World Doesn't Come to an End but Amtrak Service Inaugurated Between Norfolk and New York

      The World did not come to an end on December 12th as some thought the Maya Calendar foretold (or is it December 21st) but for the first time in some 40 years a passenger train ran from Norfolk to New York and vice versa.  Governor Bob McConnell of Virginia, a staunch conservative Republican has not been infected with the ideology that subsidies for rail passenger service are somehow contrary to free enterprise and the needs of the public and economy (while subsidies for highways, trucking, and airlines are somehow desirable) and has backed this service as well as a service between New York and Lynchburg and increased service between New York and Richmond and Newport News.  Shortly after it was inaugurated it became apparent that the Lynchburg service was covering more than the Commonwealth's investment in it.

      Governor McDonnell has been aided by a "can do" attitude on the part of  Norfolk Southern's CEO Wick Moorman and his leadership team.  Norfolk Southern understands that passenger trains running on a freight railroad that do not interfere with its freight traffic reflect highly on the railroad.  The author has been told by other railroad executives that the only thing keeping the nation's freight carriers from further partnerships with Amtrak with name trains that would sometimes but not always involve some profit for the freight carrier is the issue of liability and insurance coverage.  (The main reason Amtrak was founded was the withdrawal of the mail subsidy from the railroads and taxation and other poliucies on the part of state and local governments.) 

      This is good news for citizens of Virginia and the Middle Atlantic States as these trains make it easy for those who prefer not to drive (including soon-to-be senior citizens such as myself); business people; tourists; and the public as a whole to travel without having to deal with highway congestion or the walk up air fares charged by the so-called regional airlines that are outs-sourced spokes of the major carriers hubs.  (Cheapest Washington-Norfolk next day purchase round trip out in the morning and back in the evening on Orbitz for a round trip on a US Airways - on an outsourced "commuter" aircraft - is $405.   Amtrak's standard non-discounted fare is $108 round trip.  As of now same day round trip service from Washington involves a train to Newport News with a connecting bus across Hampton Roads in the morning but same seat service on the way back, with it being possible for patrons from Norfolk to Washington to have same day service.)  

     
        As North Carolina, like Virginia,  is one of the forward leaning states when it comes to train travel, it is anticipated that the two states will ink North Carolina Rail and Virginia's subsidized Amtrak services to create a rail corridor from New York and New England through Washington and Richmond and the Research Triangle all the way to Charlotte.  Currently there is one daytime round trip from New York to Charlotte,  The Carolinian.  Amtrak's Crescent  passes through North Carolina in the wee hours of the morning.   This service is a positive "back to the future" way to travel as seen at left on the former Southern Pacific's Golden State Limited.   (Photo Courtesy of Classic Trains magazine.)    Modern Amtrak coaches offer similar amenities - air travelers today can merely dream of such spacious and comfortable seating in Economy Class.   Below left is the type of seating found in the Amtrak cars assigned to the new Norfolk route, similar to the Golden State Limited.

         Unfortunately, if you read the comment thread on this link to The Pilot  you'll see that there are a fair number of ideologues who are strongly opposed to any taxes going to transportation infrastructure other than roads.   Part of this is due to the politicization of  of passenger rail investments as a result of the anti-Obama wave after the 2008 election when the right wing seized on high and higher speed rail as Obama-associated initiatives and in which we saw some rather irational anti-passenger rail rampages in Wisconsin and Ohio based purely on Tea Party type ideology. For detailed discussions on the merits of passenger trains the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) has excellent material available on its web site at   http://www.narprail.org/   .



http://hamptonroads.com/2012/12/amtrak-launches-service-morning-norfolk