President's Commentary

March, 2005

"Don't Panic, but do Write!"

by Noel T. Braymer, RailPAC President

In politics everyday is the silly season. Along with Amtrak, almost every government program is getting hit with major proposed budget cuts from the Bush Administration. Haven't we seen this movie before? I think it is a good bet that Amtrak will get more money than the Bush Administration is proposing. But on the other had it is a good bet that Amtrak won't get as much money as it wants. So the issue is what can you, RailPAC's member do to protect Rail Passenger service? The answer is to write!

You can start by writing to your elected officials in Congress. But you don't have to stop there. You have local officials at the city, county and state level. You can write them expressing your support of rail passenger service. If they hear from you, they are more likely to also tell Washington to protect the trains. But you can also write or email your local newspaper, radio or TV station. A good time to write is after they carry a story about rail passenger service.

At our RailPAC general meeting in Oakland on February 5th, RailPAC Director Richard Spotswood led an excellent discussion on the importance of writing to the editor of your local paper. Richard speaks from experience since he is columnist for his local paper. Newspaper editors love letters. Not only does this give them feedback from the readers, but the Letters to the Editor section to the paper is one of the more popular sections in most newspapers.

In our discussion about writing letters, we came to a consensus about three basic points. One, keep it short. Particularly in a letter to the editor, they don't want a Doctoral dissertation. Most people won't read a long letter. Second, stick to your point. This goes hand in hand with keeping your letter short. Trying to say too much will just confuse and bore most people. Stick to a basic theme and avoid digressions. Third, be polite. You can express strong opinions without being rude. That means avoid name calling and threats. An example of what NOT to write: You meathead! I'll never buy your paper again . This also follows the other two points. Name calling and threats makes a letter too long and is a digression from the point you are trying to make.

What is the point? We need a National Rail Passenger service. Support for rail is weakened if we pit the haves against the have-nots. Cutting rail service hasn't saved money. We need a growing system to bring in more revenues to cover more expenses. In the past the national rail system has taken the blame for Amtrak's problems and been the victim of all attempts to save money. The facts are that in Amtrak's budget, no more than $300 million dollars goes for train service outside the northeast. The long distance trains bring in almost half of Amtrak's passenger revenue. Also, you can point out that the trains are far from being empty. Particularly the long distance trains have the highest load factors on Amtrak and suffer from a lack of equipment which prevents them from carrying more passengers.

You can also point out that much of the Amtrak budget doesn't go towards passenger service. Amtrak has heavy debt payments both from the start up of the Acela trains and Amtrak's experiment in carrying freight. Also much of Amtrak's budget going towards the railroad retirement program, which would be in trouble if Amtrak were to fold. Also under current law Amtrak is liable in all accidents, even if it is not at fault It is to early to say what kind of changes we will see to Amtrak and the American passenger rail system. But it is important that we don't lose additional routes or long distance trains, when they are actually the most productive trains in the system.

President's Commentary

February, 2005

"Bad start to the New Year"

by Noel T. Braymer, RailPAC President

Well, to be frank January stank. The first half of January it rained constantly. The result was washouts and mudslides that disrupted rail service throughout California. Canceled and late trains due to heavy snows in the Midwest and East didn't help project the image of passenger rail service as the all weather mode. Then came January 26th. One person who thought he had problems wanted to use the rails to kill himself. Now charged with 11 counts of murder he will find out what real trouble is. Mix into this the latest State budget battle with transportation funds being stolen again to help pay the State's other bills.

What do all these things have in common? Well the solution to many of our problems in improving rail service in California depend on capital spending. We still need to upgrade many rail lines to make them less vulnerable to mudslides and washouts. We have heard a lot about "Security" on the Trains. Asking a to see a person's identification is mostly a waste of time. Bad people can easily get forged papers. Most disasters don't happen on the trains, they happen on the tracks! Suicidal people are increasingly drawn to the tracks. Vandals often place debris on the tracks, throw switches in the wrong location, and damage signals. The most common problem are vehicles at or near grade crossings the train can't avoid hitting..

We need to spend money. We need better security on the tracks, particularly on busy mainlines such as at the disaster in Glendale. We need more grade separation particularly on the mainlines to keep vehicles and trespasser off the railroad. We need improved signaling that can stop a train if it runs through a red light. Having cameras and sensors on the right of way to detect things on the tracks that don't belong, and the ability to stop trains if there is a problem is better than spending money for seat belts on passenger trains.

