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End of the Line: The Failure of Amtrak Reform and the Future of America's Passenger Trains (Hardcover)

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4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"An excellent summary of Amtrak's long-standing credibility problem." -- Thomas G. Donlan, Barron's, December 6, 2004

"Shocking anecdotes [and]...the passionate sense of urgency that animates [Vranich's] writing makes this book a truly compelling read." -- Scott Glabe, townhall.com/bookclub

Product Description

Joseph Vranich has produced the first insightful analysis of what's wrong with the deficit-ridden Amtrak system since the passage of major reform legislation in 1997?and he tells us what we can do about it. His review comes as Amtrak is seeking record federal subsidies while continuing to resist reform. Vranich's expos? busts many Amtrak myths. For instance, the railroad is not as essential to mobility as it claims; each of the nation's top sixteen airports serves more travelers. Vranich also explains that the Acela Express will never attract enough passengers to be profitable in large part because the trains are not really high-speed and routes are planned in thinly populated areas. Most shockingly, he reveals Amtrak's longstanding disregard for public safety in the New York City railroad tunnels, leaving travelers on Amtrak's busiest line needlessly vulnerable to terrorist attacks while squandering billions of dollars on lightly traveled routes. Vranich concludes that America's passenger trains have great potential if we pursue privatization, franchising, and devolvement of services to more responsive regional and state transportation agencies.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 282 pages
Publisher: AEI Press (December 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0844742031
ISBN-13: 978-0844742038
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #771,403 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category: (What's this?)
#98 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Transportation

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	74% buy the item featured on this page: End of the Line: The Failure of Amtrak Reform and the Future of America's Passenger Trains 4.4 out of 5 stars (10) $25.00
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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vranich's book exposes Amtrak as a dangerous monopoly, January 15, 2005

By	Paul J. Gessing "Pablo" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If your idea of a good time is sitting down on a winter night to read a page-turning, scary story, End of the Line, a new book by transportation expert Joseph Vranich is just the ticket for you. Unfortunately, unlike Bigfoot and other fictional monsters, in this case the horror is all too real and the monster is Amtrak, a federally managed corporation that operates America's rail network.

Vranich's book is not a weighty tome, but with more than 75 pages of notes and appendices, it packs a mighty punch. His tale of a socialistic passenger rail monopoly run amuck will send chills up and down your spine. As if the $27 billion in direct taxpayer subsidies Congress has provided Amtrak is not frightening enough, Vranich explains how Amtrak received a $2.18 billion income tax "refund" in 1997 even though it has never paid income taxes. He exposes the fact that Amtrak's real subsidies far exceed the advertised $27 billion, because:

The railroad has defaulted on a $1.1 billion loan that was ultimately paid for by Uncle Sam;
Federal agencies and state and local governments often foot the bills for train stations and infrastructure that are Amtrak's rightful responsibilities; and,
Amtrak even suckered the Canadian government into providing $1 billion in low-interest loans for its purchase of Canadian-made rail equipment.

Worse than the fiscal horror story in Vranich's book is the fact that Amtrak has been asleep at the switch in managing the tunnels it owns under New York City. These busy venues are prime terrorist targets and even a train accident could be a disaster -- yet, Amtrak continues to under-invest in upkeep on these important assets in order to shift resources to little-traveled, money-losing (though politically essential) long haul routes in the west. As Vranich points out, the DOT's own Inspector General, Kenneth Mead, does not trust Amtrak to make the needed tunnel work a priority. Yet, narrow, winding spiral staircases, crumbling walkways, inadequate ventilation, and lack of standpipes to bring water for fighting fires all make the condition of New York's train tunnels a clear and present danger not only to Amtrak passengers traveling through New York, but also to the 500,000 users of commuter rail who travel through Penn Station each weekday.

In shedding light on Amtrak's true nature, Vranich reveals a gruesome picture indeed, but as a "train person" at heart, (Vranich previously worked for Amtrak), he is optimistic that -- if unburdened from Amtrak's bureaucracy and incompetence -- passenger rail can be viable in America. In fact, the last half of End of the Line outlines how other nations including Britain and Japan (to name just a couple) have reformed their passenger rail networks, thus saving taxpayers billions of dollars and providing superior service to rail passengers.

