Amtrak to cut national trains from daily to 3-day-a-week service
June 15th, 2020
June 15, 2020 - TRA Newswire -
In what has been described as a "slash and burn" mentality, passenger rail carrier Amtrak is set to cut service on its national network trains from daily service to tri-weekly.
Texas and other states would be severely impacted by cutting daily train service to midsize and smaller towns and cities already struggling with either reduced or no air or intercity bus service.
Texas Rail Advocates obtained a copy of a Special Employee Advisory issued by Amtrak Vice-President and Chief Marketing/Revenue Officer Roger Harris that states "Amtrak has made the decision to operate with reduced capacity through FY21 (ending September 30, 2021). We are planning 32% fewer frequencies on the Northeast Corridor, 24% fewer for our state-supported service and plan to reduce most long-distance trains to three days per week, beginning October 1, 2020."
Harris' memo to employees also stated "this is an appropriate response, given the current and near-term market conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our ridership has been down by as much as 95% year-over-year. It’s climbing back slowly – and it is going to take a long time to return to normal. We expect our system-wide ridership in Fiscal Year 2021 to be only 50% of what it was in 2019."
"Of course ridership will be down 50% if you slash daily service to fewer than 50% of the days each week", according to Texas Rail Advocates President Peter LeCody. "Ridership has been stronger on the national network trains than on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor during the pandemic. Isn't there anyone left at Amtrak to look back in time and see what happened when this was tried before? Cutting service from a daily train to three times a week will decimate passenger counts and take years, not months, to get ridership numbers back up for daily service. To put it in perspective, what if an airline only flew between Point A and B three times a week. Not that many people would be flying a 'part-time' airline, would they?"
In his employee statement Harris said "the demand for our Long Distance service is down by 70%, even as some U.S. states begin to reopen. Low ridership on long-distance trains has significantly increased our operating losses, which already exceeded $500 million annually on these services before the pandemic. We expect these long-distance frequency reductions will save as much as $150 million in FY21 vs. the losses that would have been incurred with daily service."
LeCody responded that "Amtrak is wrong. It costs less per passenger mile to operate long distance passenger network trains over freight rail tracks across the country than to operate trains in the Northeast Corridor where there is a $40+ billion dollar backlog in required and deferred maintenance on property they own. This is an old argument Amtrak keeps putting out with misleading financial reports. Rail Passengers Association proved this over a year ago with a White Paper. Cutting trains to three times a week is sheer lunancy. It's been tried before and it doesn't work".
DC-based Rail Passengers Association President Jim Mathews issued this statement: "Given CEO Bill Flynn's May 25th letter to Congress, this decision is unsurprising. But the fact that it was expected doesn't make it any less disappointing, nor any less misguided than it was 22 days ago when Amtrak telegraphed its intentions and provoked congressional leaders. For that matter, it is as misguided as it was years ago when the folly of three-times-weekly service was first foisted on Amtrak and American policymakers."
"Let's be clear: this is penny-wise and pound-foolish. Amtrak famously looks for 'demand signals' to tell it when to add service. Chopping back to 3X will mute any demand signal before it gets to management. The long-distance services declined the least among Amtrak's three business lines during the coronavirus-induced slowdown, and its services remain essential to the hundreds of small communities across the United States with fewer options than Philadelphia or Boston or New York City," said Mathews. "It's no coincidence that the worst-performing trains in Amtrak's system are the two less-than-daily long-distance services. Remaking the entire National Network to emulate this failure is no solution to a temporary -- if dramatic -- decline in ridership. Working with legislators and policymakers to find a way through is the right answer. Moreover, Amtrak may be setting itself up for failure by losing operating slots on host railroads, losing employees it will need to restore service and possibly losing the rolling stock as well."
Mathews indicated that "Congress has said unambiguously and repeatedly that it views Amtrak as a public benefit and it does not tie Amtrak's continued operation to its ability to make a profit. And this Congress has been willing to put money where its mouth is, appropriating coronavirus rescue funds for the railroad and contemplating a surface-transportation bill that would give Amtrak three times more money than it has ever had before. While Congress might well not 'support us indefinitely to run mostly empty trains,' congressional leaders have demonstrated a willingness to do so in the short-term to preserve the Network and its utility for millions of Americans who may have no other choice. Our position remains what it was on May 25th: like many congressional leaders, Rail Passengers strongly supports the need to get Amtrak through this crisis with additional funds. Also like many congressional leaders, however, we insist that any additional funds appropriated need to buy certainty for workers and passengers alike. Daily train service must be the very minimum service level."
