F
frank
Guest
It's each and every person's duty to write their politicians and let them know how they feel about rail travel in America. I know that goes without saying. But every once in a while, I feel the need to write some politician far, far away out of my district, to either thank them for supporting our national rail network, or to scold them for not understanding the necessity of the same.
But every once in a while a special case comes along and demands even more of an effort. The Hon. Rep. Jo Ann Davis, a Republican representing the 1st District in Fredericksburg, Va. comes to mind.
She recently called the local Amtrak officials on the carpet, in her office, to scold them for not announcing which track the Amtrak trains were arriving on, even though Amtrak had pointed out to her that this was CSX's track, and therefore it was CSX that would be obliged to make these calls. Amtrak went on to explain that it would cost too much money to install message boards and man them at the station.
Now granted, not knowing which track to wait on would be extremely frustrating, no doubt. But in this age when Amtrak is able to tie only one of it's shoes at a time because of lack of funding, it's easy to feel outraged when hearing such whining from politicians.
I get the feeling that with Mr. Gunn at the helm, if the government would grant Amtrak $2.5 billion per year, instead of the $1.8 Amtrak has asked for, all the while only receiving $1.2 billion, Mr. Gunn would see to it that every passenger was personally greeted at the gate, kinda Wal-Mart like.
But seeing as how President Bush and others who actually sign the checks have decided that bridges can go without repair, or equipment can be serviced less often, or that ties and track can wait a few more years before being replaced, or that thousands can be trimmed from the payroll, well, you get the picture.
When I read stories about government officials calling Amtrak on the carpet and demanding anything at all......
Jo Ann Davis is a brat. Nothing less. To tell Amtrak not to ask for anymore funding until they fix this problem shows a complete and utter lack of understanding of the scope of problems facing Amtrak. While she moans about wanting electric signs announcing train arrivals and departures like at your local airports, which by the way have received billions of dollars post 9/11, the bridge just East of town needs replacing. The ties underneath 20 miles of track West of wherever need replacing. And on and on.
The full story is here.
http://www.freelancestar.com/News/FLS/2004...3062004/1287715
Fed Up Frank
But every once in a while a special case comes along and demands even more of an effort. The Hon. Rep. Jo Ann Davis, a Republican representing the 1st District in Fredericksburg, Va. comes to mind.
She recently called the local Amtrak officials on the carpet, in her office, to scold them for not announcing which track the Amtrak trains were arriving on, even though Amtrak had pointed out to her that this was CSX's track, and therefore it was CSX that would be obliged to make these calls. Amtrak went on to explain that it would cost too much money to install message boards and man them at the station.
Now granted, not knowing which track to wait on would be extremely frustrating, no doubt. But in this age when Amtrak is able to tie only one of it's shoes at a time because of lack of funding, it's easy to feel outraged when hearing such whining from politicians.
I get the feeling that with Mr. Gunn at the helm, if the government would grant Amtrak $2.5 billion per year, instead of the $1.8 Amtrak has asked for, all the while only receiving $1.2 billion, Mr. Gunn would see to it that every passenger was personally greeted at the gate, kinda Wal-Mart like.
But seeing as how President Bush and others who actually sign the checks have decided that bridges can go without repair, or equipment can be serviced less often, or that ties and track can wait a few more years before being replaced, or that thousands can be trimmed from the payroll, well, you get the picture.
When I read stories about government officials calling Amtrak on the carpet and demanding anything at all......
Jo Ann Davis is a brat. Nothing less. To tell Amtrak not to ask for anymore funding until they fix this problem shows a complete and utter lack of understanding of the scope of problems facing Amtrak. While she moans about wanting electric signs announcing train arrivals and departures like at your local airports, which by the way have received billions of dollars post 9/11, the bridge just East of town needs replacing. The ties underneath 20 miles of track West of wherever need replacing. And on and on.
The full story is here.
http://www.freelancestar.com/News/FLS/2004...3062004/1287715
Fed Up Frank
