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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: [QB] Here are two Fair Use quotations available through the RPA/NARP site at a blog originated by their CEO, Mr. Matthews: https://www.railpassengers.org/happening-now/news/blog/an-ideal-state-for-amtrak/ [i][list] [*]The Empire Builder, for example, is worth $327 million every year to the economies of the states it serves, and by extension the entire U.S. economy. We pay roughly $57 million every year to run it. That’s a helluva bargain. For small communities along the route, it’s a lifeline. Just to take one instance, Cut Bank, Montana, and its roughly 3,000 citizens derive nearly $400,000 worth of economic benefit from the existence of the train.[/i] [/list] [i][list] [*]In an “ideal state,” BNSF, CSX, CN and the rest could earn a sufficient profit for their shareholders by ensuring that the elderly woman in Marks, Mississippi, the disabled vet in New Mexico or the isolated Native Americans in Montana all had safe, reliable service. But that “ideal state” doesn’t exist, and that’s why we have an Amtrak.[/i] [/list] I'm not going to dispute the notions within either of these quotations, but I would like to use them to point out a problem I have with any advocacy group. The problem is "it's all about us and our cause, and forget the adversely affected parties". More specifically in this instance, it's all about passenger trains and forget the investor owned Class I industry that would be obliged to host them. In the Cut Bank quotation, I won't dispute the economic cost/benefit (spend $57M to gsin $327M) stated, but it totally ignores the effect upon BNSF operations. The Builder represents at least one train that cannot be dispatched and hence depriving the BNSF shareholder of added return on the investment made. In the Marks, MO quote, it's the same argument. Now I realize this particular line is a "secondary" for the UP, in that their St. Louis Gateway traffic is routed from Dupo IL to Thebes, then Southward on the MP, or Northward on the SSW. But that "secondary" becomes quite handy when Ol' Man River decides the "gulp" is too much usually during Spring. The thoughts are simply "play to our base, and to hell with the others". [/QB][/QUOTE]
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