(The following article by William Petroski was posted on the Des Moines Register website on November 30.)
DES MOINES, Iowa — Ridership aboard Amtrak trains in Iowa has surged 14 percent in the past year, although the future of the money-losing passenger railroad remains in jeopardy.
A total of 54,365 passengers got on and off Amtrak trains at six Iowa stations during the federal budget year that ended Sept. 30. That was an increase of nearly 7,000 passengers from a year earlier and the highest annual ridership in Iowa since 2001, railroad officials said. Higher gasoline prices may have prompted some of the increased rail travel.
Jim Vilmain, 43, of Pleasantville is among Iowans who rode Amtrak in the past year. He and 14 other Des Moines Area Community College students boarded Amtrak’s Empire Builder in St. Paul, Minn., in May for a trip to Seattle to tour businesses. Vilmain, who was president of the college’s Computer-Aided Drafting Club, bought the train tickets during a two-for-one promotion, so the round-trip fare was just $119 per person.
The club members rode the train through northwest Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana and Idaho en route to Washington.
“It was unbelievably beautiful. There was still snow on the mountains, and we got to see that. We had just as much fun on the train ride as we did in Seattle,” said Vilmain, who now works for Shive-Hattery Inc.
Amtrak’s prognosis for the future isn’t as glowing, even though the train service carried a record 25 million passengers in the past year. A new report by federal Inspector General Kenneth Mead said tracks need repair, locomotives and cars need to be overhauled, and bridges over rivers need to be replaced. The $1.2 billion Amtrak will receive in spending just approved by Congress falls short of what is needed to keep the railroad in good repair, he said. Amtrak officials had requested $1.8 billion.
Congress has not decided on a restructuring of Amtrak, so Amtrak’s management has chosen to maintain the status quo, Mead said.
“Given the level of income from passengers, state contributions and federal subsidies, that decision has resulted in a form of Russian roulette, spreading capital much too thinly,” he wrote.
Thomas Hart of Davenport, chairman of the Iowa Transportation Commission, said he is troubled that Congress hasn’t resolved Amtrak’s future. He had hopes for a revival of passenger rail service after the September 2001 terrorist attacks shut down airline travel nationwide, forcing thousands of travelers to board trains and buses.
On a trip to Europe earlier this month, Hart rode German trains from Munich to Cologne, then on to Hanover and Frankfurt.
“We subsidize every other form of transportation in the United States very, very heavily,” said Hart, who is president of the Quad City Development Group. “Passenger rail needs to be a part of our future in this country, but it is not going to be as long as it is funded at this level by Congress.”
U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said rail passenger service is important for Iowa and the nation. He was noncommittal, though, about a solution to Amtrak’s financial dilemma. Amtrak, created in 1971 in response to the demise of passenger trains run by private railroads, has never shown a profit. Some long-distance trains lose more than $100 per rider.
“Congress has a lot to consider with the future of Amtrak,” Grassley said. “The question remains whether Amtrak, or a new structured entity, will provide service to the nation. There are many options that exist on this matter, and unfortunately each option involves a cost to some stakeholder in the system.”
Amtrak operates two daily trains between Chicago and the West Coast that pass through Iowa. The California Zephyr stops in Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa, Osceola and Creston. The Southwest Chief stops in Fort Madison.
Both trains have had problems arriving at depots on time, records show. The California Zephyr ran late 74.2 percent of the time during the past federal budget year; the Southwest Chief was late 43.6 percent of the time. One recent day, the eastbound California Zephyr pulled into Osceola at 1:08 p.m., about five hours late.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said much of the problem with trains running late is that Amtrak operates both Iowa trains on tracks owned by freight railroads. That means Amtrak must compete with freight trains to get through. The Union Pacific Railroad, in particular, has acknowledged serious problems with rail congestion because of record rail traffic due to an upsurge in economic activity.
The increase in Amtrak ridership nationally appears to be linked to the improved economy, Magliari said, adding there is anecdotal evidence higher gasoline prices have caused some travelers to switch from cars to trains.
Carol Brokaw, president of American Visions Travel in Burlington, said she has seen strong interest in rail travel from Iowans boarding trains in Burlington and Fort Madison and at nearby Galesburg, Ill. Her twin grandsons from Kansas City made a train trip to Iowa last summer with their mother and other grandmother.
“I would say 95 percent of the travel is leisure,” Brokaw said. “Once in a while we get somebody who has to go to Denver at the last minute on business, and of course last-minute fares on the airlines are very expensive.”
Other Iowa travel agents said Amtrak is family-friendly and popular among college students and senior citizens, many of whom are nostalgic about train trips. During winter, many Iowans head on Amtrak to Winter Park, Colo., for ski trips, said travel agent Gary Billmeyer of the Travel Center in Des Moines.
Not everyone, though, is an Amtrak booster.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican, has tried to block federal money for Amtrak, calling it “Scamtrak.” He told Congress in September that Amtrak has never been profitable and has racked up tens of billions of dollars in operating losses over the past three decades.
Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, disputed Tancredo’s remarks. Capon said the overall aviation system isn’t profitable, either. The need for passenger rail will grow, given highway and aviation capacity limits, rising energy costs, and a growing number of senior citizens who want alternatives to driving, he said.