Amtrak Funds Have Been Cut by Bush

[NicTrain35]

It's sad. The funds for Amtrak have been cut, by Bush. What will we do if Amtrak goes out of business? There will be no passenger service. 2000 alone in Illinois risk losing their jobs. Amtrak is also one of my favorite trains! Thanks a lot, Bush. :(

[cmherndon]

While I do support the president (and I know I'll take hell for this :lol: ), cutting Amtrak's funds won't really help anything. Take a look at Sept. 11th. With all air traffic being grounded, who rose to the occasion?

[Lord Vader]

With all air traffic being grounded, who rose to the occasion?

It wasn't Amtrak that's for sure.

The Amtrak Reform Council made some very good recommendations and they should be followed. http://www.amtrakreformcouncil.gov/

[Chris Starnes]

The ARC makes some good points, I think.

Throwing more money into Amtrak's pocket doesn't provide a long-term solution to the problem, just a short-term fix. The system needs an overhaul...bad.

[Ween]

Thanks a lot, Bush.

Well, now we don't have to worry about terrorists blowing up our trains. It's genius!!

BTW, when it comes to bickering about $$$ or Bush, thank the Islamic fundamentalists for all the headache. It's either now or later when it comes to dealing with them. My new job will require me to be in the Middle East 250+ days per year. Awesome. If that means Amtrak loses funds so I can be in the states more, fine by me...

[Chris Starnes]

My new job will require me to be in the Middle East 250+ days per year.

Still flying or land based?

[J]

Don't want to impose on anyone's personal politics so I'll make the generic observation that the Bush budget seems to have the goal of shrinking the government. Amtrak has never had a stable budget and so its managers have been challenged ever since its existence to run a capital-intensive business on a short-term basis. It's current president, David Gunn has a long history of achievement - i.e., "cleaning up" the NYC subway system, etc. He came out of retirement to take on this challenge, perhaps for the heck of it, to see what he could do. A consummate railroad man, he speaks bluntly and is not afraid to invest in the assets. The "Northeast Corridor," is an irreplaceable asset that was built to high engineering standards in the 1930's. With all the "Not in My Back Yard" sentiment, it could never be built today. Gunn is spending money to maintain the trackage, has restarted repair lines to bring wreck-damaged cars back on line and raised morale by being out on the railroad. Last year he was accused of "scare tatics" when he plainly told Congress that it has to make a simple decision - vote the funds to support the system or shut it down.

Most of Amtrak's "useful" routes are in the east but it needs national support and so continues running trains between Chicago and Seattle and LA and New Orleans / Jacksonville. The trains serve states that vote it support.

It is a myth to say that Amtrak should be broken up with a separate company to own / operate the track and separate companies to own / operate the trains. That model failed miserably in the UK. As an anecdote, there was a horrible wreck involving a broken rail. The rail was scheduled to be replaced but the engineering company (Track) got its incentives for minimizing delay to trains. "Hey, we really ought to replace that rail, but if we do, we'll slow down the trains and be penalized for the delay! Let's do it next week when there's more time..."

[Wade H. Massie]

Before we assume that Amtrak is doomed, keep in mind that Reagan proposed doing the same thing. Congress didn't allow that to happen, and it's very possible that the same scenario will transpire this time around.

-Wade

[oltmannd]

Amtrak isn't going away. Congress will find enough funding to allow Amtrak to limp along for another year.

Heard this AM that House leader Hassert is an Amtrak supporter.

Actually, Reagan used to regularly put $0 in his budget proposal for Amtrak, so this year's $360M is mild by comparison.

[Unionpacific13]

I HOPE AMTRAK DONT GO BANKRUPT I HATED IT WHEN 850/851 LEFT LOUISVILLE,KY ON JULY 6 :shock:

[Ween]

My new job will require me to be in the Middle East 250+ days per year.

Still flying or land based?

Well...both technically. I'll be flying (no staff or ground duty), but I'll be stationed in the area with all the sand. I just hope I'm not in a 12-man tent this time! :lol:

[golden_spike]

well if Amtrak goes down maybe freight hopping will rise to the top again... :twisted:

just kidding.

[ssw9662]

well if Amtrak goes down maybe freight hopping will rise to the top again... :twisted:

just kidding.

LOL! :lol:

[bnsf sammy]

All the airlines have been bankrupt and the government has backed them out. Why cant they do that for trains? If Amtrak goes, there wont be any passenger lines!!!