Years ago, the UK had a great rail system. Every town was serviced and provided easy transportation to anywhere in Europe. I went to Denmark from London (via train/boat). Then the conservatives (Maggie & gang) decided that it should be profitable and sold off the rail systems to private corporations. A few years later, the roads got so crowded that they started charging drivers to get into London - an incentive to reduce traffic. It helped a little. This year they are going to install devices on all new cars to tax them by satellite wherever they drive - this much for driving major roads during rush hour, that much for rural roads at 3 in the morning etc. The tax will be about 2 dollars a mile for heavy usage.

That's in a country the size of New Jersey! Good Morning America! Time to wake up! Do we really want to go that route, especially when there's very little chance of going back? Imagine what the costs will be to get to the church, or the beach, or the west coast? That's what the profit motive brought them over the pond. They are pissed and there's not too much anyone can do about it, especially as how with privatized (read profitable) rail service, the costs escalates because there's no central system that coordinates the service between corporations on a national scale. Some towns have great service and the small out of the way places get crapola - exactly what happened here when we deregulated the airline industry. That's what the future of profitable rail service looks like - And they're not even making much of a profit.

I'm sorry, but anyone who is thinking only about their own pocketbook is missing the point. You are going to pay anyway for whatever we do. In fact we already pay. Do you think the interstate highway system is paid for by the guys who drive on it? Get a clue - YOU use it when your food, your clothes, and the rest of your stuff comes to you. Your tax dollars pay for it whether or not you have a license to drive.

IN ADDITION to funding through the Federal system you are now getting charged by local authorities like the tolls you pay, or the tolls on private highways. It's only going to get worse unless there are alternate means of getting around. That's the only thing standing between higher tolls and taxes right now.

Personally I'd much rather see a raised rail system coming through my town than another 10 lane corridor (they're not even highways anymore). At every intersection there'll be the same chains of cheap crap food, gas stations, hotels etc. That's a prescription for disaster as far as I'm concerned. You can hang on to your pennies now and lose the possibility of a decent future for our kids and grandkids, but I'm not going there. I'd rather look forward and put out the loot that let's us decide what's best with the choices we have, rather than let the dollar decide for us.

Gotta agree with Arlo, Mikey and Ceashel on this... we NEED a good rail system in this country.

The answer is NOT in raising fares on the rails... If AMTRAK were to receive subsidies on a par with what has been given to ailing airlines, the fares could be lowered, encouraging more people to use rail travel. I've been looking into traveling from Albany NY to Denver to visit my daughter and grandkids. I really want to ride the rails... but it ends up costing the same or more than flying out there, so my dilemma is... do I spend two days getting there and another two days coming back? YES!!! I want to SEE this beautiful country!

As needed as Amtrack may be now, as oil becomes more costly and rare, and as the country becomes more urban,it will be needed more.

I met with a guy who's creating a solar-powered hydrogen plant. He's doing it now! He's going to manufacture hydrogen for use as fuel, for everything - cars, trucks, planes, trains etc. That's the future in 5 years believe it or not. Not bio-diesel, not nuclear vessels, not coal powered unicycles - Hydrogen

You heard it here.

"the times they are a changing"

I took a train from Penn Station in Newark nj to Jacksonville a few years ago. I was amazed at how big the seats were. I really liked it but my wife and 2 friends wanted to kill me. I dont fly. Im going to Indiana twice this year and the train is like $350! Its crazy, I have to drive it. I guess thats becuase of the reasons everyone mentioned here about subsidy.(sp?) Plus, everyone who doesnt fly has a motor home now. Motorhomes and SUVs are killig us. Not to be sexist but why does a 80lb. woman need a 5 ton SUV? And why do they drive them 10mph? At least that is how it is in NJ. SUVs as far as you can see. Its a status symbol that you have alot of money and dont care that you are getting 5 miles per gallon and killing the environment.
As long as they get to live the american dream.

If I wasnt a big guy and traveled by land I would be driving a YUGO or a bike or something.

Im afraid of the future.

I'm not afraid of the future... I'm looking forward to thinking about the past.

Ive been thinking about the past for years. But in the future Ill be thinking of the past which will be what is the present now. That aint no present.

I' afraid of myself now.

You could probably get a song out of this tho. Goobers Lament.

If the government were so interested in seeing transportation run like a business, then they'd keep their noses out of the Airlines, Interstate Roadways, Auto Manufacturers (I'm changing my name to Chrysler!), etc.
To take the railways to task is sort of closing the barn doors after the horses are gone (more transportation methods!)
No, clearly the government has always had an interest in keeping all forms of transportation viable, and it's in our best interest to keep them involved. Just that the government as a manager sucks... (just see how we do in Iraq!)

I just hope the big oil guys don't bump him off before he's done!

That's a shame about the train. Thing is people don't miss the water til the well runs dry. It's like a lot of things that are taken for granted. Here in the U.K. a lot of railway lines and stations were closed 40 years ago after the decline of the steam engine only to be reinstated in more recent years after the realisation that they are an important part of our economy. Roads now are so busy the train is a good alternative people leave their cars at home and take the train.

I was visiting relatives in Canada a couple of years back and noticed that the train services seem to carry more freight than they do passengers. More chance of being run over by a bus than catching a train in Kitchener. In fact the whole time I was there, a month, I don't recall ever seeing a train.The decline in Britishg railways happened way back mid-sixties long before Maggie got her claws in with privatisation. I can just remember seeing one of the last steam trains pass by where we lived when I was knee high to a grasshopper.

Well I dont see the govt caring about transportation anytime soon. With Bush in the chair he would rather see gas guzzeling SUVs so he can make more and more money. Why spend money to help the population when he can sit back and watch his account grow.

Dont get me started.

Seems like some of you must of called! Amtrak got most of what they said they needed (1.2 B) But, like I said it ain't nearly enough to ward off the future of increased fuel tax, road tax, terror tax and the like. I'm dreaming up new forms of transport right now that we can argue about later - "Beam me up, Scotty."

I wish I would remember to learn more about an issue before posting. However, since I did post, many of you have enlightened me about things I never thought of and am glad to be able to learn so much in so little time with so little effort expended.

When I have time (after this weekend), I will add Amtrak to my list of things to learn more about before posting opinions.

On another note, my parents were "western hemisphere" travelers, usually by cruise ship. However, many times they had to leave out of FL instead of NY or even Philly. My father preferred trains (seeing as how he's a railfan and all). So he'd go down to FL by train and my mother (or later his gf) would fly down a few days later and they meet at the ship.

Shorly before my mother died, she decided to "see America" and they took a cross-country train trip, went to Chicago, out to Four Corners, LA and SF and back again. Shortly after she died, Dad took the train out to Utah for a month-long archaeology/geology program in Cedar City. He had a lot of great train stories to tell.