SENATE BILL: Fulfilling Railway Promises Act (Passed)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Senate Bill

To allow for the creation of a new passenger line between Whitefish, Montana and Thunder Bay, Ontario

Be it enacted by both houses of Congress Assembled,

Section I: Title
1: This bill shall be named the Fulfilling Railway Promises Act

Section II: Definitions
1: A train operator, or operator for short, shall be defined as a business that operates and controls the useage and exploits a passenger railway line.

Section III: Operation and ticketing
1: A new joint business between the Atlasian and Canadian governments shall be formed, with the intention of operating the rail line defined by this act.
2: This train operator shall be jointly owned by the Canadian government and the government of the region of Fremont.
3: There shall be at least one train a week operated in the entirety of the line.

Section IV: Route
1: This joint business shall operate a passenger line between the towns of Whitefish, Montana and Thunder Bay, Ontario; with passenger stops in both towns
2: On the Atlasian side of the line, the operated train shall follow this route:
a) East from Whitefish to right before Shelby, Montana on currently existing lines
b) North from Shelby to the Canadian border, also on currently existing lines
3: On the Atlasian side of the line, the operated train shall follow any route the Canadian government shall decide, as long as there is continuous operation until the mandated stop at Thunder Bay, Ontario
4: The Atlasian Congress formally recommends that on the Canadian side of the border, the operated train follows the following route:
a) From the Atlasian border to shortly past Cranbrook, Alberta; on currently existing lines
b) From Cranbrook to Calgary, Alberta; on currently existing lines
c) From Calgary to Winnipeg, Manitoba; on currently existing lines
d) From Winnipeg to Thunder Bay, Ontario; on currently existing lines
5: The train operator may operate the line past Whitefish or Thunder Bay if it deems it adequate. The Atlasian Congress formally recommends that on the Atlasian side of the border, the line is extended to Seattle; on currently existing lines.

Section V: Funding
1: Funding for the train operator shall primarily come from the sale of railway tickets. No extra funding shall be given by the government of Atlasia unless all ticketing revenue has been exhausted first.
2: If extra funding is needed, it shall be divided depending on the section of the line that needs the extra funding:
a) In the section of the line corresponding to Atlasia, funding shall be given by the government of Fremont, in such a way as it sees fit and by the federal Department of Internal Affairs.
b) In the section of the line corresponding to Canada, funding shall be given by the government of Canada in any way it deems adequate
3: 700 000$ shall be allocated from the budget of the Department of Internal Affairs for the renovation of the railway switch near Shelby, Montana.

Section VI: Negotiations
1: The Secretary of State shall be empowered to conduct any negotiations necessary for agreeing to this operation with the Canadian government

Section VII: Passage
1: This bill shall be enacted when passed by the Atlasian Congress
2: No provisions of this act shall become effective unless the Canadian government has agreed to this operation.
3: This bill shall become effective 3 weeks after the operation is authorized by the Canadian government.

People's Regional Senate
Pending
[/quote]

Sponsor: Tack50
Senate Designation: SB 9010 I think.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Senator Tack50 has 24 hours to begin advocating for this bill. Senators shall have 72 hours generally to respond to this bill and make comments, ask questions etc. Failure to do so in that 72 hours.....you'll see what happens!

YOU'll SEE WHAT HAPPENS!!!!


YOU'll SEE WHAT HAPPENS!!!!

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Has the Fremont Regional Gov't been consulted with or is on board with this plan?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Also why is this railroad "promised"? Who promised it and when?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Also why is this railroad "promised"? Who promised it and when?

I did, during the campaign (to be precise, during the week between the original election and the runoff). A citizen asked me to back this project and I promised it to him.

I decided to introduce this legislation to keep my promise with this citizen.

My first impression when I saw this was that it might be something that was promised as part of an agreement between either us and Canada or the US and Canada.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Atlas has a train geek community?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

In the late 2000s, the South used to appropriate impossible sums of money towards building an impossibly tall statue of John Dibble. This reminds me of that.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Atlas has a train geek community?

Yeah, you ever seen anyone on Lokcord with "train chat member" as a role? Have you ever seen the train chat channel?

What is this? what even is this?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

You would have to connect to Seattle or Vancouver to achieve that probably. 

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Yes but those are freight lines primarily.


Whitefish is in one of the base scenarios for the 2001 game Train Simulator by Microsoft, if memory serves me.

