I live here in California, and the high speed like as it is currently is a joke.
Perhaps Representative Sessions, if he is true to his convictions, will sponsor an amendment to the next transportation bill to eliminate all federal funding for the most heavily subsidized interstate highway.
That’s a commuter train, Don. BIG difference!
Vending machines on passenger trains? Gimme a break, Bruce Bell; that’s a good way to kill off passenger trains but I supposed you would just love that. Enjoy your skimpy bag of peanuts next time you fly.
I agree with so many comments especially henry and dr. John
Charity Navigator - see where your contributions go.
The House might spend a little more time asking themselves why their approval rating is now in the single digits. One reason is this sort of “nickel and dime” game playing that, in the end, accomplishes nothing. Meanwhile, major economic powers throughout the world continue to move ahead of us on infrastructure and passenger rail investment.
Dear Ga.Rep. Phil Gringrey. I will do ever thing I can do to vote you out. You have become a Negative and you have made your fellow Georgians look stupid for ever electing you.
@BRUCE BELL - Well of course the service costs more than the food. But like I said, patrons expect to be able to eat. They don’t want to be stuck on a train and find themselves unable to either because there’s no service at all, or the service is inadequate and ridiculously expensive.
That’s why virtually every passenger railway in existence has built some of the cost of providing meal service into ticket prices. We can argue, if we want (and I would!) that ticket prices are probably a little too low in many cases. But food prices are already high, adding $5 to food items isn’t going to make the food service profitable, it’s just going to make it even less attractive, and passenger rail with it.
As far as franchising goes (I’m assuming that’s what you meant by a national food contract) that might cut the budget by pennies, who knows? It’s unlikely to mean that food prices cover food delivery costs. What’s needed is a recognition that food is part of the service.
We don’t say that cleaning seats is subsidized. We don’t say that fueling the train is subsidized. The only difference between these line items and “Provision of a staffed restaurant car” is that direct users are expected to contribute a little to the latter, largely to offset the higher cost of, say, providing a NY Strip Steak compared to a place of ravioli. The entire rail industry disagrees with congress on this one. It’s time congress minded their own business.
Lets cut some airline funding
All you voters in SESSIONS district stop SESSIONS from having another SESSION in congress.
Bruce Bell - When was the last time you flew? In 15 June 2014 (yesterday) I flew from Dayton, Ohio via the Twin Cities to Missoula, MT, on Delta Airlines. They served peanuts on both flights. Ditto going east on 6 June.
Kill food service on long distance trains and you then kill the train. Passengers are captive audience on long distance trips. What kind of thinking goes into these so-called amendments?
My belief: A smokescreen to ultimately bleed Amtrak into oblivion. What the h… Is wrong with these people?
Kill food service on long distance trains and you then kill the train. Passengers are captive audience on long distance trips. What kind of thinking goes into these so-called amendments?
My belief: A smokescreen to ultimately bleed Amtrak into oblivion. What the h… Is wrong with these people?
When I was a kid growing up black in segregated Jackson MS the Illinois Central and Greyhound were our ways out. Today we only have trains 58 and 59 the City of New Orleans, limited Greyhound and irionically Southwest Airlines just pulled out this week leaving this reagion threadbare. In April,Amtrak president Boardman told us that our trains would be cut if we did not utilize it better. WHAT! He should ride in the summer or on holidays. Also a Canadian National cut about 5 stops in Mississippi when they rerouted through a slower freight route. There are those who don’t care about those rural communities that trains like the EB and CZ serve. A lot of these communiites have no
And for you republican bashers out there, Why hasn’t Obama used his iron pen on the issue to get funding for amtrak. that would be useful instead of promoting other useless causes
Amtrak itself will push Amtrak into oblivion. Passenger rail service would do well in America to be operated by private vendors with appropriate oversight, regulation and subsidy as would be reasonably required in any transportation system. Amtrak itself is the problem.
Once again our select group of elected Republican officials took their daily dose of stupid pills… whew!
Good job…I mean really…we really should kill toilet paper too on all Amtrak trains…such waste.
This whole debacle is a symptom of three different mindsets:
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If I don’t personally use it (“it” being Amtrak, public schools, parks, public assistance, foreign aid, etc.); funding it is a complete waste of taxpayers money.
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Amtrak is a waste of money because it’s not a company owned by shareholders or private individuals. Nobody can get rich managing or investing in such and enterprise, therefore it’s useless.
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Amtrak does not make campaign donations. That makes it useless AND a waste of taxpayers money. (Whereas airlines, barge lines and trucking companies do make campaign contributions.)
Although this mindset is very popular among Republicans, there are Democrats that think this way as well. Shame on your narrow mindedness!
Funny how some of these same politicians also fell over themselves rescuing banks from their own malfeasence.
More than likely none of these Bureaucrats has ever ridden on a train in their life. They, no doubt, have a limo or an airplane to take them and their families to wherever they need to go.