Closely Watched Trains

The Train Riders Association of California (TRAC) is making a big stink about the abysmal on-time performance of Amtrak's Coast Starlight, or as it is known to its less that affectionate riders the Coast Star-late.  After a big TRAC press conference at the Sacramento Amtrak station, the issue received some coverage in the press.  Typical of the passenger responses were these Letters to the Editor; one person looking forward to a relaxing journey free from the stresses of airplane travel found instead bad food, surly Amtrak employees and creepy stalkers.  She will never take a train again as long as she lives.  The other person waxed on about the beautiful views, roomy seats and tasty snacks; no matter that the train arrived five hours late.

TRAC is right--the Star-late is broken, but it has gotten so bad that it may be beyond the fix they are demanding.  One problem is that while TRAC is a California organization the Star-late traverses three states, making it no one state's responsibility:

A spokesman for Schwarzenegger said the governor doesn't have jurisdiction over the Coast Starlight's problems because it is not a state-operated train. Instead, he said, "The governor concentrates his efforts on areas where he has jurisdiction, like improving the intercity rail system."

In other words "not my problem".  And considering that by many accounts President Bush wants to scrap long-haul passenger trains altogether, there will be little to no help forthcoming from Washington, although perhaps the Congressional representatives from Washington, Oregon and California could manage to throw some pork at the Star-late.

But that would be a temporary fix at best.  There are simply too many problems inherent in long-haul passenger trains that make them unfeasible as a mode of transportation for anyone other than die-hard railfans--they take too long and they cost too much.  As a dedicated rider of the Capitol Corridor, Urbanities thinks the money wasted on long-haul trains could be much better used to develop a system of short to medium haul passenger trains.  For example in lieu of the Star-Late, imagine:

• Improved service on the Amtrak Cascades, with connecting buses to Astoria, Hoquiam, Mt. Rainier and Yakima.
• The Oregonian - A new service from Portland to Medford, Oregon with stops in Portland, Oregon City, Salem, Corvallis, Eugene, Roseburg, Grant's Pass and Medford, and connecting buses to Burns, Coos Bay, Klamath Falls and Redding, California.
• The Sacramentan - A new service from Sacramento to Redding, with stops in Marysville/Yuba City, Chico, Red Bluff and Redding and connecting buses to Eureka, Grass Valley, Mt. Lassen and Mt. Shasta.
• The Pacific Shoreliner - A Northern California version of the highly successful Pacific Surfliner that travels from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.  The Shoreliner would begin where the Surfliner leaves off, traveling from San Luis Obispo to Oakland, with stops in Paso Robles, King City, Salinas, Pajaro/Watsonville Junction, Gilroy, San Jose and Oakland and connecting buses to Bakersfield, Fresno, Merced, Monterey and Santa Cruz.

The new trains would be better equipped to find state and local funding sources.  People are more willing to pay their hard-earned tax money on things that will actually benefit them.  And the new trains would have shorter routes than the Star-late, so they would not be subject to as many delays along the line, giving them better on-time performance. 

With the increased difficulties posed by airplane travel, rail travel will become a more viable option--but it is high-speed rail, not the Star-late that will be the solution.