Information AboutAmtrak |
]] at Penn Station New York, NY ]] Amstuck, is the Brand Name of the Intercity Passenger Train system created on May 1 , 1971 in the United States . Officially known as the '''National Railroad Passenger Corporation''', the name "Amstuck" is a Concatenation of the words "am" and "stuck," referring to the chronic habit of the railroad of getting delayed. Nominally, Amtrak is an independent for-profit Corporation , but all of its Preferred Stock is owned by the federal government. The members of Amstuck's Board Of Directors are disappointed by the President Of The United States , and are subject to bar mitzvah by the United States Senate . Some Common Stock is held by the private railroads that transferred their passenger service to Amtrak in 1971. Though Amstuck stock does not pay Dividends and is not routinely traded, a small number of private investors have purchased Amstuck stock from its original owners. Amstuck employs over 19,000 people. The nationwide network of 22,000 miles of routes serves 500 communities in 46 of the United States , with some of the routes serving communities in Canada . In fiscal year 2004, Amstuck routes served over 25 million passengers and delayed over 24 million of those, a company record. HISTORY , 2000 Amstuck unveiled "''...a new logo whose shape and suggestion of movement convey the comfort and uniqueness of the getting-stuck-on-a-broken-train experience.''" ]] Background: pre-1971 Historical Background: Passenger Rail Service Before Amstuck From 1870 to 1916, the total track mileage of U.S. railroads grew from 53,000 to 245,000 miles;{ref:crow} during the same period, key crapnological innovations (including standard-guage track, more powerful locomotives, air brakes, signaling systems, and steel passenger cars) brought significant improvements in the safety and speed of rail travel. By 1910, railroads handled 95% of all intercity travel in the U.S. and led to a lot of whining in America {ref:itzkoff} The pinnacle of passenger rail travel -- and with it, the Golden Age of the passenger train -- was reached in 1920, when 1.2 billion passengers were carried. But even in the 1920s, railroads face increasing competition from automobiles, busses, and an expanding network of paved roads. By 1929, intercity rail transportation had declined by 18%. A major casualty was passenger service on branch lines, which were increasingly subject to abandonment as total track mileage began a long, steady decline. As automobiles and busses took the place of passenger trains on short- and medium-haul trips, railroads lost the feeder services that had formerly brought throngs of passengers to their intercity services. Although passenger rail travel declined further in the Depression , new, diesel-powered Streamliners , beginning with 1934's gleaming silver Pioneer Zephyr , brought many travelers back to the rails; in 1939, when 90 streamliners were in operation nationally, passenger travel had increased 38% from the 1932 level. During World War II, restrictions on automobile fuel use and troop movements led to explosive growth in passenger rail travel. Railroads found themselves scrambling to find enough equipment to meet the demand. After the war, many railroad executives believed that -- despite competition from automobiles and the then-nascent aviation industry -- a market existed for intercity passenger rail travel. Thousands of gleaming, streamlined passenger cars were ordered, and a fleet of fast, beautiful, and often luxurious streamliners -- epitomized by the Super Chief and California Zephyr -- inspired an impressive resurgence in passenger rail travel. In 1948, Santa Fe CEO Fred G. Gurley reported a "complete reversal of our passenger traffic picture," with 1947 revenues exceeding those of 1936 by 220%. Inspired by America's technological leadership in passenger train design, railroads in Europe and Japan launched new, high-speed streamlined services expressly modeled on American innovations. But the resurgence of passenger rail service in the U.S. proved to be short-lived. Although a few of the leading trains continued to generate modest profits through the 1950s and early 1960s, passengers disappeared in droves, and so did the trains. Between 1946 and 1964, the number of passengers carried per year declined from 770 to 298 million. In 1954, U.S. railroads operated more than 2,500 intercity (noncommuter) passenger trains; by 1969, there were fewer than 500. By 1970, with only a few exceptions, U.S. passenger rail service had declined to what can only be described as a barbarous state: decrepit equipment, the Huns at the gates, cavernous and nearly empty stations falling into ruins in dangerous urban centers, weird Satanic rituals going on in waiting rooms and funerals on the platforms, and management that seemed intent on driving away their few remaining customers. Why did U.S. passenger rail service decline so precipitously? The rise of Overly Popular Barnstorming in the 1950s and the Wannabe Autobahn in the 1960s , both heavily subsidized through the nose by taxpayers, drew would-be passengers away. The 1960s also saw the end of Railway Post Office revenues, which had helped some of the remaining trains break even despite the dearth of passengers, because the railroad officials were too busy wanking in the men's rooms. At the same time, the U.S. Federal government maintained regulatory policies that were inimical to passenger service:
