June 14, 2007: From Mark Lynn Ferguson

The dearth of passenger rail in Virginia and the inadequacies of Amtrak in general are among my favorite soapboxes. I am constantly frustrated by the company’s lack of vision during this era of mammoth possibility. With security frustrations in airports, constant flight delays, and exploding concern over global warming, this could be rail's resilient second act in America.

I'm a marketing guy, and my first instinct is to be market driven. I realize that Amtrak has a million reasons to shun a market driven approach -- inadequate infrastructure, legislative hurdles, internal bureaucracy -- but if the company’s leadership wants it, this could be their shining moment. To take it, they need to be bold, look at the world with fresh eyes, ask what people really need and want from America’s passenger rail company, and develop a groundbreaking new strategy for rail travel. Personally, I can’t imagine anything more exciting.

For what it’s worth, here's my recommended first step. Cut Amtrak to the core, open it open, and rewire it entirely. That is to say, fix the routes. They're broken.

Looking at the Amtrak map, these long lines, dispersed from one another and often from places that matter, look like the anemic remnants of an era when train travel was the only inner-continental travel option. They need to be rebuilt for a world where train travel is, sadly, the last option people choose.

No doubt, this would be a painful process with huge upfront costs and no small amount of opposition. It is essential, however, if passenger rail is to ever be relevant again in this country. I can imagine three key guidelines that might help get things moving:

First, and foremost, watch where people are going. It sounds simple but it’s clearly not the way Amtrak has built its routes. Watch where people fly, where they drive, where they do business, and where they go for the weekend.

Second, rethink those long distances hauls. The 25 hour train ride from DC to New Orleans will never compete with the 2 and a half hour flight. It’s time to either eliminate these routes, break them up, or repackage them as consumer friendly “vacation lines.” With slight route changes and some smart marketing, Amtrak could turn many of these meandering long hauls into attractive (and hopefully
affordable) tours through America’s most interesting regions.

Third, think “walkable to walkable.” Why take the train to Newport News when you have little choice but to rent a car when you get there? From where I live, in the DC metro, it’s easier, cheaper, and faster to drive. By contrast, if the price were right, I’d be happy to take the train directly to Richmond, where downtown and The Fan are very pedestrian friendly.

With just these three tips as a guide, it’s easy to imagine a whole new Amtrak. Lines could be redrawn so that short distance routes follow existing travel patterns and run between high density areas.  
In our region alone, examples abound:

   - Rather than battling traffic for hours, D.C. residents could take the train directly to popular weekend spots like Ocean City, Maryland.

   - Likewise, Virginia Beach could be made easily accessible from Raleigh, Richmond, DC, and other major metro areas.

  - Large, popular, walkable mountain towns, like Asheville and Roanoke, could be reconnected to the passenger rail system.

  - Business travelers could follow a single line from DC down to Richmond then on to Raleigh and Charlotte.

The list goes on and on. Clearly, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this stuff out. You do, however, need the courage to set aside excuses and distractions, rewire the core of the business, and keep customers central to every decision you make.  
Anybody at Amtrak up for the job?