He wants to pay for the maintance of the track but the operation of the trains would be contracted out? Okay here while we are at it lets just fund the US Post Offices Buildings and contract out the actual Mail Delivery to Federal Express or UPS? Does he know that Amtrak Rents track from Freight railroads at exorbante Rates?
Problem now is that ridership on all of the long distance trains has jumped! His plans call for the elimination of most of the long distance routes!
He is very determined to ensure that Amtrak no longer be funded as in the past, in other words, effectively killing long distance service. Hopefully enough senators and the public will push for the defeat of Mineta’s plan.
Remember, with very few exceptions, once an Amtrak train is eliminated it doesn’t come back! With interstate gridlock on the rise Amtrak is viable. And please don’t tell me to fly or catch Greyhound! My last flight was a bumpy nightmare on a 737. I drove the buses part-time for 10 years. They get stuck in traffic too!
States and multi-country agencies will have no choice but to contract for commuter corridors. Which will bust their budgets and wreck their current commuter rail projects. But no one wants to operate long distance routes.
The NPR news anchors at least try to maintain an objective attitude, but I detected a tone implying something like “Are you nuts?” from the interviewer.
Meanwhile Mineta continues to chant the rant. Either Mineta and the other Bush people are incredably STUPID or they believe that if they keep singing the same old song, eventually every enough people will suspend their disbelief. At that point, regional and long distance passenger service can die and the administration can blame the individual states for the failure of the “plan”.
Here is the really stupid part of the whole thing. The administration is willing to pony up 1 1/2 to 2 billion bucks as there share of the cost of a reformed system, as long as the states that want passenger service go with a dollar for dollar match. Fat chance that any of the states have anything close to that to spare.
As for the “reformed” service being any more cost efficient than the present set-up? Anybody that believes that wouldn’t have the business knowledge to set up a lemonade stand.
Jay
Remember this is the same Administration that believes if you tell a lie for long enough, people will believe it…
On Fox News Channel today, they was a lady said that Gas Prices are going up to 4.00 a gallon in the next 3 years.[V]
Even though I trust Fox-News about as far as I could pick up one of their cameras and throw it, that wouldnt surprise me.
We are not the only ones guzzling up the gas anymore, China is the “Elephant in the Living Room” that everyone in the energy department is trying to ignore and hope it will go away. But as China’s demand for gas goes up, we are going to end up in an economic war with them for fuel…and of course NO ONE in our current administration will even admit to it because its bad for business.
We’ll all just drive Hydrogen cars!!!
of course those are about 20 years down the road…
Here’s link to NPR, so you can hear Mineta for yourself.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4522363
…Speaking of gas prices, they went to $2.08 for unleaded regular here in central Indiana today…and as for Mineta he has not been a supporter of Amtrak…and simply a yes man for the Bush adminstration. We all know how that adminstration feels about any part of Amtrak. The sooner they can effect it’s bankruptcy the better.
I’m in Nashville and I noticed gas going up 10cents TODAY!
The gas co is going nuts. Fill while you can. Here we go again!
Shell gas @ 1.90
We wanted penny gas/Amtrak tax when Bush1 was president, would have provided 1bil per year, instead we got nothing.
Clinton talked a good game, but we got nothing.
Let’s face it, all we get is newer diseasels pulling 20yr old rolling stock.
The crash in the swamp (Mobile) was over 10yrs ago. all we got was a program on National Geo channel. They like disasters. They found an 80yr old bridge, designed as a swing bridge, with no attachment from the steel beam to the bridge pier. The swing bridge gears had never been installed.
I’m getting tired of this broken old record where Amtrak is concerned. We know what needs to be done. Nobody wants to do anything. Let the system die.
Let’s see who cares?
Perhaps not now, but if you live long enough, you may find that long distance travel by plane, bus or car may become a difficult, if not impossible mode of travel for you. Perhaps you won’t care that your world has shrunk to a few miles from your home or that your view of anything beyond of the county line is thrugh hyper space. Then I am sure you won’t care about transportation alternatives. On the other hand, millions may.
Jay
Sorry not I [:)]
From the department Weapons of Mass Destraction…“No rail passenger left behind.”