The employee advisory from Harris follows:
Long Distance Business Line – Service Update
A Message from Roger Harris
To All Amtrak Employees,
We remain committed to operating a national network that serves our customers across America. However, we need to be smart about how we deliver our service in this market environment. Congress is not going to support us indefinitely to run mostly empty trains. We need to demonstrate that we are using our resources efficiently and responsibly.
Amtrak has made the decision to operate with reduced capacity through FY21. We are planning 32% fewer frequencies on the Northeast Corridor, 24% fewer for our state-supported service and plan to reduce most long-distance trains to three days per week, beginning October 1, 2020.
This is an appropriate response, given the current and near-term market conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our ridership has been down by as much as 95% year-over-year. It’s climbing back slowly – and it is going to take a long time to return to normal. The demand for our Long Distance service is down by 70%, even as some U.S. states begin to reopen. We expect our systemwide ridership in Fiscal Year 2021 to be only 50% of what it was in 2019.
Low ridership on long-distance trains has significantly increased our operating losses, which already exceeded $500 million annually on these services before the pandemic. We expect these long-distance frequency reductions will save as much as $150 million in FY21 vs. the losses that would have been incurred with daily service. These savings are part of our pledge to Congress to reduce costs by $500 million.
Our goal is to restore daily service on these routes as demand warrants, potentially by the summer of 2021.
We recognize these changes will impact our employees who support the Long Distance Service Line. While we have a broad plan on our FY21 service frequency, we still have work to do to determine how that will impact the employees who support this work. We are sensitive to the uncertainty that this announcement brings to our Long Distance team. We will work quickly to determine what staffing reductions or furloughs will occur, and we will communicate these changes to you as soon as possible.
A few additional points:
The Auto Train is an exception to Amtrak’s long-distance reduction plan and will continue its daily operation. The Sunset Limited and the Cardinal are currently tri-weekly and will remain tri-weekly. We expect to run the Silver Meteor four times a week so the stations that are common between it and the Silver Star have daily service.
Amtrak remains concerned about the potential for a second wave of the pandemic in the fall, which could further impact demand across the system.
Amtrak is developing specific and measurable metrics to guide our restoration of frequencies and service, and we will share those with you, Congressional staff and other stakeholders.
To ensure all stakeholders understand changes to our service, we will continue to communicate with our union leadership, our state partners, the federal government, the Rail Passengers Association, host railroads, our customers and you.
We appreciate your continued support as we work together to manage Amtrak through this difficult period.
Roger Harris
EVP, Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer
In what has been described as a "slash and burn" mentality, passenger rail carrier Amtrak is set to cut service on its national network trains from daily service to tri-weekly.
Texas and other states would be severely impacted by cutting daily train service to midsize and smaller towns and cities already struggling with either reduced or no air or intercity bus service.
Texas Rail Advocates obtained a copy of a Special Employee Advisory issued by Amtrak Vice-President and Chief Marketing/Revenue Officer Roger Harris that states "Amtrak has made the decision to operate with reduced capacity through FY21 (ending September 30, 2021). We are planning 32% fewer frequencies on the Northeast Corridor, 24% fewer for our state-supported service and plan to reduce most long-distance trains to three days per week, beginning October 1, 2020."
Harris' memo to employees also stated "this is an appropriate response, given the current and near-term market conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our ridership has been down by as much as 95% year-over-year. It’s climbing back slowly – and it is going to take a long time to return to normal. We expect our system-wide ridership in Fiscal Year 2021 to be only 50% of what it was in 2019."
"Of course ridership will be down 50% if you slash daily service to fewer than 50% of the days each week", according to Texas Rail Advocates President Peter LeCody. "Ridership has been stronger on the national network trains than on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor during the pandemic. Isn't there anyone left at Amtrak to look back in time and see what happened when this was tried before? Cutting service from a daily train to three times a week will decimate passenger counts and take years, not months, to get ridership numbers back up for daily service. To put it in perspective, what if an airline only flew between Point A and B three times a week. Not that many people would be flying a 'part-time' airline, would they?"
In his employee statement Harris said "the demand for our Long Distance service is down by 70%, even as some U.S. states begin to reopen. Low ridership on long-distance trains has significantly increased our operating losses, which already exceeded $500 million annually on these services before the pandemic. We expect these long-distance frequency reductions will save as much as $150 million in FY21 vs. the losses that would have been incurred with daily service."
LeCody responded that "Amtrak is wrong. It costs less per passenger mile to operate long distance passenger network trains over freight rail tracks across the country than to operate trains in the Northeast Corridor where there is a $40+ billion dollar backlog in required and deferred maintenance on property they own. This is an old argument Amtrak keeps putting out with misleading financial reports. Rail Passengers Association proved this over a year ago with a White Paper. Cutting trains to three times a week is sheer lunancy. It's been tried before and it doesn't work".