One thing the State budget needs to bring in enough tax revenues is a strong economy. For that we need economic growth. Economic growth depends on good transportation and housing. Housing is big business and there is a shortage of housing in California which is holding back growth in California. Developers are some of the biggest boasters of road building. Building roads does nothing to relieve traffic congestion.: roads create traffic. What roads do is open more land to development. The problem is roads are so congested that it is getting harder to dump any more traffic on them. Also, land is becoming harder to find for development. Rising fuel costs will make 100 mile commutes by auto less appealing. Commuter and transit rail is needed to make higher density development attractive and practical. Rail service will be the key to insure economic growth, more housing and promote greater energy efficiency.

As long as I can remember, which goes back to the late 50's, there has been talk that buses can replace rail service. These proposals were usually not promoted by the traveling public, but by groups competing with rail for scarce tax dollars for other projects. Busways , and bus streets and now rapid bus have been promoted as "cheaper alternatives to rail." Buses have lower initial capital costs, But fall short of rail in economics when it comes to capacity and operating cost per passenger. There is a need to improve bus service. But what bus service doesn't do, which rail service can do well is attract development. The San Diego Trolley is being used to rebuild downtown San Diego. At many trains stations around California we see housing and commercial development. Rail can be in the 21st century what the freeway was in the 20th as the magnet for development.

For this to happen, commuters have to have confidence that rail service is dependable and safe. It is cold comfort to realize the death toll was remarkably low on the 26th in Glendale considering the number of people on the two trains and the violence of the impact of trains hitting each other head on. Rail Passenger service is still very safe. But it can be safer. The best way to make it safer is to prevent trains from being hit, or hitting each other in the first place.


