Amtrak jettisons mail contracts.(Transit Update)(Amtrak Express Parcels Ltd.)

From: Railway Age | Date: October 1, 2004 | Copyright information

Citing interference with its core business of operating passenger trains, and profits that--if they exist at all--are miniscule, Amtrak ceased hauling the U.S. Mail as of early this month.

Amtrak's decision to cancel its $60 million contract with the U.S. Postal Service ends an association that began soon after Amtrak was formed in 1971. By that time, the USPS had ceased operating RPO (Railway Post Office) cars; most of the mail Amtrak had been hauling consisted of Second- and Third-Class bulk and drop shipments, handled in boxcars and Road-Railers. Profitability of the mail ...

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