AMTRAK--A CRITICAL APPRAISAL FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE CONSUMER

Amtrak is viewed by some as an "experiment" to see whether people really have any interest in riding passenger trains. It seems clear that in view of all of Amtrak's errors and omissions to date, the only place where a meaningful experiment has been conducted is in the northeast Corridor, the results of which are most encouraging. Elsewhere, it will take at least two years to make the necessary fundamental improvements in track, equipment, reservation procedures, etc., before an experiment could commence--and that assumes that the money would be available and that the decision to go ahead would be made now. Once an experiment is begun in any given corridor or territory, I believe it should run for at least three years. If Amtrak does continue in one form or another, its modus operandi must be substantially changed if it is to perform acceptably in relation to the tax dollars expended on it. It must take direct control of its operations with its own employees and supervisors, and begin the hard task of revising obsolete labor work rules. It must work for improved track and roadbed, whether through increased funding of its own or by enactment of some other federal program. To the extent it continues to operate long distance trains, it must get a meaningful amount of mail and express on those trains.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Meeting, Transportation Research Forum, Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Colorado, 8-10 November 1972.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Forum

  Brown Palace Hotel
  Denver, CO  United States 
• Authors:
  • HASWELL, A
• Publication Date: 1972

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Volume: 13
  • Issue Number: 1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Passenger service
• Identifier Terms: Amtrak
• Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management; Passenger Transportation; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00047938
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Proceeding
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 13 1974 12:00AM