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Senators ask Amtrak to increase capacity

Sidney Herald -- U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, D-Mont., are urging Amtrak to increase capacity on the Empire Builder to help energy-impacted communities take full advantage of the Bakken oil and gas boom.

“We are hearing from our constituents that Amtrak passenger capacity for Montanans, tourists and other passengers trying to travel through eastern Montana and western North Dakota can be ‘extremely limited.’ The swell of demand for travel into and out of the Bakken region must be addressed,” Baucus and Tester wrote in a letter to Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman. “Reliable long-distance passenger rail service is vitally important for our constituents, especially as many residents commute from central or western Montana to jobs in the Bakken. The Empire Builder route is an essential part o

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Submitted Aug 05, 2012 By: skb69sa

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honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:18,650 Points:1,612,445 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Aug 9, 2012 2:50:14 AM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse chicken and egg situation, isn't it? Add more capacity to increase / encourage ridership, but that's only a viable business option if ridership is already up.
Gnusman53 Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,026 Points:1,115,345 Joined:Feb 2004	Message Posted: Aug 8, 2012 8:33:30 PM Ignore Gnusman53 Report Abuse Maybe they could call it the "back to the future" plan (grin)
Gnusman53 Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,026 Points:1,115,345 Joined:Feb 2004	Message Posted: Aug 8, 2012 8:30:01 PM Ignore Gnusman53 Report Abuse For instance, teams in Montana's Frontier conference travel a lot and now have added schools like Dickinson State and Southern Oregon.... Now they mostly use buses. It could easily be cheaper with rail and that could also provide a steady customer base to build a passenger service upon.... The schools make travel plans many months in advance and could probably be started within a year or so....
Gnusman53 Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,026 Points:1,115,345 Joined:Feb 2004	Message Posted: Aug 8, 2012 8:24:31 PM Ignore Gnusman53 Report Abuse It could be developed as a an answer to commuting problems...and could be funded by the energy companies...... Then it could also be expanded to neighboring states. Nearly a hundred years ago, rail was used to even move college football teams across the entire country. It could be used again for the same reason -- at least for the back and forth with Montana teams and their opponents...
Gnusman53 Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,026 Points:1,115,345 Joined:Feb 2004	Message Posted: Aug 8, 2012 8:18:37 PM Ignore Gnusman53 Report Abuse In Montana, light commuter rail would be a good use of the rail lines...
Gnusman53 Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,026 Points:1,115,345 Joined:Feb 2004	Message Posted: Aug 8, 2012 8:17:01 PM Ignore Gnusman53 Report Abuse Long range passenger service should maximize options....ie., for an additional $10 or $15 on a ticket, allow a car to be moved point to point... In Europe they do something similar....and have done it for decades...
bulbous Champion Author Ohio Posts:3,667 Points:115,035 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Aug 6, 2012 7:50:30 PM Ignore bulbous Report Abuse idiot governors,like in ohio, sent the funds for our passenger trains back to the federal government.now we are stuck with an antiquated transportation system forever,or until we get another governor.
Gnusman53 Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,026 Points:1,115,345 Joined:Feb 2004	Message Posted: Aug 6, 2012 7:25:00 PM Ignore Gnusman53 Report Abuse Sadly Rodzilla is in total fantasy mode. The opposite of what he says is the actual truth.
sparky808 Champion Author Honolulu Posts:3,018 Points:601,635 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Aug 6, 2012 10:29:57 AM Ignore sparky808 Report Abuse Thank you for posting.
tomok Champion Author Portland Posts:33,090 Points:2,348,435 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: Aug 6, 2012 12:47:47 AM Ignore tomok Report Abuse You only add additional train service if there is a demand to justify the increase in spending. If there is No demand or the level of ridership stays the same, you do not increase the service. It should not take anybody outside Amtrak to say something, service should have already been increased when the demand increased. There's a train a comin.' Whatever the size or shape of the vehicle, Produce and ‘Drive’ vehicles with high MPG, are very safe, reliable, have a ‘reasonable’ cost and a good ‘value’ for the money. Consider using other forms of less expensive transportation to lower your cost. The price of fuel at the pump is too high! 12/22/2012
jrsva Champion Author Virginia Posts:9,873 Points:1,616,250 Joined:Jan 2006	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 10:12:34 PM Ignore jrsva Report Abuse It is very difficult to get a reservation on The Empire Builder. Adding a couple of cars would help but they really need to run a second section at least part of the time. The present situation discourages ridership.
