The rail-traveling public can take little comfort in the additional scheduled service to Indianapolis recently announced by Amtrak (Business, July 11).
The schedule shows a daily departure (except Tuesdays) from Indianapolis at 5:05 a.m. with arrival in Chicago at 10:15 a.m. Return trip leaves Chicago at 7:40 p.m. and arrives back in Indianapolis at 12:25 a.m. the next day. The trip time is about five hours, or an average speed of 35 miles per hour to make the 184-mile journey.
The reason for even offering such dismal service is that this train is, in reality, an “Amfreight” train made up of many boxcars and a rider coach for the few hapless souls and rail fans who will ride the train. Amtrak now is trying to reduce its $53 to $240 per passenger subsidy (per a recent Government Accounting Office report), by hauling freight cars on its passenger routes. Schedules in many cases have been lengthened to allow the switching of freight cars, much to the inconvenience of passengers.
Although the West and Midwest travelers suffer the long schedules of Amfreight, passengers between Boston and Washington soon will have 150-mile-per-hour service, without freight cars, as billions of taxpayer dollars are being poured into those routes.
Amtrak is supposed to be a national passenger railroad and the service disparities it offers on a regional basis are an insult to the paying passengers and taxpayers. We deserve much better service in the Midwest.
