Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1961-08-02

! 40 CooCAAb1dA W WIG PNhA1S "C4-
fare"
Patrons Lured Away
Debt-laden Eastern rail lines
are in the poorest shape, but
others are miring down and
nearly all have lost money on
passengers since air carriers
lured away profitable long haul
traffic in the last decade.
Meantime, suburban patrons
deserted the rails by the hun
dreds of thousands for private
cars while the roads expenses
skyrocketed - payroll costs,
equipment prices and mainte-
nance and taxes on barn-like
ST. tions, dollar swallowing
relics of a bygone era.
Even more basic, the heavy
commuter investment by its
nature is uneconomic, with
equipment lying idle or little
used except at rush hours twice
daily-and then only five days
a week.
New Haven patronage, 67.5
million in 1913, tobogganed to
about "a million passengers in
1860. Eight suburban service
rate increases since 1947 failed
to halt the resulting slide in
revenues.
Lately, there has been talk
Of preserving service into New
York City by lease to a public
agency of the costly but heavily
travelled New Haven to Man.
haitian segment. This would
bridge the income -outgo gap
with tax monies.
One way or another. rail
commuter service already is
getting public help in New
York, Philadelphia. Boston and
Chicago, a trend likely to
spread to other major cities,
coast to coast.
North Westerns Battle
Despite trail-blazing innova-
tions and $43 million in new
investment since 1855, the 49,
year old Chicago and North
Western Railway barely broke
even in 1859 and again last
year on shuttles to Windy City
suburbs.
The North Western went to
161-seat, neat but not gaudy
new double deck air. condi-
toned coaches linked into
pioneering "puSh-pull" trains
to avoid time and money
wasting turnarounds. Fares
were raised.
It cut out close-in trolley
car" stops to speed riders to
outlying points. Unlimited ride,
flash" tickets supplanted the
conventional punch kind.
In many ways, some ingeni-
Gus. train and station mainte-
nance costs were pared. The
road puts on it's best public
relations face, stresSing service
to lure back fallen-away
patrons.
For all this, suburban serv-
ice has lapsed back into the red
this year-since the 5000 mil
lion Northwest Expressway
which runs side-by side with
the North Western tracks for
miles opened to traffic last
November.
Lost $40 Million
And how did the line make
out in 1860 on passenger traffic
throughout its nine-state sys-
tenn? 1t lost $10,332, 900, more
than triple its profit on freight
haulS.
THE family car and better
highways is just about drying
up rail passenger traffic be-
tween certain major cities"
says Francis v. Koval, director
of commuter and passenger
service.
1--WE believe that inter-city
passenger traffic is gradually
going out of existence"
Some careful students dis
agree, holding that the steel
wheel on the steel rail has in
herent economic advantages
over other modes of transport
that must reassert itself, at
least in travel up to TOO or
900 miles. d
After a major recent study,
a group of experts concluded
that this, coupled with an ex-
pected steep increase in popula-
tion-and travel potential, will
tide over the rails if somehow
they can stagger along for
another decade or two.
Here and there, an encour-
aging sign supports this view.
The Chicago, Burlington and
Quincy, Seaboard Air Line and
Baltimore and Ohio railroads
all increased passenger income
in 1860.
Mechanical Wonders Ahead?
The New York CentraTs goth
Century Limited, Manhattan
to-Chicago prestige train, late
ly has been crossing about $40
million a year as against IS
million "out of pocket" ex-
pense (not including heavy
overhead which officials say
drags it into the loss column T..
Perhaps new mechanical
wonders still dimly perceived