OK; first a disclaimer; let it be understood that I have no 'inside' knowledge such is about to occur anytime soon if ever, and I'm hardly advocating such.
Let us presume that Amtrak was to be completely defunded by some future enacted legislation (TeePees in control of all branches of government, whatever), what would happen to intercity passenger trains?
First, I do not think that Amtrak, with such being the only source of institutional expertise in the operation of intercity passenger trains would be dissolved as a quasi-public corporate entity. I think there would be overwhelming public support for most existing Corridor services to continue. The NEC is essentially 'above the rails' self sufficient. So far as capital improvements, namely at this time complete replacement of rolling stock (Amfleets and Acelas), well local government entities will have to accept 'no bucks, no Buck Rogers' as Feddys in this scenario, are off the table. Corridors beyond the NEC that presently enjoy strong public support would continue. The local entities (mainly states) are used to ponying up and Amtrak could well continue as operator.
Marginal locally supported services such as the Heartland Flyer could well see the Adios drumhead.
LD's? Not sure a rush order for those drumheads would even get there in time.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
That would be a 'crying in my beer' moment. I would miss not being able to book a sleeping car trip somewhere.
Posted by PullmanCo (Member # 1138) on :
IMHO, Amtrak would almost immediately have to declare bankruptcy. It'd not be able to serve its debt.
Posted by KacyB (Member # 52680) on :
As an outsider, this is something I have thought about since your Govt. shutdown. I have spoken to a lot of people here in the UK - most of whom know nothing about Amtrak other than the horror '24 hour delays' that get reported here. Maybe if Amtrak WAS defunded, it would transform into something else... maybe something better (though I will say in it's defence, we had the most wonderful holiday on Amtrak!)
People no longer NEED to travel by rail. That is not why the trains exist nowadays. It's because people WANT to. Because, it's a brilliant way to travel.
I have spoken to a lot of Europeans who take 'road trips' in the US. I know a couple who've gone coast to coast in an RV. But how many people really know (in the UK / Europe) how great Amtrak is?
I will always be a fan of Amtrak. (and Via Rail... Our 5 days on Via Rail were so wonderful.)
Your trains are better than they get credit for.
Kacy. x
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
Interesting that you mention road trips, KacyB. I live right down the street from "El Monte RV Rentals and Sales", and I stopped by there just to look at the various models available for rent, and how much they charged. I said to the salesman, "Why don't you guys advertise? You've been here for years, and if I did not know you were here, I would not know that you existed--there are never any ads, sales, or ANYTHING". He said that they do not advertise HERE--in the USA. 95% of their business comes from Europe. He asked me if I ever see their shuttle bus driving around, and I said yes---all the time. Well, that shuttle bus makes daily round-trips from here to SFO (San Francisco Airport) to pick up passengers and bring them to the RV place so that they can go drive around America! He said that they survive based upon European business---not local business.
And they must have the "routine" down, because every day I see many, many RVs leave their parking lot and head directly to Safeway (a big grocery store) where they stock up on food, beverages, etc. Then they take off into the wild blue yonder! Their RVs are very nice and maintained in like-new conditions. They even provide all of the linens and blankets, silverware, you name it---makes it easy for people traveling from far distances.
I would love to take an RV trip just to see if I like it or not. My "dream" is to someday own a big "bus" type of coach. Tag-axle, diesel engine, fancy paint job, and a First Class interior. All I need is a million dollars.
Posted by Geoff Mayo (Member # 153) on :
I've looked at taking RV trips. However, the cost is prohibitive for me. Even a basic RV can cost upwards of $200 per day once you add in tax, rental fees, mileage, generator fees... then the cost to replenish supplies before return and to empty the waste water. Cheaper to stay in a chain motel and drive with your own car!
Posted by Mike Smith (Member # 447) on :
Texas has about $9.4 billion in our rainy day fund and it will be increasing. The more oil and gas recovered from the eagle ford shale, the more the fund increases. Texas puts 25% of all oil & gas royalties into the general fund and 75% of the royalties go into the rainy day fund.
So I'm thinking we could finance the Texas Eagle and the Sunset Limited for a few years, along with the Heartland Flyer. I wonder how much of the 1 billion annual subsidy is used by the Eagle and the Limited?
Posted by Vincent206 (Member # 15447) on :
According to Amtrak's September 2012 Monthly Performance Report the Sunset Limited lost $39.1 million in the previous fiscal year and the Texas Eagle spilled $30.1 million. Good luck trying to get the Texas legislature to buy that ticket. It might be more productive to get TX to finance capacity improvements that might allow the Sunset to run daily.