Quote
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Vice President Joe Biden continued the administration's rollout of the recently passed economic stimulus package Friday, highlighting $1.3 billion in federal funding for Amtrak.
The money for the rail service, which carried almost 29 million passengers in the previous fiscal year, will go primarily to infrastructure repair and improvement.
The $787 billion stimulus plan includes a total of $8 billion for improvements in rail service, a crucial investment to help ease traffic in the congested northeast corridor running from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, Biden argued.
It is "a necessity for a great nation to have a great [rail] passenger system," Biden said. "I'm tired of apologizing for help for Amtrak. ... It's an absolute national treasure and necessity."
The $1.3 billion will roughly double the size of Amtrak's capital investment program over the next two years, according to the vice president's office.
full article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/13/biden.amtrak/index.html?eref=rss_politics
I guess it's nice that he's not hostile to rail, but it's still obscenely frustrating. Throwing more money at Amtrak only gets you so far.
What about all the really simple stuff they can do? You know, like actually enforcing the law, and requiring freight companies to give top priority to passenger rail. That alone would be a massive boon to Amtrak, since it would eliminate the insane delays on the non-Northeast routes.
These Billions of dollars won't do a damn thing to make the other trains actually run on time (except of course the Northeast where they already own the tracks).
Again, it's nice that they're supporting rail, but this certainly doesn't fight the stereotype that Democrats only solution to a problem is to throw more money at it. I mean damn ... how about doing the FREE stuff too.
This will definitely help Amtrak. They are currently struggling with equipment shortages and failures directly attributable to a lack of funding.
Every time they have an accident, the wrecked cars are put in storage until they can find funds to make the repairs. This can take many years and in the meantime they have to reposition equipment and run shorter trains throughout the entire country.
Money is exactly what Amtrak needs. $1.3 Billion is a decent start.
From http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics_nation/2009/03/biden_the_amtrak_vp_praises_ra.html (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics_nation/2009/03/biden_the_amtrak_vp_praises_ra.html)
QuoteFla. Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla) was among those on hand thanking the veep for his role in securing the funds.
"If you have any problems in the stimulus, call the po-po. That's Joe Biden!" she said, declaring the group part of "Team Amtrak." (Why do I have to live in her district?! - JT)
A number of the senators who spoke made light of their former colleague's promotion to Vice President, with his former longtime aide Ted Kaufman, now serving in his old seat, joking that he has to think twice before he addresses Biden. Biden himself joked that for the first time, his senators have no choice but to listen to him speak. "My speech will take no longer than 60 minutes," he promised.
So comfortable with the group was Biden that he was heard using the f-word a little too close to the open mic as he greeted them. Of course, his predecessor was caught doing the same, but in a more negative context.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics_nation/VPBiden.m4a (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics_nation/VPBiden.m4a)
Stay classy Joe!
I do think it's great that rail is being funded. However, I thought it a better use if that money had gone to fund more regional high speed instead of the same old Amtrak money pit.
Amtrak is probably the smallest money pit out there. The new Yankee stadium cost $1.6 Billion.
Quote from: Lunican on March 14, 2009, 10:25:42 AM
Amtrak is probably the smallest money pit out there. The new Yankee stadium cost $1.6 Billion.
That's like compairing Apples and empty trains.
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/120956 (http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/120956)
Quote
Yankees Sees 20.5% Increase In
Gate Receipts During '07 Season
The Yankees’ total revenue has “reached record levels,†according to the N.Y. DAILY NEWS' Juan Gonzalez, who cited documents obtained under a FOIA request that “provide a rare look at the Yankees formidable cash-generating operation.†Last year, the team “grossed a record†$188M in gate receipts, a 20.5% increase over the ‘06 season. As recently as ‘04, the Yankees reported total gate receipts of $122M, “half of what they are projecting for next year†in the team’s new ballpark. Factoring in other revenue streams like concessions and income from the cable TV rights, total income surpassed $319M in ‘07. The team's annual rent report filed with N.Y.’s Parks Department shows the franchise in '07 netted $65.3M in concessions. The Yankees also last year paid the city $14,976,488 for rent. Once the team moves into its new ballpark, the “city will get nothing in rent,†because the team will own the new facility outright, and the team also will "pull in more from concessions because they will be run in-house, rather than be contracted out." In addition, the Yankees “won't have to make public their finances, since they will no longer be required to file an annual rent report with the city†(N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/19).
