The N&R reports ridership gains on Amtrak’s Piedmont route between Charlotte and Raleigh:
The train — owned by North Carolina taxpayers — carried nearly 163,000 riders during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, state and federal officials said Thursday.
“It’s very satisfying to know that more North Carolinians are using train travel as an option,” said Anthony Fuller, director of the N.C. Department of Transportation’s rail division.
Other routes in the nation carried more passengers. But the Piedmont logged the greatest percentage leap in ridership — a 16 percent gain over its 2011 passenger numbers.
The Piedmont route will be part of the proposed Southeast Corridor high-speed rail line between Washington and Atlanta. With that in mind, check out the Marketplace report on the proposed Midwest high-speed rail corridor between Chicago and St. Louis, which in theory will compete will airline travel between the two cities:
Yet, not everyone is on-board with Amtrak’s chances of luring riders away from regional air service. Professor Ray Mundy, the Director of Transportation Studies at the University of Missouri St. Louis, says people flying from St. Louis to Chicago are likely transferring onto other flights, meaning they aren’t apt to take the train instead.
“So, literally the amount of people that are going from downtown St. Louis to downtown Chicago that would be affected by improved rail service…probably wouldn’t be enough fill up on 737 that Southwest flies.”
Bottom line is Amtrak can’t exist without government support.
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19
2012 At 5:50 pm, Billy Jones Said:
Sam, are you really that clueless or just paid to write what you’re told to write?
All forms of transportation are heavily subsidized by US taxpayers. Even your car. You pay taxes to keep up roads. The FAA and Airline traffic safety is entirely public funded.
A safer, faster and more efficient system would be an elevated high speed rail system on tracks separated from freight rails. It could easily fit within our current US and Interstate Highway Right of Way above the existing roads. A hub and spoke system of short haul buses could feed passengers from almost every town in America to the trains.
The vast majority of bus accidents are long haul caused by drivers falling asleep. Trains NEVER fall out of the sky and elevated trains don’t crash into cars.
Trains are several times more fuel efficient than airplanes thereby reducing costs and the need to buy oil from terrorists. Trains are so efficient they are currently killing the long haul trucking industry and pushing it kicking and screaming towards a hub and spoke system just as I described for passenger trains and buses.
The reason passenger trains can’t do the same is they don’t have their own tracks and always have to pull over and wait for freight trains to pass. That and the fact that road grade crossings are too dangerous for true high speed rail. Most Amtrack trains are currently capable of 150 MPH plus but aren’t allowed to go that fast because Ms Soccer Mom in her SUV full of kids would never know what hit her. Modern high speed rail could go 300-500 MPH and never get stuck in a holding pattern flying ’round in circles waiting for landing clearance.
And if that isn’t enough to convince even the most right leaning conservative John Locke followers in the world: Trains do not have steering wheels– terrorists cannot fly them into tall buildings! No now, not ever!
You’re fighting the wrong battles. The smart battle isn’t trains vs no trains, it’s modernizing the rail system vs pouring money into the antique rail system we have today.
20
2012 At 9:24 am, DavidH Said:
While modernizing the rail system, may in the future, provide a reasonable passenger transportation solution, do you really think that the airline industry, already fighting to stay in business profitably, will not “fly in the face” of any effort to do so? Not to mention the long haul trucking industry, who will likely argue that some freight might be carried on said modernized passenger rail system.
Who would fund such a modernization? The U.S. taxpayer? Some forward thinking corporation? Maybe a philanthropic group of venture capitalists?
Where, oh where would these elevated tracks be built? Over existing rail lines? Already, many of those rail lines are in danger from so-called “greenies”.
As for the “terrorist” point; back in the day, didn’t thieves (one kind of terrorist) blow up rail bridges? What’s to stop some crazed idealist from blowing up an elevated track’s support and causing a 300MPH train to come plummeting down upon some population center?
Myself, I’d really like to see an improvement of the American rail system, but the questions posed above need to be answered, I think, before we’ll see it happen.
20
2012 At 10:03 am, Sam Hieb Said:
Thanks for the comments, gentlemen. Perhaps it wasn’t the best punchline I’ve written, and indeed I have written about the federal grants PTI seeks to transform itself because it can’t compete in the marketplace with Raleigh and Charlotte.
Perhaps another way to look at it is the cost per passenger of rail vs. roads and air.
http://www.carolinajournal.com/articles/display_story.html?id=8776
In other, words, taxpayers get a better bang for their buck traveling by road and air.
As to David H’s point about terrorism, well…. talk to residents of Madrid….
20
2012 At 3:28 pm, Billy Jones Said:
Well DavidH,
Just because someone is against something doesn’t make it a good reason not to do it. Sure, the trucking industry won’t like it, so what, the trucking industry (of which I spent 28 years in) is already losing to the freight rail system that is 100% privately owned and operated. By the way, Buses have been hauling freight for as long as there have been buses, so what?
As to where to put it. Try brushing up on your reading skills as I already answered that.
The taxpayers funded and continue to fund the Interstates, the US Highways, the state routes, the rural roads, city streets– are you saying we should get rid of those? Surely some part of ticket prices could go back to paying for the new rail system.
And whose to say that the new rail system couldn’t be privatized? The freight rails are privately owned. We have privately owned highways in the US. The West Virginia Turnpike is privately owned as are toll roads in Alabama, Maine, Texas and a half dozen other states. The freight rail system, while privately owned, required the government to legislate its building and construction. Nowhere have I said keep AMTRACK.
Lastly, anything can be blown up, including your head– does that mean you shouldn’t have a head or that you simply choose not to use it?
20
2012 At 9:48 pm, DavidH Said:
Darn Mr. Jones, I thought I was using my head. It does make for a nifty place to have a hat.
Yes, you did mention “the where”, but I’m still wondering if that’s where, ultimately, this thing (a new high-speed railroad system) will be constructed, or if.
Anyway, to stay on topic, getting (and paying for) improved rail service in N.C. would probably be a tough row to hoe for the citizens of our fair state.
Oh, please don’t (or let anyone) blow up my head. It’s too big (some say), and might cause injury to innocents.
21
2012 At 6:23 am, Billy Jones Said:
DavidH “Anyway, to stay on topic, getting (and paying for) improved rail service in N.C. would probably be a tough row to hoe for the citizens of our fair state.”
Now as to getting politicians on the left and right to make sane decisions… We both know it ain’t happening in our lifetimes.