I do not fly. I take Amtrak when I travel.Amtrak has a very long route in Texas from Beaumont to El Paso on the Sunset Limited. My family and I have tickets to go next week on our annual vacation to El Paso and New Mexico. Sadly I got a call today from Amtrak that they will no longer have checked baggage service in Houston or El Paso. This is terrible. All bags must be carried on. I also read that the engineers have had their cell phones removed. ARE WE JUST SHIFTING SECURITY RISKS FROM AIR TO TRAIN! If my train derails in the middle of no where like Marfa, how will anyone know. The carried on bags are NOT checked. Did you see what the Muslims did to the train load of people in India? I also read that Amtrak is cutting service to the handicapped!
I pay a lot of money to travel on Amtrak. I do not fly. Surely the benefit of a rail line was seen after 9-11-01. Why can't we get a decent trip for the price we pay? Every time I travel the rail cars are filled with tons of people, including many families.
My children love to ride the rails. It will be a memory they carry always. Please help me get Amtrak on the RIGHT track.
Mr. Toy Member # 311
posted
Sending that to Senator Kay is good, for it helps her justify her support of rail. But I also suggest you write to that other guy who, like John McCain, is openly anti-rail. Senator Phil needs some pressure put on him.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
quote:Originally posted by Mr. Toy: Sending that to Senator Kay is good, for it helps her justify her support of rail. But I also suggest you write to that other guy who, like John McCain, is openly anti-rail. Senator Phil needs some pressure put on him.
Hate to sound like a nay-sayer, but it appears McCain is not listening -- his mind is made up, and he ignores my emails. Almost wish I lived in Arizona -- I may have a few ounces of clout.
[This message has been edited by mrlithian (edited 03-04-2002).]
Eric Member # 674
posted
"Hate to sound like a nay-sayer, but it appears McCain is not listening -- his mind is made up, and he ignores my emails. Almost wish I lived in Arizona -- I may have a few ounces of clout."
I live in Flagstaff, AZ, but haven't tried to contact McCain. As long as Phoenix is without service, he doesn't want to spend money on all the other cities which do have service. He'd rather pave more roads and runways... And I doubt he worries about cost.
Mr. Toy Member # 311
posted
Eric, since you are in AZ you might write to your local paper and point out the obvious hypocricy of McCain's support for unprofitable air service subsidies in AZ.
[This message has been edited by Mr. Toy (edited 03-05-2002).]
Eric Member # 674
posted
Good idea, Mr. Toy. I wrote a letter to the editor last year about Amtrak and the overcrowding on highways and in airports, and mentioned the differences in subsidies between passenger rail and air/highway. I didn't "localize" the issue in regard to state-funded subsidies for air transportation, but it would be a good subject. There have been quite a few Amtrak articles in the last few weeks, including letters to the editor and a lengthy editorial about the benefits of maintaining a national system.
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