How much did Amtrak gross in 07 again? I know the argument is that they are providing a needed public service ... etc etc ... but the fact is that there hasn't been one instance when I've been traveling where I couldn't drive or fly cheaper and get there faster. And aside from whatever money went into the road or airport there was no other pubic monies used. So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Yankees are providing more of a service per tax payer per dollar.
Well that's nice that the Yankees can gross so much money by using a stadium paid for with tax dollars.
Quote from: jtwestside on March 14, 2009, 11:07:34 AM
And aside from whatever money went into the road or airport there was no other pubic monies used.
Aside from whatever money went into the roads or airports? Do you think that the amount was negligible? Hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money allowed you to drive or fly for 'cheaper'.
Quote from: jtwestside on March 14, 2009, 11:07:34 AM
So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Yankees are providing more of a service per tax payer per dollar.
Don't bet on that. 2008 Amtrak ridership was 28 million vs Yankees attendance of 4 million.
Quote from: jtwestside on March 13, 2009, 11:21:51 PM
From Stay classy Joe!
I do think it's great that rail is being funded. However, I thought it a better use if that money had gone to fund more regional high speed instead of the same old Amtrak money pit.
QuoteAnnual Amtrak Ridership Sets All-Time Record; Sixth Straight Year of Increases
Ridership Tops 28.7 Million, $1.7 Billion in Ticket Revenue
WASHINGTON - Amtrak ridership in Fiscal Year 2008 increased to 28,716,407, marking the sixth straight year of gains and setting a record for the most passengers using Amtrak trains since the National Railroad Passenger Corporation started operations in 1971. The fiscal year ended September 30, 2008.
All Amtrak trains across the system saw increases in ridership. The 28.7 million total for the period October 1, 2007 - September 30, 2008, topped the 25,847,531 for the previous 12 months by 11.1 percent. Total ticket revenue for the fiscal year reached $1.7 billion, a 14.2 percent increase over the $1.5 billion in FY07.
"After another record-breaking year, in which the railroad achieved double-digit growth, Amtrak has solidified its role as a leader in the nation's transportation network and proven intercity passenger rail's relevance in today's world," said Alex Kummant, President and CEO of Amtrak. "Highway and airway congestion, volatile fuel prices and increasing environmental awareness all contributed to Amtrak's successful year, as did our continually improving service and on-time performance."
Kummant added, "With the recent passage of a reauthorization bill, which includes a significant state and federal capital matching grant program, we also look forward to expanding state partnerships to provide more rail service in growing corridors nationwide."
East Highlights
Revenue growth was the greatest in the Northeast, where ticket receipts reached $950.6 million, a 14.6 percent increase over last year's ticket revenue.
The popularity of the Acela Express service continued in FY08 and trips increased by 6.5 percent with 3.3 million passengers and a nearly 16 percent increase in revenue to $468 million.
Regional Service was relaunched more than half way through the fiscal year as the Northeast Regional with great success. The refurbished and upgraded trains saw a 9.5 percent increase in ridership by the end of the fiscal year to 7.5 million and a 13.4 percent increase in ticket revenue to $481.6 million.
The Keystone Service, which operates between Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and New York City, experienced significant growth with a 19.8 percent increase in ridership, surpassing the one million mark with 1,183,821 passengers in FY08. Moreover, ticket revenue increased by 20 percent, to $24.7 million.
New York's Empire Service, which operates daily between New York City, Albany/Rensselaer and other upstate New York destinations, carried 994,293 passengers in FY08, a four percent increase over the same period last year. Ticket revenue topped $ 41 million, a 6.5 percent hike over the previous 12 months.
The Downeaster, operating several times daily between Portland, Maine and Boston, Mass., experienced significant growth with a 31 percent increase in ridership, reaching 474,492 in FY08. The Downeaster also earned $5.8 million, which represents a 36.7 percent increase in ticket revenue from a year ago.
Central Highlights
Steep growth in ridership is also reported from the Amtrak hub in Chicago, with Hiawatha Service ridership up nearly 26 percent on the trains sponsored by the Wisconsin and Illinois state transportation departments. Nearly 750,000 passengers rode the seven daily round-trips between Milwaukee and Chicago last year, an increase of more than 150,000 passengers.
