(rshsdepot) Savannah, GA

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Savannah, Ga.'s Amtrak Station Still Bustling

Jul. 1--In the pre-dawn hours last Thursday, Amtrak's Savannah station
shined like a beacon in the dark along barren Louisville Road.
Inside, passengers waited for the Silver Palmetto due in at 5:22 a.m. from
its origination point in New York. Many with faces showing signs of sleep
deprivation jerked awake as horns blared in the distance.

The sudden noise jarred them from their state of near-sleep as they listened
out for a sound that would build gradually.

Soon the loud clickety-clack along the train tracks silenced the crickets
and tree frogs, but raised the enthusiasm of two young rail riders eager to
begin their trip.

Robby Rahn, 11, and Samuel Rahn, 3, ran outside to the platform to greet the
locomotive.

"It's a choo choo," said Samuel, pointing.

For the brothers, the freight train provides a brief distraction until they
can board the first Amtrak passenger train of the day.

For other passengers, like Graham Toms from Bangor, Ireland, it's one step
closer to reaching Orlando, his final destination.

Despite different travel itineraries, the strangers share an appreciation
for traveling by rail.

Regardless of Amtrak's recent financial woes, train lovers and travelers
remain optimistic about the future of the nation's largest passenger train
service provider. A temporary fix of $100 million from the U.S. Treasury
will help alleviate Amtrak's immediate problems.

But "what ifs" still remain. The biggest being: What happens when the loan
runs out?

Savannah is one of five Amtrak stations in Georgia. It employs six people
and in 2001, 44,371 passengers rode through the station.

For people like the Rahns, who travel five times a year to visit their
grandparents in Savannah, and Toms, on business travel and Ellie Tardif, of
Savannah, who rides the train to visit her family in North Carolina, Amtrak
provides a much-needed service.

Toms didn't even seem to mind that his train has been delayed. He said it
was still better than the alternative.

With last-minute travel arrangements, the train was cheaper than booking a
seat on a plane. There are other benefits as well, he said.

"By taking the train, I've got a shorter distance to fall from the air," he
said. "I do a lot of traveling by plane and you get to see the country on
Amtrak."

"Why I prefer Amtrak, is also for the service, too," he said.

Tardif couldn't agree more.

"You don't spend a lot of time in the terminal, the atmosphere and the
trains are nice and pleasant," she said. "You don't have to be there 30
minutes before the train comes ... there are no waits and no hassles. I
don't fly if I can get away with it."

Amtrak's predictable service is the reason why Tardif knows her schedule.

The owner of Bull Street Station, a local hobby shop, said she leaves
Savannah at 10:15 p.m.

Friday and gets into Greenville, N.C. at 9 a.m.

She'll leave at 7:18 p.m. Sunday and return home at 5:30 a.m. Monday.

"For the rest I get and the comfort, the eight to nine hour trip is not that
bad," she said. "Maybe it takes a little longer, but if you count in train
time vs. air time and waiting in the airport terminal -- that makes up for
excess time."

But for Robby Rahn, time passed quickly as he discussed trains.

His grandfather is a retired train engineer and his father, Bobby Rahn,
works for CSX. Robby added he has plans of becoming a train engineer.

He matter-of-factly talked about how to get a train into gear and his dreams
of one day running the engine room.

"I want to work for Amtrak," Robby Rahn said, adding he hopes the company is
still around when he is of working age.

His father added to the conversation.

Like Europe and the U.S. airline industry, Bobby Rahn said he believes
Amtrak should receive government assistance.

He was interrupted by a long low whistle cutting through the morning air --
the Silver Palmetto pulling into the station.

Robby and Samuel's ride was about to begin.

To see more of the Savannah Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper,
go to http://www.savannahnow.com



  Bernie Wagenblast
  Transportation Communications Newsletter
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications/

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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