Amtrak’s dream of restoring passenger service between New Orleans and Jacksonville — service disrupted by Hurricane Katrina — died, at least for the foreseeable future, when the governors of Alabama and Mississippi refused to provide funds to subsidize this train. Meanwhile, Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson incurred the wrath of his predecessors last week when he tried to explain to state legislators why Amtrak should end the Southwest Chief service between Newton, Kansas and Gallup, New Mexico.
“This is the first time that a management team has ever come out against continuing services Amtrak currently provides,” worried former Amtrak president David Gunn, as reported by Trains magazine (paywall). “It’s dishonorable and dishonest,” chided Joseph Boardman, another former Amtrak president.
Actually, Anderson was being perfectly honest. His presentation noted that only about 175 people a day ride that segment of the Chicago-Los Angeles train, which gets most of its ridership in the Chicago-Kansas City segment followed by the segment between Los Angeles and Albuquerque. Because BNSF, which owns the tracks, no longer runs freight trains on this route, it is the only private rail route in the country that sees only Amtrak trains, making all capital and maintenance costs the sole responsibility of Amtrak. Continue reading
