12 replies to this topic

[NickG]

From DOT's website, 7/5/05:

Secretary Mineta Says Alaska Knows How to Run a Railroad; Cites Operation as Example to Follow

Alaskans know how to run a railroad and their success could serve as a model in the drive to reform Amtrak and save inter-city passenger rail, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said today during a visit to an Alaska Railroad terminal in Anchorage.

“The Alaska Railroad has developed an innovative service that has made it the only passenger railroad in the nation that doesn’t require operating subsidies,” Secretary Mineta said.

Mineta took a ride on the railroad that he has often cited as a model during his campaign this year to reform Amtrak. He has been pushing Congress to give states control of routes and federal dollars for capital investments, while promoting competition and an end to what he has called Amtrak's “dysfunctional monopoly.”

“Here in Alaska, you know how to run a railroad. We hope someday to share this state’s success with the rest of the nation before it is too late,” the Secretary said.

Mineta said the Alaskan railroad has demonstrated a willingness to innovate, running long distance trains that combine first-class travel cars owned and operated by cruise lines, while continuing to serve commuters and local residents across the state.

In addition, he said, the railroad’s sound business model has allowed the company to cover the cost of operations while partnering with the federal government to share the cost of new tracks and other capital needs.

That is not the case with Amtrak, which loses $908 million a year on long distance trains, according to Mineta. Also, the company loses up to $150 million running café and dining cars, and food and beverage service while taxpayers are left paying an average of $214 to subsidize each Amtrak passenger, he said.

“Amtrak is dying, but it doesn’t have to be that way. With true reforms, this key mode of transportation can be revived and brought back to health to serve the entire country,” Secretary Mineta said.

Amtrak was created by Congress in 1971 as a for-profit corporation, however it has failed to turn a profit or provide quality service.

[Sam Damon]

This piece fairly drips with ink from the White House political machine.

[ICGsteve]

Ya gotta wonder how Mineta figures that non-idiots are going to take this spin seriously. The Alaska railroad has over the last few years been tossed huge chunks of pork by Congress, and I believe that the great state of Alaska-the state which functions with very high taxes and very high government spending- throws Alaska railroad a lot of socialist style funding. I very much doubt that Mineta wants to go on record as wishing that all states would tax and spend as Alaska does, and own the railroads in their states as Alaska does , but if this is what he means to say then lets talk. THe US treasury funds Alaska railroad in excess of $30 million a year, so if Meneta is willing to have congress fund Amtrak the same amount per passenger mile as Alaska gets I am sure that Gunn would accept the offer, and make Amtrak much better than it is.

[AmtrakFan]

How much would Amtrak get?

[EvergreenRailfan]

Alaska's Passenger trains revolve around the tourist industry, and the cruise season. That is one reason they make money.

[ICGsteve]

Amtrakfan, I don't think that then numbers can even be found. However, Mineta was talking only about passenger operations so lets ignore the frieght side of the house. Alaska railroad runs only a few shourt routes and in some months carries few passengers on them, yet they get $30 mill plus out of the FRA and I believe several more millions out of Congress by other routes. The standard railroad accounting measuring stick traditionally has been the passenger mile-one passenger carried one mile is one passenger mile. I think that if you divide the yearly national subsidy by the number of passsenger miles on Alaska railroad and take that figure and miltiply it by the passneger miles that Amtrak delivers each year you would find that the result would be that Amtrak should be getting several billions of dollars per year more than they are, if they were to be funded as well as Alaske Railroad. I don't have the figures to crunch, but I am saying that if we did Mineta's comments would look like nonsense. The obvious come-back to what he said would be "OK, Fund Amtrak out of the national till as well as we fund Alaska railroad and lets see for ourselves how well Gunn and Company can operate a reasonably funded operation. How do you justify your jump to the conclusion that the AMtrak model is the cause of Amtrak's ills when it appears just as likely( based upon compairing Amtrak with Alaska Rail) that the flaw is in the funding level of AMtrak?"

[Sam Damon]

I don't have the figures to crunch, but I am saying that if we  did Mineta's comments would look like nonsense.

Sounds to me a good idea; I'll put it on the "things to do list."

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to do some digging, but the rest of this week seems pretty busy for me.

[NickG]

From the Montana News Association, 7/6/05:

MINETA'S MISLEADING ALASKA/AMTRACK ANALOGY

In yet another attempt to obscure the truth about intercity passenger rail, Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta issued a news release (carried on PR Newswire, presumably at government expense) misrepresenting the relevance of the Alaska Railroad to rail passenger service in the lower 48 states.

The full opinion is here.

[ICGsteve]

Let's not forget the main reason that Alaska railroad can never be the example for the rest of the states- it is owned by the state. Now I am all in favor of nationalizing the railroads, but I doubt that the administration is.

[KevinKorell]

You would think that Norman's mouth has some elasticity from all of the foot insertions over the past 5 months. But he continues. This time he went all the way to Alaska to show what a moron he is. And now he's insulted the people of our largest state with his comparison of Alaska Railroad to Amtrak, which is worse than comparing apples and oranges.

Column from Anchorage, AK Daily News, 7/8/05:

Comparing our super railroad to Amtrak is unfair

The railroad depot at the airport is a bit like those destination-nowhere construction projects we Alaskans excel at conceiving and sometimes even building -- a bridge to nowhere, a road to nowhere, a tunnel to nowhere.

Complete column is here. Free registration required.