Save Our Trains Michigan
Conductor
It's hard to overstate the irresponsibility of the Bush administration's effort to "zero fund" Amtrak.
We're being told that the 34-year-old national railroad corporation is so bureaucratic and wedded to long-distance routes that perpetually lose money — "running trains that nobody rides between cities nobody wants to travel between," says Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta — that it should be thrown into bankruptcy.
But an abrupt cutoff of federal support, currently $1.2 billion a year?
It's worth remembering that Amtrak, which last year increased its ridership 4.3 percent, to 25 million passengers, plays a critical role in U.S. transportation. Regional and local commuter rail systems are tied closely to it. It's a lifeline for hundreds of cities and smaller towns across 46 states (including many "red" Bush states). Plus, an Amtrak shutdown would be a body blow to the crowded Northeast Corridor (Boston-Washington) — a critical part of the U.S. economy.
News story
We're being told that the 34-year-old national railroad corporation is so bureaucratic and wedded to long-distance routes that perpetually lose money — "running trains that nobody rides between cities nobody wants to travel between," says Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta — that it should be thrown into bankruptcy.
But an abrupt cutoff of federal support, currently $1.2 billion a year?
It's worth remembering that Amtrak, which last year increased its ridership 4.3 percent, to 25 million passengers, plays a critical role in U.S. transportation. Regional and local commuter rail systems are tied closely to it. It's a lifeline for hundreds of cities and smaller towns across 46 states (including many "red" Bush states). Plus, an Amtrak shutdown would be a body blow to the crowded Northeast Corridor (Boston-Washington) — a critical part of the U.S. economy.
News story