Archive for June, 2008
June 30th, 2008
Playing catchup here as we’ve done nothing but run around since coming to the capital Friday evening.
For those of you worrying, yes we got a complete ballgame in on Saturday. But it did have a rain delay. Of course it did. The weather is supposed to be fine tonight in Baltimore, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
More later on our weekend in DC, but, again, this *is* a transportation blog so here’s some takeaways from the Amtrak trip from Pittsburgh to DC:
Train: Capitol Limited, train 30
Departed: Pittsburgh, approx 7:40 a.m. (scheduled 5:45 a.m.)
Arrived: D.C., approx 4 p.m. (scheduled 1:30 p.m.) This is according to independent site AmtrakDelays.com
Note: We were booked on the 7:20 am Pennsylvanian to Philly, transferring to DC, so we could avoid the ridiculously early Capitol Limited. But when we got to the station, the Cap Ltd was running late, so we asked and were able to change our tickets. Good thing too…
Positives:
- The friendly and helpful staff, such as the Pittsburgh agent who changed our tickets and the various conducters and train personnel.
- Because it’s a long-haul train, it has a ridiculous amount of legroom in coach compared with airplanes. Seats also had legrests and reclined enough to be quite comfortable (and because of the legroom, you weren’t cramping the person behind you).
- Unlike the Pennsylvanian, this one had a dining car. The food wasn’t stellar but the community seating is always a plus for me. We had a great time talking to a couple of women, one from Michigan and one from Virginia, about tourism and travel experiences.
- This train also had a second-level sightseeing lounge for great views of the Cumberland area, Harpers Landing and other pretty spots. Also, a great location for more random conversation with people, including a gentleman from Montana distantly related to one of my college friends. Small world.
- Upon arrival to D.C., I was debating which Union Station I liked more, the capital’s or Chicago’s. Oh man, I forgot how nice Washington Union Station is, with its restored architecture and great mix of stores and services. This is actually my favorite Amtrak station, though I’m still a Grand Central fan for overall train stations. But here’s a tip - the “New York style pizza” in the food court is only marginally authentic.
Negatives:
- As always, the unreliability of Amtrak’s long-haul routes is the biggest problem. Amtrak doesn’t own its tracks, instead using Norfolk Southern and CSX lines. The big causes of delays on the route are freight trains clogging the tracks and signal problems. It’s something I know Amtrak is working on as it tries to get more power with the freight companies to keep its schedule.
- That said, it’s even more annoying to hear people complain loudly about the delays, saying “They don’t know how to run a train.” I feel like giving everyone who says something like that a card that says “call your Congressman” because it’s the relative lack of funding over the years that has given Amtrak infrastructure that doesn’t serve it well. We’re never going to get great intercity passenger service without funding it.
- I won’t harp on the food because, well, what do you expect from any train, plane or rest stop? But the servers were a bit overwhelmed and one made several mistakes taking orders that rankled some fellow passengers.
- As I hinted in the Detroit post, I wish Amtrak had the funding for nicer stations in more places. They do a great job when they can - Washington, Milwaukee, etc - but the Pittsburgh station was a sad place. Here’s hoping, should Illinois lawmakers get a capital plan approved, the new stations that get built in northern Illinois really shine. I know they’ll be simple, but nice new train stations could add to communities.
So, more positives than negatives, and most of the negatives were out of Amtrak’s control. If you have a liesurely schedule and can afford a late train and a slower trip than the plane, I recommend Amtrak. You’ll be comfortable, meet interesting people and see some great places.
More on the capital tonight…
June 26th, 2008
Greetings from Pittsburgh, where I just saw two innings of fine baseball before the storms came. That, coupled with a long rain delay last night in Detroit that we couldn’t wait out, means we’ve seen less than seven innings in two days. Our train trip from Chicago to Detroit was longer than the baseball we’ve seen!
But this is a transportation blog, not a sports one, so here are some fun stories from the road so far:
- Union Station in Chicago is no Grand Central, but it’s a good enough facility with plenty of concession options, and the Amtrak folks get you through quickly. I look forward to the Blackhawk line returning, though, so we can get into the Amtrak system directly from Rockford.
- The train got to Detroit on time - thanks Norfolk Southern for not screwing with it! - but that just meant we had to wait longer in the Detroit station for our friend to pick us up. Unlike the once-grand Michigan Central Station it replaced, the current Amtrak station is small and simple. They keep it up well - only the bathrooms look 20 years old - but it’s basically a glorified bus station.
- Comerica Park, which replaced the venerable Tiger Stadium, is, on the other hand, a very nice facility with some great features (beautiful tiger statues everywhere, and statues of human Tiger greats like Hammerin Hank Greenberg as well). Yeah, it’s not the original, but it’s another in a line of great new ballparks.
- Here’s a tip. If your car shudders to a stop in the middle of downtown Detroit at night and you can’t restart it, don’t panic. Calmly check the shifter to see if the car happens to still be in drive. Amazing what happens when you put it in park before restarting (this happened to our friend, but I’ve had similar experiences before!).
