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Despite still struggling on many fronts, Amtrak managed to set a ridership record last year, carrying nearly 33 million passengers in FY 2024. Though running on tracks owned by other railroads, plagued by obsolete equipment, cursed by chronic tardiness, and dreadfully underfunded, the railroad remains an important way of moving people.
A decade or so ago, author James Kuntsler called passenger rail service in America "a railroad system that even Bulgaria would be ashamed of." His words were prompted by his research and writings on urban sprawl and related transportation challenges in the United States. Even with recent good news, the circumstances have not fundamentally changed in the ensuing years. (For those interested in reading more, Kuntsler wrote the foreword for a great book on the topic, Waiting on a Train, by James McCommons.) Amtrak invested $4.5 billion in system enhancements and upgrades during the fiscal year, thanks in part to a five-year $22 billion infusion of funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Over the longer term, passenger rail transportation has historically been woefully underfunded when compared to other modes of transportation in the United States. The emasculation of Amtrak had already helped reduce the number of trains between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, as one example, to a single trip each way per day. (Sixty passenger trains once passed through Altoona, Pennsylvania each day.) While the world was a vastly different place in those by-gone days, the recent resurgence has caused a re-examination of passenger rail's place in the American transportation system. Just as Amtrak's funding and fortunes have turned in a more positive direction, privatization has once again been suggested, especially as other federal government spending has been cut. While privatization may have some benefits, the downsides would seem to be considerable. Most countries look at passenger rail as transportation infrastructure which is a government responsibility. Mass transit of all scales have typically been underwritten by government, whether it be local bus and urban light rail or or inter-city trains. Perhaps more disturbing, privatization would further undermine the already mediocre service to small communities and rural areas since unprofitable corridors would be abandoned. Those with limited access to motor vehicles or too poor to fly would be in an even more difficult place. The environmental benefits are often forgotten, too. Passenger rail transportation remains the most efficient mechanized way to move people, about 45% more efficient than the private automobile. The dominant mode of transportation a century ago, rail had dipped to less than half a per cent of all passenger miles traveled in America. The Northeast Corridor, the busy part of the system that runs from Washington, through Philadelphia and on to New York not only reduces the auto congestion of the Northeast megalopolis, it also provides an option to air travel many travelers prefer. Though state-based routes like the Pennsylvanian are growing more popular and a second daily train each way has been proposed, such trains must be subsidized by the states they run through. Until this recent funding (now threatened by the new administration), Congress had long forced the states to pickup the tab for such routes. Already in a tough spot because they had to operate at the mercy of the freight lines that own the track, it was difficult to do capital upgrades which would improve service. A number of places throughout the country have undertaken and continue studies to explore rail's potential to fill important niches in our national transportation system. One such study, the Keystone West High Speed Rail study, was done here in Pennsylvania to explore various options to improve service in these parts. The study, however, seemed to look for a complicated answer to a simple question. Rather than looking at the whole picture, the study focused more on the expensive, high-tech options to solve a problem that could be addressed by a change in policy and practices. Many believe that the simple investment in more trains would do much more than spending billions on straightening out a dozen curves. Henry Posner III of Pittsburgh's Railroad Development Corporation, owner of several domestic and foreign freight railroads, believes that people are much less concerned about time because they can work or relax on the train. "Why not focus on what passengers really want, which is frequency, not speed?" Posner asked several years ago. The most annoying delays are not caused by slow sections of tracks, but because Amtrak must share freight line right-of-ways. Common in Pennsylvania and most of the upper Midwest, the delays happen because Amtrak doesn't own its own track and are sidetracked by increasing longer freight trains. Many have called the Amtrak timetable more of a "wish list" than a schedule. (A cross-country train I took twenty years ago arrived in Chicago six hours late.) Yet despite limited options and frequent delays, people still ride the trains. Over 53,000 passengers get on or off the train in Johnstown, Altoona, Tyrone, Huntingdon or Lewistown in an average year. Ridership is up throughout most of the system, despite the fact that the trains are old, the tracks are designed for freight trains and it takes less time to drive. In routes serving smaller cities, like the Pennsylvanian, a single daily train means that arrivals and departures are inconvenient for business travelers, forcing people to make overnight stays if they use the train. Based on the national average of 1.5 passengers per car, the train is keeping 35,000 cars off the road each year, even here in the more lightly traveled Central Pennsylvania region between Lewistown and Johnstown. Besides being a much more environmentally sound way to travel, it is an important option for many people that have limited access to an automobile. In addition to older and lower income people, that group also includes many college-aged individuals who are less likely to have access to a car. Limited mass transit options inordinately penalize those that can least afford it. Even with the 2024 uptick in funding, federal and state spending on railroads remains a tiny fraction of what we spend on highways and airports. Passenger rail in America still runs much less frequently, struggles to keep thirty year old trains running, and must use lines owned by freight lines that don't want them on their tracks. It sure seems like a funny way to run a railroad. Sources:
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