Amtrak: An Invaluable Intercity Passenger-Rail Provider Since 1970 - Research Paper

Introduction

In the United States, Amtrak is well known as an intercity passer-rail provider. The rail is created under the Rail Passenger Act that is latter assigned by the president, Richard Nixon during the year 1970. Enaction of law provides a room for freight railroads that provide operation at intercity passenger-rail lines to make a join to the national system (Gordon, 2015). The effect of the above is to abandon any unprofitable passenger service. New federally funded railroad, however, made a launch about its services on 1st May 1971 which is under the name Amtrak that is derived from a combination of two words "America" and "Track". The company provides its operation to the trains through the use of rolling rock and also other equipment that is inherited from freight railroads passage operations. During the year 1976, the congress that is previous in operation time has passed a Railroad regulatory and Revitalization reform Act. The primary intent of passed legislation is to ensure creation but on the other hand give Amtrak the ownership of the Northeast corridor that is between Washington D.C, Boston and New York City. Further, the railroad benefitted from some capital dollars that are later used to rehabilitate already electrified corridor.

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However, several decades of years were used to upgrade the route that is between Washington, D.C, and the New York City thus providing a room for the operating Metro liner trains found between Washington, D.C and New York that speeds up to 125mph. During the earliest 1990s, Amtrak made a launch of Northeast Corridor program, its effort was to bring the New York-Boston segment of the stated corridor towards the same level of its performance. In 2000, there was a launching of Acela Express high-speed rail service that was introduced between New York City, Washington, D.C and Boston with the presence of trains that had a speed of 150mph which was at the top. Throughout those years, Amtrak has faced great criticisms in congress before emerging as a successful idea. However, different members have already called on Amtrak, it becoming self-sufficient and even some have threatened to remarkably cut federal funding for the services offered.

Furthermore, in today's view about Amtrak, it plays a very important role in serving more than 500 destinations in about 46 states. It offers services in three Canadian provinces with a task of operating 300 trains all along 21,200 route miles. A seventy-two percentage of the route miles followed by Amtrak is always on tracks that are owned by host railroads. An important role played by Amtrak is paying for the railroads for the use of their track and the other resources that are required to ensure proper operation of the passenger trains. The task of Amtrak has strongly grown since on daily basis it operates 484 locomotives, 80 Auto train vehicles, 80 baggage cars, 1,543 passenger cars and finally it undertakes a task of placing orders 70 electric locomotives and 130 new long-distance single-level cars. Amtrak is also involved in the operation of the equipment's owned by the state that totals up to 26 locomotives and 136 passenger cars. In addition to the above, Amtrak has made an effort of operating commuter-rail services that are under the contract for Connecticut's Shoreline East, Maryland Rail Commuter and finally southern California's Metro link. It takes the responsibility of dispatching services and maintenance-of-way for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

More so, Amtrak during its operation has faced several challenges that they later overcome them through perseverance and focus that they had put in their work. However, since the interception of Amtrak, the congress has been in the division on the question concerning a challenge of its existence (Alli, 2017). It is somehow regularly on many criticisms due to failures of covering its costs. The need for federal financial support is to eradicate losses that may have accrued in the Amtrak field of operation. Thus the need is to ensure citation as a shred of evidence that the passenger rail service is not at all financially viable in that it has to yield, to the private companies that will at some ways effectively provide rail service. Financial challenge is the most effective that makes Amtrak to inefficiently conduct its activities. Further, high taxation by the government does not provide an imported room for better conducting of activities during its operation. High taxation is due to the belief that Amtrak was created because of the loss that private-sector railroads had been experienced in the United States for decades as they were busy operating Intercity passenger rail service( Kunreuther, Michel-Kerjan, & Tonn, 2016). Lack of developments on the routes that Amtrak passed through is another great challenge. This is since where there are no enough developments of infrastructure maximum labor for site construction is readily available.

