Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Sun Mar 26, 2023 8:32 am But despite whatever "boosting" our members here who have ties to the Wyoming Valley region, does this represent a "well spent" use of public funds? Where's the population growth? Will "three a day", or even twelve, suddenly return the Wyoming Valley to its once held position as a "thriving" region?
I personally doubt it, but this is a forum where all thoughts have equal weight.
It would take more than that for the Wyoming Valley to become a thriving region. Then again, Amtrak has spent plenty of money and time to make Lincoln and Wolverine service faster and more frequent, and no one is going to confuse either Detroit or St. Louis as examples of flourishing cities/metro areas. Pittsburgh, same deal
One other reason Amtrak would probably want to have this service is for the purpose of good political will. A small beacon of sorts with no freight railroad controversy, no operator controvery, just a smooth running project (in theory). They'd be able to shoot one at the critics, saying "Look at how we're doing with the Lackawanna service. We started this up with little to no trouble. This is one of our most efficient and reliable services. Imagine if your town or state supported us, we'd give you service like we have to Scranton".
Plus, another way to shoot at the Class 1's. "Don't blame us for the Sunset Limited always being late and unreliable, blame UP. Blame NS for the Crescent being late, not us". And so on.