RailPAC Contacts Publications Issues Commentary 2006/12 Braymer 2006/11 Dyson 2006/11 Braymer 2006/10 2006/10 SF-LA 2006/10 Policy 2006/09 2006/08 Matrix 2006/08 2006/08 Future 2006/08 Future 2006/08 Editor's 2006/06 Editor's 2006/05 Dyson 2006/05 Guest 2006/05 Editor's 2006/04 2006/04 Editor's 2006/03 2006/03 Editor's 2006/02 Editor's 2006/01 2005/12 2005/11 2005/10 2005/09 2005/08 2005/07 2005/06 2005/05 2005/04 2005/02 2005/01 2004/12 2004/11 2004/10 2004/09 2004/08 2004/07 2004/06 2004/05 2004/04 2004/03 2004/02 2004/01 2003/07 Meeting Reports Membership Links	President's Commentary March, 2005 "Don't Panic, but do Write!" by Noel T. Braymer, RailPAC President In politics everyday is the silly season. Along with Amtrak, almost every government program is getting hit with major proposed budget cuts from the Bush Administration. Haven't we seen this movie before? I think it is a good bet that Amtrak will get more money than the Bush Administration is proposing. But on the other had it is a good bet that Amtrak won't get as much money as it wants. So the issue is what can you, RailPAC's member do to protect Rail Passenger service? The answer is to write! You can start by writing to your elected officials in Congress. But you don't have to stop there. You have local officials at the city, county and state level. You can write them expressing your support of rail passenger service. If they hear from you, they are more likely to also tell Washington to protect the trains. But you can also write or email your local newspaper, radio or TV station. A good time to write is after they carry a story about rail passenger service. At our RailPAC general meeting in Oakland on February 5th, RailPAC Director Richard Spotswood led an excellent discussion on the importance of writing to the editor of your local paper. Richard speaks from experience since he is columnist for his local paper. Newspaper editors love letters. Not only does this give them feedback from the readers, but the Letters to the Editor section to the paper is one of the more popular sections in most newspapers. In our discussion about writing letters, we came to a consensus about three basic points. One, keep it short. Particularly in a letter to the editor, they don't want a Doctoral dissertation. Most people won't read a long letter. Second, stick to your point. This goes hand in hand with keeping your letter short. Trying to say too much will just confuse and bore most people. Stick to a basic theme and avoid digressions. Third, be polite. You can express strong opinions without being rude. That means avoid name calling and threats. An example of what NOT to write: You meathead! I'll never buy your paper again . This also follows the other two points. Name calling and threats makes a letter too long and is a digression from the point you are trying to make. What is the point? We need a National Rail Passenger service. Support for rail is weakened if we pit the haves against the have-nots. Cutting rail service hasn't saved money. We need a growing system to bring in more revenues to cover more expenses. In the past the national rail system has taken the blame for Amtrak's problems and been the victim of all attempts to save money. The facts are that in Amtrak's budget, no more than $300 million dollars goes for train service outside the northeast. The long distance trains bring in almost half of Amtrak's passenger revenue. Also, you can point out that the trains are far from being empty. Particularly the long distance trains have the highest load factors on Amtrak and suffer from a lack of equipment which prevents them from carrying more passengers. You can also point out that much of the Amtrak budget doesn't go towards passenger service. Amtrak has heavy debt payments both from the start up of the Acela trains and Amtrak's experiment in carrying freight. Also much of Amtrak's budget going towards the railroad retirement program, which would be in trouble if Amtrak were to fold. Also under current law Amtrak is liable in all accidents, even if it is not at fault It is to early to say what kind of changes we will see to Amtrak and the American passenger rail system. But it is important that we don't lose additional routes or long distance trains, when they are actually the most productive trains in the system. President's Commentary February, 2005 "Bad start to the New Year" by Noel T. Braymer, RailPAC President Well, to be frank January stank. The first half of January it rained constantly. The result was washouts and mudslides that disrupted rail service throughout California. Canceled and late trains due to heavy snows in the Midwest and East didn't help project the image of passenger rail service as the all weather mode. Then came January 26th. One person who thought he had problems wanted to use the rails to kill himself. Now charged with 11 counts of murder he will find out what real trouble is. Mix into this the latest State budget battle with transportation funds being stolen again to help pay the State's other bills. What do all these things have in common? Well the solution to many of our problems in improving rail service in California depend on capital spending. We still need to upgrade many rail lines to make them less vulnerable to mudslides and washouts. We have heard a lot about "Security" on the Trains. Asking a to see a person's identification is mostly a waste of time. Bad people can easily get forged papers. Most disasters don't happen on the trains, they happen on the tracks! Suicidal people are increasingly drawn to the tracks. Vandals often place debris on the tracks, throw switches in the wrong location, and damage signals. The most common problem are vehicles at or near grade crossings the train can't avoid hitting.. We need to spend money. We need better security on the tracks, particularly on busy mainlines such as at the disaster in Glendale. We need more grade separation particularly on the mainlines to keep vehicles and trespasser off the railroad. We need improved signaling that can stop a train if it runs through a red light. Having cameras and sensors on the right of way to detect things on the tracks that don't belong, and the ability to stop trains if there is a problem is better than spending money for seat belts on passenger trains. One thing the State budget needs to bring in enough tax revenues is a strong economy. For that we need economic growth. Economic growth depends on good transportation and housing. Housing is big business and there is a shortage of housing in California which is holding back growth in California. Developers are some of the biggest boasters of road building. Building roads does nothing to relieve traffic congestion.: roads create traffic. What roads do is open more land to development. The problem is roads are so congested that it is getting harder to dump any more traffic on them. Also, land is becoming harder to find for development. Rising fuel costs will make 100 mile commutes by auto less appealing. Commuter and transit rail is needed to make higher density development attractive and practical. Rail service will be the key to insure economic growth, more housing and promote greater energy efficiency. As long as I can remember, which goes back to the late 50's, there has been talk that buses can replace rail service. These proposals were usually not promoted by the traveling public, but by groups competing with rail for scarce tax dollars for other projects. Busways , and bus streets and now rapid bus have been promoted as "cheaper alternatives to rail." Buses have lower initial capital costs, But fall short of rail in economics when it comes to capacity and operating cost per passenger. There is a need to improve bus service. But what bus service doesn't do, which rail service can do well is attract development. The San Diego Trolley is being used to rebuild downtown San Diego. At many trains stations around California we see housing and commercial development. Rail can be in the 21st century what the freeway was in the 20th as the magnet for development. For this to happen, commuters have to have confidence that rail service is dependable and safe. It is cold comfort to realize the death toll was remarkably low on the 26th in Glendale considering the number of people on the two trains and the violence of the impact of trains hitting each other head on. Rail Passenger service is still very safe. But it can be safer. The best way to make it safer is to prevent trains from being hit, or hitting each other in the first place.
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