TrainBlog by Marcel Marchon

e, on January 16, 2007 @ 11:54 pm

I wonder what Trenttt Lottt’s angle is on this - I can’t believe he’d want to invest in trains just to save the earth or some kind of wacky hippie ideal like that. Does he have a train manufacturer in his district?

barbara fisher, on July 13, 2007 @ 8:50 am

With the multi-fiascos in airplane travel, it is refreshing to see interest in improvement in the train system. We have taken 3 trips across the USA by train and love it!

Improvements would appeal to even more of the population.

Adele E Zimmermann, on September 10, 2007 @ 6:13 am

The federal government spends hundreds of billions a year on highways, airports and air traffic control. Billions more are spent on air security and highway law enforcement. A few billion for Amtrak is a pittance compared to those costs. Rail travel is much more ecologically sound than air or auto travel, and most of the cost of maintaining railways is borne by private industry. Many states are developing local rail networks to interface with Amtrak routes.

Short-changing Amtrak will discourage rail travel in a time when conserving fossil fuel and curbing carbon emissions are vital. Congress should do everything it can to develop an economical mode of transportation for people cannot afford air travel or drive long distances. It would relieve pressure on our overextend air travel system and would decrease dangerous congestion on our highways.

Trains are much more comfortable and civilized than airplanes. I have used Amtrak extensively. I recommend it to anyone who has a little extra time. It is not just a way to get to a destination. It is a mini vacation and a way to meet new people and to learn about our beautiful country.

JoeAnn Hailey, on November 4, 2007 @ 7:22 am

I believe the government should invest in the railroad. I ride the “Amtrak” whenever possib le in place of the plane. Much more comfortable and enjoyable.

james r, on November 4, 2007 @ 3:22 pm

why can’t you believe trent lott would coauthor the bill? is it because he is a republican and republicans are supposed to be evil evil people?

M. Edward Brookman, on November 4, 2007 @ 4:55 pm

I read with interest the article in the Parade Magazine about the future of train travel in the United States, (“Can we Save Our Trains”, Sunday, November 4, 2007). I have traveled by train on many occasions from Newport News, Virginia to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston on Amtrak’s the Northeast Corridor. I have always enjoyed it. Fast and relaxing. I would certainly like to see an expanded rail service as proposed by the Lautenberg-Lott Passenger Rail Investment and improvement act.

Devon, on November 5, 2007 @ 8:22 am

Wouldn’t it be nice if they would use some of this money to expand the railservice in the middlewest ie Texas, Colorado and New Mexico? A line connecting Dallas to Denver via Albuquerque would be fantastic!

» links for 2007-11-07 | Matt Hampel | matth.org, on November 7, 2007 @ 2:20 am

[…] Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act reintroduced | TrainBlog (tags: amtrak important politics cash trent lott arbchi) […]

jon kovash, on November 15, 2007 @ 10:44 am

amen to all of the above - particularly, as a resident of the West, it would be nice if not all of the money goes to expensive high speed urban commuter routes, and that some goes to restoring and improving long-haul routes that connect these commuter hubs.

Johnnyb, on November 28, 2007 @ 2:40 pm

Devon, I was thinking if they would only build a direct link between Dallas and Houston, then link Dallas, Ft. Worth, Abeline, Lubbock, Amarillo, Trinidad, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver. That would give Amtrak acess to about a million people who currently don’t have it, and provide a more direct route to the mountains and ski areas for for Texans. Since Trinidad is already tied into the Amtrak system it could serve as a hub to Albuquerque and New Mexico Ski areas, as well as providing Coloradans with an easy route to the Coast.

Regardless, all that would require the help of TxDot which has been corrupted by Rick Perry and his Nafta Superhighway scheme. They are now so absorbed by creating a highway that no one in Texas wants they are not going to be distracted by something that makes as much sense as creating a functioning Amtrak and improving the frieght lines, which would make the Nafta Superhighway aka Trans Texas Corridor even more unnecessary and irrelevant as it already is, and provide a million Texans with cheap easy access to our metropolitian centers as well as rural communities with increased tourism.

What I don’t understand is Amtrak currently costs Americans about $4 per year, so why do politician make a grandstanding issue about opposing Amtrak, while they freely give $10s of billions in subsidies to airlines? Certainly our railways are at least as important as our highways and airlines. It seems to me, that given the size of the United States and the decayed state of our rail network, that we should be investing twice as much in our rails as the Europeans are in thiers, after all their rails are about 50 years ahead of ours.

Bush talks big about ending our addiction to foriegn oil, while trying to kill Amtrak! Now I’m a libertarian leaning Republican myself and a global warming denier, but neglecting the only infrastructure that has a serious hope of drastically reducing our oil consumption is simply beyond stupid. Oil policy is about national security and leaving the mobility of our goods and people at the mercy of the lunatic nations that control the world’s oil supply is just freaking insane. Just like building a mile wide highway while we are nearing peak oil is insane.

I’m saying that we need European style rails here in America now, but in the mean time our government must forget this notion about a self sufficent Amtrak and focus on serving every American city with a population of 100,000 or more, with regular service to near by cities while modernizing our rail network. This will take trucks and drivers off the road reducing the need for massive highway spending and cutting our current account deficeit by reducing our oil imports.

It seems so obvious and simple, if I have one hope for the coming Democrat lead government its a massive increase in investment on our rail networks. Perhaps this hope is a pipedream but who knows?

Linda Fell, on January 31, 2008 @ 4:26 pm

The Rail Passenger Bill SB 294 was just re-introduced to congress. We desperately need this bill to pass to increase train travel to combat climate change. Oil is finite and trains use one-fifth less energy than cars or airiplanes. European countries have fabulous train systems, we need to invest in this for our future. Let’s tell our senators and reps that we want SB 294 to pass.