Four Ideas for Reforming Amtrak

With President Bush's proposal to eliminate all funding for AMTRAK in fiscal year 05/06, it is clear that massive changes must take place in the organization if passenger rail travel is to survive in the United States. To be sure, Amtrak has not helped its case. Its high labor costs, poor on-time performance, and multiple undelivered promises of a reversal of its balance sheet. Below are some ideas for reforming AMTRAK.

Baggage Policy

Beginning in 2004, Amtrak began limiting its patrons to two large bags and one carryon bag. Interestingly, these limitations mirror exactly the baggage limits of airlines. Once again, Amtrak has squashed a major competitive advantage it had over airlines. Prior to 2004, patrons needing to transport several pieces of luggage could find Amtrak's unlimited baggage policy important. Those on long vacations, college students, and short-term workers were those impacted most by this policy. Those patrons needing to transport many bags are now more likely to drive to their end destination.

Why this requirement was instituted is not clear. Trains boast a comparatively large amount of storage space, and many train consists include a baggage car. On top of that, most trains are running half-empty.

If the new baggage policy is to remain in place, it should be coupled with the elimination of Amtrak's Red Cap baggage handlers. These underutilized and over-paid employees serve no practical purpose if multiple bags are not allowed on trains.

Smoking

Beginning in the 1990's, Amtrak began relegating smoking to a small, separately ventilated compartment of café cars. Most smokers were amenable to smoking only in this compartment, out of respect for their fellow travelers. However smoking requirements were gradually tightened. Today, smoking is banned on all trains except a handful of Amtrak's very long-distance routes.

Airlines began banning smoking in the early 1980s, and completely banned the practice in 1991. For twelve years, Amtrak held the competitive advantage of customers being allowed to smoke en route.

Railfone

As we are all aware, cell phone usage is not permitted on aircraft. To fill the demand, airlines offered phone services on board. These expensive phones were never very popular, and have disappeared on most airlines over time. Perhaps most indicative of AMTRAK's misguided efforts to become more airline-like was the introduction of Railfone in 2001. Railfone was supposed to allow Amtrak riders the convenience of Of course there is one small problem with Railfone - cellular phones work on trains. With the exception of a few pockets of poor coverage and underground tunnels, there was little demand for Railfone service. Yet Amtrak spent millions of dollars to install and hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain its Railfone system. Returns have been dismal, yet Railfone continues to be offered on Amtrak trains. Even airlines - which have a potential market for on-board phones - have eliminated this "service."

Reserved Seats and Seat AssignmentBeginning in 2004, Amtrak began requiring that all seats be reserved. Although individual seats are not assigned, the carrying capacity of a train is higher than the exact number of seats on that train. For example, people may sit in the dining car or at the end of the train car. On some routes, such as the northeast corridor, stops are only 15-20 minutes apart. The train could potentially carry people in excess of 100% capacity, and increase revenue at zero marginal cost.