I have this game installed to this day, but it has not worked since 2010 due to file corruption I think.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Freight rail is rather misunderstood.


Especially when it comes to debates about nationalizing railways. Passenger service in the US isn't profitable , but freight rail is very much so post-deregulation.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Also, why are you taking a train chat meme seriously. Come on, this is stupid.

Are you kidding, this is the closest thing to how real bills should be debated that I have seen in a long time in this place. If anything I plan to use this as a textbook example to prove that serious debate in chambers is possible in the modern era.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So why are we building a brand new railway when there's a railway that already exists that you can use.

Someone didn't read the text:

Senate Bill

To allow for the creation of a new passenger line between Whitefish, Montana and Thunder Bay, Ontario

Be it enacted by both houses of Congress Assembled,

Section I: Title
1: This bill shall be named the Fulfilling Railway Promises Act

Section II: Definitions
1: A train operator, or operator for short, shall be defined as a business that operates and controls the useage and exploits a passenger railway line.

Section III: Operation and ticketing
1: A new joint business between the Atlasian and Canadian governments shall be formed, with the intention of operating the rail line defined by this act.
2: This train operator shall be jointly owned by the Canadian government and the government of the region of Fremont.
3: There shall be at least one train a week operated in the entirety of the line.

Section IV: Route
1: This joint business shall operate a passenger line between the towns of Whitefish, Montana and Thunder Bay, Ontario; with passenger stops in both towns
2: On the Atlasian side of the line, the operated train shall follow this route:
a) East from Whitefish to right before Shelby, Montana on currently existing lines
b) North from Shelby to the Canadian border, also on currently existing lines
3: On the Atlasian side of the line, the operated train shall follow any route the Canadian government shall decide, as long as there is continuous operation until the mandated stop at Thunder Bay, Ontario
4: The Atlasian Congress formally recommends that on the Canadian side of the border, the operated train follows the following route:
a) From the Atlasian border to shortly past Cranbrook, Alberta; on currently existing lines
b) From Cranbrook to Calgary, Alberta; on currently existing lines
c) From Calgary to Winnipeg, Manitoba; on currently existing lines
d) From Winnipeg to Thunder Bay, Ontario; on currently existing lines
5: The train operator may operate the line past Whitefish or Thunder Bay if it deems it adequate. The Atlasian Congress formally recommends that on the Atlasian side of the border, the line is extended to Seattle; on currently existing lines.

Section V: Funding
1: Funding for the train operator shall primarily come from the sale of railway tickets. No extra funding shall be given by the government of Atlasia unless all ticketing revenue has been exhausted first.
2: If extra funding is needed, it shall be divided depending on the section of the line that needs the extra funding:
a) In the section of the line corresponding to Atlasia, funding shall be given by the government of Fremont, in such a way as it sees fit and by the federal Department of Internal Affairs.
b) In the section of the line corresponding to Canada, funding shall be given by the government of Canada in any way it deems adequate
3: 700 000$ shall be allocated from the budget of the Department of Internal Affairs for the renovation of the railway switch near Shelby, Montana.

Section VI: Negotiations
1: The Secretary of State shall be empowered to conduct any negotiations necessary for agreeing to this operation with the Canadian government

Section VII: Passage
1: This bill shall be enacted when passed by the Atlasian Congress
2: No provisions of this act shall become effective unless the Canadian government has agreed to this operation.
3: This bill shall become effective 3 weeks after the operation is authorized by the Canadian government.

People's Regional Senate
Pending

Sponsor: Tack50
Senate Designation: SB 9010 I think.
[/quote]

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Freight rail is rather misunderstood.


Especially when it comes to debates about nationalizing railways. Passenger service in the US isn't profitable , but freight rail is very much so post-deregulation.

Obviously. And that's my point. Why are we trying to spend millions of dollars on running a useless passenger train between two tiny random cities all because bruhg created a stupid meme?

Also, why are you taking a train chat meme seriously. Come on, this is stupid.

Are you kidding, this is the closest thing to how real bills should be debated that I have seen in a long time in this place. If anything I plan to use this as a textbook example to prove that serious debate in chambers is possible in the modern era.

Once again, why are we trying to spend millions of dollars on running a useless passenger train between two tiny random cities all because bruhg created a stupid meme?

