Trains In Vain

IBD Editorials ^ | May 9, 2011 | Staff

[Kaslin]

Subsidies: This week, Amtrak marks its 40th anniversary, which means that for decades it's wasted tens of billions of tax dollars. Naturally, Washington wants to reward this with billions more under the guise of "high-speed" rail.

To say that Amtrak is a failed business is to be unkind to failure. Consider:

• A Pew study found that all but three of Amtrak's 44 lines lost money in 2008, with an average loss of $32 per passenger. Even the heavily used Northeast Regional line was a money-loser.

• Each year, Amtrak relies on more than $1.5 billion in taxpayer subsidies — totaling about $40 billion over the past 40 years. And it's by far the most heavily subsidized mode of transportation, getting $210 per thousand passenger miles, according to a 2004 Department of Transportation report.

• Amtrak's trains are perpetually late. More than one in five Northeast Regional train trips missed its arrival time this past year. Others, like the Michigan Services line between Chicago and Detroit, saw nearly two-thirds of its trains run late, Amtrak data show.

All of this comes despite repeated promises that the government-supported rail service would one day be a viable business. Back in 1992, then president W. Graham Claytor Jr. said Amtrak "hopes to eliminate (federal support) altogether by the end of the decade."

To be fair, Congress shares blame for Amtrak's dismal performance, since lawmakers have thoroughly politicized the operation by, among other things, forcing it to maintain little-used routes.

[umgud]

And here we are in CA building the first section of our high speed rail from Fresno to Chowchila.......

[killermosquito]

Isn’t the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?

Did those who started our nations railroads, steel mills, etc. rely on the government?

Central planning is going to kill all. Only the invisible hand can save us.

[hinckley buzzard]

I'd like to know which are the three Amtrak lines that did not lose money in 2008.

[hinckley buzzard]

Our nation's railroads started out with huge subsidies and favors from the federal government, much of it corrupt. Can't say about steel mills.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

In all fairness, it was the government(s) itself, federal, state and local, in the form of excise taxes, as well as unions, in the form of inflexible work schedules and lucrative pensions, that caused the demise of passenger rail service.

[glorgau]

The only thing good to be said about putting $186 million more into the chicago-st. louis line is that it might be the only project - of all the nation’s high speed projects - that might actually be completed end to end.

Even with the latest injection, the higher speed line will only have been completed up to Joilet and not through springfield. Basically only in the wide open prairie parts of the route.

One more shot of funds and there will actually be ONE completed higher speed rail route. all the rest of the projects in this country have little to no chance of completion in the foreseeable future.

[GladesGuru]

“I’d like to know which are the three Amtrak lines that did not lose money in 2008.”

It was the three which hired ‘creative accountants’.

[shibumi]

(And other HAMMERFROG covers.....)

[clashfan]

“Train in Vain”
written by Joe Strummer, Paul Gustave Simonon, Mick Jones, Topper Headon

Say you stand by your man
Tell me something I don’t understand
You said you love me and that’s a fact
Then you left me, said you felt trapped

Well some things you can explain away
But my heartache’s in me till this day

[Chorus]
Did you stand by me
No, not at all
Did you stand by me
No way

All the times
When we were close
I’ll remember these things the most
I see all my dreams come tumbling down
I won’t be happy without you around

So all alone I keep the wolves at bay
There is only one thing that I can say

[Chorus]

You must explain why this must be
Did you lie when you spoke to me

Did you stand by me
No, not at all

Now I got a job
But it don’t pay
I need new clothes
I need somewhere to stay
But without all these things I can do
But without your love I won’t make it through

But you don’t understand my point of view
I suppose there’s nothing I can do

[Chorus]

You must explain why this must be
Did you lie when you spoke to me?

Did you stand by me
Did you stand by me
No, not at all
Did you stand by me
No way
Did you stand by me
No, not at all
Did you stand by me
No way

[drbuzzard]

>Our nation’s railroads started out with huge subsidies and favors from the federal government, much of it corrupt. Can’t say about steel mills.

I believe that depends on the Railroad. Some did manage to be private concerns. It was generally the ones which lived on government handouts which did quite poorly. Vanderbilt made his fortune on rails, and he was very much against subsidies.

[Jonah Hex]

Bump to this question as well. Even useing "creative" numbers, I'd like to know which three apparently turned a profit?

Apparently, Acela is one. I wonder about the others.

[TheOldLady]

We have a lot of female crooks in Fresno?