DC-based Rail Passengers Association President Jim Mathews issued this statement: "Given CEO Bill Flynn's May 25th letter to Congress, this decision is unsurprising. But the fact that it was expected doesn't make it any less disappointing, nor any less misguided than it was 22 days ago when Amtrak telegraphed its intentions and provoked congressional leaders. For that matter, it is as misguided as it was years ago when the folly of three-times-weekly service was first foisted on Amtrak and American policymakers."
"Let's be clear: this is penny-wise and pound-foolish. Amtrak famously looks for 'demand signals' to tell it when to add service. Chopping back to 3X will mute any demand signal before it gets to management. The long-distance services declined the least among Amtrak's three business lines during the coronavirus-induced slowdown, and its services remain essential to the hundreds of small communities across the United States with fewer options than Philadelphia or Boston or New York City," said Mathews. "It's no coincidence that the worst-performing trains in Amtrak's system are the two less-than-daily long-distance services. Remaking the entire National Network to emulate this failure is no solution to a temporary -- if dramatic -- decline in ridership. Working with legislators and policymakers to find a way through is the right answer. Moreover, Amtrak may be setting itself up for failure by losing operating slots on host railroads, losing employees it will need to restore service and possibly losing the rolling stock as well."
Mathews indicated that "Congress has said unambiguously and repeatedly that it views Amtrak as a public benefit and it does not tie Amtrak's continued operation to its ability to make a profit. And this Congress has been willing to put money where its mouth is, appropriating coronavirus rescue funds for the railroad and contemplating a surface-transportation bill that would give Amtrak three times more money than it has ever had before. While Congress might well not 'support us indefinitely to run mostly empty trains,' congressional leaders have demonstrated a willingness to do so in the short-term to preserve the Network and its utility for millions of Americans who may have no other choice. Our position remains what it was on May 25th: like many congressional leaders, Rail Passengers strongly supports the need to get Amtrak through this crisis with additional funds. Also like many congressional leaders, however, we insist that any additional funds appropriated need to buy certainty for workers and passengers alike. Daily train service must be the very minimum service level."
The employee advisory from Harris follows:
Long Distance Business Line – Service Update
A Message from Roger Harris
To All Amtrak Employees,
We remain committed to operating a national network that serves our customers across America. However, we need to be smart about how we deliver our service in this market environment. Congress is not going to support us indefinitely to run mostly empty trains. We need to demonstrate that we are using our resources efficiently and responsibly.
Amtrak has made the decision to operate with reduced capacity through FY21. We are planning 32% fewer frequencies on the Northeast Corridor, 24% fewer for our state-supported service and plan to reduce most long-distance trains to three days per week, beginning October 1, 2020.
This is an appropriate response, given the current and near-term market conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our ridership has been down by as much as 95% year-over-year. It’s climbing back slowly – and it is going to take a long time to return to normal. The demand for our Long Distance service is down by 70%, even as some U.S. states begin to reopen. We expect our systemwide ridership in Fiscal Year 2021 to be only 50% of what it was in 2019.
Low ridership on long-distance trains has significantly increased our operating losses, which already exceeded $500 million annually on these services before the pandemic. We expect these long-distance frequency reductions will save as much as $150 million in FY21 vs. the losses that would have been incurred with daily service. These savings are part of our pledge to Congress to reduce costs by $500 million.
Our goal is to restore daily service on these routes as demand warrants, potentially by the summer of 2021.
We recognize these changes will impact our employees who support the Long Distance Service Line. While we have a broad plan on our FY21 service frequency, we still have work to do to determine how that will impact the employees who support this work. We are sensitive to the uncertainty that this announcement brings to our Long Distance team. We will work quickly to determine what staffing reductions or furloughs will occur, and we will communicate these changes to you as soon as possible.
A few additional points:
The Auto Train is an exception to Amtrak’s long-distance reduction plan and will continue its daily operation. The Sunset Limited and the Cardinal are currently tri-weekly and will remain tri-weekly. We expect to run the Silver Meteor four times a week so the stations that are common between it and the Silver Star have daily service.
Amtrak remains concerned about the potential for a second wave of the pandemic in the fall, which could further impact demand across the system.
Amtrak is developing specific and measurable metrics to guide our restoration of frequencies and service, and we will share those with you, Congressional staff and other stakeholders.
To ensure all stakeholders understand changes to our service, we will continue to communicate with our union leadership, our state partners, the federal government, the Rail Passengers Association, host railroads, our customers and you.
We appreciate your continued support as we work together to manage Amtrak through this difficult period.
Roger Harris
EVP, Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer