Amtrak, which often claims to offer all-weather transportation, preemptively cancelled all trains to and from Chicago yesterday due to cold temperatures and, as one news report says, “an abundance of caution.” Before Amtrak, private passenger trains would sometimes get stuck in deep snow or be rerouted due to floods.
However, I don’t recall hearing about the railroads cancelling passenger trains on account of cold weather. I myself once took a winter train from Winnipeg to Churchill, Manitoba. The mercury read minus 20 when we left Winnipeg and it was colder than that in Churchill. In fact, I doubt the temperatures ever got above minus 15 during the entire round trip. I regretted taking the trip as it was hard to see much of Churchill when risking frostbite just by going outside — I recall spending most of my time in a library. But the trains were on time despite the cold weather.
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This isn’t the first time Amtrak has preemptively cancelled trains because of its fears about the weather. The all-weather claim is overblown, and should no longer be used as a justification for Amtrak’s subsidies.
“The all-weather claim is overblown, and should no longer be used as a justification for Amtrak’s subsidies.”
There is NO justification for Amtrak’s subsidies.
The reason Amtrak can cancel trains for questionable reasons without a passenger uprising is the same as the reason why they can offer special deals and discounts. It’s because Amtrak is more of a tourist train than a transportation train.
Who decides to ride a train when they have a “second passenger rides for free” deal? A tourist. Or two passengers who would have been on the train anyway. It’s hard to fathom a significant number of non-passengers who are going somewhere for a purpose being swayed onto a slow train because the ticket price is less for a short time but still higher than all the alternatives.
Lowering Amtrak ticket prices is a gift to existing passengers at the expense of taxpayers who make up the additional losses.
The old equipment may play a part in it. The train to Churchill was probably ontime because they had already padded the schedule for winter conditions. I’d speculate that a look at any operational map on a Class 1 this morning is going to show a bunch of extra speed restrictions and delayed and canceled freight trains.
You just can’t get around the physics, the metallurgy and such of all the pieces involved. When it gets bitter cold, things don’t run right and things break.
And maybe that’s Amtrak’s concern, that they know things will break. And being saddled by Congress with having a giant, sparse system, they know they won’t have anything around to address the problem. A train that isn’t generating heat out in North Dakota with windchills -77F quickly goes from an inconvenience to flat out deadly.
A woman got her foot chopped off in this fiasco which was initially blamed on the seven inches of champagne powder snow. There were no weather-related school closings this day so the weather wasn’t unusual for January. And the equipment can’t be more than a few years old.
Passenger ejected, seriously hurt when RTD light rail train derails in Aurora
Eyewitness: ‘This isn’t going to be pretty.’
Kurt Sevits , Russell Haythorn | The Denver Channel | Jan 28, 2019
Amtrak’s actions show that Amtrak is not essential. Otherwise it would be running- more carefully than normal (but then careful operations should be the norm in any event)
What about all the people who bought tickets and are missing important business matters etc.? They will have to use “unessential” and un-subsidized carriers to get places.
Regardless of what highwayman/msetty might say, fart, or do, Amtrak has NEVER been essential, except for the doling out of congressional pork.
@CapitalistRoader
Coincidentally enough, the Wikipedia page on Denver RTD’s “R” line appears to feature a photo of the exact intersection (and curve) where the derailment occurred.
Metrosucks, if you deliberately break something, why then complain that it doesn’t work? :$
Even roads need to have snow plowed for automobiles to get around, but you’re not against “socialism” there :$
Great excuse, H-Man. The next time I take a 30mph curve at 60mph in my car, I’ll just blame the resulting collision on the road not being plowed to my satisfaction. And if someone else gets their foot chopped off as a result, well, they’ve got another foot so what’s the problem?