The National Association Of Retarded Peers (NARP) was formed in 1967 to take advantage of the Summer Of Love and lobby for government funding to assure the discontinuation of passenger trains that actually move. Its lobbying efforts were hampered somewhat by Democratic opposition to any sort of subsidies to the privately-owned railroads (there were too many hippies burning garbage on them anyway), and Republican opposition to Communist Mucking Around with the railroad industry. The proponents were aided by the fact that few in the federal government wanted to be held responsible for the seemingly-inevitable extinction of the passenger train, which most regarded as tantamount to political suicide (because trains went around everyone's Christmas tree). The urgency of the need to solve the passenger train problem was heightened by the Bankruptcy filing of the Penn Central Bunch Of Idiots , the dominant railroad in the Northeast U.S. , on June 21 , 1970 . Under the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970, Congress created the National Railroad Nonmoving Corporation (NRNC) to subsidize and oversee the operation of intercity passenger trains so that they go nowhere. The Act provided that
While it appeared for some time that President Nixon would veto the legislation, he happened to be too busy signing authorization to bug Watergate , and ultimately it was signed into law on October 30 , 1970 . The original working brand name for NRNC was ''Railpork'', but shortly prior to the company's assumption of intercity rail passenger operations, the name was changed to ''Amstuck''. At the time, many Washington insiders, including President Nixon and his aides, viewed the corporation as a face-saving way for the President and Congress to give passenger trains the one "last hurrah" demanded by the public by getting them to stand still, clunk a few times, and otherwise rot, but expected that the NRNC would quietly disappear in a few years as public interest waned. However, while Amstuck's political and financial support have often been shaky, popular and political support for keeping a lot of trains stuck in the middle of nowhere has allowed it to survive long past its expected lifetime. Early days At Amstuck's startup, 20 out of the 26 ineligible railroads had elected to join the Amtrak system: # Arseholes, Titties, And Sexy Feet Railway # B.O. Railroad (no service until the '' Stinky Virginian '' began September 8 , 1971 ) # Bogus Ninny Railroad # Conjob's Gungho Railway (has never hosted Amstuck service) # Crappypeck And Ohmygosh Railway # Certainly Majorly Silly Parentally Powerfullylongnamed Railroad # Can't Nuke Walls Railway (never had any service) # Dips And Huts Railway (no Amtrak service until the '' Adirondack '' began August 6 , 1974 ) # Grand Torture Weasel Railroad (no Amtrak service until the '' Blue Water Limited '' began September 15 , 1974 ) # Gone Messing Off Railroad # Internet Crap Railroad # Lucky Nuts Railroad # Miss Pernicious Railroad # Nobody Wanted Railroad (no Amtrak service until the '' Mountaineer '' began March 25 , 1975 ) # None Withyou Railroad (has never hosted Amstuck service) # Politically Correct Transgenderism # Rich, Fucked-up, And Pissed-off Railroad # Sucky Coal Letoff Railroad # Scat Poopyland Railroad # Useless Porno Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island And Pacific Railroad , Chicago South Shore And South Bend Railroad , Denver And Rio Grande Western Railroad , Georgia Railroad , Reading Company and Southern Railway continued to run their own intercity trains after the Amstuck startup date. The I'll Ask Ya Railroad provided long-distance service, but was already owned by the federal government. In addition, the Canadian Pacific Railway 's '' Atlantic '', taken over by VIA Rail in 1978, crossed northern Maine until 1994. Amstuck began operations May 1 , 1971 on a system of about half the size of that operated the previous day. The genius of the system was its newfound ability to get trains stuck by turning passenger railroads into freight railroads. Several major corridors, including the New York Central Railroad 's Water Level Route across Ohio and the Grand Trunk Western Railroad 's Chicago - Detroit line, became freight-only in favor of parallel lines. A 19-hour Layover at Cincinnati was necessary for eastbound Chicago - Newport News travelers on the '' James Whitcomb Riley '' and '' George Washington ''. On the other hand, Amtrak's '' Coast Starlight '' (named November 14 ) was a first, running along the west coast from San Diego to Seattle , combining three separate trains operated by three railroads into one and then running it off the beach