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Amtrak Attempts a Makeover

March 19, 2006

Amtrak • Abusive staff • Poor security • Slipshod safety • Late, late, late • Thrown Off • Luggage problems • Express shipping • Just plain bad --- News • House Joins Senate in Boosting Rail Travel • Lone Congressman Can’t Kill Amtrak • Lack of Federal Funding Could Kill Amtrak • Amtrak Attempts a Makeover • Amtrak Delays Leave Passengers to Fend for Themselves

Where is Martha Stewart when you need her? Amtrak is trying to spiff up its cross-country trains in hopes of winning back the more affluent travelers who have largely given up on riding the rails for anything but trips of a few hours or less.

The down-at-the-heels passenger rail carrier has been living on borrowed time for years but with the Bush Administration threatening to derail it entirely, Amtrak is launching a last-ditch effort to boost its revenue by luring passengers willing to spend more for private cabins, sleeping compartments and other luxuries.

The difference is substantial. A one-way coach ticket for the two-night trip from Chicago to Seattle is $134; for an additional $270 you can have a roomette or, for $466, a bedroom. But to attract passengers willing to pay that kind of money, Amtrak needs to make rail travel more competitive with airlines and cruise ships.

The idea behind the makeover is that traveling by train could be a treat, something consumers enjoy so much they're willing to take a day or two longer to reach their destination and willing to pay a premium over discounted air fares.

There's a long way to go. Amtrak's cars tend to have a dowdy, rundown ambience; they're often dirty, dusty, crowded and late. Not to mention that train crews, disgruntled by years of few or no raises, are often lacking in personal skills.

Even worse, train crews seem to have almost no interest in helping passengers, even in dire emergencies.

When an Amtrak train was stranded in Georgia for 29 hours a few months ago, passengers said the crew did next to nothing to keep them informed or to provide such essentials as food and working toilets. On Oct. 4, 2005, passengers on a MetroLiner from New York to Washington, D.C., were ejected from their disabled train and told to walk about a quarter of a mile along the track bed to the nearest platform, at Edgewood, Maryland.

Empire Rebuilder

Amtrak is using the Empire Builder as a rolling laboratory. Carrying nearly 500,000 riders annually between Chicago, Seattle and Portland, the train rolls through some of the most spectacular scenery in North America. Cars have been freshened and given a bright new blue-and-white color scheme, replacing the dreary orange and brown found in most older Amtrak cars.

Crews are being trained to address passengers by name, to stay awake when on duty and generally to be on their best behavior, though many of Amtrak's 17,000 unionized workers are in no mood to be nice to anybody. Two-thirds of them haven't had a new contract for five years. While workers grumble about pay and working conditions, Amtrak officials grumble about the high cost of labor and restrictive work rules.

Amtrak is also working to improve the food it serves onboard while cutting the expense of preparing it. Management also hopes to find ways to economize in running its call centers, train stations and repair facilities.

Amtrak's relations with its employees and passengers have been poor for years, and lately there's been nearly as much dissent in the board room. Longtime president David Gunn was fired by the board of directors last year when he refused to go along with the board's plans to cut costs and build revenue.

Amtrak's chairman, David Laney, says the railroad is running out of options. The federally subsidized railroad has been unprofitable for decades and, with budget deficits soaring, the Bush White House is determined to eliminate the losses one way or another.

Various Administration officials have floated proposals for trashing everything outside the profitable Northeast Corridor, while others have suggested requiring states to contribute to Amtrak's operations if they want to continue to have passenger train service.

But the political reality is that most of the break-up plans would likely get mired down in bickering and pork barrel maneuvering. Amtrak's best chance at survival is to get serious about cleaning up its act and start cutting its losses.

"We have to demonstrate what we can do on our own before it is taken out of our hands," Laney said.

Some of Amtrak's problems are beyond its control. It shares nearly 22,000 miles of track with freight trains, and congestion is worsening as more material is moved by rail each year. It won't be easy to solve the problem of trains running behind schedule because of congestion but management is hoping that if the experience is pleasant overall, passengers won't be as irate about being late.

In the Northeast Corridor, where Amtrak owns its own right-of-way and doesn't compete for space with freight trains, ridership is at record levels. Both the high-speed Acela trains from Washington to Boston and the slower, older regional trains are frequently filled to capacity.

The one-way fare between Washington and New York is generally around $88, the fare on the Acela more than twice that. The Acela is faster by about 20 to 30 minutes and the train cars are new, clean and comfortable. It's clear evidence that rail travel can compete with the airlines on short hops.

It remains to be seen whether Amtrak can resurrect the idea of long-haul train travel fast enough to save itself. Perhaps the most daunting part of the challenge is changing the attitude of Amtrak crews, who have come to regard passengers as an intrusion on their daily routine.

On an Amtrak train outside Philadelphia the other day, a British traveler was unable to work on her laptop computer because of the sun streaming in the window.

"Excuse me, is there a shade on the window that I might pull down?" she asked a passing conductor.

"Winda? There's nuttin' on da winda," barked the conductor, sounding like a refugee from The Sopranos. "Move somewheres else if it bothers ya," he shrugged, ambling towards the club car, where he spent most of the remainder of the journey conversing with his colleagues.

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