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The nation

new passengers amid the airline cri-

Amtrak and the Aftermath

sis. . . . Amtrak officials provided few

should not stay

of the September 11

specifics concerning ridership totals

wedded to the

following the terrorist attacks. They

Terrorist Attacks

Amtrak para-

said, however, that ridership nation-

In the immediate aftermath of the terror-

wide was up an estimated 17% in the

digm, which has

ist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the

first week . . . . On Wednesday [Sept.

been a colossal

subsequent shutdown of commercial air

26], Amtrak said the increase since

travel, Amtrak reported that it carried twice

the attacks had fallen to somewhere

failure for 30

the usual number of passengers on its trains

between 10% and 13%. They declined

years.

between Washington and New York and saw

to provide week-by-week or daily

increased ridership throughout the country.1

breakdowns of ridership. An infor-

The temporary closure of Reagan National

mal survey conducted Wednesday by

Airport also put Amtrak in the unique posi-

Carlson Wagonlit Travel, one of the

tion of being the fastest means of transporta-

nation's biggest travel agency chains,

tion from downtown Washington to New

also suggested only a slight switch to

York.2 Amtrak also boosted revenues from

riding the rails.6

increased shipments by the U.S. Postal

Amtrak Trips Now More Competitive?

Service and United Parcel Service.

Amtrak crowed about "coming to the res-

The market for passenger train service

cue of 100,000 passengers nationwide" and

may have expanded because the added time

being "a viable form of transportation."3 Yet,

required for airport security checks--some

airports recommend arriving four hours

despite those public pronouncements, it was

before a flight--makes trains more competi-

later learned that Amtrak's Beech Grove,

tive. That certainly is true on the Boston-New

Indiana, maintenance facility asked employ-

York-Washington route, and may be true for

ees to "double their production" and said

a few more niche markets.

"the biggest push" was on repairing mail cars

and baggage cars, not passenger cars.4

Consider the Chicago-St. Louis rail line.

Amtrak allots 3 hours and 17 minutes to

The proper objective for Amtrak during

travel the Chicago-Springfield segment, a

such a time of need would have been to repair

schedule that is not normally competitive

as many sidetracked passenger cars as possi-

with air travel. But when allowing for an

ble. So much for Amtrak going the extra mile

extra hour or two at the airport, the schedule

to move people in a pinch and taking advan-

on this segment becomes competitive with

tage of an opportunity to attract passengers

aviation. The key is to keep expectations real-

permanently to rail travel.

istic--the 5 hours and 40 minute schedule for

As more aircraft returned to the skies,

the entire Chicago-St. Louis route means the

reports indicated an easing in the number of

train still cannot compete with air travel

sold-out trains. Inquiries to Amtrak about its

times. In light of increased airport delays, it is

traffic failed to clarify if the passenger surge

reasonable to assume that trains would be

was lasting. By September 20, Amtrak's West

competitive with air travel on routes that are

Palm Beach traffic was "thinning out and

returning to normal."5 One week later the Los

25 to 60 miles (depending on the speed of the

train) longer than routes that were previous-

Angeles Times reported:

ly considered competitive, provided the terri-

tory involved aligns with an air market. And

The surge of passengers who flocked

the longer the air delays, the longer the addi-

to Amtrak trains in the days after the

tional distance over which rail would be com

-

terrorist attacks has begun to sub-

petitive.

side, dimming hopes that the interci-

This small Amtrak competitive advantage

ty rail service could attract lots of

2