WEBVTT - Amtrak President Roger Harris Talks Infrastructure Plans

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>We welcome our Bloomberg television and radio audiences worldwide. I'm

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<v Speaker 2>Matt Miller alongside Danny Berger. Joining us now is Amtrak

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<v Speaker 2>President Roger Harris. As the company posts record twenty twenty five,

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<v Speaker 2>talk to us first off about the year that was

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<v Speaker 2>and our more people. Roger choosing the train because of

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<v Speaker 2>the reliability problem of planes.

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<v Speaker 3>Hi, Matt, good to be here today. Thank you. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>So let's talk about twenty twenty five. This is a

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<v Speaker 3>great time to be here at Amtrak. I'm certainly very

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<v Speaker 3>excited about it. We just had our record year in

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<v Speaker 3>terms of ridership. We carried thirty four and a half

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<v Speaker 3>million customers, and I think we did that by running

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<v Speaker 3>a good railroad fos things like on time, performance, cleanliness,

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<v Speaker 3>customer service that in turn generates really strong revenue record

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<v Speaker 3>ticket revenue of two point seven billion dollars. That allows

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<v Speaker 3>us to invest in new product like the new trains,

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<v Speaker 3>the new Assella trains that we launched in August of

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<v Speaker 3>this year. Also, we have a new train coming out

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<v Speaker 3>next year, the Aerrow trains that we'll be seen first

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<v Speaker 3>in the Pacific Northwest and then later in the Northeast Corridor.

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<v Speaker 3>We're also investing in new routes like the new Marti

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<v Speaker 3>Gross service between New Orleans and Mobile. Last year we

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<v Speaker 3>launched the Borealis service between the Twin Cities in Chicago.

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<v Speaker 3>And we're also doing a ton of capital investment in

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<v Speaker 3>infrastructure things like bridges, tunnels, new maintenance facilities. In fact,

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<v Speaker 3>we're spending half a billion dollars a month on new

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<v Speaker 3>capital investments.

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<v Speaker 4>Hey, Roger, if I can just jump in, because I

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<v Speaker 4>am someone who who rides the AM track all the

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<v Speaker 4>time that Northeast Corridor. I go from New York down

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<v Speaker 4>to my home of where I grew up in DC,

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<v Speaker 4>where my family is very frequently and I can say

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<v Speaker 4>without a doubt that the experience on the amtrack is

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<v Speaker 4>way better than flying. The issue is is that very

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<v Speaker 4>very frequently, riding on the AM track and not even

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<v Speaker 4>the SELA is much more expensive. The experience has gotten

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<v Speaker 4>more expensive with the introduction of dynamic pricing that I

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<v Speaker 4>myself over the past couple weekends have opted instead to

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<v Speaker 4>fly because it's been significantly cheaper. Where is the tipping

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<v Speaker 4>point goes, if your pick goes, That's a very important part.

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<v Speaker 4>Thank you, Matt, a very important part to say. But okay,

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<v Speaker 4>what is the tipping point for you where you see

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<v Speaker 4>you can no longer continue to raise prices because people

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<v Speaker 4>will opt for a cheaper option, be it driving themselves

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<v Speaker 4>or a plane.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, well, this is a very good question, Danny. So,

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, part of the question, part of the dilemma

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<v Speaker 3>we have, is that there's so much interest in passenger

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<v Speaker 3>rail these days across the country. We're seeing ridership surges

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<v Speaker 3>in all areas, and it's supply and demand. Right. If

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<v Speaker 3>we lower the prices too much, then the plane the

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<v Speaker 3>trains fill up too soon and there isn't a seat

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<v Speaker 3>available for that last minute customer. But we see help

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<v Speaker 3>on the way in terms of more capacity, because that's

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<v Speaker 3>really the answer when you have a ton of demand

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<v Speaker 3>like we do today. So the new Ascella trains which

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<v Speaker 3>we're rolling out have twenty seven percent more seats than

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<v Speaker 3>the old generation Ofssellas. We are focusing very hard on

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<v Speaker 3>rolling out those new Asselas. So we have five, we

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<v Speaker 3>have seven in service at the moment, and we're going

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<v Speaker 3>to have twenty four by the end of this coming year.

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<v Speaker 3>And then the new fleet that rolls in as well

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<v Speaker 3>will be additional capacity. So I think that's really the

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<v Speaker 3>right at the end of the tunnel.

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<v Speaker 2>I say, and I told you about this before, Roger.

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<v Speaker 2>I have a fantastic time on the Amtrak. I reach

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<v Speaker 2>rode down to Richmond, and it was an incredibly refreshing

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<v Speaker 2>and relaxing experience compared to the hustle and bustle of

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<v Speaker 2>the airport, with you know, my flights often getting canceled

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<v Speaker 2>when I get there. However, it was incredibly slow, like

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<v Speaker 2>I had all day, so it was no big deal.

