Amtrak had predicted annual ridership of 51,000 people on the Virginia extension of its “Northeast Regional” train. But by March— just six months after the October 1 launch— it had served 55,025 passengers. And by generating over $2.8 million in revenue, the service has also exceeded the annual goal of $2.6 million.

“It’s amazing,” says Richards, who heads an advocacy group called the Piedmont Rail Coalition. “People are ready to get out of their cars and onto trains.”

Ridership on the Lynchburg-to-Boston service appears so strong, says one state official, that this part of a three-year pilot program actually stands a chance of turning a profit. Not too shabby for a service launched with a gubernatorial promise of up to $2.9 million a year in state subsidy.

Continue reading >>> The Hook

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The Guardian reports that the green train’s usage of B20 biofuel reduces hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions by 10 percent, particulates by 15 percent, and sulphates by 20 percent compared to regular diesel. During the 12-month experiment, Amtrak will collect and analyze data on actual emissions and the effects of B20 on the train’s mechanical systems.

Passengers will be offered a 50 percent discount on a companion fare until May 28 as an incentive to hop on the green train, which is up and running thanks to a $274,000 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration. What do you think of Amtrak’s new experiment with environmentalism?

Source: Mashable

Indeed, said Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero, explaining that Amtrak is installing new LCD screens at stations it owns throughout the system. Baltimore, just so happens, is the first to get the upgrade.

Since Amtrak owns most of the stations along the Northeast corridor, that’s where riders will see the majority of the changes, Romero said, adding that not every station has the same boards. The electronic boards will be installed in 29 stations by the end of September. The new signage will also include smaller screens along the platform areas.

Amtrak said the changes are needed to satisfy ADA requirements and will be partially funded by stimulus grants. Romero said Amtrak is donating the old board from Penn Station to the B&O Railroad Museum, which is creating an exhibit around it.

continue reading >>> Baltimore Sun

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“Amtrak long-distance trains are running strong,” said President and CEO Joseph Boardman.  “We are making changes, improving our service and passengers are responding favorably,” he said.

Boardman noted total ridership on Amtrak’s 15 long-distance trains reached nearly 4.2 million in fiscal year 2009, an increase of 13 percent from fiscal year 2006.  During the same period, the on-time performance of long-distance trains improved from 30 percent to 75 percent contributing to higher customer satisfaction scores, increasing from 65 percent to 80 percent.

This turnaround in long-distance trains is the result, in part, of the RPI process initiated by Amtrak in 2007 that focused on several routes addressing all elements of train service that impact the passenger experience.  Employee-passenger interactions, staffing levels, food service and amenities, equipment cleanliness and reliability, stations, and schedules are part of the in-depth RPI analysis.  Changes were made based on the findings.

For example, on the Coast Starlight (Los Angeles – Seattle), Amtrak upgraded sleeping cars, enhanced room service, re-trained employees to focus on high-level customer service delivery and just recently re-introduced full china service in the dining car.  In addition, on the Lake Shore Limited (Chicago – New York / Boston), Amtrak added sleeping car service to Boston, overhauled the dining cars, introduced a menu with higher quality items, and changed the schedule to depart Chicago earlier in order to arrive earlier in New York.

Boardman said Amtrak is now working on a plan to dramatically improve the performance of the Sunset Limited ( Los Angeles – New Orleans ) and increase it from tri-weekly to daily service.  The idea is to extend the daily Texas Eagle ( Chicago – San Antonio ) to Los Angeles and establish connecting service between New Orleans and San Antonio to provide an attractive daily schedule to additional communities.  The change would cut seven hours from the schedule to the west coast, provide daylight service to major cities along the route, increase ridership by more than 100,000 passengers, and improve financial performance.  Amtrak has been working with affected communities and is presently in discussions with the host freight railroad seeking its cooperation and support.  A final decision is expected later this year.

In 2010 Amtrak is expanding the RPI process into Performance Improvement Plans to include evaluation of additional financial and operational issues as well as continuing to measure customer satisfaction.  The focus is on the five poorest performing long-distance routes to identify and implement changes where possible.  In addition to the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle, the Cardinal ( Chicago – Cincinnati – New York ), Capitol Limited (Chicago – Washington , D.C. ), and California Zephyr (Chicago – Emeryville , Calif. ) are being analyzed.

About Amtrak

As the nation’s intercity passenger rail operator, Amtrak connects America in safer, greener and healthier ways.  Last fiscal year (FY 2009), the railroad carried 27.2 million passengers, making it the second-best year in the company’s history.  With 21,000 route miles in 46 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces, Amtrak operates more than 300 trains each day—at speeds up to 150 mph—to more than 500 destinations.   Amtrak also is the partner of choice for state-supported corridor services in 15 states and for several commuter rail agencies. Visit Amtrak.com or call 800-USA-RAIL for schedules, fares and more information.

Amtrak Ridership Long-Distance Trains

FY 2006 to FY 2009

Amtrak On-Time Performance Long-Distance Trains

FY 2006 to FY 2009

Amtrak Customer Satisfaction Long-Distance Trains

FY 2006 to FY 2009

Source: >>> Foster Folly News

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A report released today by the Washington-based carrier outlined the plan and possible sources of capital, including money set aside by Congress, U.S. loans and commercial financing. The equipment includes 25 high-speed “trainsets” like those used in the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, 334 locomotives and 1,200 rail cars, Amtrak said.

“We have been concurrently looking at funding options” while writing the fleet plan, Steve Kulm, an Amtrak spokesman, said in an interview. “And now we can focus all our efforts on funding options.”

Source: Bloomberg Business Week >>> continue reading

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In Tampa, Fla., President Barack Obama said his administration is going ahead with a plan to ensure that the U.S. can catch up to other jurisdictions in Europe and China by building routes that create manufacturing and related jobs in America while reducing traffic, consumption of fossil fuels and pollution.