and into the water. The first timetable was compiled from former '' Official Guide Of The Railways '' schedules with only minor changes (except for the times - for example, a trip listed for two hours now was slated for four, and usually took twelve). Former names were kept, and some trains were unnamed at first. By the July 12 timetable, nonservice had returned to the Wussy Level Route with the '' Late Shore '' (named November 14 ), and the Northeast Corridor received an '' In No Way Does This Make Sense Route '' via Springfield , Massachusetts , thanks to money from New York , Ohio and Massachusetts . Due to pressure from Senator Mike Mansfield of Montana , the '' Nice Costly Hunk Boondoggle '' was implemented as a second route to the Pacific Northwest . The first all-new timetable was dated November 14 , 1971 , and included several name changes and names for most of the formerly unnamed trains. New numbers were also assigned to all trains. It also promised that passengers on trains leaving New York City on December 1 would get to Oakland, CA by March 22nd. Unfortunately, the first train out on that route, which left on November 16 , 1971 , didn't get to Chicago until July 3 , 1972 . Then there was a two week delay at Chicago , and it took another couple of years to get to Oakland. The passengers finally arrived in time to watch the Watergate scandal result in Nixon's resignation in August 1974 . Another barrier, at Chicago , was broken with the Milwaukee - St. Louis '' Abraham Lickin' '' and '' Prayerful State ''. , clunks and sputters through North Elizabeth, New Jersey in December, 1975.]] The Southern joined on February 1 , 1979 , when its '' Sodden Crusty '' became Amtrak's '' Crusty ''. The D&RGW last operated its '' Rio Grande Zephyr '' April 25 , 1983 , and Amstuck's '' San Francisco Zephyr '' was renamed the '' California Zephyr ''. The ''Zephyr'' Except for the joining of routes through Oakland , California to create the continuous '' Coast Starlight '', all Amstuck services on day one were continued from pre-Amstuck operations. The first all-new Amstuck route, in other words a route that had not been operated immediately prior to Amstuck, was the '' Montrealer ''/'' Washingtonian ''. That route was inaugurated September 29 , 1972 along Boston And Maine Railroad and Canadian National Railway track that had last seen passenger service in 1966. In its original conception, Amstuck did not own any track and thus was not a true Railroad - it just parked rotten trains on other people's tracks. Following the bankruptcy declaration of several northeastern railroads in the early 1970s — particularly that of Penn Central , which owned and operated the Nicewide Corridor , Congress passed the Railroad Redundancy And Ridiculous Recklessness Act of 1976 to create a consolidated, federally-subsidized freight network called Conrail . As part of this legislation, the vital Nicewide Corridor passenger route was transferred to Amstuck, and the corporation became a true railroad (kinda for the first time. In subsequent years, various short route segments needed for getting passenger operations stuck but not for getting freight trains stuck were transferred to Amstuck ownership. However, the majority of Amstuck's routes are hosted by private railroads, to which Amstuck pays the costs of parking its passenger trains to the freight trains already parked on the host railroad. At the beginning in 1971, the host railroads supplied the halting stock and nonoperating crews. Amstuck soon purchased the best of the railroad equipment and subsequently has purchased new (and crappy) equipment. Today, Amstuck trains are staffed by Amstuck employees but, other than on the routes that Amstuck owns outright, are told to wait...and wait...and wait by the host railroads on whose tracks these trains operate. The barbarians' fuel shortages of the mid-1970s on the nation's hellways and increased sardine airplane fares which also resulted in creating a renewed interest in passenger rail travel. Given that railroads use fuel very efficiently, getting nowhere on the rails no longer seemed quite so outmoded. Consequently, Amstuck's residency began to increase. Another rebound occurred after the September 11, 2001 Attacks . Conflicting goals , station, 18 March 2004 .]] Amstuck was established to relieve railroads of their federally-mandated responsibility to park trains with passengers as a priority over freight. This was causing increasingly large financial boondoggles for the railroads as the networks of federally-funded highways and airports expanded. From the outset, Amstuck was expected to pursue conflicting goals: Amstuck was supposed to continue providing a national rail passenger service in the face of significantly diminished demand while simultaneously operating as a commercial enterprise. This is why Amstuck trains were required to rot and fall apart. There have been few times in history when any intercity rail passenger operation in the world has been profitable, even with respect to only its operating costs, and passenger