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According to the magazine(Fortune), Union Pacific is the U.S. industry leader in all eight listed categories: innovation, employee talent, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment, and quality of products and services. The rankings are determined in a survey of industry analysts, boards of directors, and corporate and railroad executives. __________________________________________________ Now if UP could use that "innovation," employee talent," "social responsibility," and "quality of service," to get Amtrak trains on UP rail to their destinations on time or close to it!!!!
RRRICH Member # 1418
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I'm not surprised............ And I agree with your comment, jgart!!
Here is a link to the material to which Mr. Gart refers.
Once again, allow me to note that the UP/Amtrak contract reportedly comprises not more than .6% (six tenths of one percent) of UP's Total Railway Operating Revenues. It is simply unreasonable to expect them to have their operations focused around Amtrak's requirements of service.
While I'm not suggesting they do so, it is a wonder that they have simply not embargoed Amtrak trains such as the Sunset and Starlight as they have enough traffic of their own to move over those lines.
jgart56 Member # 3968
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Mr. Norman,
Your point about the percentage is well taken. I was not suggesting myopic focus on moving Amtrak trains, I was suggesting that if there is a lot of innovative employee talent, then someone, somewhere might have some good ideas on how to improve things.
Then again, maybe they should just be honest and "say no" to Amtrak. It would free up a lot of equipment that could be refurbished and used elsewhere. Why don't they? Methinks it would be messy for public relations...run some (albeit slow) trains rather than none.
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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Amtrak is a red herring. UP isn't getting its own trains through on time, either. There was an article in our local paper about the booming freight railroad business. Buried at the bottom of the article were the complaints of shippers that their products were not being delivered on time due to all the booming congestion.
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Yes, the railroad freight business is booming. Fuel prices for trucks is one factor, the need for truck drivers is another and the congestion in large city freeways is another.
There is substantial investment being made by RRs and this is reported in trade and hobby publications such as RAILWAY AGE and TRAINS. BNSF has budgeted $2.4 billion for 2006 capital expenditures which include double and triple tracking the TRANSCON in areas that are becoming congested. Also, there has been public money spent along with railroad funds for projects like the Alameda Corridor in Los Angeles.
There is no national emergency but there are local problems which need to be addressed and for the most part they are. It cannot all be done at once, but when the RR's are profitable, as they are now, they are willing to spend. And they are the ones who can best identify the greatest needs.
rY. Member # 3528
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quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: While I'm not suggesting they do so, it is a wonder that they have simply not embargoed Amtrak trains such as the Sunset and Starlight as they have enough traffic of their own to move over those lines.
Aren't there provisions in the Rail Passenger Service Act that prevent this... or at least, require the Surface Transportation Board to mediate the scenario you're describing? (Assuming, current management attitudes notwithstanding, that Amtrak were to actually file a complaint with the STB.)
sojourner Member # 3134
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BNSF gets my vote for the best rr
gp35 Member # 3971
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quote:Originally posted by sojourner: BNSF gets my vote for the best rr
I agree. BNSF is better. Although I would choose UP if offered a job by the two railroads.
Sunset hasn't been 1 second late going westbound since the return of service. No 10 hour waits in Englewood, nothing. I wonder was it UP fault for Sunset pre-katrina chronic tardyness or Amtrak fault.
RRRICH Member # 1418
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GP35 - I assume you mean the Sunset Ltd has not been "1 second late" INTO BEAUMONT only? From what I read on this forum, it continues to be hours and hours late to points further west......
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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quote:Originally posted by rY.:
quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: While I'm not suggesting they do so, it is a wonder that they have simply not embargoed Amtrak trains such as the Sunset and Starlight as they have enough traffic of their own to move over those lines.
Aren't there provisions in the Rail Passenger Service Act that prevent this... or at least, require the Surface Transportation Board to mediate the scenario you're describing? (Assuming, current management attitudes notwithstanding, that Amtrak were to actually file a complaint with the STB.)
RPSA '70 requires roads to grant access to Amtrak trains. Embargoes, i.e refusal to accept traffic, are done with the concurrence of the STB. The railroad must be prepared to "show cause". Obviously "our line got taken out be a hurricane" is 'cause'.
However, a strike at, say, a maritime port is also 'cause', and by that same token, so is a volume of traffic for which there is an inability to handle is 'cause' as well.
The last condition apparently describes the UP's Sunset Route today.
Naturally, Amtrak would have to be heard by the STB as a "person desiring to object...."
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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Mr. N. Interesting link. I might note that the aforementioned article in my local paper indicated that a truck driver shortage was among the reasons why shippers are chosing rail. Nevertheless, a UPS spokesperson was quoted as saying that rail delays were "intolerable."
IMHO, I think the railroads will become more interested in public funding as the congestion worsens, and that passenger service will play a significant role in making it agreeable to all parties. If, on the other hand, they manage to eliminate Amtrak from their tracks, they can probably kiss public funding goodbye.
I know, the railroads have not been receptive to public funding in the past, but times are a' changin'.
George Harris Member # 2077
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Makes me wonder which planet Fortune is living on. Most of the public press and comment that I see uther than that put out by UP themselves is more on the order of what Mr. Toy is quoting.
IMHO: While it appears that they are finally beginning to get a handle on it, it appears that UP was a very slow learner in the SP takeover. They apparently dumped all the SP people that knew how to make the chewing gum and string operation that SP had become work. After that, they simple reaped the results of their own corporate arrogance and ignorance. It seems that they were unwilling to tell the "next quarterly report is all we care about" stockholders that they needed to spend about five years of pouring every dime they had into the fixed plant, and then we can have a great railroad. I will say that they appear to be pouring all the money the people that control the purse strings will allow into fixed plant, but the controllers of the purse strings still need to have a better grasp of long term reality.
gp35 Member # 3971
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quote:Originally posted by RRRICH: GP35 - I assume you mean the Sunset Ltd has not been "1 second late" INTO BEAUMONT only? From what I read on this forum, it continues to be hours and hours late to points further west......
Really....Where does the tardiness starts? San Antonio?
RRRICH Member # 1418
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Can't say for sure where the tardiness starts, but that Union Pacific line across the southern USA is a very very heavily-used freight line, and much of it is single-track only. If you have been following this forum, you know that the tardiness is a direct result of this heavy freight traffic on the UP line. UP is in the business of moving freight acoss the country, and while they are supposed to honor their contract with AMTRAK and allow AMTRAK trains the right of way, they don't, since they have to get their freights through on a schedule, and they don't really want to have to worry about the Sunset Ltd (or any other AMTRAK train), so more often than not, they will put the SL into a siding to wait for one or more freight trains to clear the track, then the SL will continue. The UP (and other host railroads) are paid an "incentive" if they dispatch AMTRAK trains on time through their lines, but from what I read on this forum, the "incentive" pay is very little, and it is not cost-effective for UP to dispatch AMTRAK on time and get their incentive pay if that will make their own freights trains (their $$$$$$) late!!
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