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Figuratively speaking, that is!
If what's happening in railroading were a series of incidents involving living people and living bodies, we'd all be out searching for a serial killer. In the case of Amtrak and the freight railroads that it depends on for most of its route-miles, maybe it's more like serial suicide.
Case in point: Last month it was announced that the eastern seaboard trains (Auto train, Silver Star, etc.) would lose meal service for coach passengers and curtail the meal-with-a-fare service for sleeper passengers to the airline-style prepackaged meals. The ones made under various trade names by Nestle in my freezer are reportedly better. Termination of dining car service takes away one of the few incentives to travel these routes by coach, slowly killing off that business as has been shown on other routes where similar cutbacks have occurred. Murder by TV dinner?
Another case: Precision Scheduled Railroading has taken what corporate focus on the customer that was left in freight railroading and put it squarely on the bottom line. In this case, it could still be called a murder: The killing of customer service by institutional investors who want little more than short-term profits from their investments. When the FRA and STB regulatory bodies have to get involved due to shipper complaints, you have to know this will not resolve itself anytime soon, as railroading's corporate leaders, with nothing but harassment and certain demotion to gain by bucking the trend, kiss the investors' collective you-know-wheres. Death by shoving one's head up one's behind?
Third case: Amtrak is up for reauthorizing legislation next year. Amtrak is doing nothing to get the attention of Congress, which will be focusing on its own suicidal attempt to prevent the almost certain reelection of Mr. Trump. Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson sits on his haunches and avoids telling anyone what's on his mind as regards schmoozing Congress, so it seems likely that another serial killing will occur when Congress once more pushes its fragmented interests to keep Amtrak a fragmented and slowly decaying system. Murder by neglect, anyone?
More cases next time.
©2019 - C. A. Turek - mistertrains@gmail.com