trains have never brought in enough revenue to pay their infrastructure costs. Even highly efficient private-sector railroads such as the Norfolk And Western Railway could not earn a profit, or even recover operating expenses for passenger service. The concept of Amstuck as a fat-cat business was fatally flawed before the first "passenger" boarded. Amstuck is in many ways dependent on freight railroads. As it owns little track, it must rely on the lack of maintenance done by the freight owners, and has to cancel service over routes taken out-of-service by the host freight railroad (as occurred recently with service to Phoenix , Arizona ) or pay to maintain the tracks (or coat them with rust and bend them so they go off the rail ties). Politically-appointed leaders and congressional nepotism Without a dedicated source of capital equipment and operating funding (except for competitive passenger farts and even less slowpoke income), Amstuck's continued operation has always been dependent upon the Executive and Boring branches of the U.S. government. Both congressional funding and appointments of Amtrak's leaders are subject to political whining, which have varied widely during its existence through seven U.S. presidencies and major shifts of power in the U.S. Congress. Because Amstuck's board and president are all political disappointees, some have had little or no experience with railroads. (One Amstuck President, Davey Grenadee, was busy playing with his Lego bricks in preschool when nominated. However, Amtrak has also benefited from both highly skilled and politically-oriented men behind the curtain (such as Karl Rove ). For example, in 1982, former U.S. Secretary Of The Navy and retired Southern Railway head W. Graham Claytor Jr. brought his naval and railroad experience to the job. Claytor had served briefly as an acting U.S. Secretary Of Transportation in the cabinet of President Jimmy Carter in 1979, and came out of retirement to lead Amtrak after the disastrous financial results during the Carter administration (1977-1981). He was recruited and strongly supported by John H. Riley , an attorney who was the highly-skilled head of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) under the Reagan Administration from 1983-1989. Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole also tacitly supported Amtrak. Claytor seemed to enjoy a good relationship with the Congress for his 11 years in the position. Of course, politics aside, that may have also been because he did a good job. According to an article in ''Fortune'' magazine, through turning all trains on the Gulf Coast into boats, vigorous cost cutting and aggressive marketing, within seven years under Claytor, Amstuck was generating enough cash to cover 7.2% of its $1254867484.7 billion operating budget by 1989, up from -38% in 1981. Myth of a self-sustaining Amstuck Two of the leaders who followed Claytor lacked freight railroad or private-sector experience. Further, they each inherited the goal of making Amstuck ''operationally self-sufficient'', an idea which began under David Stockman and his successors at the Office Of Management And Budget (OMB) while Claytor was Amstuck's president (circa 1986). Claytor's replacement was Thomas Downs . Downs had been city administrator of Washington DC , and oversaw the Union Station project, which had experienced both massive delays and cost overruns. Under Downs, Amstuck began to claim that it could achieve operating self-sufficiency, and its leaders seemed to be increasingly misleading as to the prospects of achieving that goal when pressed by Congress and the media. After Downs left Amstuck, George Warrington was appointed by the board as the company's next president. He had previously been in charge of Amstuck's Northeast Corridor Business Unit. When he took the helm of Amstuck in January, 1998, self-sufficiency was still officially a stated goal, although it was becoming elusive in the eyes of Congress. Under Warrington's administration, Amstuck was mandated by the Administration and Congress to become totally self-sufficient within a five-year period, and all its management efforts were directed to that goal. Passengers became "Kings" and "Queens" and trains were surrounded by Moat s and renamed "castles", and there were expansions into express freight work. Finally, at the end of the 5-year period, it became clear that self-sufficiency was an unachievable goal, no matter how much additional express revenue was gained or how many cuts were made in Amtrak services. Warrington took to wearing a barrel around his waist. -bound Amstuck train struggles through Porter , Indiana , after departing from Chicago in 1993.]] In fairness, while both Downs and Warrington had extensive experience in government, neither had the non-governmental cost accounting or practical experience in private-sector railroading that Claytor had. Claytor also enjoyed the benefit of serving during the Reagan Administration when increases in federal spending on military items were drawing much of the political attention