Re: Restoring PAssenger Rail Service To Monterey
Author: Eddie Elkins
Date: 08-12-2013 - 03:41
Fred Wrote:
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> The question is, if the SP back in the 70's
> couldn't drum up a decent passenger traffic level,
> where are the passengers going to come from today?
It's been forty-two years since the DEL MONTE was discontinued. Remember, Espee hated that train and wanted nothing more than to discontinue it. Espee offered the bare minimum to work within the requirements of the state PUC. In the last decade or so, there was practically no advertising of the service. If anyone knew about the train, it was from word-of-mouth.
There was one morning northboud train and one evening southbound train. The schdule was pretty much useless for people from the Bay Area.
When the Boston-Portland DOWNEASTER service was started, they were smart enough to have several trains running throughout the day so it could cater to the needs of people at both ends of the line. This same requirement would be necessary for the Monterey service to be successful.
Remember, too, that the population of the region has grown significantly over the past forty years, highway congestion is a lot worse now than it was in 1971, and air fares for the SFO-MRY market certainly aren't cheap, unless you're on a liberal expense account.