Thinking about a history of repeated near successes.


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Aaron is eating noodles on-air because he was busy farming


Beginnings


Passenger rail service started pretty much along with the first railroads in the 1830s, and grew to become the primary method of intercity travel
By 1916, 98% of all intercity travel was by rail, and passengers traveled 42 billion miles that year
“High speed” rail first emerged in the 1930s, with the first diesel streamlined stainless steel trains, built by the Budd Company

Burlington Zephyr, Pioneer Zephyr, California Zephyr


Service averaged around 80mph, and was fairly popular, but eventually suffered due to the Great Depression
However, passenger numbers recovered during WWII, when gas rationing made automobile travel less feasible


The 79 mph rule


In 1946, two passenger trains collided, resulting in the death of 45 people
One train collide with another, stopped train
The colliding train had passed a red stop signal, which the engineer said he had not seen
As a result of this disaster, the regulator of the railroads, the Interstate Commerce Commission, set up new regulations in response:

Nationwide rail speed limits were imposed for the first time
Automatic signalling was required on many lines
Signals inside the cab (cab signalling) was required on any line that exceeded 79mph


Many railroads, already struggling with infrastructure costs, did not want to pay to upgrade their equipment
As a result, they all ran their trains at less than 79 mph to avoid needing to install new equipment
This greatly reduced the competitiveness of passenger rail at a time when car ownership was skyrocketing


Enter Shinkansen


In 1964, Japan Railways began service on the Shinkansen (new trunk line) from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka
This was the first system for dedicated high speed rail service in the world
Trains ran at speed of 130mph (210 km/h)
The US responded to Shinkansen by deciding to spur HSR development
The HSGTA was passed in 1965


Metroliner


The HSGTA provided for the development of high speed service along the existing Northwest Corridor line of the Pennsylvania Railroad from NYC to DC
This line had been electrified in the 1930s and was still a busy passenger line
Eastern Air Line had also began an air shuttle service between the two cities in 1961, which became very popular*
This service was named after the rolling stock that would be built for it: Metroliners
Metroliners were a project between the PRR, USDOT, and Budd
Metroliners were advanced electric multiple unit trains designed for speeds of up to 150 mph (240 km/h)
However, they were plagued with electrical issues, and despite deliveries beginning in 1967, they did not enter service until 1969
By 1969, the PRR had merged with the NYC to form Penn Central, which operated the Metroliner service
Metroliners continued to experience various problems throughout their service life and were limited to 120 mph, then 110, then 100 mph, never fully living up to the design promise
However, the Metroliner design was very popular and inspired new designs of passenger coaches that would eventually be used by Amtrak and many commuter rail services


UAC TurboTrain


At the same time, the UAC was working on its own high speed train system, based on gas turbines derived from jet engines
This would allow high speed operation on non-electrified lines, with the non-electrified portion of the NEC from New Haven to Boston in mind, as well as journeys from Chicago to points west
They were also some of the first tilting trains created
However, they were considered very noisy and rough, and were withdrawn from service in 1976 in the US, though they continued to be used in Canadian National’s Quebec-Toronto Corridor service from 1968 to 1982.


Black Beetle


The New York Central also experimented with high speed trains in 1966
They strapped two jet engines taken from a B-36 bomber to one of their Budd Rail Diesel Cars, number M-497, to create the Black Beetle, a jet-powered train
This train set the current American rail speed record of 183 mph
The train was not considered economically feasible and was dismantled shortly after


Failure of Private Passenger Service


Compared to the 1918 high of 98% of all intercity travel, by 1957 only 32% of intercity travel was by rail
Passenger miles decreased from the 1916 high of 42 billion to just 49,000 in 1970
There were many causes for the decline, but it was primarily due to the rise of automobile travel due to the creation of the interstate highway, and the declining cost of air travel
Railroads had always been responsible for constructing and maintaining their own infrastructure
By contrast, federal and state governments funded the construction of roads and highways, essentially subsidizing both private car travel and trucking
By the late 1960s, much of the railroads’ infrastructure was old and worn out, but funds were scarce for replacement
Railroads also followed routes originally laid out in the 19th century, which were not chosen or selected with high speed service in mind
Though passenger rail travel had surged during WWII, it crashed immediately afterwards, as soon as gas rationing was discontinued


Collapse and Rescue


In 1967, the USPS diverted mail service from passenger trains to trucks, planes, and freight trains, eliminating a previously-reliable source of revenue*
Soon after, the ATSF, one of the larger railroads, filed with the ICC to discontinue 33 of its 39 passenger routes
Things really came to a head after the Penn Central, which had been created in 1968 with the merger of the PRR, NYC, and eventually the bankrupt New Haven, entered into the largest corporate bankruptcy in US history in 1970, filing to discontinue the majority of its passenger routes
The PC was the largest passenger railroad at the time
In response, Congress passed the Rail Passenger Service Act in 1970, which created the National Railroad Passenger Corporation to take over passenger service from the private railroads
NRPC was first named Railpax, then Amtrak
26 railroads were eligible to turn their passenger service over to Amtrak, and 21 did so
Amtrak began service on May 1, 1971, immediately trimming half of the previously existing passenger rail routes


Amtrak’s Problems


Amtrak was not expected to survive very long
It inherited a plethora of problems from the railroads

Deferred maintenance
Redundant facilities


Amtrak was also...

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