Workplace Calisthenics: Inefficient Amtrak train service should be derailed

Cal LeMon, of Executive Enrichment Inc., solves organizational problems with customized training and consulting.

Amtrak is off track and we should kiss it good by.

For the past 30 years, Congress has been gushing with goodwill and 25 billion greenbacks so the National Passenger Rail Corporation (Amtrak) can provide rail service to everyone in this nation.

When was the last time you traveled by train in or out of Springfield?

This failed transportation system has been the darling of a spineless Congress that majors in kissing babies and behinds every two years.

There has been absolutely no accountability for Amtrak's management to run an efficient operation. Why would anyone worry about the bottom line when you know the next blank check will be signed in just a few months?

Congress keeps this cycle of mediocrity spiraling out of control because the "iron horse" is actually looking better all the time.

Since our world exploded in millions of floating pieces of paper and insulation on a cloudless September day, flying the unfriendly skies has not been appealing. But, with true John Wayne American creativity, we have found the answer to our worst flying fears by strapping a Colt 45 on every pilot's hip.

Driving does not hold any great promise unless you enjoy countless hours on South Campbell Avenue, staring at someone's bumper festooned with bumper stickers that scream, "Eat More Possum" and "I Brake for Krispy Kreme."

If you have ever been a passenger on a train in Europe or the Far East, you know that rail service can be relaxing, spacious and productive. The ability to go to sleep in the prone position, eat a hot meal and move from one car to another makes this transportation an enjoyable part of the trip.

Forget about Europe and the Far Eastlook at the genuine interest and success of rail transportation in this country.

The Acela (the Amtrak high-speed trains) and commuter coaches in the Northeast regularly transport 35,000 passengers each day.

The Downeaster service from Boston to Portland, Maine, is up to four round-trips each day and has been sold out since it began last December. Floridians, exercising their will in a referendum vote this past November, told Gov. Jeb Bush he has a mandate to provide high-speed passenger train service from Jacksonville to Miami.

Think about it. Would you choose to buy a ticket on a clean, well-maintained train that averaged 150 mph between Springfield and Kansas City or St. Louis? In a heartbeat.

Well, where are the trains in Springfield?

They are sitting on some rusting rails because our elected officials do not have the political fortitude to make the hard decision to stop this train.

Amtrak just got another $200 million bailout from the government. Yet, it is deeper in debt than ever before. Mismanagement, entitlement and lack of entrepreneurial expertise have repeatedly doomed this railroad whiner.

When the coffers run dry, the Amtrak Board of Directors always cranks up the nauseating mantra, "save-us-or-we-will-go-bankrupt."

I'm suggesting we let Amtrak go belly-up in a bankruptcy court.

Think about it. If Amtrak has to file for bankruptcy, a court-appointed trustee, not a vote-starved Congress, will begin to clean house.

It is only when the pain of leaving thousands of people stranded on a train platform becomes a greater than the pain of throwing away billions of dollars on a losing bureaucracy that passenger train service become a reality.

Amtrak, as it is being managed today, is a sick business. It is impossible to have a "national" passenger train service. Trying to keep rail lines open to small, nonprofitable routes is ludicrous. This enterprise must prioritize its resources into the larger markets where high-speed, efficient trains can gain market share.

For the last 30 years Amtrak has failed to meet its mandate. It's time to pull the brake handle and stop this train!