- The Ohio Turnpike has the best rest stops I’ve seen with great brick facades, lots of nature light and quality eateries. It makes the otherwise boring drive bearable.
- Pittsburgh is an utterly beautiful city with an utterly beautiful ballpark. I would write more about it, but its weather patterns have totally thrown my schedule off and I have an early train to catch.
I’ll check in in a couple days.
June 20th, 2008
Let’s make this quick (courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com):Gasoline: Rockford dropped almost a cent to $4.04 a gallon, an almost 10 cent drop since June 12 and the lowest price since May. We’re still seventh in the state in gas prices. But the state average increased almost a cent to $4.15 a gallon. The national average increased a fraction of a cent today to $4.08. Illinois now has the ninth-highest gas prices in the nation.
Diesel: Rockford rose almost a cent today to $4.80, sending us back up to second in the state. The state average increased a fraction of a cent to remain at $4.80 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent to remain at $4.79 a gallon. Illinois has the 19th-highest prices in the country (including the District of Columbia).
June 19th, 2008
Perhaps its fitting that as I’m sitting here in Rockford with a group of Chinese business and government leaders, its news out of China that’s causing a drop in oil prices. The government is raising the price of gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel by 8 percent Friday, the first increase since November. That could lead to a curbing of demand in the growing economic power, as China follows other Asian nations in raising prices recently. Oil prices have dropped $3 so far today. Let’s see if it keeps going.
(By the way, shout out to blogger and businessman extraordinaire Bob Trojan, sitting next to me here with the Chinese delegation.)
On to the prices (courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com)
Gasoline: Rockford fell another two cents to $4.05 a gallon, an almost nine cent drop in the last week. We’re still seventh in the state in gas prices. The state average dropped almost a cent to $4.14 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent today to $4.07. Illinois now has the tenth-highest gas prices in the nation.
Diesel: Rockford dropped more than a cent today to $4.79. We’ve dipped to the fourth-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average dropped a fraction of a cent to $4.80 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent to remain at $4.79 a gallon. Illinois has the 19th-highest prices in the country (including the District of Columbia).
June 18th, 2008
The slow slide continues for the sixth straight day, and there are reports from coworkers and from IllinoisGasPrices.com that a few places in Rockford have dipped to $3.99.
It’s worth noting that this time last year was when gas prices slid from the $3.40s in late May to $3.14 in mid-June to as low as the $2.80s in fall before rebounding. But with oil prices still way higher than a year ago, don’t expect that kind of extreme drop until something changes in the market.
(Prices courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com)
Gasoline: Rockford less than a cent to $4.07 a gallon, an almost seven cent drop in the last week and the lowest price since June 8. We’re back up to seventh in the state in gas prices. The state average dropped less than a cent to just under $4.15 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent today to remain at $4.08. Illinois still has the ninth-highest gas prices in the nation.
Diesel: Rockford increased more than a cent today to $4.81, less than six cents behind the record set May 30. We’re back up to the second-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average increased a fraction to $4.81 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent to $4.79 a gallon. Illinois has the 19th-highest prices in the country (including the District of Columbia).
June 17th, 2008
Gas prices slide in Rockford for the fifth straight day, and oil prices fell back from yesterday’s record. Can the meager good news continue?
(Prices courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com)
Gasoline: Rockford dropped almost a cent to just under $4.08 a gallon, more than six cents less than it was Thursday and the lowest level since June 8. We’re now ninth in the state in gas prices, and the calls that we’re overpaying compared to others have mysteriously disappeared. The state average dropped less than a cent to $4.15 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent today to remain at $4.08. Illinois still has the ninth-highest gas prices in the nation.
Diesel: Rockford dropped almost a cent today to $4.79, seven cents behind the record set May 30. We have the third-highest diesel prices in the state, dipping behind Quincy ($4.80). The state average dropped half a cent to $4.80 a gallon. The national average dropped a fraction of a cent to stay at $4.80 a gallon. Illinois has the 19th-highest prices in the country (including the District of Columbia).
June 16th, 2008
(Kudos to the Tri-City Herald in Washington for the heads up on this)
Allegiant Air was one of only six U.S. airlines to turn a profit in the first quarter, according to a report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics today. Not only did it turn a profit, but it was tied with the biggest operating profit margin: 8.1 percent of its income. So basically, it took an 8 percent surplus while all the legacy carriers lost money. All while charging less per mile for tickets than any other airline.
This despite the fact that fuel made up 54 percent of Allegiant’s operating costs, more than any other airline. But they do a great job keeping other costs down. It costs them 9.6 cents a seat for every available seat mile (behind only JetBlue). Compare that to the legacies, which spend 13 to 17 cents per ASM (on wages, benefits, equipment, maintenance and over overhead costs).
Meanwhile, Allegiant made 10.4 cents per available seat mile, more than any other low-cost carrier (though less than the legacies and regional carriers).Instead of making money on fares, though, it really makes its money on what you buy when you’re on the plane (food, drinks, trinkets) and on the vacation packages you book with Allegiant’s partner hotels, car rental companies and entertainment venues.
