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Labor union poll: Amtrak popular in Pennsylvania district
I’m very glad to see that the people of central Pennsylvania favor Amtrak. I work as a conductor on the Pennsylvanian. The biggest complaint I hear is the lack of service between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. If there was more than one train a day I think more people would opt to ride the train. Also needed is the reestablishment of through service to Chicago. Sitting in the Pittsburgh station for 4 hours waiting to transfer to the Capitol Limited is no fun for passengers. I hope the elected officials in Pennsylvania will take this matter more seriously now that the public has spoken.
You could tell Chairman Bill Shuster to, “Put that in his pipe and smoke it!” No matter how favorable Amtrak is to the public (and the support it overwhelming), there are some luddites that still want to do away with Amtrak
Nichols:
You are positively WRONG. I use Amtrak between Albany and New York several times per year. If that service were to disappear I would probably curtail my New York trips in a major way. The drive to New York is positively insulting to every one of my senses. It usually requires an hour or two just to get back to normal. So long as we subsidize highway travel as heavily as we do, how can any intelligent individual think public transport will be able to operate on fare box revenue alone? It’s not going to happen. Nor will public transport garner a large market share. Stop mouthing off as an ignoramus and think a little.
Mr Nicols comment reflects that of a lot of decision makers. You need to travel on Amtrak and see at a face to face level just how important a role Amtrak plays in the lives of the people who live in country communities. On a similar vein get yourself a passport and do some travelling to Europe and see what role hi quality fast intercity train networks can do. I suppose you’ll expect fellow tax payers to prop up the aging and decaying greeway network that doesn’t run for profit. It is hevaily subsidized
Mr Nicols comment reflects that of a lot of decision makers. You need to travel on Amtrak and see at a face to face level just how important a role Amtrak plays in the lives of the people who live in country communities. On a similar vein get yourself a passport and do some travelling to Europe and see what role hi quality fast intercity train networks can do. I suppose you’ll expect fellow tax payers to prop up the aging and decaying greeway network that doesn’t run for profit. It is hevaily subsidized
Mr Nichols: if 75 % of the people actually supported the Army, or the highways, or the national parks, they also wouldn’t need to be propped up by government money, right?
I noticed more Republicans favored passenger trains than independents.
By the way, the money Amtrak gets compared to highways is a rounding error also. Anyone who is serious about budget cutting will go after the large expenses first.
Mr. Nichols, Boy are you wrong- I know a lot of people who care less about trains but ride Amtrak. ALL public transportation, especially airlines and highways are “propped up” with government money.
If 75% of the people actually supported Amtrak, it wouldn’t need to be propped up by government money. At the end of the day, Amtrak only carries .03% of all intercity passengers in the US. That’s a rounding error. Hardly anyone would notice if Amtrak disappeared tomorrow.
If 75% of the people actually supported Amtrak, it wouldn’t need to be propped up by government money. At the end of the day, Amtrak only carries .03% of all intercity passengers in the US. That’s a rounding error. Hardly anyone would notice if Amtrak disappeared tomorrow.
And this survey was done in the PA 9th, where the only train is the Pennsylvanian, once a day in each direction. I agree with Dale Secker. Additional Harrisburg-Pittsburgh service would be welcomed and patronized, especially with 110 mph speeds between Harrisburg, Phila. and New York.
Yep, the writer that claims that Amtrak only carries 0.03% of intercity traffic is probably correct and ya know why? Because there are no trains! Where there is frequent, modern fast train service people are riding and I for one am promoting passenger trains because I may not always be able to drive and da bus rots!
Is MATTHEW NICHOLS Guse’s twin brother???
With 75% favorability among Republicans in his district, maybe Shuster will be more favorable to rail than Mica was. I certainly hope so!