Why Do We Continue To Fund AMTRAK?

[Dial_tone]

It's losing money hand over fist and always has. There will be never enough track to really do justice to an area coverage-wise. People don't really want to ride the dang train anyway. Is this someone's pork barrel project? What's the inside skinny?

 

[Apöllo]

rail roads have been in debt since it began. In the 1800's the Rail Road's debt was double the national debt after the civil war.

 

[mekannik]

Don't knock Amtrak. Taking the train from L.A. to San Diego for a game is great. They sell Stone Arrogant Bastard for crying out loud - doesn't get much better than that.

Plus no seat belts!

 

[gotmilk]

Amtrak here in New England was profitable last year...

The service has to be privatized and it has to made into regional carriers.

 

[FreeballinDC]

How else am I going to get to NYC from DC on a high speed train?

Now if only Acela actually worked half the time, I would take it to NYC.

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

It dates back to government intervention in railroads pre civil war.

It's a lot of jobs, basically....the postal service loses money too and we don't shut that motherfucker down.

A government run RR has never made money, in fact it was James Jermome Hill who built the transcontinental RR with private money. Amazingly, it worked.

RRs represent the first intruision of the government into the economy, and it never stopped, to all of our detriments.

A high speed rail service among regional carriers (Boston-->NY--DC or SF--->LA type runs) would be awesome. get the government out.

 

[Dougly]

With all the land the rail roads cover, would it be possible to get the government out?

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

With all the land the rail roads cover, would it be possible to get the government out?

Not sure why that is an issue houses cover lots of land too. Government doesn;t own much of that land anyway.

Most of that land is owned by two companies: CSX and Union pacific, who operate through a complex system of leases to other users.

 

[Dougly]

Most of that land is owned by two companies: CSX and Union pacific, who operate through a complex system of leases to other users.

I did not know that. Suprised?

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

I did not know that. Suprised?

When I look out my widnow I see the river. Acrods the river is the CSX corporate HQ, one of the ugliest buildings in America.

Because they are pretty well known here, I have met a lot of their people and learned a lot about RRs.

 

[gotmilk]

They tried to launch the Acela in Vermont but it ended up in a cow pasture outside of Barre....

tOO Fast....too furious for our rail lines here.

 

[fistfullofsteel]

It's a lot of jobs, basically....the postal service loses money too and we don't shut that motherfucker down.

I thought I heard on the news that the the USPS is turning a profit now, after they became privatized or something. Didn't the gov't give up running it?