Allegiant has been cutting its long-haul, fuel guzzling routes in favor of shorter ones - dipping its average route length to under 900 miles last month - because it take in almost as much of that “ancillary revenue” on the shorter routes. So revenues don’t drop much, but costs do. That gives the airline the profit to add flights where it sees the best bang for its buck.
Of course, this model has been somewhat bad news for Chicago Rockford International Airport, which is among the farthest away from any of Allegiant’s destination cities. That means we’ve seen periodic cuts in service as fuel prices have taken off. We have a harder case to make to keep service - Rockford’s Allegiant flights have to make more money than “competitor” cities that are closer to Allegiant destinations to offest higher fuel prices.
Luckily, we’ve done so on our Phoenix/Mesa, Ariz., route, which returns this fall, and our continuing service to Orlando/Sanford, Fla., St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Fla., and Las Vegas.
June 16th, 2008
Gas prices slide in Rockford for the fourth straight day, but oil hit another record today, so look for a price rebound.
(Prices courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com)
Gasoline: Rockford dropped 1.5 cents to $4.08 a gallon, more than five cents less than it was Thursday and the lowest level since June 8. We’re now seventh in the state in gas prices, the lowest we’ve been in a while. The state average increased more than a cent to a record $4.16 a gallon. The national average rose less than a cent today to a record $4.08. Illinois still has the ninth-highest gas prices in the nation.
Diesel: Rockford dropped half a cent today to $4.80, more than six cents behind the record set May 30. We have the second-highest diesel prices in the state, dipping ahead of Quad Cities ($4.77). The state average rose a fraction of a cent to $4.81 a gallon. That’s less than a cent behind the record set May 31. The national average remained at a record $4.80 a gallon. Illinois has the 19th-highest prices in the country (including the District of Columbia).
June 16th, 2008
Our vacation was going to be like “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”
My wife and I are visiting ballparks around the Midwest and out East later this month. We planned to fly from Rockford to Detroit; rent a car to Pittsburgh; take Amtrak to Washington, Baltimore and Cincinnati; and then Megabus to Chicago.
But then the Rockford to Detroit flights were canceled. So it’ll be “Trains, Buses and Automobiles,” a lesser-known movie.
(Speaking of the Steve Martin/John Candy classic, I’ve seen it about a million times, while my poor wife has seen about a million individual snippets I force her to watch every time it’s on. We once had our own experience reminiscent of that movie: Late at night in Pennsylvania, I turned the wrong direction on a divided highway — “You’re going the wrong way!” — but fortunately we weren’t hit by two trucks.)
Despite our change in itinerary, I’m still excited for this trip because I’m a baseball fan and a transportation geek. My wife, who also loves baseball, is just excited to spend time reading while sitting on trains and buses.
I’m most excited about traveling by train, a rare pleasure since I moved to the Midwest. Normally, I just don’t have the time to take the more leisurely jaunt Amtrak provides, so I usually fly. But I love Amtrak because of no long security lines, more leg room and getting to eat in the dining car.
“It’s much more comfortable than any other surface mode,” spokesman Marc Magliari said Friday while traveling to Bloomington-Normal. “I’m right now looking out the window as we’re passing vehicles on I-55, going faster than you’re legally allowed to drive.”
Sure, there are delays on some routes, particularly long-haul trips that share tracks with busy freight operators. But these days, there are plenty of delays on other trips. Again, the legroom helps.
Magliari’s favorite view on the routes we’re taking is passing through the New River Gorge in West Virginia on the Cardinal train. He said we can sometimes see rafters in the river, and there used to be a lot of bungee-jumpers off a particular bridge.
Amtrak ridership has risen for five consecutive years, and officials expect to hit 27 million passengers in 2008. About half of the increase is attributed to high gas prices; the rest is because of added services and steps taken to increase reliability. Recent actions by Congress could help it leverage the freight railroads to make more progress on those delays.
Speaking of delays … someday we’ll have Amtrak again here in Rockford (knock on wood). That’s up to Illinois lawmakers and the long-debated capital plan.
That’s the biggest benefit of vacation: a week and a half to stretch my legs out, lean back and not think about that nonexistent capital plan.
Staff writer Thomas V. Bona may be contacted at 815-987-1343 or tbona@rrstar.com.
June 13th, 2008
(Prices courtesy of AAA’s fuelgaugereport.com)
Gasoline: Rockford dropped a penny to $4.13 a gallon, still second in the state. We’re back below the state average (just over $4.13). Other metro areas were all over the place today. The state average increased a fraction of a cent today to hold at $4.13. The national average rose almost a cent today to a record $4.07. Illinois still has the ninth-highest gas prices in the nation.
Diesel: Rockford increased a cent today to $4.80, almost six cents behind the record set May 30. We still have the third-highest diesel prices in the state. The state average rose a fraction of a cent to remain at $4.81 a gallon. That’s less than a cent behind the record set May 31. The national average also gained less than a cent today to a record $4.80 a gallon. Illinois has the 19th-highest prices in the country (including the District of Columbia).
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