Union Pacific has told Amtrak that changing the Sunset Limited’s frequency from triweekly to daily will cost the government-supported company about $750 million in capital improvements. It’s fair to say the vice presidents at Amtrak headquarters in Washington, D.C., are reeling from sticker shock.
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Filed under: Amtrak, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy
No Amtrak train is worth spending $750M to make it daily, or
hourly. This is just UP’s way of saying “NYET” to anything
passenger. Watch for CSX and others to follow suit on the
issue. In fact it was announced yesterday that CSX will see
to add a surcharge on freight rates to cover PTC, and likely
they will also put the hammer on Amtrak as well
Fred, yesterday, covered the story of UP laying down “rules” for future passenger services on its rails which I take as a good sign for future passenger services: at a price.