Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-03-09

| It has removed rail track
and sold it for scrap. Unused
equipment such as locomotives
freight and passenger cars from
discontinued runs also have
been dismantled and strapped
A total Of $241 million ha!
been realized from these sales
Mr.. Symes is ready to do.
nate Washington's Union Sta.
ton to the Government If his
road would be permitted the
use Of it on the same basis that
airlines use the National Air.
port. This. he says. would pro.
vide the PennSy and the BOO
as Joint owners Of the station
with an additional 81 million
a year income.
$21 MillkiOn Loss Seen in 1876;
While admitting that his rail-
road is now down to a pretty
low figure on equipment" he
also says the road has deferred
maintenance on the equipment
lit uses. This saves. he reports
considerable money immedi-
ately and is one reason why
in 1856 the railroad was able
to report a profit Of SAL mil
lion. Mr. Symes expects the
profit for 1858. however, tc
drop to $40 million.
But the deferring of mainte.
nance, he says, costs more ir
the long run since maintenance
must be done sometime. While
the work is deferred the equip
ment gets in even worse shape
Locomotive inspections, fol-
instance, used to be carried Out
every 100000 miles. The line
now waits an extra $4,000, OF
even $4,000 miles. This year
only about $500 tons of new
rail are being installed although
Mr.. SymeS says I'VE know" the
system should take about $4,000
tons Of new rails in 1858. De-
ferred maintenance, he says
totals about $3.50 million.
Denies Poor Pennsy Service
Mr.. Symes stresses that the
roads action in deferring main
tenance does not constitute a
safety hazard and does not vio-
late Interstate Commerce Com
mission regulations. But he
admits it does hamper service
On some lines, he says, the
top speed of trains has had to
be reduced 10 to 20 miles an
hour. Railroad employees, seeing
that the line is cutting back, be-
come a little less courteous.
Mr.. Symes denies that the
Pennsy is providing poor serv-
ice just to drive its passengers
away so it can talk the various
commissions controlling the
railroads into permitting it to
halt passenger service.
I'VE want to get every pas
senger we can because every
passenger we put on that train
|. >. we are required to operate"
helps cut the deficit, he ex-
plains.
But while the airlines and
buses keep buying new, faster
and more luxurious equipment,
the Pennsy still uses mostly the
same cars it was using before
the war. One big exception is
the keystone" train now max
ling two daily trips between
Washington and New York.
New Equipnent Ineffective
Does new equipment do any
good in retrieving passengers,
or even in keeping them? APP
parently not. The Pennsyl-
vania reports that patronage
on its keystone" isn't much
better than on the older trains.
Daniel P. LOOMS, president
of the American Association Of
Railroads, says he doesn't
think there's much Of any,
thing the railroads can do to
compete in the passenger field.
Answering a question on
whether more efficient opera
ton would bring back passen-
gers, Mr.. Loomis says:
1T think (the railroads)
would have a very difficult time
recapturing much passenger
traffic). The use Of private
automobiles, the use of the air
plane because Of its much
greater speed, make 1t al
most impossible to compete.
The fall-off (of rail passenger
traffic. has continued even on
some of the best trains that
certainly are operated for the
comfort of the travelling pub
lic."
mot Driving Business Away"
Mr.. LOOMS adds, in answer
to whether the railroads inten-
tionally we're trying to drive
passengers away:
Il don't believe that would
be true as a general PROPOSE
ton" He cites the Capital
Limited between Chicago and
Washington as an example of
a train that no one could find
very much fault with" But,
Mr.. LOOMS continues:
II have seen, in riding it in
the past year, a very substan-
tial decrease in the utilization
of that train. And that is a
train with fine service. Natu-
rally I haven't ridden all over
the United States, but certainly
some Of the fine trains, where
the service is excellent. are still
having a very difficult time in
operation"
Another railroad authority.
who declines to permit the use
of his name, says the Pennsyl-
vania has taken an adverse
attitude toward passengers"
Other railroads, he asserts,
are attempting to lure passen-
gers and are having some sue