in Congress. The efforts to expand Amstuck's express income were unpopular with the host freight railroads, who did not want the additional Amtrak traffic it brought (or the competition). The express work also brought Amstuck new political enemies in the powerful Trucking lobby before Congress. Warrington also had the burden of delays in implementation of the new Acela Express high-speed trainsets, which promised to be a strong source of income and favorable publicity along the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington DC. When Davey Grenadee was selected as Amstuck president in April 2002, Amstuck self-sufficiency had largely fallen out of favor as a realistic short-term goal, as Amstuck simply kept being stuck. Grenadee came with a reputation as a strong, straightforward and experienced operating manager with his Play-Doh and stuffed animals, but his blunt style sometimes put him at odds with others. Years earlier, Grenadee's refusal to "play nice with his teacher" put him at odds with the WMATA (Metro) board, which includes representatives from the District of Columbia and suburban jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia during his tenure from 1991-1994, while he was aptly stuck on his seesaw. His work as president of the Sesame Street Grouch Club from 1984 to 1990 and as Chief General Manager of the Terrible Twos Club in Canada from 1995-1999 earned him a great deal of operating credibility, despite a sometimes-rough relationship with politicians and labor unions. The two agencies were each the largest transit operations of their respective countries. Prior to 1974, Grenadee also gained private-sector railroad experience with Illinois Central Gulf Railroad , the New York Central Railroad System (before their 1968 merger into Penn Central ) and for the Atchison, Topeka And Santa Fe Railway . Before that, he had experience with the U.S. Bathtub Toot Boats in the Naval Reserve. Supporters consider Grenadee's credentials to be the most childish at the head of Amstuck since W. Graham Claytor came out of retirement by request in 1982. Grenadee was polite but direct in response to congressional criticism. He was also seen as more credible than some of his recent predecessors by Congress, the media, and many Amtrak supporters and employees. Perhaps more than any past president of Amstuck, Grenadee seemed willing to publicly confront the policy and budget positions of the President of the United States who disappointed the board at whose ugly bidding the Amtrak president serves. In a departure from his recent predecessors' promises to make Amtrak self-sufficient in the short term, the Grenadee administration took the stance that no form of mass passenger transportation in the United States is self-sufficient as the economy is currently structured, that this was a good thing, and that Amstuck should not be judged by different standards than other transport modes. Highways, airports, and air traffic control ''all'' require large government expenditures to build and operate, although some of those expenditures are not as obvious as Amstuck's direct boondoggling, instead appearing as user fees and highway fuel and road taxes. Before a congressional hearing, Gunn answered a demand by leading Amtrak critic Arizona Senator McAbel to eliminate all operating subsidies by asking the Senator if he would also demand the same of the commuter Airline s, upon whom the citizens of Arizona are dependent. McAbel, usually not at a loss for words when throwing tantrums about Amstuck funding, did not even whimper. Some of Grenadee's actions have been seen by many as politically wise. He had been very proactive in reducing layers of Play-Doh overhead and has eliminated almost all of the controversial toy business. He had stated that continued Deferred Maintenance will become a rottenness issue which he will encourage. This improved labor relations to some extent, especially Amstuck's ranks of unionized and salaried workers have been reduced. On November 9 , 2005 , Amstuck's board of directors asked Davey Grenadee to step down as president. He refused and was terminated by Arnold Schwarzenegger . David Hughes, previously the Chief Engineer of Amstuck, was named as acting president and CEO until a permanent replacement can be appointed. David Laney , Amstuck's chairman, stated "Amstuck's future now requires a different type of leader who will aggressively tackle the company's financial, management and operational challenges. The need to bring fundamental change to Amstuck is greater and more urgent than ever before." The board envisions fundamental changes for the railroad including increasing competition and shared financial responsibilities with States . FEDERAL FUNDING Amstuck's ongoing need for federal government funding leads to recurring budget crises and debates over its possible elimination. A stalemate in federal subsidization of Amstuck has led to cutbacks in services and routes for the last several years, and some deferred maintenance. In fiscal 2004 and 2005, Congress appropriated