The Norman Invasion
Transportation Secretary Norm "I have an airport named after me, do you?" Mineta has an op-ed in the Times on why cutting off federal funds to Amtrak is a good idea:
"Today, trains carry as many passengers between New York and Washington as the airlines do. In the Northeast, on the West Coast and in the Midwest, train ridership is growing. The problem is not that Americans don't use trains, it is that Amtrak has failed to keep up with times, stubbornly sticking to routes and services, even as they lose money and attract few users.
This is why dozens of state and local governments are planning new investment in passenger train service. A good example is the Cascades service that connects Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, British Columbia. The State of Washington has upgraded stations and tracks, and purchased new, higher-speed trains. It subsidizes the operating costs, while Amtrak's role is reduced to running the trains under contract. Ridership on the system has more than tripled since 1995. This is the kind of initiative that we should be helping.
Unfortunately, the federal government can do little to support such projects directly, because all of its money goes to Amtrak. Amtrak then decides how to invest those federal dollars, and in the past it has starved new initiatives to cover its operating losses. Even worse, the company has over the years shifted money away from much-needed repairs, maintenance and upgrades for tunnels, bridges and tracks to cover those losses."
Fair enough, even if the cuts are really to fund wars and not restructure the system -- seeing opportunity in adversity is a good thing indeed. Now if we could only get a better gas tax scheme and come up with a more solid nationwide plan to target money for short-haul routes and infrastructure upgrades.
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rj3 | 10:05 AM |
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Mineta also doesn't recognize the improvements and changes that David Gunn has implemented since arriving at Amtrak. I'm always surprised at how backwards policy-makers are on the issue of Amtrak. Basically it needs a major overhaul but congressional members fight reduction of service in their state, thus hindering the whole system.