Furthermore, even if the author after making his/her research has found that the company has made maximum progresses in every area of challenging, there have been identified some issues that are in a systematic manner that has already impended company's progress at the time of making addresses concerning their challenges. The issues include; communications, Amtrak group is sufficient in only some areas but lacks on others. Due to technological invasion when it comes to communication, patrons are expected to provide information directly and instantly as possible let's take for example be notified in case of any delays. Secondly, inconsistencies that are present within the company's strategic goals to provide operating decisions and budget driving (Banko, & Xue, 2018). Despite recent growth, the United State is seen to have one of the lowest intercity rail usages in already developed World. This is because the railroad systems face some challenges in sustaining and establishing efficient companywide governance processes that ensure that operations and programs are efficiently and effectively managed. Thirdly, Amtrak strictly shows poor govern structure that never at all hold managers that are accountable for achieving the best results. Thus there is a need to make an investigation concerning that area for better achieving of set objectives and goals. Forth, poor workforce culture and already outdated human capital optimization. This as a challenge can be controlled through the application of digitalized means for efficient operations.

Amtrak has some weaknesses that affect its achievement which include; the renovation of the station concourse that can provide an adequate room for the operation of the programs to take place. Secondly, the other weakness is the electrification of the two additional terminal tracks that can easy the work of Amtrak to conduct its activities in a very healthy and comfortable manner. Also weakness in the restoration of one through the track which can easily play a role in supervision and analyzing of each movement followed by each route.

However, for security purposes, Amtrak has a weakness of searching and making considerations of the appropriate site to relocate the Amtrak Police Department headquarters. After the research, Inspector general's report makes a note that the company has not fully adopted the management standard that is for Amtrak's Enterprise Program Management Office that is for guiding how to perform in their operation. Audit research concludes that in the company there is an existence of different offices that were not at all making proper coordination of schedules, nor the presence of master schedule which later results in costly delays. The project lacks "charters" that should take the responsibility of spelling out precisely what each department's responsibilities are.

There is also a note that is made by the audit concerning the company in that the departments are found to not at all make updates of the cost estimates as projects are developing or on the other hand, lacks supporting data that keenly show an increase in cost estimates. Thus all the above weaknesses have to be looked up to avoid failures which can lead to losses in the company. I keenly made my focus on the above weaknesses and strengths to easily identify which are the relevant areas that efforts in need. Private passenger rail service reduces costs and increases efficiency. However, a private rail company can end harmful union rules, base the pay of the worker according to their performance and also prune excess workers in the company. It will also help to close routes that are losing the maximum amount of money through a high level of focus on the performance of the routes. Some other routes can also make a sense where there is a lower-cost privatized system.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Amtrak as a private company should make an effort of uneconomical closing routes, maintain dollars and shift investments to the core routes to improve quality in services.

References

Alli, S. R. (2017). Critical Juncture: Revitalizing Baltimore's Penn Station with MagLev (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/20267

Banko, F. P., & Xue, J. H. (2018). Emerging Challenges and Opportunities for US High-Speed Rail Development. In Intelligent Transportation and Planning: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice (pp. 996-1030). IGI Global. Retrieved from https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/emerging-challenges-and-opportunities-for-us-high-speed-rail-development/197172

Gordon, T. S. (2015). 'Take Amtrak to Black History': marketing heritage tourism to African Americans in the 1970s. Journal of Tourism History, 7(1-2), 54-74. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1755182X.2015.1047804

Kunreuther, H., Michel-Kerjan, E., & Tonn, G. (2016). Insurance, Economic Incentives and other Policy Tools for Strengthening Critical Infrastructure Resilience: 20 Proposals for Action. Wharton Risk Center paper. Retrieved from https://web-oup.s3-us-gov-west-1.amazonaws.com/showc/assets/File/CIRI_Tonn_Insurance%20Economic%20Incentives%20and%20other%20Policy%20Tools%20for%20Strengthening%20Critical%20Infrastructure%20Resilience%2020%20Proposals%20for%20Action.pdf