Mitch
For George W unless it involves the military and or any of his corparte feinds any one remember ENRON he is not interested in supporting it. ENRON was the biggest push for deregulating the power industry in TXand California and they really showed how they could mess it up. I be honest with you Kenneth Lay needs to be hung for waht he did to his company. He took a good company and ran it into the ground all in a bid to get as rich as he could and ew everbody else. Kind of like another republican named Charles Keating the guy who singley handily started the Savings and Loan scandal in the mid 80’s. He got away scott fee while alot of banks went under and millions of people lost everything they had saved over the years. I did some research and that scandal cost the US goverment 200 Billion. So what does this have to do with the topic. I am basicly saying is this every republican president since Ronny Regan has been out to cruhe middle class and any thing that has to do with maybe having any good for the regular people. The rich can afford to fly anywhere they want on their private Gulfstream Jets. The rest of us however would be stuck on overcrowded highways if they get their way and kill Amtrack. I know I am ranting but my parents lost almost everything they had in the S&L crisis and it hit me the hardest. I myself lost my college savings acct that was supposed to put me thru school.
I want to see this idiot hung up as a NAzi against rail. Guess What when we eliminate Amtrak we have our European allies laughing at us for being so d*** dumb. I am sure Putin may laugh at us for demolishing something that we can still hold on for national security.
Mineta is a worthless sucker
I think that there will come a day when the government realizes they were f******s.
If one wants to realive congestion in airways and highways, go rail instead and immediately.
Well they certany would **** off there fellow constiantes in DC who take the Amtrak to work. I would not show my face for a awile in the congressional soup kitchen for a awile if was to blame for everyone being late
I think the main way to hit back is to ask?
Have our ridden any of Amtrak’s long distance trains?
Have you spoken to the passengers?
What gives you the right to say whether they are essential or not?
Especially if you have not bothered to investigate and if those who report to you have not bothered.
A sure way to bring the adminsitration to terms with Amtrak…move the troops on it. After all we can continually cough up 8.2 billion to keep Iraq safe! Safe from what? Us, no weapons here, no weapons there, must be in Iran, let’s look there next. This will be the one time that the people you helped elect, or not, will come through for you. Congress and the Senate will not let it die…too many policitical futures at stake. Let’s face it, in four years Bush heads to retirement…his days are numbered and no one who HAS to get reelected would risk the policiticl suicide that would be the death of Amtrak. Again I say more frequent and better service is a key. Serve the markets that no one else will. Greyhound has cut back on Northern tier service from Minneapolis to Seattle, down to one bus a day from three. Good luck catching a plane to Kalispell, MT, if Amtrak dies we will be back to cars and if I-90 is closed due to weather, we will see you in the spring.
You know, when the emotions are removed from many of the posts, there’s some good information here! No - I didn’t listen to NPR today, so I missed it. He was speaking in my part of the world (St. Louis) as I understand.
We have been trying for DECADES to get a first class facility constructed - multi modal - that will feature Amtrak. It supposedly is about to happen - MetroLink (St. Louis’ light rail) - Greyhound and Amtrak will share the place.
How ironic that this talk of discontinuing federal funding should come at a time when St. Louis is finally getting of the dime with the multi-modal facility! Before anyone jumps my case about this - I have some background with rail transportation in this area - and have a bit of history on my side with this. To get anything done positively in this metropolitan area is equivalent to the proverbial mouse trying to make love with an elephant! It probably COULD happen - but chances are it will not!
Amtrak is simply something that hasn’t worked for so many reasons that anyone who has followed it from inception surely cannot blame it on one President or one administration. Get real. This has been going on for decades - I repeat, decades.
My blame goes squarely to the Congress. Yep - those critters are the ones we send to WashDC to do OUR bidding. Think it’s working??? Certainly NOT with passenger railroad long term planning, funding and fair share of the subsidies.
We are not all that far away from a world-wide fossil fuel dilemma. Aside from the fact that OPEC has the western world by the “short hairs,” that stuff will surely run out one day. Then what? No national plan to deal with it - energy, transportation, etc. Shameful to say the least.
Well - I’m gonna go the basement and ENJOY my model railroad!
See ya.