U.S.: Amtrak will have competition on both existing and new routes as Congress has mandated

Will Amtrak actually have competition? I, for one, think Brightline would be a perfect candidate to take over Empire Service in New York as a contract operator: https://corridorrail.com/u-s-amtrak-wil ... -mandated/

Amtrak will remain the nation’s primary passenger train operator. However, Amtrak alone will not determine what future passenger train routes will be created and operated. Congress empowered the Federal Railroad Administration to create a new plan for routes, either resurrecting discontinued routes or creating entirely new routes.

There are currently at least five major companies capable of, and ready to, operate regional or long distance/inter-city passenger trains, plus one fully integrated passenger train development company.

Congress said after the FRA determines which routes are viable for a number of reasons, then Congress will decide which routes to fund and how to fund them. Amtrak may choose to participate in this process by suggesting routes, but will not have a final say in the matter.
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The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021 requires the FRA to conduct a study to evaluate the restoration of daily intercity rail passenger service along any Amtrak long distance routes that have been discontinued and any long distance route that occur on a non-daily basis.
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Those five companies, all major companies and mostly part of huge international passenger train operators carrying billions of people worldwide are Herzog Transit Services, Keolis Commuter Services, Transdev North America, RATP Dev USA and Bombardier Transportation.
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Helping the process of new passenger trains and routes is Corridor Rail Development Corporation, North America’s only full-integrated passenger train development company. It’s the same as being a real estate developer, but more fun.
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It seems their business model is to make money on real estate and is unique to a couple corridors they have selected. I’m not sure replacing Amtrak as a nationwide operator of passenger rail or operating passenger rail for anyone other than their investors is really in their business plan. I’m also not sure they’re even setup to be able to. I was under the impression they’re setup in such a manner to avoid railroad retirement and some of the other labor costs by keeping themselves decoupled from the national railroad network. Getting into running conventional services would certainly subject them to standard Amtrak labor costs. This is why I remain somewhat skeptical about any desire for contract operators to wade into intercity routes that currently operated by Amtrak that are considered part of the network.

Lest we note, Corridor Rail is an outfit that was formerly known as Corridor Capital that bought up the fleet of AT&SF Hi-Level cars, stored them near St. Louis and are apparently visible to any passenger on the Lincoln Corridor who cares to look up at the right moment.

The name many have changed, but the players have not.

They have tried without success to peddle these cars to one operator or the other; I guess this is simply the latest act.

As an employee of Amtrak, do I think changes need to happen? YES. I see and hear stuff I can not post. However Brightline taking over the Empire service thanks but no thanks I like my union benefits such as they are and Railroad retirement package that I am ever so close to finally getting. I think one could see Metro North getting part of the service before Brightline.

This could definitely be a good thing, but could also be bad for any proposed new service. Imagine on the new New Orleans-Mobile route if CSX/NS had to negotiate with an entity like Brightline , the service might have never happened.

a crucially forgotten part of brightline is that FEC was behind it.

again i say; this worked Very Well in the UK

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Mon May 08, 2023 6:31 am Lest we note, Corridor Rail is an outfit that was formerly known as Corridor Capital that bought up the fleet of AT&SF Hi-Level cars, stored them near St. Louis and are apparently visible to any passenger on the Lincoln Corridor who cares to look up at the right moment.

The name many have changed, but the players have not.

They have tried without success to peddle these cars to one operator or the other; I guess this is simply the latest act.

I don't know if this has been asked before... but are those Hi-Level cars still any good? I mean, they've been sitting there for... what, decades now?

ConstanceR46 wrote: ↑Mon May 08, 2023 9:00 am a crucially forgotten part of brightline is that FEC was behind it.

again i say; this worked Very Well in the UK

yes, so well in the UK. wait, what's the UK?

The question is, would brightline west also be classified as an interurban?
(IIRC, brightline is)
Thus employes are non union and not paying into the railroad retirement fund.
Yes, it is the owners of those old ATSF double deckers, but it's a valid point.
We're seeing this play out in maine right now, with RDCs.

What would happen if the companies that are currently running trains for others, were to make decisions for themselves, without the sometimes illogical choices elected officials make for them?
Looking at you, MBATA.

STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Mon May 08, 2023 9:06 am
I don't know if this has been asked before... but are those Hi-Level cars still any good? I mean, they've been sitting there for... what, decades now?

Well, Trains is reporting Lehigh and New England 100 will be restored, so if a heavyweight with a hole cut in it can be brought back to life, so can Budd stainless steel.

Of course, the longer they sit without love, the more expensive the work will be.

AFAICT stories of improvements arising from BR privatization in the UK are all myths of the Tories. Under BR there was a unified ticket system serving all points. After privatization I've encountered major obstacles, incorrect pricing, ignorance of rules etc. when buying multiple-operator tickets. Routing and schedules also often require using multiple websites. The privatization was largely paying off various capitalists with IPO opportunities while subsidizing the whole network as before, just via Railtrack and now Network Rail.

I expect the US version of "privatization" (or "competition" if you prefer) will produce union-busting, uneven service, trip planning, fare and reservation issues etc. No private capital will get involved unless they're expecting a good ROI in the few years before political weathervanes spin again. It would be interesting if the UP decided they could hold off the Wall St. "operating ratio" sharks long enough to bid on Salt Lake - Portland, or CSX on Florida service, but I'm not holding my breath. With local knowledge of Keolis, I expect little from them and their ilk.

There's a saying in the military that no battle plan survives its first contact with the enemy. After observations in the UK and the US I'm inclined to say that no passenger rail privatization plan survives its first contact with reality.

scratchyX1 wrote: ↑Mon May 08, 2023 9:16 am yes, so well in the UK. wait, what's the UK?

Mr. Scratchy, possibly you are being facetious, but UK is the recognized two letter abbreviation for the political entity titled as The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This entity comprises three different autonomous "countries" on the island named Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) and six counties located on the North end of the island named Ireland.

"Meanwhile, back in The States", you raise an interesting point regarding Brightline employees. This has been discussed over at the Employment Forum around here:

brightline-virgin-trains-and-railroad-r ... 68738.html

Bottom line: No Union; no RRTA.

Here is additional commentary from the world of "Your Shipping Manager has left to find Themself"

Just imagine how THAT landed on this almost 82yo with hearing issues; WHAAAT!!!!

Does anyone not a passenger rail foamer remember WHY RPSA 1970 was enacted?

How much would Company X have to charge per passenger per mile for
- Equipment procurement and maintenance across a 30 year life cycle?
- Salaries for T&E, passenger comfort, mechanical, and back office staff?
- Expendables (fuel in particular)?
- Opportunity costs to the host railroad for time on the line?
- If it owns trackage, maintenance and improvements?

Other than a very few specifically targeted operations (Brightline), is there any other US line haul passenger railroad that is not a government agency and is making money?

Competition should start with state-supported routes, like Indiana's attempt to outsource the Hoosier State to Iowa Pacific, which was then allegedly sabotaged by Amtrak. So, Amtrak's right to run passenger service over freight lines needs to somehow be extended to states and their designated operators. A solution to insurance liability needs to be found.

Competition sort of already exists in the form of state-sponsored Commuter Rail systems like Metro-North and MBTA/Keolis and CTDOT Hartford Line.