AMTRAK Must Go!

[only_more_so]

I understand there's some good non-stop bus service between DC and New York. It's a new kind of "upscale" bus service. A lot cheaper than amtrak, and possibly more energy efficient too.

I think the train makes a lot of sense from city to city (DC to NY, NY to Boston), but as soon as you start going through major cities, the time and expense add up.

Also, light rail or commuter rail makes a lot of sense. Going from satellite cities into major cities.

 

[manyeyedhydra]

Nothing against railways, but I think that private control would force AMTRAK to turn a profit....and perhaps, with our new energy crisis, they might. But not as a public monopoly. There are things that government does more efficiently and things that the private sector does better, and railways are the latter.

The lesson from Britain is that this is most definitely NOT the case.

 

[Noor]

I think the train makes a lot of sense from city to city (DC to NY, NY to Boston), but as soon as you start going through major cities, the time and expense add up.

Also, light rail or commuter rail makes a lot of sense. Going from satellite cities into major cities.

Bring back the interurbans (interurban streetcar lines)! One of the few left is the South Shore.

 

[redpaint]

India is the only place in the world where passenger trains turn a profit, however I believe we could break even.

Its kind of unfair, buses and trucks do not have to pay for their use of the highways, the government subsidizes them but trains must pay for their rails.

Having a good passenger rail system would help decrease our dependence on oil.

The food on the Empire Building has been quite good the last couple times I have ridden it ;-)

Ya know I have never understood why this country has never made more outof the passger train? every other contry has but we have let ours fall into ruin. WHY?

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

The main argument against monopolies is that they breed complacency amid the lack of competition. Why should this be any less true because the monopoly is state-run instead of private?

 

[Tanuki]

Ya know I have never understood why this country has never made more outof the passger train? every other contry has but we have let ours fall into ruin. WHY?

They used to say 50% of America's economy is tied to the auto industry.

It's even hard to jog or ride your bike here, our country is designed for cars.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I think the train makes a lot of sense from city to city (DC to NY, NY to Boston), but as soon as you start going through major cities, the time and expense add up.

Also, light rail or commuter rail makes a lot of sense. Going from satellite cities into major cities.

You can get right-of-ways for high-speed rail very easily by building them down the center or alongside existing expressways. That's what they did to build a shuttle connecting downtown Chicago to O'Hare airport. With the price of gas and jet fuel what it is, passenger rail is dirt cheap and for trips taking less than 2-3 hours, it's faster than air, given the hassle of dealing with airports. You can take a train from downtown Chicago to downtown Milwaukee (about 100 miles) in less time than you can fly.

 

[trysail]

In light of this thread's discussion, I found this news item amusing. As if the financial condition of the United States (which is parlous, at best) is in any shape to bail out anything else—

(Fair Use Excerpt)
U.S. Highway Fund Needs $8 Billion Bailout This Month
By John Hughes

Sept. 5 -- A U.S. trust fund that finances highway construction needs $8 billion from Congress by the end of next week to cover a shortfall as a drop in driving shrinks fuel-tax receipts, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said.

The federal government will have no money in the fund by month's end, and may need to cut payments to states starting in October should Congress fail to act, Peters told reporters today on a conference call.

``The cash-flow problem we face is serious,'' Peters said in Washington. A ``significant, precipitous drop-off'' in highway travel boosted the shortfall beyond previous expectations, she said.

The fund started the year that began Oct. 1 with an $8.1 billion balance, and payments exceeded collections by $8.3 billion, according to the Transportation Department. The U.S. House approved an $8 billion bailout for fiscal 2009, though the money will be needed this year instead, Peters said...

 

[WRJames]

Amtrack lines (at least some of them) are electrified -- which means that you aren't dependent on oil as your fuel source. There is certainly more potential to electrify the others than there is to run electric buses.

With all the concern about carbon ioxide emissions and hihg costs for oil, inclouding jet fuel, this seems to be the wrong time to talk about eliminating a "green" (or more potentially green) form of transportation.

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

Amtrack lines (at least some of them) are electrified -- which means that you aren't dependent on oil as your fuel source. There is certainly more potential to electrify the others than there is to run electric buses.

With all the concern about carbon ioxide emissions and hihg costs for oil, inclouding jet fuel, this seems to be the wrong time to talk about eliminating a "green" (or more potentially green) form of transportation.

Not eliminate....privatize. Things get done without Uncle Sam all of the time. Not necessary to have Uncle Sam do everything.