Whether your interest is trains, taxes, or the federal government's inherent tendency to expand, you will find this book enlightening and fascinating. Vranich has undoubtedly added intellectual fuel to the fire of those calling for major reform or outright privatization of one of America's most dangerously incompetent monopolies.

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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Thoughts on The Amtrak Issue, May 8, 2005

By	Kenneth L. Bird (Woodridge, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I heard that Joe Vranich had authored another book about Amtrak, I wondered what he would say that had not been included in his book Derailed published in 1997. Turns out -- plenty. In "End of the Line," Vranich focuses almost exclusively on events since then, when Congress passed a law ordering Amtrak to reform. In reading it, the fresh material just keeps pouring out. He offers a documented chronological history of the trouble-prone Acela Express (which as of May 2005 are not running because of faulty brakes) and examines Amtrak's "fossilized" high-cost route structure. He outlines official findings that train ridership declined after September 11, 2001, instead of rising, as Amtrak had claimed. He takes an unprecedented look at rail security in light of the Madrid commuter train bombings, including fire safety hazards in the New York railroad tunnels that Amtrak has allowed to fester for years. In addressing public policy, he explains how Congress blocked a liquidation plan and in so doing helped obscure Amtrak's poor financial condition, which makes Amtrak the Enron and WorldCom of the railroad industry. His recommended solutions are based on how nations around the world are privatizing, devolving or contracting out their railroad services, all of which are contrary to preserving Amtrak's monopoly. In this work, long-time writer Vranich hits his stride. Highly recommended.

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10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for Amtrak reformers, May 17, 2005

By	Joh Padgett (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews

End of the Line: The Failure of Amtrak Reform and the Future of America's Passenger Trains is the best analysis of the efforts to reform Amtrak ever to be put into printed form. The fact that the book is written by Joseph Vranich, a former spokeman for, and ardent supporter of Amtrak (now a critic of) speaks volumes about the troubles facing this storied government agency.

Vranich has an insider's view of the history of the railroad having helped lobby for its creation and from being there in its early years on through to helping convince Congress to pass the authorization for the Acela Express program in the early 90s as President of the High Speed Rail Association.

Vranich does an excellent job of laying out the particulars of the problems with reform efforts to save Amtrak. With details that reminds this reviewer at times of characters straight out of an Ayn Rand novel, Vranich does an excellent job of telling the story in a way that takes dry material and makes it interesting yet informative.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Amtrak's Failures and European and Japanese Rail successes
Vranich explains in simple language the many failures of the Amtrak system, some of those are Amtrak's fault alone while others have been put on it by Congress and other... Read more

Published on July 12, 2007 by Ramon Carreras

5.0 out of 5 stars Vranich's claims that Amtrak is a fiscal failure, operating a potentially disastrous system.
END OF THE LINE: THE FAILURE OF AMTRAK REFORM AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA'S PASSENGER TRAINS is a hard-hitting survey of an impending major failure: it comes from an Amtrak... Read more

Published on December 13, 2006 by Midwest Book Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Nostradamus, Look out ! This book's turning out to be RIGHT
Reading a recent Wall Street Journal prompted me to post this review of what I thought to be and still think is a most timely and accuate book. Read more

Published on November 27, 2006 by cdfroggy

1.0 out of 5 stars A disappointment
Joseph Vranich's latest book is a disappointment, continuing his predictable and repetitive criticism of Amtrak and intercity (long-distance) passenger trains. Read more

Published on September 15, 2006 by arkrail

5.0 out of 5 stars Government has lost its way!
This book is remarkable because it does more than examine an ineffective railroad -- it's about a federal government that has lost its way. Read more

Published on May 9, 2005 by Silence Dogood

5.0 out of 5 stars Now a Leading Liberal Paper Embraces This Prudent Viewpoint
Around the time I finished reading this book, the liberal Washington Post published an editorial that was astonishing in that it reversed 34 years of editorial support for Amtrak... Read more

Published on May 8, 2005 by A Thinking Person

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat off target...
This attack on Amtrak seems to ignore the comparison to how much of the taxpayers' money is spent on supporting a money losing airline industry as well as an interstate highway... Read more

Published on January 25, 2005 by M. Welborn

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