The Illinois DOT also supports service between Chicago and Downstate Illinois, with more than one million passengers riding the routes, the first time that milestone has been reached. Ridership on the Chicago-St. Louis Lincoln Service corridor, via Bloomington-Normal and Springfield, is up 14 percent to total 543,642, while on the Illini and Saluki route to Carbondale, via Champaign and Mattoon, ridership is 304,435, up by 15 percent, inclusive of local passengers on the City of New Orleans trains between Chicago and Carbondale. On the route of the Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg to Quincy via Galesburg and Macomb, ridership is up 19 percent and totals 231,701, including local travel on the Southwest Chief and California Zephyr between Chicago and Galesburg.
Elsewhere in the Central U.S., Kansas City to St. Louis ridership is up by more than 30 percent on the two daily round-trips sponsored by the Missouri Department of Transportation and Heartland Flyer ridership between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City increased by 18.5 percent on the daily round-trip supported by the Texas and Oklahoma state departments of transportation.
West Highlights
Western corridor trains achieved record ridership month-after-month throughout the fiscal year. In Southern California, Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service which operates between San Diego and San Luis Obispo, carried more than 2.89 million passengers, a seven percent increase. Ticket revenue was more than $51 million, an increase of nine percent.
In the Central Valley, the San Joaquins service, Oakland/Sacramento to Bakersfield, carried nearly a million passengers (949, 611) an 18 percent increase with $2.9 million in ticket revenue, a 21.6 percent increase. July 2008 ridership topped 100,000 passengers for the first time in the history of this service, a 32 percent increase over July 2007.
In Northern California, more than 1.69 million passengers rode the Capitol Corridor service, Auburn to San Jose, a 16.8 increase over the same period last year. Ticket revenue was up 23 percent, reaching $22 million.
In the Pacific Northwest, ridership on the Amtrak Cascades service, Eugene, Ore. to Vancouver, B.C. was up more than 12 percent (760,323). Ticket revenue exceeded $20 million, an increase of 15 percent. This service has seen double digit increases for the past nine months (January - September 2008).
National Highlights
Among the trains on the Amtrak national network, the Empire Builder is again the most popular overnight train. With more than 554,000 passengers, the daily Chicago-St. Paul-Seattle/Portland train showed an increase of 9.8 percent. The Texas Eagle (Chicago-San Antonio) had the largest percentage increase among long-distance trains with 15.2 percent ? 251,518 passengers for the year.
The Silver Service (New York-Miami) trains continued to grow ? the Silver Star carried 367,139 passengers (+11.5 percent) and the Silver Meteor reached 319,773 passengers (+9.6 percent). The Capitol Limited (Washington DC-Chicago) had a strong year, increasing ridership by 11.7 percent and the Palmetto (New York-Savannah) and Crescent (New York-New Orleans) both had increases over 10 percent.
About Amtrak
Amtrak has posted six consecutive years of growth in ridership and revenue, carrying more than 28.7 million passengers in the last fiscal year. Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail service to more than 500 destinations in 46 states on a 21,000-mile route system. For schedules, fares and information, passengers may call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com.
One cash starved railroad with an eternal shrinking budget, serving the whole nation, thousands of towns and cities, many without air or even bus services, $1.7 BILLION in revenue, survives and grows in spite of 30+ years of media and administration "take downs".
One super rich baseball team, with a limited fan base, in a certain neighborhood, in a new stadium provided by "us", to entertain thousands of Yankees, even though there are thousands of other entertainment venues, walking on media and administration water, in spite of making millions of dollars.
Oh gosh darn Tommy, where doth thou heart throb? OCKLAWAHA
Quote from: Ocklawaha on March 16, 2009, 10:20:10 AM
One cash starved railroad with an eternal shrinking budget, serving the whole nation, thousands of towns and cities, many without air or even bus services, $1.7 BILLION in revenue, survives and grows in spite of 30+ years of media and administration "take downs".
One super rich baseball team, with a limited fan base, in a certain neighborhood, in a new stadium provided by "us", to entertain thousands of Yankees, even though there are thousands of other entertainment venues, walking on media and administration water, in spite of making millions of dollars.
Oh gosh darn Tommy, where doth thou heart throb?
Well Said!