The Choo-Choo From Hell

End of line for Amtrak subsidies?

– Peter Wong, Portland Tribune 

One key legislator says Oregon will continue state-subsidized passenger rail service between Portland and Eugene.

But Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, also wants Amtrak to change the timing of a weekday morning southbound train that carried barely 5,000 riders in 2014.

The Legislature’s budget framework proposes just $5 million in additional state funds, half of the $10.4 million proposed by then-Gov. John Kitzhaber…

But Johnson says lawmakers will come up with enough to continue twice-daily runs in the Willamette Valley…

But Johnson also says Amtrak needs to change the start time for a weekday southbound train that leaves Portland at 6 a.m., much earlier than it did prior to 2014…

Ticket sales pay about two-thirds of Amtrak’s actual costs on the corridor.

According to Amtrak’s website, a one-way standard fare between Portland and Salem is $16… Between Portland and Seattle, the one-way fare can be as low as $34…

Amtrak service southbound from Portland was switched on Jan. 6, 2014, from 9:30 a.m to 6 a.m….

Ridership on that run for 2014 was just 5,529, compared with 45,858 for the evening southbound run…

“Frankly, we have not been particularly happy with the results,” ODOT rail planner Bob Melbo said…

We Respond & Your Comments

Amtrac strikes again…and again! Yes, those wizards who spent $16 to make a hamburger and sold it for $9.50 (guess who paid the other $6.50) are back with more “questionable” business practices. And we have a few questions for them:

• If, over 10 years your business lost $900 million in food and beverage service alone would you still be buying burgers for $16 and selling them for $9.50?
• If you sold tickets at a price that only covered 2/3 of the cost, wouldn’t you raise ticket prices and cut a bucketload of costs?
• If any CEO saw that an average of only 16 passengers per day were riding his multi million south bound choo-choo from Portland would he say “Frankly, we have not been particularly happy with the results”? No – he’d scream ”Stop running this bleepin’ train. Now!” And he wouldn’t wait a year to do it, either.

But this is the government. And the lost money was yours.

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