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Started By
Message
re: Privatizing Amtrak
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:29 pm to chryso
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:29 pm to chryso
No one in their right mind is going to want Amtrak. It's a losing industry with no future. You can't even retrofit Amtrak with High Speed rail.
Just shut it down or see if there is any way to convert it to freight.
Just shut it down or see if there is any way to convert it to freight.
1
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:35 pm to Texas Weazel
quote:
Just shut it down or see if there is any way to convert it to freight.
Thanks for letting us know you have no clue.
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:40 pm to bayoudude
quote:
I looked into taking amtrack and it’s ridiculously expensive and there aren’t many destinations worth visiting on the route.
It is expensive and don’t expect to get to your destination in a reasonable timeframe.
For example if you wanted to ride rails to Houston from New Orleans, the Sunset Limited only leaves New Orleans 3 times a week. Southwest alone on the other hand has 7 nonstop flights to Houston a day. The price is nearly the same about 50 dollars.
Now time is where flying has its advantages, that train travel is going to cost you over 9 hours on a train while flying you will get there in 1 hour and twenty minutes. Now you could schedule it to where you don’t have to get there 2 hours in advance and pick a flight when airport security is empty to cut down on the delays at the airport or have pre check.
So flying will always be king. I don’t understand the fascination of trains unless you are going a sightseeing adventure. Trains had their place in the 1900’s before air travel was standardized and prices became affordable to everyone.
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:42 pm to 4cubbies
quote:
When has privatization ever decreased costs?
How would you ever measure the result of privatization? I am absolutely certain that Amrtrak riders would pay more per ride if Amtrak were privatized. I am also certain that many routes would be discontinued because there wouldn't be enough passengers to pay the costs.
How can that be compared to simply absorbing all the cost into the GOV, and therefore, all taxpayers? Why should someone in Alaska and Hawaii be paying tax to keep up a rail system that they will never benefit from?
The only measurement of privatization is What the GOV paid before vs What the GOV paid after.
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:43 pm to Aubie Spr96
quote:
Why haven't we had this caliber of conversation before now?
You think America has never had privatized passenger rail before?
What's the historical reason for creating Amtrak?
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:46 pm to BuckyCheese
So what's the solution genius? No one is going to buy it outright. Anyone that puts a bid will likely demand some kind of subsidy to keep it going until they eventually declare bankruptcy.
No one uses Amtrak. It is slow, has an inefficient network, and expensive compared to other faster modes of transportation. To make matters worse, the infrastructure it uses is old and will need massive renovations in the decades to come.
So, what do you do with it?
No one uses Amtrak. It is slow, has an inefficient network, and expensive compared to other faster modes of transportation. To make matters worse, the infrastructure it uses is old and will need massive renovations in the decades to come.
So, what do you do with it?
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:47 pm to Texas Weazel
quote:
No one uses Amtrak.
How much time have you spent in the north east?
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:49 pm to oklahogjr
The northeast corridor makes money…problem is the long distance trains
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:50 pm to 4cubbies
quote:
When has privatization ever decreased costs?
It's cute that you guys think I don't know that my taxes are what subsidized that cheap ticket.
Or maybe you're like most Democrats, and actually think that something the government gives you is free.
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:55 pm to vl100butch
quote:
The northeast corridor makes money…problem is the long distance trains
I took St Louis to Chicago. Nightmare experience.
Stops every town.
They dont get priority on lines so you're stopping every 5 miles.
Awful experience. Forget the novelty. Just say no.
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:56 pm to 4cubbies
Privatization in this case has nothing to do with lowering costs and everything to do with keeping a dying, legacy service operating that was once viewed as critical. Let us not forget that Amtrak itself was a bailout for private rail companies that wanted to dump passenger service.
The network, as it is designed, cannot be converted to a High Speed Rail either. So you're extremely limited on how you can repurpose Amtrak. Anyone that is willing to buy it will want the subsidies to continue and that defeats the purpose of privatization.
It's time for Trump to shut it down. It is cheaper to fly between Houston and New Orleans than it is to take Amtrak. It's a waste of money.
The network, as it is designed, cannot be converted to a High Speed Rail either. So you're extremely limited on how you can repurpose Amtrak. Anyone that is willing to buy it will want the subsidies to continue and that defeats the purpose of privatization.
It's time for Trump to shut it down. It is cheaper to fly between Houston and New Orleans than it is to take Amtrak. It's a waste of money.
Posted on 3/5/25 at 9:57 pm to Texas Weazel
quote:
So what's the solution genius?
Outside the NE corridor, and one short segment in Michigan iirc, Amtrak does not own the tracks they run on.
There is no giving it back to freight as it is already freight and Amtrak is a tenant.
eta-If you think I support Amtrak, you need to go back a page.
This post was edited on 3/5/25 at 9:59 pm
Posted on 3/5/25 at 10:01 pm to oklahogjr
quote:
How much time have you spent in the north east?
Amtrak isn't just a Northeastern company. Just because they have one good route between DC and NYC doesn't mean we should continue to fund it or try to keep it alive.
Financially speaking, it is a loser operation and it needs to be shut down. No one in their right mind is going to buy it outright. Let's not forget that the whole reason Amtrak exists is because regional passenger trains needed to be bailed out.
Posted on 3/5/25 at 10:06 pm to Texas Weazel
quote:
No one uses Amtrak
bullshite. The DC to Boston corridor runs at very high occupancy.
quote:
So, what do you do with it?
Spin off the profitable upper mid Atlantic and NE routes. Sell everything else for scrap. Passenger rail has no future in the US.
America is automobile centric. We have a love affair with our cars, and as FSD evolves, that isn't going to change. The road network is superior in every way to the rail network for passenger travel. Passively cruising in your self driving car will always win out over sitting in a railcar full of strangers. And air travel will always beat it for speed.
Posted on 3/5/25 at 10:12 pm to 4cubbies
quote:
When has privatization ever decreased costs?
wait, you think Elon wants to privatize these companies because he thinks it will make the price of a stamp or train ticket go down?
Costs are what it takes to produce a service or product.
Posted on 3/5/25 at 10:30 pm to TBoy
The irony of Congress forcing one agency to do what itself refuses to do....
Posted on 3/5/25 at 10:50 pm to TBoy
quote:
The Republican passed Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 required the USPS to create a $72 billion fund to pay for the cost of its post-retirement health care costs, 75 years into the future.
It amortized the npv of the future payments due.
Their yearly retirement pay out is more than this.
You people are such fricking fools.
The USPS as whole has had a lot of problems. It hasn’t just been one thing.
This post was edited on 3/5/25 at 10:51 pm
Posted on 3/5/25 at 10:57 pm to Aubie Spr96
Amtrak is cool if you want a 2 hour trip to take 8 hours.
Posted on 3/5/25 at 11:02 pm to 4cubbies
quote:
When has privatization ever decreased costs?
prison
trash collection
utilities
the better question is when hasn't privatization decreased costs.
Posted on 3/6/25 at 6:21 am to 4cubbies
quote:
When has privatization ever decreased costs?
You don't get it.
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