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Funding Amtrak
July 29, 2005
In 34 years of federally funded passenger service, one thorny question has never been answered to anyone’s satisfaction: Why should air transport and highways receive so much money from the government while a national rail passenger system is judged solely on whether or not it pays for itself? As TRAINS noted three years ago, “profitability is an ideological appeal; by using this hammer, critics destroy attempts to make rational comparisons of the public benefits of different transportation modes.”That ideology has spawned some damaging cultural effects. In the media, journalists and commentators continue using the phrase “money-losing Amtrak,” even though government highways and transit systems aren’t judged by their profitablity. Powerful lobbying groups like the American Association of Retired Persons have failed to support passenger-train funding, even though a growing segment of AARP’s constituency are rural residents, those losing the ability to drive or purchase a car, and those who can’t or won’t fly.
From the new September issue of TRAINS Magazine - an article entitled “The Fight Over America’s Passenger Trains” by Bob Johnston.
I love this magazine. I’ve been getting it for 10 years now, and, despite its railfan past, it really does contain much information about current freight and passenger rail. I especially like the City Rail news page and the Don Phillips editorial each month.
Posted by paul at July 29, 2005 02:32 PM
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