Having problems with message search?
Bob F.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jerry Sullivan <jhsulliv@...>
To: SMART_RAIL@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, Jul 2, 2009 6:32 pm
Subject: Re: [SMART_RAIL] Re: SHSRC Submits Support Resolution to Congress
-----Original Message-----
From: Jerry Sullivan <jhsulliv@...>
To: SMART_RAIL@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, Jul 2, 2009 6:32 pm
Subject: Re: [SMART_RAIL] Re: SHSRC Submits Support Resolution to Congress
Well Bob, you are quite right, and while it may be a minor
annoyance that we sometimes forget this, the real problem
is that the politicians never seem to get it. Mica always
whined about the cost of through passengers, but he never
figured out (or admitted it anyway) that very few passengers
went end-end. My wife and I did it once, but it was sort of
a lark, as was the whole trip, 8,000 miles in 10 days on
Amtrak, or as I told folks the night we departed Jacksonville,
that we were going Jacksonville to Jacksonville, via
DC, Chicago, Seattle, and LA. The other 15 or more trips
I used the Sunset for, were once RT to NewOrleans, and
the rest, RT to Houston.
Jerry Sullivan
----- Original Message -----From: bobfarns2@...Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 12:15 PMSubject: Re: [SMART_RAIL] Re: SHSRC Submits Support Resolution to Congress
As I understand it, the need is to get Amtrak service along the Gulf route connecting Florida with the southwest and Pacific coast. I think that you point about few travelers wanting to travel from Chicago, the northern terminus of the City of New Orleans, via New Orleans to Florida is a red herring. My guess is that most boardings would be to or from points along the route. Again, it is not the end-point to end-point demand that matters.
Bob F.
-----Original Message-----
From: henrywulff@aol.com
To: SMART_RAIL@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, Jul 2, 2009 9:28 am
Subject: [SMART_RAIL] Re: SHSRC Submits Support Resolution to Congress
Regarding the time it would take the CONO to run from Chicago to New Orleans: It really doesn't matter. The reason this approach would have through passengers is that the route via Washington isn't always available. I have often found Silver Service connecting trains full, especially when I wanted to travel. So people will use the alternative.The Silver Service options also required a night from Chicago to Washington and another night from Washington to Florida destinations. The trip via New Orleans used to take a night out from Chicago to New Orleans, a "sleep over" in the First Class Lounge, and another night out between New Orleans and Orlando. The nights on the train weren't bad. It's the night in New Orleans that was miserable. But people still used the option because it was the only way to get from Chicago to Orlando when the Silver Service is full.The schedule we discussed at the SMART meeting, with the New Orleans to Orlando train leaving about an hour and a half after the stub train arrives is the type of schedule that will work for through passengers. Since I would be a through passenger, it works for me. Since Amtrak doesn't want to run a continuous train across the country, it isn't important to me what they call it, or whether it is a continuation of the CONO or a separate train. What is important is that the schedule works without losing passengers to poor scheduling.Henry
Send Email
