Railway Age reports that Mr. Flynn has sent an Open Letter to Congress regarding needs for Amtrak to attain its objectives.
Fair Use:
Amtrak CEO William J. Flynn has provided the 117th Congress with the railroad’s five top priorities to ensure its recovery from the pandemic and expand service this year. In a Jan. 22 letter (download below), Flynn asked legislators to address.
While nothing as blatant as saying it is the intention to begin systematically eliminating the LD system, mention of frequency restoration is only tangential and none of amenities, such as full service dining.
Finally, lest we not lose sight that every other agency in town has flooded Congress with similar letters. Ask me, it's just the latest rendition of The Litany.
Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
Turn off the sound and watch the action. In this case what we have is sound only. No action so far and unlikely that there will ever be any. While we weren't watching even long distance bus service is disappearing. Long distance travel is now almost exclusively in your own vehicle on the ground or in the air. Check out greyhound service to see what I mean. Where it exists it may take up to twice as long as driving. Tourist trains were not part of the Amtrak concept nor should they be. There may be an increase in the demand for bus/train services when the cost of operating a car doubles or more than doubles as they get more in the line of such costs as they are in much of the rest of the world.
Parenthetically, if you want to talk about welfare to the rich, look at all the goodies that go along with buying an electric car. Another thought, since most highway maintenance an construction costs are paid by taxes embedded in the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel, the operators of electric cars are truly getting a free ride on the roads at the expense of everybody else.
Posted by yukon11 (Member # 2997) on :
I have a problem with tax credits given for people who buy all-electric cars. Furthermore, although electric cars may be cheaper in the long run, they cost a lot. What's wrong with buying, for example, a Toyota Yaris? It costs under $ 18,000 and gets 35 mpg. The Yaris is an all-gasoline running car. Also, electric car batteries cause a lot of pollution in their manufacturing.
Many think the shutdown of the Keystone pipeline could increase the cost of gasoline, so I guess electric vehicles will gain in popularity.
Here in Calif. the gasoline taxes are supposed to be used solely for highway and road maintenance, but a good portion of those taxes go for other uses. Furthermore, Calif is going to prohibit people from buying all-gasoline running cars after 2035. I wonder, if a significant percentage of gasoline cars are replaced by electric vehicles, what effect will that have on our local power grids? More blackouts and power restrictions?
Commuter passenger trains make a lot of sense, but can you take one to work or to the grocery store?