(erielack) AMTRAK COMMENT

[ed montgomery <emontgomery_@_paxway.com>]

I got a couple of responses regarding my reporting on the Capitol Limited=

yesterday asking what does it have to do with EL?  Well, not a whole lot =
on
the surface;  I'll admit that.  But neither did Amtrak wrecks on the CSX =
along
the old "Water-Level Route" did either.  As you dig deeper though, there =
is
something to garner from this.  At a time when efforts are being made to
restore passenger service on the Cut-off to Scranton or beyond, stories l=
ike
this get the attention of politicians.  CSX does not have a good record f=
or
track maintenance and their relationship with MARC Rail is at best cordia=
l.  I
find it interesting that Amtrak has had all these mishaps lately, and the=
y
were all on lines they didn't own.  I'm sure things like this get the
attention of NS when people start talking about running passenger trains =
on
their tracks as well.  =


It does create a tough situation for Amtrak as a passenger carrier.  In
Today's WASHINGTON POST Don Phillips reported on the number of Super Line=
rs
that are bad-ordered because of being wrecked and not repaired over the l=
ast 5
years.  Amtrak is getting to the point where they are almost out of Super=

Liner diners.  He said that David Gunn gave the order to start repairing
passenger equipment now, regardless of whether there is funding or not.

The wreck in Washington could have effects on proposed passenger service
elsewhere.  The more informed the railfan community is about these things=
, the
better off they will be in discussing these issues with others who are no=
t
informed.

Sort of EL related from,

Ed Montgomery

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