pgerassi Champion Author Milwaukee Posts:10,916 Points:2,135,505 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:51:30 PM Ignore pgerassi Report Abuse It would be better to add one trainset, a complete train consisting of 2 locomotives, 1 baggage cars, 1 coach baggage car, 1 diner, 1 crew sleeper car, 3 sleeping cars, 1 sightseeing/lounge car, and 3 coaches. That would both increase the probability of on time performance and increase capacity. There are four trainsets currently running the EB, Empire Builder, route, plus two additional locomotives that run the Portland to Spokane portion (one each way) where the 4 cars going to Portland are split off (the baggage/coach car, the lounge/sightseeing car, a sleeper car, and a coach car). A coach car is stored at Minneapolis and is added to each eastbound train and is returned by the subsequent westbound train to add more capacity to the Chicago/Minneapolis portion of the route. Since it takes 2 days each way to run the route, you need four trainsets at a minimum. Of course the problem is that if any train is late, you have to cutoff the ends and bus the people the rest of the way with those leaving having to be bused there. This is a bigger problem at the western end than at the eastern end because the Hiawatha runs 6 trains daily between Milwaukee and Chicago which saves 5 hours and because this part of the track is double tracked and is up to 110MPH service standards, few delays happen on this end, so the trainset would likely be stored at the Portland/Settle end allowing on time departures when the train is late and/or a car became defective within the trainset. In addition Amtrak could add a coach and/or sleeper car to some trainsets from this spare trainset which boosts the capacity further while still keeping enough of a trainset to overcome delays.
52MPG Champion Author Dayton Posts:7,277 Points:1,744,630 Joined:Apr 2006	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:33:59 PM Ignore 52MPG Report Abuse More government meddling.
PaylessKY Champion Author Kentucky Posts:8,742 Points:1,585,265 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:24:25 PM Ignore PaylessKY Report Abuse My dad worked for the Southern Rail Road, Now Norfolk Southern. I remember riding the train on vacation. It is a part of my childhood life , I miss a lot.
crreed1 Champion Author West Virginia Posts:2,004 Points:2,530,315 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:14:23 PM Ignore crreed1 Report Abuse we need to bring them back
Eugenian Champion Author Oregon Posts:1,878 Points:365,055 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:13:20 PM Ignore Eugenian Report Abuse Passenger rail is our most underappreciated transportation asset.
jkpsr Champion Author New Jersey Posts:4,094 Points:1,104,830 Joined:Jun 2005	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:12:42 PM Ignore jkpsr Report Abuse If Congress left Amtrak alone, it could be profitable, but not running the long routes such as the Empire Builder.
pyndasky Champion Author Maryland Posts:10,018 Points:1,785,605 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:12:15 PM Ignore pyndasky Report Abuse about time!!! Rail travel is a missing element of our commerce system... we bail out auto manufacturers, subsidize and sustain air travel, use tax dollars to build roads and bridges, but don't invest in rail at a level to keep this critical mode of travel healthy....
ssect8 Champion Author Hartford Posts:8,009 Points:2,095,695 Joined:Jun 2006	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:12:14 PM Ignore ssect8 Report Abuse Sounds like more waste of money.
LanguageMan1 Champion Author Tampa Posts:11,738 Points:1,664,715 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:12:05 PM Ignore LanguageMan1 Report Abuse I do hope capacity is increased and made use of as well. I believe this is one project in one area that would succeed; quite unlike high speed rail around here. We just wouldn't have the ridership around here for it to be profitable.
quasar502 Champion Author Lansing Posts:3,598 Points:804,275 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:11:06 PM Ignore quasar502 Report Abuse The ridership has been growing all over.
1fulltank Champion Author Buffalo Posts:7,918 Points:1,547,235 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:10:47 PM Ignore 1fulltank Report Abuse Just make sure it's not too temporary of an upswing in riders.
tedjm1 Champion Author New York Posts:5,609 Points:800,300 Joined:Dec 2006	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:10:32 PM Ignore tedjm1 Report Abuse Do not use Amtrak.
alaric76 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:16,553 Points:3,037,585 Joined:Nov 2004	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:10:13 PM Ignore alaric76 Report Abuse I love the sky car. We have a continuous poker game upstairs!
jem069 Champion Author Detroit Posts:2,558 Points:691,080 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:09:42 PM Ignore jem069 Report Abuse Ok
PrinceLH Champion Author Ontario Posts:2,710 Points:542,005 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:07:24 PM Ignore PrinceLH Report Abuse Just do it!
rahcat Champion Author Grand Rapids Posts:2,483 Points:665,875 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:07:14 PM Ignore rahcat Report Abuse Have used Amtrak from Holland, MI to Chicago, Il. many times.....Love the ride.
