What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of a “Child-Free”Lifestyle

Amtrak Long Distance Trains FY 2008 Long-Distance Train Facts A t give-up the ghostk c wholly use up typically consists of sleepers, coaches, a diner and/or a ambush car. Long-distance trains travel as far as 2,800 miles and pass through and through as many as 12 extracts. Amtrak operates 15 long-distance trains everywhere 18,500 s finis off miles serving 39 states and the District of Columbia. These trains lead the only runway passenger service to 23 states. In FY 2008 these trains carried 4. 2 million passengers write up for 2. billion passenger miles42% of Amtraks totaland produced ticket revenues of $415 million. The second-rate long-distance train passenger traveled 626 miles in FY08. Long-distance trains run primarily on tracks owned and maintained by private cargo quetchroads. These trains are not the big money-losers that they are often portrayed to be only about $300 million annually would be salvage if they were eliminated, and only after a five-year per iod. Background InformationAmtraks long-distance trains provide an essential shipping service for many communities and to a significant theatrical role of the general state-supported. Many long-distance trains serve small communities with limited or no significant air or bus service, especially in remote or isolated areas in the United States. As a result of airline deregulation and decisions by countryal bus carriers to lapse many communities, rail transportation may provide the only viable common carrier transportation option for a growing second of areas. If long-distance trains were eliminated, 23 states and 243 communities would be left with no intercity passenger rail service and 18 other states would lose some service. No state or private operator has picked up a long-distance despatch that Amtrak has eliminated. Amtrak Government Affairs February 2009 Amtrak Long Distance Trains FY 2008 Importance of the Long-Distance Trains The route across the northern tier of state s, the pudding stone Builder, with 554,000 passengers in 2008, is the only public transportation service in many communities in North Dakota, meitnerium and eastern Washington.For most of the states along the Empire Builder, tourism serves as a major sparing engine. A recent study identifying the economic contri neverthelessions of the Empire Builder showed nearly $14 million in annual economic benefits in Montana alone. 2 Long-distance trains also provide transportation during periods Amtraks California Zephyr follows the of severe weather or emergencies that pass out other modes of same route over Donner Pass as the nations prototypal transcontinental railroad. transportation.This was demonstrated after the September 11 terrorist attacks that grounded air travel. Additionally, these trains provide a strong economic benefit for the states and communities that they serve. The bulk of passengers on the long-distance trains do not travel between the endpoints, but rather to any c ombination of city pairs. For example, the Southwest Chief, which travels from Chicago to Los Angeles via Kansas City, has 33 stops, creating 528 possible trip combinations.Measuring Financial Performance of Long-Distance Trains Most of Amtraks expenditures are due to the immense capital needs of its infrastructure, particularly the nor-east Corridor, not the operating be of the long-distance trains. These operating cost figures should be cited with caution. Critics often refer to the loss per passenger of the longdistance trains. However, each long-distance train passenger is the equivalent of five short distance train passengers because of the greater distances traveled.More importantly, these loss per passenger figures often include not only the avoidable costs of operating individual long-distance trains (such as the cost of diesel fuel) but all of the shared costs that Amtrak incurs for the benefit of both long-distance and corridor trains (such as the cost of mechanical fa cilities, Amtraks computer systems, and stations standardised Los Angeles Union Station). Including shared costs produces inflated and misleading loss figures, since these costs will not go away if long-distance trains are eliminated. Eliminating all long-distance trains would produce negligible cost savings in the first few ears because Amtrak must pay labor protection to impacted employees. When these payments end after five years, the savings would still be minimal approximately $300 million annually, or about a quarter of Amtraks annual appropriation in recent years. Eliminating individual trains produces even less savingsmost of the shared costs of Amtraks long-distance electronic network would remain. Additionally, Amtrak continues to make changes to its long-distance trains that will improve revenue and finances for the system. Amtrak exited from the berth and express business in 2004, resulting in shorter and more convenient schedules, with trim labor costs.The repair o f wreck-damaged equipment continues and will allow Amtrak to increase capacity, and therefore revenues, on long-distance trains, which often sell out. Amtrak began a Simplified Dining portion on most long-distance trains in early 2006. These changes will benefactor further reduce the losses of long-distance trains. 1 Intercity Passenger caterpillar tread Transportation AASHTO, 2002. 2 Analysis of the Economic Benefits of the Empire Builder, R. L. Banks & Associates http//www. mdt. state. mt. us/tranplan/docs/empire_builder. pdf Amtrak Government Affairs February 2009