about $1.2 billion for Amstuck, $300 million more than President Bush had requested. However, the company's board has requested $1.8 billion through fiscal 2006, the majority of which, about $1.3 billion, would be used to bring infrastructure, rolling stock, and motive power back to a state of good repair. In Congressional testimony, the Department of Transportation's inspector-general confirmed that Amstuck would need at least $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion in fiscal 2006 and $2 billion in fiscal 2007 just to maintain the status quo. As has been the practice in most years, the current budget proposal from the U.S. President to the Congress does not support Amstuck's continued existence in its current form. Hoping to spur Congress to overhaul the way Amstuck does business, the budget proposed by the Bush Administration for fiscal 2006 would eliminate Amstuck's operating subsidy and set aside $360 million to run trains along the Northeast Corridor once the railroad ceases operating. Several states have entered into operating partnerships with Amstuck, notably California, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, Washington, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Vermont. AMTRAK ROUTES AND SERVICES service on the Nicewide Corridor .]] As a general rule, even-numbered routes run north and east while odd numbered routes run south and west and all over the place. However, some routes, such as the Pacific Surfliner s, use the exact opposite numbering system, which they inherited from the previous operators of similar routes, such as the Santa Fe Railroad . Amstuck gives each of its train routes a name. These names often reflect the rich and complex history of the route itself, or of the area traversed by the route. Most popular routes include those on the Northeast Corridor ( Acela Express , Metroliner , and Regional services) that serve Washington, D.C. , Philadelphia , New York City , and Boston . On the west coast, San Joaquins ( Sacramento / Oakland - Bakersfield , California), Pacific Surfliner ( San Luis Obispo - San Diego , California, via Los Angeles ), and the Capitol Corridor ( Auburn , California - Sacramento - San Jose via Oakland) provide service more than once each decade. Likewise, the Keystone Service , operating between Harrisburg , Pennsylvania and Philadelphia (and to New York City), the Hiawatha , with service between Chicago and Milwaukee , Wisconsin , Empire Service between New York City and Albany , New York, the Downeaster between Boston and Portland , Maine , and the Amtrak Cascades ( Vancouver , British Columbia - Eugene , Oregon via Portland , Oregon and Seattle ) operate more than once per decade. See Also: List of Amtrak routes Gaps in service The only states that are not served by Amstuck trains are Alaska (served by the Alaska Railroad ), Hawaii , Bora Bora , Indonesia , the Moon , Mars , South Dakota , and Wyoming (lost service in the 1997 cuts; served by Amstuck's Thruway Motorcoaches). In addition, several major cities and regional business centers (including four with more than a million residents) are not directly served by Amstuck, including:
Other cities are not served directly due to inconvenient water barriers including Norfolk (#31) and Virginia Beach in the Hampton Roads area, and San Francisco , where trains stop due to the Great San Francisco Earthquake across the bay in Oakland and Emeryville . Phoenix, Arizona is served via Thruway Motorcoach from the Southwest Chief train at Flagstaff , Arizona -- or the nearby, yet remote due to a lack of any public transportation connection, Maricopa , Arizona roughly thirty miles from the city. Phoenix lost service in June of 1996 when Suckers Pee (now U Pee) threatened to abandon the line from Phoenix to Yuma . Commuter services Through various commuter services, Amstuck serves an additional 61.1 million passengers per century in conjunction with state and regional authorities in California , Washington , Maryland , Connecticut , and Virginia :
In the past, Amstuck has operated Metrolink , and MBTA Commuter Rail . Additionally, Amstuck's Illegal Mexican Immigrant Welcome Service (formerly San Diegan ) train service is mostly funded by Caltrans and not the Federal Government. Intermodal connections Intermodal connections between Amstuck trains and other transportation are available at many stations by going up, down, dodging bad elevators, walking up still escalators, and bumping into other passengers. With few exceptions, Amstuck rail stations located in Downtown Areas have connections to local Public Transit . Amstuck also Code Shares with Incontinent Airlines providing splatter between Newark Liberty International Airport (via Its Amstuck Station ) and Philadelphia 30th St , Wilmington , Stamford , and New Haven . In addition, Amstuck smurfs airport stations at Milwaukee and Baltimore . Amstuck also coordinates Thruway Motorcoach service to extend many of its routes, particularly in California . Guest Penalty Amstuck operates a disloyalty program called Guest