Too illustrate that if we can do this can of interaction at this expedited pace of turnaround on meme bills, we can certainly do it on real ones.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Yes but those are freight lines primarily.


Whitefish is in one of the base scenarios for the 2001 game Train Simulator by Microsoft, if memory serves me.

I have this game installed to this day, but it has not worked since 2010 due to file corruption I think.

Off topic, but yes it was, I have that game as well lol. It was good fun back in the day, it's very easy to modify the game files and make absurd trains.

And about this, I do not believe that such a rail service ought to be created. However, much of the rest of this bill is pretty well written and could be reworked into something useful.

My brother is addicted to this game to this day.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

My train game of choice was Railroad Tycoon II Platinum, because I have a hard on for the Industrial Revolution.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So why are we building a brand new railway when there's a railway that already exists that you can use.
Also, why are you taking a train chat meme seriously. Come on, this is stupid.

This merely mandates a passenger service, it doesn't build a single km of new track (I designed the line on purpose to take as many large Canadian towns as possible while not building a single km of track). And while it was indeed a meme, with some modifications we could make it real and effective.

Plus I have to keep the all important train chat meme constituency

Why do these 2 random cities deserve an unprofitable passenger service? What is the point of launching a useless train route between two small cities just so bruhg's meme can become reality?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8slW3ny7mbY

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

And shouldn't this be handled by the Fremont regional government?

You will notice that I recommended consultation with the Regional Government via their Senators.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So why are we building a brand new railway when there's a railway that already exists that you can use.
Also, why are you taking a train chat meme seriously. Come on, this is stupid.

This merely mandates a passenger service, it doesn't build a single km of new track (I designed the line on purpose to take as many large Canadian towns as possible while not building a single km of track). And while it was indeed a meme, with some modifications we could make it real and effective.

Plus I have to keep the all important train chat meme constituency

Why do these 2 random cities deserve an unprofitable passenger service? What is the point of launching a useless train route between two small cities just so bruhg's meme can become reality?

Well, for a start most passenger rail lines are unprofitable.

Looking at the Amtrak report I posted previously, not a single long distance line is profitable. Although the Empire Builder (the line this is most comparable to) is indeed the most unprofitable Amtrak line, although a couple other lines have comparable losses of around 32 million $.

I would expect traffic on the Canadian side of the border to be higher than the RL Amtrak line though, as Calgary and Winnipeg have higher populations than any population centers on the Amtrak line. Even Thunder Bay itself or Regina would be large stops compared to the RL route.

On the Atlasian side of the border I would also expect decent ridership numbers between Seattle and Spokane.

Really my only question was where to go from Thunder Bay (it's not an ideal end of the line), but I decided that was something for the Canadians to decide

So you admit this line will bleed money constantly. So why are we doing it?

Do you want to abolish Amtrak then?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So why are we building a brand new railway when there's a railway that already exists that you can use.
Also, why are you taking a train chat meme seriously. Come on, this is stupid.

This merely mandates a passenger service, it doesn't build a single km of new track (I designed the line on purpose to take as many large Canadian towns as possible while not building a single km of track). And while it was indeed a meme, with some modifications we could make it real and effective.

Plus I have to keep the all important train chat meme constituency

Why do these 2 random cities deserve an unprofitable passenger service? What is the point of launching a useless train route between two small cities just so bruhg's meme can become reality?

Well, for a start most passenger rail lines are unprofitable.

Looking at the Amtrak report I posted previously, not a single long distance line is profitable. Although the Empire Builder (the line this is most comparable to) is indeed the most unprofitable Amtrak line, although a couple other lines have comparable losses of around 32 million $.

I would expect traffic on the Canadian side of the border to be higher than the RL Amtrak line though, as Calgary and Winnipeg have higher populations than any population centers on the Amtrak line. Even Thunder Bay itself or Regina would be large stops compared to the RL route.

On the Atlasian side of the border I would also expect decent ridership numbers between Seattle and Spokane.

Really my only question was where to go from Thunder Bay (it's not an ideal end of the line), but I decided that was something for the Canadians to decide

So you admit this line will bleed money constantly. So why are we doing it?

Do you want to abolish Amtrak then?

After the High Speed Rail Act passed it will likely be defunded after 2025.

Interesting point!

