. Critics like to point to Amtrak’s long distance, intercity, services as a money-losing, fruitless operation that should be scrapped in favor of a more streamlined, corridor operation (i.e., like the Northeast Corridor).

It is true that long-distance trains are very expensive to operate and maintain, however, many of these trains continue to be full, or nearly full, even though they operate with inadequate funding and are habitually late due to the fact that the run on private rail lines. And, likewise, over and over it is proven that if the service is offered, the passengers will come. For instance, ridership projections for new trains, whether they be LRT, commuter rail, or long-distance operations continually prove to be too low. Above and beyond everything already said, as Don Phillips recently told in his monthly column in Trains magazine, either we as country decide to properly update our transportation network (including our Interstates), particularly passenger rail, or face complete gridlock as Interstate funding is barely able to keep up with the growing traffic volume.

Along with the Interstate issue currently airline service is nothing but in shambles, and for the money invested passenger rail is the most cost-effective solution at reducing highway (and overall traffic) congestion. What does the future hold at this point? It seems the answer to that question is always cloudy when referring to Amtrak. The only certainty is this; the passenger carrier will almost certainly continue to be viewed as an unwanted stepchild of the government's for many years to come. Perhaps one day, however, the United States can claim a proud high speed rail network throughout different corridors around the country. When that may happen though is anyone's guess. For more information on Amtrak please visit their website by clicking here. Also, for more information about NARP please click here. Finally, below is an Amtrak diesel and electric locomotive roster. More information can be found here regarding the carrier's active roster. Also, the carrier operates 12 train sets of Talgo and 20 of the Acela Express. More can be learned about them here. Finally, for an early roster of Amtrak please click here.

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