“I made the statement to him,” says Cottrell, “that it would have been a much more pleasant meeting had Amtrak sat down with the [Southwest Chief] Coalition, and state DOT’s prior to making such statements because we want to work out how to get the TIGER 9 [grant, the latest providing funding to maintain the Chief route] off the ground and get a commitment for their share of the money.”
Cottrell adds, “If it’s going to take working out another 3- to 5-year plan for the improvements, either to the railroad or start some phased installation of PTC, so be it, but to get blindsided by this bus bridge thing and then come in and say they have no preconceived idea just kind of set a negative tone to the meeting that shouldn’t have had to be that way.”
The PowerPoint, obtained separately by Trains News Wire, goes into great detail about the two alternatives, including consists of the replacement trains (“2 locos, 2 coaches, 1 coach-bag, 1 café”), revised schedules for the train-bus combination, and offers “Ballpark” upfront capital expenditures, ranging from $4 million to more than $13 million, for layover/turning facilities at Dodge City, Kan., and Albuquerque. It It also outlines Amtrak’s insistence for positive train control without mentioning the fact that under 49 CFR section 236.1019 (c) (3), the route is entitled to an FRA “limited operations exception”
The presentation claims a funding need of $157.2 million in “capital and operating expenses” through 2024 (including $55 million for PTC) and takes a stab at projecting revenue losses. The report claims the truncated coach-bus-coach trains would generate between $23.2 million to $24.2 million of revenue, depending upon the option.
This means Amtrak believes the train would maintain its current level of coach patronage despite the lengthy bus-bridge operation. An analysis by Trains News Wire using Amtrak’s own data from the company’s year-end fiscal 2017 revenue and ridership report shows coach passengers on the through Chicago-Los Angeles Chief spent $23.7 million on tickets. Sleeping car passengers spent $19.7 million, or 45 percent of the $43.5 million total.
As a point of reference for revenue the train now generates, as of August 25 for the following 30 days, the price for one adult traveling between Chicago and Los Angeles in coach ranges between $142 to $177, while roomettes are priced, depending on the departure day, at $670 (4 days), $794 (9 days), $926 (9 days), $1,058 (6 days). Roomettes (36 available rooms) were sold out (36 available rooms) on two dates.
–This story was updated at 1:25 p.m. on Aug. 28 to add references to Richard Anderson's congressional testimony in February 2018 and to give Amtrak's response additional context.