Rail Passenger Association of California & Nevada

January 30th marked the 10th anniversary of the passing of Byron Nordberg.  Called the “heart and soul of RailPAC”, our “founding President” was known for his tireless efforts at promoting passenger rail.  Read Noel Braymer’s photo report at http://www.unitedrail.org/2007/01/30/byron-nordberg-remembered/

Editorial
Growth is Amtrak’s only option
By Noel T. Braymer

Last month we republished excerpts from an article from the NEW YORK TIMES with the headline Surprising Forecast for Amtrak: Growth. This is a sad commentary on the current state of Amtrak that the media would consider a marketing plan for Amtrak surprising. But in any business if you’re not growing, you’re dying. Amtrak now is only getting a small percentage of the huge travel market in this country. The reasons for this stagnation are years of a totally clueless marketing department, a flawed accounting system which hides problems and successes and a fixation by Amtrak to beg money from the Government, while ignoring opportunities to raise income from passenger travel. Growth will make Amtrak stronger. It will increase income; it will increase Amtrak’s value as a part of the transportation system, and widen Amtrak’s political support around the country.

We wish Amtrak President Kummant all the luck in the world. He is clearly on the right track. The proposals on the table will take some time to be put into effect. But there are things, many of them simple which can increase ridership and revenues in a short time. Simply running longer trains where there is already strong demand is the place to start. As Bruce Richardson of URPA has pointed out, having equipment displays at stations draws crowds, introduces people to passenger rail service and draws media attention which generates lot of free advertising. All of which increases ridership and it doesn’t cost Amtrak much. Continue Reading »