joel27nc Champion Author Raleigh Posts:10,552 Points:1,861,295 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:06:46 PM Ignore joel27nc Report Abuse need to upgrade the system
J4romeo All-Star Author Gary Posts:506 Points:1,214,925 Joined:Jan 2006	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:06:41 PM Ignore J4romeo Report Abuse it's going to be away of the future n more buses...taxi's not
Jarol Champion Author Iowa Posts:8,444 Points:1,596,390 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:06:32 PM Ignore Jarol Report Abuse If they can make a profit without tax dollars ... I'm all for it.
gilfarm Champion Author Alabama Posts:6,811 Points:1,951,765 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:05:55 PM Ignore gilfarm Report Abuse Ok
Rageagainsttm Champion Author Tampa Posts:8,313 Points:1,905,105 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:05:25 PM Ignore Rageagainsttm Report Abuse nice
jrschl Champion Author Louisville Posts:2,987 Points:684,765 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:03:22 PM Ignore jrschl Report Abuse Love the train. Still.
rxman1 Champion Author Toledo Posts:9,564 Points:1,864,820 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:03:11 PM Ignore rxman1 Report Abuse Sydney is in Montana. Where there is demand for service, that is the time to add cars or runs to meet the demand.
bluegrasser1 Champion Author Richmond Posts:15,954 Points:2,619,620 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:01:29 PM Ignore bluegrasser1 Report Abuse ok
TustinDad Champion Author Orange County Posts:4,313 Points:908,990 Joined:Feb 2008	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:01:13 PM Ignore TustinDad Report Abuse Very well said, gasokie!
TXGasPriceSpy Champion Author Fort Worth Posts:7,830 Points:1,475,200 Joined:Sep 2008	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 9:00:30 PM Ignore TXGasPriceSpy Report Abuse Politics at work.
mackconsult Champion Author Portland Posts:5,309 Points:864,355 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:57:15 PM Ignore mackconsult Report Abuse Good for them
gasokie Champion Author Oklahoma Posts:3,451 Points:1,327,985 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:52:03 PM Ignore gasokie Report Abuse Railroads have really been screwed over the past many years cause they are hated. But the trucking industry enjoys almost free roads, cheap tags etc. Airlines are well, really subsidized. Our tax dollars go to build and maintain airports and air controllers and so on. And I under stand all that. When an underfunded Amtrak tries to make schedules on railroads that favor freight service and consequently are always a little late and slower than they used to be....and like I said, are hated like snakes by many public people who may have forgotten why they hate 'em. Underfunded and kicked around this cheapest, most valuable type of transport is beling allowed to since in the mire of politics and hate. Rail roads, all things being even can haul freight and people for 12% of the cost of overland (trucks and Busses) can.
Yatta99 Rookie Author Florida Posts:38 Points:62,035 Joined:Apr 2012	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:48:11 PM Ignore Yatta99 Report Abuse "wayoung56: What or where is the Bakken???" I think it's in New Yaak :)
granitestater Champion Author New Hampshire Posts:8,841 Points:1,433,675 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:45:02 PM Ignore granitestater Report Abuse We need a Senate Investigation in order to add cars to a train?
SavALot Champion Author Virginia Beach Posts:8,489 Points:1,714,760 Joined:Apr 2005	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:43:43 PM Ignore SavALot Report Abuse Love Amtrak hope they continue great cross county service
RTBama1 Sophomore Author Montgomery Posts:101 Points:1,559,795 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:43:35 PM Ignore RTBama1 Report Abuse More train travel is a win for everyone.
Blue48 Champion Author Illinois Posts:7,325 Points:1,641,845 Joined:Feb 2007	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:42:24 PM Ignore Blue48 Report Abuse GOOD LUCK!
bbigred Veteran Author Lansing Posts:427 Points:297,950 Joined:May 2006	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:40:49 PM Ignore bbigred Report Abuse As gas goes up and up affordable train service should go up
OOXXFF Champion Author Greensboro Posts:3,078 Points:1,082,330 Joined:Sep 2009	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:40:14 PM Ignore OOXXFF Report Abuse Good.
Jmac2008 Champion Author Missouri Posts:2,289 Points:884,065 Joined:Dec 2008	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:39:00 PM Ignore Jmac2008 Report Abuse ok
MRHONEST Champion Author Illinois Posts:2,212 Points:1,677,180 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:38:37 PM Ignore MRHONEST Report Abuse OK
justmedc Veteran Author Michigan Posts:382 Points:174,495 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:36:29 PM Ignore justmedc Report Abuse n/a for me, won't get me from mi to fl
Bruno44 Champion Author Texas Posts:7,090 Points:1,771,120 Joined:Sep 2007	Message Posted: Aug 5, 2012 8:35:28 PM Ignore Bruno44 Report Abuse Huh?