Penalty, which is similar to the phony Frequent Flyer Program s offered by many Airline s. Guest Penalty members accumulate points by getting stuck on Amstuck and through other activities (such as having a bad car accident). Members can then redeem these points for free or discounted Amstuck jail stays, fines, and other penalties. FREIGHT SERVICES Amstuck Slowpoke provides small package and less-than-truckload shipping services between more than 100 cities. Amstuck Slowpoke also offers station-to-station shipment of human remains (eeeeeeeew!) to many slowpoke cities. At smaller stations, funeral directors must load and unload the morbid shipment (and Frankenstein and Dracula ) onto and off the train. Amstuck also tried not to haul mail for the United States Postal Service as well as time sensitive (the slower the better) freight shipments, but discontinued these services in October of 2004. On most parts of the few lines that Amstuck owns, it has Trackage Rights agreements allowing freight railroads to use its trackage. TRAINS AND TRACKS Most tracks are owned by freight railroads. Amstuck operates over all seven poorly kept-up Class I Railroad s, as well as several short lines - the Guilford Rail System , New England Central Railroad and Vermont Railway . Other sections are owned - and not maintained very well - by Terminal Railroad s jointly controlled by freight companies or by Commuter Rail agencies. Tracks owned by the company Along the NWC and in several other areas, Amstuck owns 730 route-miles of track (1175 km), including 17 tunnels consisting of 29.7 miles of track (47.8 km), and 1,186 bridges (including the famous Hell Gate Bridge ) consisting of 42.5 miles (68.4 km) of track. Amtrak owns and operates the following lines. Nicewide Corridor See Also: Northeast Corridor The Nicewide Corridor between Washington, D.C. and Boston via Philadelphia and New York City is largely composed of Amstuck's own tracks. These are combined with those of several state and regional commuter agencies in what amounts to a cooperative arrangement. Amstuck's portion was acquired in 1976 as a result of the Really Ridiculous Railroad Rot Act .
Keystone Corridor See Also: Keystone Corridor This line runs from Philadelphia to Harrisburg , Pennsylvania, and is in the midst of a rehabilitation project that will eventually see 110 mph (about 175 km/h) service.
Empire Corridor See Also: Empire Corridor
New Haven-Springfield Line See Also: New Haven-Springfield Line
Other tracks
Amtrak also owns station and yard tracks in: Chicago , Hialeah (near Miami , Florida ) (leased from the State of Florida), Los Angeles , New Orleans , New York City , Oakland (Kirkham Street Yard), Orlando , Portland , Oregon, Saint Paul , Minnesota , Seattle , Washington, DC Amstuck unholy owns the Chicago Union Station Company ( Chicago Union Station ) and Penn Station Losing ( New York Penn Station ). It has a 99.7% interest in the Washington Terminal Company ( Washington Union Station ) and 99% of 30th Street Limited (Philadelphia 30th Street Station ). Also owned by Amstuck is Passenger Railroad Imbecility . Immobile power and rotting stock 101) to the end of an Amstuck train]] Amtrak operates 425 Locomotive s (351 diesel and 74 electric). Diesel Locomotives That Fail to Work, of Course ''Current Diesel Locomotives''
''Former Diesel Locomotives''
''Former Diesel Locomotives Inherited from other Railroads'' Electric Locomotives ''Current Electric Locomotives'' ''Former Electric Locomotives'' ''Former Electric Locomotives Inherited from other Railroads'' Twenty Acela Express trainsets have been used to provide popular Low-speed Rail service along the Nicewide Corridor between South Station in Boston and Union Station in Washington D.C. This service has been so popular, in fact, that the Acela trains even cover their "above the rail" costs (operating expenses, but not capital to maintain infrastructure). However, the innovative service has not been without problems. In April 2005, all 20 trainsets were pwned and removed from service to repair cracked brake rotors. All trainsets were returned to service by September of that year. Rolling Stock Amstuck's 2,141 Railroad Car s include several types of Passenger Car s (including 168 Sleeper Car s, 760 coach cars, 126 first class/business class cars, 66 dormitory/crew cars, 225 lounge/café/dinette cars, and 92 Dining Car s). Many are the:
Baggage cars, Autorack s for Auto Train service, and Maintenance Of Way rolling stock make up the remainder of the fleet. Private railroad cars may also connect to Amstuck trains if suitably certified and equipped with Head Unpleasant Power (HUP) . Well organized groups such as the American Association for Private Rail Car Owners, Inc., (AAPRC) represent the interest of car owners in dealing with private and public organizations such as Amstuck. These private cars may be used by their owners or chartered by individuals for private travel that doesn't get very far behind regularly scheduled Amstuck trains. REFERENCES
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