Amtrak averts strike with tentative contract

This was pretty well reported and of course a good thing for any commuter. Many stories on this:

• Crains: Amtrak averts strike with tentative contract
• AP: Amtrak Deal With Union Averts Strike
• Times Union Blog: Finally, an Amtrak agreement

This guy hates the deal however: http://www.unitedrail.org/2008/01/21/this-week-at-amtrak-2008-01-21/

Amtrak: Labor talks to resume next week

Story in the Nashua Telegraph about negotiations continuing: "Amtrak said Friday it planned to resume negotiations with nine unions next week to avoid a crippling strike that could affect commuters in New York City"

I've seen no news about an imminent resolution, but it is good that talks will continue.

Boston Braces for Possible Amtrak Strike. A strike more likely to happen?

The Boston Globe has a story about the impact to Boston commuters an Amtrak strike would cause. This has nothing to do with the Philly-NYC commuter but the article noted a couple things that were new to me about this strike situation:

Amtrak workers have been working without a new contract for eight years, receiving only cost-of-living pay increases since 2000. An emergency presidential panel created to avert a strike recommended last week that workers receive a 35 percent raise through 2009, plus tens of millions of dollars in additional back pay for the years without increases. The unions were pleased by the report, but Amtrak would probably need help from Congress to pay for the full increases and has asked for a smaller raise.

This implies that Amtrak would need Congress to allocate money for any back pay and that Amtrak wants the raise percentages to be lower. Can these two matters be resolved by the end of the month? Congress giving up a lot of money and unions agreeing to a lower percentage raise don't sound like things that would get resolved fast.


In a statement, the unions said a strike is one of three possibilities, which also include a negotiated settlement and congressional intervention. David White, a spokesman for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division, said the unions have invited Amtrak back to the negotiating table, using the panel's recommendations as a basis.

Interesting to know what the union defines as the three potential outcomes on January 31st. I didn't know that the union asked to meet again with Amtrak, not sure if another meeting has been set.

NY Post Article: 'Burbs in Rail Trouble. Amtrak Strike Threatens NJ and LI

The New York Post article 'BURBS IN RAIL TROUBLE AMTRAK STRIKE THREATENS NJ & LI comments how an Amtrak strike would paralyze NY Penn Station. If the strike occurs, LIRR and NJ Transit service to NYC would nearly shut down as Amtrak owns the Penn Station tracks. So a strike by Amtrak unions would put out all commuters to NYC, not just those on Amtrak trains.

The article further notes that a Amtrak strike was "very likely". All NYC commuters need to plan contingencies for Jan 31. Possible contingencies: Chinatown bus? Work from home? Call in 'sick'? Any reader suggestions?

Amtrak unions say hopeful dispute can be settled

Reuters article about Amtrak unions happy with recommendations Friday by the special presidential board involved in settling their long running contract dispute with Amtrak. This may possibly avoid a strike at the end of January. If the special presidential board recommendations were approved wages would rise by more than a third and workers would get back pay. The board also advised against the railroad's proposal for changing work rules.

The unions seem to be happy with this suggested resolution. Perhaps there will be no impact to Amtrak commuters? With wages increasing by 33% the result would likely be higher fares for commuters at some point later in 2008.

"Amtrak Workers May Strike At End Of Jan"

Article on wcbstv.com (New York affiliate) about the possible Amtrak strike at the end of January 2008. Nothing new in this article that I didn't mention prior but as we get deeper into January I'd say the likelihood of a strike increases significantly.

Amtrak workers may be able to strike as early as December 1

The New York Times article "Amtrak Workers in Cooling-Off Period" states that after rejecting mediation and entering a 30-day cooling-off period Amtrak workers may be able to strike as early as December 1. Amtrak and several unions are deadlocked over health insurance costs, work rules and back pay dating to 2000, when the last contract was approved.