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

can we pls stop with the weird font sizes

NAY


I actually endorse them votes, since it makes them easier for me to see amongst all the other text.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

It's worth noting that, as of now, there is no rail service whatsoever in the towns of Calgary, Regina and Thunder Bay. While Regina and Thunder Bay are quite small, Calgary is a city of 1.4 million people. I'd say there's enough demand both between Seattle and Calgary and between Calgary and the the rest of Canada to justify the route.

There is also an argument to be made that in these kinds of lines, it's the trip itself that's the product, not the act of traveling (if that makes any sense). Particularly for the route between both extremes. No one is going to make a 40 h train journey when a 3 h plane exists. Even road travel is more competitive!

If people really want to go between Chicago and Seattle they usually take a plane, not a train after all.

can we pls stop with the weird font sizes

Seconded, at least for debate. I'm fine with bold, italics, underlining, colours and even ALL CAPS can be fine at times (OR A COMBINATION OF THEM ALL) but weird sizes make debate harder to read.

I'm fine with them for votes though, as NC Yankee said.

It also helps to in some way differentiate motions of various kinds or official sponsor feedback, like "I find the amendment to be friendly/Hostile "

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Senate Bill

To allow for the creation of a new passenger line between Whitefish, Montana and Thunder Bay, Ontario

Be it enacted by both houses of Congress Assembled,

Section I: Title
1: This bill shall be named the Fulfilling Railway Promises Act

Section II: Definitions
1: A train operator, or operator for short, shall be defined as a business that operates and controls the useage and exploits a passenger railway line.

Section III: Operation and ticketing
1: A new joint business between the Atlasian and Canadian governments shall be formed, with the intention of operating the rail line defined by this act.
2: This train operator shall be jointly owned by the Canadian government and the government of the region of Fremont.
3: There shall be at least one train a week operated in the entirety of the line.

Section IV: Route
1: This joint business shall operate a passenger line between the towns of Whitefish, Montana and Thunder Bay, Ontario; with mandatory passenger stops in both towns
2: On the Atlasian side of the line, the operated train shall follow this route:
a) East from Seattle, Washington to Whitefish, Montana; on currently existing lines
a) b)East from Whitefish to right before Shelby, Montana on currently existing lines
b) c) North from Shelby to the Canadian border, also on currently existing lines
3: On the Atlasian side of the line, the operated train shall follow any route the Canadian government shall decide, as long as there is continuous operation until the mandated stop at Thunder Bay, Ontario
4: The Atlasian Congress formally recommends that on the Canadian side of the border, the operated train follows the following route:
a) From the Atlasian border to shortly past Cranbrook Lethbridge, Alberta; on currently existing lines
b) From Cranbrook Lethbridge to Calgary, Alberta; on currently existing lines
c) From Calgary to Winnipeg, Manitoba; on currently existing lines
d) From Winnipeg to Thunder Bay, Ontario; on currently existing lines
5: The train operator may operate the line past Whitefish or Thunder Bay if it deems it adequate. The Atlasian Congress formally recommends that on the Atlasian side of the border, the line is extended to Seattle; on currently existing lines.

Section V: Funding
1: Funding for the train operator shall primarily come from the sale of railway tickets. No extra funding shall be given by the government of Atlasia unless all ticketing revenue has been exhausted first.
2: If extra funding is needed, it shall be divided depending on the section of the line that needs the extra funding:
a) In the section of the line corresponding to Atlasia, funding shall be given by the government of Fremont, in such a way as it sees fit and by the federal Department of Internal Affairs.
b) In the section of the line corresponding to Canada, funding shall be given by the government of Canada in any way it deems adequate
3: 700 000$ shall be allocated from the budget of the Department of Internal Affairs for the renovation of the railway switch near Shelby, Montana.

Section VI: Negotiations
1: The Secretary of State shall be empowered to conduct any negotiations necessary for agreeing to this operation with the Canadian government

Section VII: Passage
1: This bill shall be enacted when after it is passed by both houses of the Atlasian Congress and after the president has signed this bill; or his veto has been overriden as specified by the Atlasian constitution
2: No provisions of this act shall become effective unless the Canadian government has agreed to this operation.
3: This bill shall become effective 3 weeks after the operation is authorized by the Canadian government.

Sponsor Feedback: Origination
Status: Senators have 24 hours to object.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The amendment is adopted.


Come on this bill was going so good earlier this week.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Any more amendments?