“Those things are fast, they are smooth, you don’t have to take off your shoes,” Obama said. “Why don’t we have them? Part of it is that our population centres are farther apart. But let’s face it, we just love our cars. We don’t love gas prices, but we love our cars. But we need to invest in infrastructure like HSR (high-speed rail) that will allow us to choose the option of taking the train.”

But some warn that Canada might lose job opportunities and economic benefits if it doesn’t launch its own projects in its largest cities.

“We can’t let the Americans get the jump on us,” said federal Liberal transport critic Joe Volpe. “We’re better equipped than they are to do this and we can’t have a small-thinking government . . . stand in the way.”

The biggest winners of the $8 billion stimulus were the state of California, which will receive $2.25 billion for a route connecting such major cities as Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the state of Florida, which will receive $1.25 billion to begin building a high-speed rail link between Tampa, Orlando and Miami.

“There was a time not too long ago when this would have been a fantasy in North America,” said Paul Langan, the founder of High Speed Rail Canada, an advocacy group which promotes the service. “But it’s happening right now.”

Some of the U.S. stimulus money will go toward upgrades on existing conventional rail lines that improve service to Canadian destinations. That includes about $200 million in upgrades on the routes between Chicago and Detroit, across the Detroit River from Windsor, Ont., and on the New York-Buffalo route, which is linked to Toronto. The plan will also upgrade infrastructure between New York City and Montreal with a new track segment of about five kilometres on the route to reduce congestion and improve on-time performance.

By Mike De Souza, Canwest News Service >>> read full story

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Now the trains are getting another amenity straight from the corporate suite: leather seats.

Plush, blue, shiny leather seating — “Avatar,” anyone? — will begin appearing in business-class cabins of all Acela Express trains between Boston and Washington by the end of the year, Amtrak announced this week. The chairs resemble those found in the first-class section of airplanes and are expected to have “longer seat life” and cheaper maintenance costs, according to the railroad.

The seats have a cushy appearance, with sturdier headrests and white detailing — a more enticing look, perhaps, than the stiffer gray fabric chairs currently found on the trains. Carpeting and curtains in the rail cars will also be updated to complement the new leather design, which has already appeared in some first-class Acela cabins.

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM, The New York Time >>> continue reading

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Amtrak said that its installation of wireless Internet access on the high-speed trains would be complete in March and initially free to passengers. Amtrak made the announcement as part of a 2010 preview of its activities.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the Acela Express train service, which began operating in 2000. The trains make the trip from Washington to Boston in about six and a half hours, about an hour and a half faster than regional trains. Also in 2010 Amtrak will complete upgrades on the interiors of the Acela trains, including leather seats and improved tray tables and power outlets.

Last year Acela had some 3 million riders.

- AP

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And its efforts have borne some fruit: the number of riders on its Northeast corridor trains has been rising.

But faster trains are critical to its future. So while Amtrak got some desperately needed financing from the federal government this year, its forecasts suggest that speedier rail travel in the United States remains a daunting challenge.

For the Northeast corridor alone, Amtrak estimates that it will need almost $700 million annually for the next 15 years to maintain the system and to tackle a backlog of maintenance projects and upgrades. Reducing travel times between New York and Washington to two-and-a-half hours and times between New York and Boston to three hours — goals that were established in the 1970s — will require straighter track, improvements to bridges and tunnels, increased capacity through Manhattan and newer trains, among other investments.

Almost all of Amtrak’s lines fail to make money, with a total loss of $1.1 billion in 2008. Even technology enhancements seem to move at a slow pace: developing a new electronic reservation system is expected to take until 2015.

Still, Amtrak officials are more optimistic now than they have been in a long time. “We’re probably in the best position to move forward to get the things done we want to get done and that the government wants us to get done,” said David Lim, Amtrak’s chief marketing officer. “We have an administration that is supportive of rail.”

One of the biggest changes for Amtrak is that after years of bare-bones annual financing that limited the railroad’s ability to make significant upgrades, Congress approved a five-year authorization in 2008 that allocates the system nearly $2 billion a year.

>>> Continue reading

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The damaged tracks have been repaired and CSX says it has no objections. Low ridership before Katrina has Amtrak hesitating to restart this service. In 2004, this route carried 96,246 passengers, but the following year, 2005, only 81,000 people rode this train.

Amtrak is looking to consider a restart of the Pioneer route. Pocatello, Idaho, and Cheyenne, Wyo., is having Amtrak evaluate whether to restart service on three discontinued routes. One of those lines includes the former Pioneer Route that operated between Salt Lake City, Utah and Seattle, Wash., with stops in the states of Idaho, Wyoming and Oregon. Amtrak has started a search for a consultant as step in possible restoring the Pioneer Route. I don’t know why they should spend money for a consultant when cities along this route have requested service. In the spring of this year, the city council of Pocatello voted on a resolution pertaining to the support of returning Amtrak’s Pioneer. A city council member said students from both local universities could be a viable source of future ticket holders. He also said that Jackson and Yellowstone tourists, along with those wishing to ski, could use this transportation. Winter travel in the northwest is difficult. The addition of a passenger train will make winter travel in the northwest not only safer but more convenient. The resolution passed unanimously.

The city of Cheyenne, Wyo., is also interested in restoring the old Pioneer line. The Cheyenne mayor, the economic development group called Cheyenne Leads and the Cheyenne Area Convention and Visitors Bureau say they would prefer to see passenger trains downtown at the city’s historic Union Pacific Depot. Amtrak’s Pioneer did not actually stop in Cheyenne, but at an out of the way station on the prairie six miles southwest of town.

>>> Continue reading

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