Amtrak has never had a strike in its 30-year history. About half of its 15,000 unionized employees belong to labor groups that rejected the National Mediation Board's intervention in bargaining October 25. Amtrak and eight unions were released from mediation Wednesday and began the waiting period November 1.

"Crowds Heed Amtrak's 'All Aboard'" WSJ.com

A Wall Street Journal article talks about Amtrak and the ridership increase it is experiencing.

Some quotes:

"Ridership on the passenger rail system is up 6% so far this year, the biggest jump since the late 1970s. On the Acela Express, trains that run at higher speeds between Washington, New York and Boston, the number of riders has surged 20% over the past 10 months."


"... some big names in the airline industry are supporting Amtrak by calling for the U.S. to do what governments in Europe and Asia have long done -- building high-speed train lines for short-distance travelers and freeing up runway space for long-distance flights."

"Another airline-industry legend Robert Crandall, former CEO of American Airlines parent AMR Corp., says improvements to Amtrak's network in the Northeast are one of the best ways to reduce aviation gridlock"

Any improvement to the NEC tracks will be better for Amtrak commuters. Better tracks, more and newer trains will make for faster travel times and fewer delays.

Pushing for NEC upgrades to ease airline congestion in the Northeast is a good way for Amtrak to secure existing and gain new funding from the government. And it makes sense too I think, it's an efficient way for the government to spend money to improve travel along the East coast from DC to Boston. Have you flown recently? Who wants to do that, it's a nightmare.

Hopefully Amtrak will keep ticket prices flat. Commuting via Amtrak between Philadelphia and New York City is still the way to go but the cost is still staggering. If prices remain flat but travel times improve, that's at least a positive trade off.

New Direct Philly to NYC Acela Train Goes Wrong Way for Philly-NYC Commuters!

This month Amtrak introduced a new Acela service offering round trip direct service from Philadelphia to New York City. I mentioned this new service a couple months ago in my blog post here. The train numbers for each leg are 2105 in the morning and 2120 in the early evening.

The problem is 2105 goes from NYC-PHI in the AM and 2120 PHI-NYC in the PM. This is the wrong direction for Philadelphia to New York commuters.

Train number 2105 leaves New York Penn Station at 6:50 AM and arrives at 30th Street Station at 7:55. The other half of the leg, train number 2120 leaves 30th Street Station at 5:23 PM and arrive in Penn Station at 6:30 PM.

These are stellar times, just over one hour between NYC and Philly is great. My guess is these trains come in under 60 minutes consistently provided normal congestion on the NEC tracks.

So why no similar service from PHI-NYC in the AM and NYC-PHI in the PM? Haven't found info on this yet but I'll keep looking. My guess is that since they just rolled this service out Amtrak is being cautious. Plus I'm further guessing their market research told them that the NYC-PHI in the AM and PHI-NYC in the PM has more potential customers.

If this service is successful I would expect the same service to be added for Philly but likely not until 2008. So though this is a good new addition by Amtrak, there's no real tangible benefit for the Phi-NYC Amtrak commuter at this time.

Northeast corridor can get a little faster, but not much

Significant speed improvements along the NEC are very unlikely it seems. So the travel durations we have now between major cities along the NEC are the way it will be for the forseeable future.

The article Amtrak: Northeast corridor can get a little faster, but not much notes it is impossible for trains along the NEC to maintain speeds of 125 to 150 mph with current infrastructure. This is due to the fact that Amtrak shares the NEC with numerous commuter lines and some freight carriers. 125 to 150 mph speeds, which could cut the trip from Washington to New York down to about an hour and a half , would require a dedicated line.

A dedicated line for high speed travel along the NEC would be nice. However travel times between Philadelphia and NYC is OK as it is now I feel so increasing train speed along the NEC, though good, likley would not benefit the Phi-NYC commuter much at all. Plus the new direct service from Philly to NYC will be a nice boost to the Philly-NYC commuting options, and this train will make total trip time even lower without an expensive track upgrade.