Amtrak's Hidden Problem Just Became a CRISIS. Here Is What Can Relieve It.

Comments · 703

• PO

  @pootispiker2866 · 1 year ago

  Damn, it&apos;s almost like underfunding Amtrak to the point of failure<br>causes it to fail

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• AR

  @Aroncsik · 1 year ago

  It&apos;s not just the Amtrak, but also the freight rolling stock, many city bus fleets, and ferry boats. America is coasting off of mid-20th century equipment in nearly all departments.

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• DE

  @derek17ca · 1 year ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fshITFUGzjE&amp;t=344">5:44</a> RIP Drew Jachsich. He passed away in November 2024. Probably one of the best photographer of trains in California.

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• TR

  @traindad77 · 1 year ago

  Being an Amtrak Mechanical employee, your video is very factual and most of your opinions are pretty shot-on. Amtrak does A lot with very little... like the USMC.

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• PO

  @PositionLight · 1 year ago

  As much as you think push-pull can help, the limiting factor is toilet capacity. Amfleets can handle one WAS to NYP round trip or a single WAS to BOS trip before they need to get toilet service. This servicing takes 4-6 hours for a complete job. A fast turn can be done in 2, but the passengers will notice the shortcuts. This is based on the staffing levels at Southhampton St Yard in Boston so it might not entirely apply to Sunnyside or Ivy City, but its something to keep in mind when figuring out some new high frequency schedule.

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• JO

  @jonathanstensberg · 1 year ago

  The most underrated channel on YouTube.

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• SM

  @Smittysson-xg3mo · 1 year ago

  I typically watch train videos that are less than 20 minutes because longer videos are extremely boring. &nbsp;However, this video was amazing, detailed, and kept me watching. &nbsp;Keep up the great work.

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• AF

  @afcgeo882 · 1 year ago (edited)

  Rolling stock shortfalls are only a small part of the issue. Amtrak lacks everything to run them. They lack trackage, stations, personnel, maintenance facilities, maintenance trains, vehicles, signals… everything.

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• DE

  @DESUDESU24 · 1 year ago

  I&apos;ve taken a few sleeper routes in roomettes, including almost the entirety of the California Zephyr, and when you get just before the end of the route, I&apos;ve been told to put the seats back up (as I essentially put my room in a lounge chair config the moment I get onboard and leave it there, peak roomette experience, highly recommended) and essentially tidy up as much as you can before you reach your destination, even if it&apos;s a terminus. I remember asking a (very friendly) car attendant if there&apos;s a reason for this and they actually straight up said it&apos;s because the moment the train disembarks, they quickly clean up the rooms, change out any used linens with clean ones, do the standard restock and resupply, and send it right back out. So yeah, I can believe a rolling stock shortage is a definite problem.

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• TI

  @timothystamm3200 · 1 year ago

  Also, when old streamliner equipment came into the service in late 1930s to 1950s there were a shit ton of orders, and old heavyweight equipment was still in use and there was a very large amount of that as well. &nbsp;We just let capacity atrophy too much. &nbsp;The 1910s-1920s was the height of U.S. rail and only the local interurbans really died until the 1940s but then we went from highs like 45 direct and connecting trains to Chicago from New York to 12 and then 3 and maybe 1 or 2 a day and half hourly service New York to Philadelphia and New York to New Haven along the North East Corridor, and Hourly to Washington, Springfield, and Boston being included in that. &nbsp;Sometimes the current North East Corridor isn&apos;t even consistent with hourly service especially north towards Boston.

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• VE

  @verttikoo2052 · 1 year ago

  Wobbly train service was funny 😂

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• HI

  @himbourbanist · 1 year ago

  as someone who lives in Lancaster and regularly rides the Keystone, I love hearing about the service and the Metroliner Cab Cars. They&apos;re such a weird addition to Amtrak&apos;s fleet and have such a bizarre, storied history dating back all the way to the Penn Central days before Amtrak was even formed. I&apos;m going to be a little disappointed to see them go even if a replacement truly is long overdue. I know the RR Museuem of PA has actual Metroliner cars in its outdoor yard, but I would love for one of the modified, bumblebee striped cab cars to be preserved as well. I love how Amtrak uses all this crazy old equipment that it inherited and I&apos;m so glad that Amtrak makes good use of its equipment, even if not for its original use.

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