I have a problem with this line:
"It would be to our nation's benefit to take the European model and have passenger trains take precedence over the frieght trains as many trains are delayed hours on end."

I do not believe that freight should take a back seat to passengers. Freight is essential to our country's livelihood. I do, however, think freight and passenger trains should be considered equally important, and that we modernize the infrastructure so that freight and passenger trains can coexist harmoniously.

Hello Mr President:

I realize you and Secretary Mineta do not believe it is in our Nation's interest to have a substantial national passenger rail system.

However...

There are numerous people that will not fly due to their fears, and there is a growing number of people that will not fly due to the intrusive "inspections" and massive restrictions we have to endure whenever we fly. I cannot even carry a pocket knife with me on the occasions that I do have to fly. This is, in my opinion, absurd. {Never again will highjackers be allowed to take over a "passive" group of people on a plane, therefore I believe everyone should be able to carry weapons when they fly.}

On rail, an improved National passenger rail system is needed right now. The need will become even greater as our population grows. I believe it is extremely short-sighted to cut or reduce Amtrak's funding. They should be receiving $2 to $3 Billion a year to support their infrastructure and increase their rolling stock. The routes should be expanded and enhanced by authorizing "Interstate II", a plan to update our rail system throughout our Nation.

It is a shame that the 4th largest city in our country {Houston}only has 3 day a week service by only one Amtrak train.

Please correct this growing problem.

Respectfully,

I must wonder to what extent she is a supporter of Intercity Rail; likely she heartily supports both CalTrain and BART. Silicn Valley, which comprises the 14th, is home to some of the most Type A people on this planet; it is my conviction that Type A's have little use for intercity rail - you can get there and be IN CONTROL on I-5.

But I must concur that the letter is too detailed, unless somehow the Congresswoman has a railfan staffer in her office. There is too great a chance that all she will review is the staffer's summary report: "some guy's in favor of Amtrak".

quote:

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Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman:
I must wonder to what extent she is a supporter of Intercity Rail; likely she heartily supports both CalTrain and BART. Silicn Valley, which comprises the 14th, is home to some of the most Type A people on this planet; it is my conviction that Type A's have little use for intercity rail - you can get there and be IN CONTROL on I-5.

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Assuming you can GET to I-5! Bay Area traffic is now so bad that a recent trip from my in-laws place in San Mateo to the I-80/I-505 junction took us three hours, where it used to take only one. (I-505 is a shortcut connection between 80 and 5 running between Vacaville and Dunnigan.) We were trying to get to southern Oregon. I really wished we had a train option that day, so we could have bypassed all of that traffic, instead of contributing to it. (Alas, Klamath Falls was not close enough for our purposes.)

Many intercity road trips involve some portion of it through a major metropolitan area. It was driven home to me that day that intercity trains (if there were more of them) would provide a credible alternative to driving through these areas, help relieve the congestion, and allow at least some people to avoid it altogether. Corridor trains, on the other hand, allow you to get around within these congested metropolitan areas, but not very far past them.
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Note to Mike:
Your letter is better, but the editor in me would remove the tangent relating to the pocket knife.

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"Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous patience." -- Hyman Rickover
The Del Monte Club Car