Posted on 07/31/2003 7:12:02 AM PDT by RJCogburn
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:10:34 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Republican senators announced a six-year, $60 billion plan yesterday to help Amtrak, countering a Bush administration proposal that would reduce federal support for passenger rail service.
The plan by four members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee would give Amtrak the $2 billion in annual operating subsidies it has requested. The plan also calls for issuing $48 billion in bonds to raise money for repairs and track construction.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Only in America!
$22Billion Dollars in subsidies since Amtrak stared in 1972 and we're STARVING THEM TO DEATH!??
How 'bout getting your dirty paws out of my pocket and try turning a profit or shut the hell down.
Is there ANYTHING a Republican Senator won't throw money at???
Good question. We don't.
Of course we want that. And we want a prescription drug benefit for seniors. And a free chicken in every pot. And everyone to have an above-average income, while we're at it. Kumb-frickin-ya.
Can we first have an explanation of all the Amtrak derailments since 9.11?
The two major derailments since 9/11 (Auto Train, in April, 2002, and Capitol Limited, in July, 2002) were caused by poor maintenance by the host railroad, CSX Transportation.
I'll echo the sentiments of CedarDave in that a passenger is much safer in a train than in an airplane due to the fact that in most derailments there are no fatalities and only minor injuries. Only in rare circumstances (like the Sunset Limited incident in Louisiana in 1993--caused by a barge striking the bridge that the train passed over; and the City of New Orleans incident in Bourbonnais, IL, in 1999--caused when a trucker decided to ignore the warning lights which were functioning at that grade crossing) are there a "significant amount" of fatalites, and even in those cases, a vast majority of the passengers survive.
More of your hard earned tax dollars going down a rathole. Sell AMTRAK, pulllllezzzzzzzz!
Verax:
$22Billion Dollars in subsidies since Amtrak stared in 1972 and we're STARVING THEM TO DEATH!??
How 'bout getting your dirty paws out of my pocket and try turning a profit or shut the hell down.
What about all of the tax dollars that go to roads and the airline industry? Is that spending justified, or is it OK because they're "more popular" forms of transportation? It seems to me that many people have forgotten that the airline industry received $15,000,000,000.00 (68% of what Amtrak has received since its inception) in free Federal money as a knee-jerk reaction to 9/11. The most ironic part of this federal giveaway is that as a whole, the airline industry has never made a profit. Clearly, there are some airlines, like Southwest and JetBlue who, on their own, are making profits; and that is without having to maintain facilities like airports, runways, and the related support staffs required to keep them in good running order.
On the other hand, Amtrak has to maintain its own stations, and in the Northeast (and a part of southern Michigan), maintain its own track. The only good thing that Amtrak has is that a majority of its route-miles are on other railroads (who, by the way, Amtrak pays to have the right to run on their tracks), which pay for their own maintenance without any help from the Federal government.
It's amazing to see folks just say something like "Nobody rides the train, why should we bother spending money on it?" When a person says that, it makes me wonder if they ever have been on a train. If they have and the circumstances of their trip caused them to become a "never again" rider, that's primarily the fault of the on-board service personnel (unless it's a condition where there was a fault with the car, which is primarily the fault of deferred maintenance--caused by a lack of proper funding); on the other hand, if they haven't ridden a train, they should try it out once, the ride may be suprising.
Good question. We don't.
Wrong.
From a Letter Regarding Amtrak FY2004 Budget, dated April 11, 2003, the National Conference of State Legislatures included the following in their letter:
Earlier this year, CNN and Gallup conducted an internet public opinion poll that illustrated overwhelming support for Amtrak. According to the poll, over 85 percent of participants support providing Amtrak with $2 billion annually to fund its operations. Based on this poll and other polls conducted in the summer of 2002, it is apparent that Americans value the services provided by Amtrak and understand the importance of maintaining a viable cross-country rail system.
Also, keep in mind that in between Washington and New York, Amtrak has about 50% of the combined air and rail traffic along that corridor. This is from a news release of July 16, 2003 from the National Association of Rail Passengers, and is available for reading online.
Great motto. I choose the latter.
And every time you ride a train it costs me $40. Every ticket on AMTRAK is subsidized by the government $40. If you want a thrill go to Disneyland. Trains are great and air travel is great but let them exist on their own profits. The northeast and west coast corridors are the only profitable lines. As long as you support a broken horse all you have is a broken horse.
On the West Coast corridors (specifically the California Corridors--Capitol Corridor; San Joaquins; and Pacific Surfliner (ex-San Diegans)), there has been a lot of investment by the state of California in getting the fleets for those lines in shape and paying for the repair of their cars.
The only reason that the corridors (specifically the Northeast and Midwest/Chicago Hub) show a "profit" is Amtrak's accounting. Studies by Andrew Selden (of the Minnesota Association of Rail Passengers and United Rail Passenger Alliance) have shown that despite spending (in 2002 dollars) over $40,000,000,000.00 in the Northeast Corridor, they are still over $12,000,000,000.00 in debt on those capital improvements. (Source: "Corridor and Long Distance Myths and Realities", Andrew C. Selden, 11 March 2002)
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