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<v Speaker 2>But I feel like I could have at some points

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<v Speaker 2>walked faster. And I've lived a lot of my life

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<v Speaker 2>in Germany, where the trains do a solid two hundred

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<v Speaker 2>miles an hour. Why are our trains, Why is our

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<v Speaker 2>technology so much slower than that of the rest of

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<v Speaker 2>the developed world. Why don't we have high speed rail?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah? So, you know, many of the trains we have

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<v Speaker 3>can go faster than the infrastructure allows. And it's really

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<v Speaker 3>about not only the rails, but also things like the

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<v Speaker 3>electrical systems, the wires overhead that supply the electricity for

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<v Speaker 3>the trains.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, But the Germans have figured this out, the French

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<v Speaker 2>have figured this out. The Spanish have figured this out.

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<v Speaker 2>Why can't Americans make fast trains?

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<v Speaker 3>Right? Well, we have to replace all that infrastructure in

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<v Speaker 3>order to make the trains go faster, because that infrastructure

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<v Speaker 3>I was telling you about is basically one hundred years old,

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<v Speaker 3>and trains didn't go that fast one hundred years ago.

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<v Speaker 3>So that's what we're working on. It takes a long

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<v Speaker 3>time to do that. Unfortunately, Well, during.

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<v Speaker 4>The government shutdown, Roger, I'm sure this doesn't help President Trump,

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<v Speaker 4>so that he had terminated sixteen billion dollars in federal

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<v Speaker 4>funding for a new tunnel on the Northeast Corridor. Would

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<v Speaker 4>you like to see more aid, more funding coming from

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<v Speaker 4>this Trump administration, Roger.

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<v Speaker 3>We've in general, we've seen the funding come through every

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<v Speaker 3>month the big projects that we're working on. So I

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<v Speaker 3>think that the challenge at hand is really to kind

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<v Speaker 3>of buckle down and get the projects done that we're

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<v Speaker 3>already working on.

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<v Speaker 2>So I wonder about especially around here, Roger. We care

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<v Speaker 2>so much about the New York area, and the Hudson

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<v Speaker 2>Tunnel project is going to be scrapped under the Trump administration,

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<v Speaker 2>to canceling funding for that, how does that affect the

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<v Speaker 2>Northeast corridor and its most congested area.

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<v Speaker 3>So we're still working through that, and I think that,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, work goes on every day while there's money available.

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<v Speaker 3>So I think the most important thing is to not

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<v Speaker 3>have these projects get interrupted, because that's when things start

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<v Speaker 3>to cost a lot more money. On the east side

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<v Speaker 3>of Manhattan, we're working on rehabilitating East River Tunnels. We're

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<v Speaker 3>going to have the first one back in service next July.

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<v Speaker 3>So those are the things that we're focusing on right now.

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<v Speaker 4>Roger. When it comes to leadership, obviously you are there

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<v Speaker 4>at the helm of Amtrak, but Stephen Gardner was asked

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<v Speaker 4>to resign as CEO just two months into the Trump administration.

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<v Speaker 4>Are there any plans to replace him? And how is

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<v Speaker 4>your relationship currently with the White House given some of

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<v Speaker 4>that back and forth to start his term.

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<v Speaker 3>What's the question I get frequently. You know, I come

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<v Speaker 3>to work every day knowing that there could be further changes,

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<v Speaker 3>But so far, I think we've been working very well

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<v Speaker 3>with the administration doing the things that we have in common.

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<v Speaker 3>We want to run a great railroad, we want to

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<v Speaker 3>get this infrastructure built. And if you've traveled west out

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<v Speaker 3>of Manhattan recently, you've seen the Portal North Bridge that's

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<v Speaker 3>grown up out of the marsh almost and we're going

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<v Speaker 3>to have the first trains operating on that span with

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<v Speaker 3>our partners New Jersey Transit shortly after the new year.

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<v Speaker 3>So there's real tangible evidence of this investment in infrastructure.

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<v Speaker 2>I got to ask about New Jersey Transit. It's the

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<v Speaker 2>bane of many people's existence, right, I think intelligently chose

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<v Speaker 2>Westchester as a place to live, and Metro North is

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<v Speaker 2>awesome and always working and very often on time, whereas

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<v Speaker 2>New Jersey Transit, like we write stories on a weekly

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<v Speaker 2>basis about how bad it is delays, you know, stoppage

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<v Speaker 2>and tunnels. Why is that such a problem compared to

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<v Speaker 2>riding up and down from Westchester. Why is crossing over

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<v Speaker 2>the river into New Jersey so much more painful for commuters?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I think that I think one of the problems

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<v Speaker 3>is that going west, we only have two tubes under

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<v Speaker 3>the Hudson, whereas there's a lot more capacity coming into

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<v Speaker 3>Grand Central station for Metro North, and even from the

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<v Speaker 3>east there are four tunnels under the East River. But

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<v Speaker 3>I would say this that all railroads have a really

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<v Speaker 3>hard time every day facing just the reality of old

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<v Speaker 3>infrastructure and the reality of the operation, and I think

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<v Speaker 3>there's plenty of challenges to go around.

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<v Speaker 2>Got to invest in infrastructure, Got to invest in infrastructure.

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<v Speaker 4>Roger, thank you so much for joining us. That's Roger

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<v Speaker 4>Harris of Amtrak.