[SoCal Pubbie]

Our own little one trick pony.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I want a private Pullman car for Chistmas!

[Chickensoup]

People still push for return of passenger trains

Leftists with no sense of proportion still push for return of passenger trains

[jongaltsr]

I am ALL for passenger service but -

the RR industry has to improve the rails and engines before it can become a reality. Slow rail service in the cities is totally different than that required for continental service. Even the BART system in inadequate.

[Don Corleone]

Passenger Trains...Passenger Pigeons....alla same you?

[buccaneer81]

Your Commie friends will provide you with all the low speed trains you desire after gas goes to $7.00 a gallon.

Enjoy, Willie as the rest of us fight for YOUR freedom.

[Touch Not the Cat]

.
If it can be a profitable private venture then it can be a very good thing.

[Free_SJersey]

I love trains. I have since I was a child. I come from a railroad family.

That being said, there is no good case for passenger rail. Until you can pack a passenger rail car to the level of a freight rail car the economy isn't there, and can only exist with government subsidies, which means that many, many people who aren't served by the line have to pay for a service for the few who are. Buses provide a greater economy and their routes are flexible enough to change with changing markets.

Oh, nevermind. With the community organizer as President, no one will be able to afford going anywhere, by any means pretty soon.

[ColdWater]

"People Advocates still push for return of passenger trains

fixed.

[SkyDancer]

As a pilot I take AMTRAK whenever I can - or drive. I won’t fly commercial unless absolutely necessary (which in most cases NOT) - I will be taking my fifth trip on the Empire Builder to Chicago to see my granny - that train is a hoot .... great food, great staff and great accommodations. If the airlines were just one tenth as good .... but then ....

[Roccus]

Arlo Guthrie sang a song about the "...disappearin' railroad blues." Ridin' on the City of New Orleans
Illinois Central, Monday mornin' rail
15 cars & 15 restless riders
Three conductors, 25 sacks of mail

The last two lines of this verse tell why.

[Roccus]

Arlo Guthrie sang a song about the "...disappearin' railroad blues."

Ridin' on the City of New Orleans
Illinois Central, Monday mornin' rail
15 cars & 15 restless riders
Three conductors, 25 sacks of mail

The last two lines of this verse tell why.

[Glenn]

Hey, Willie.

I owe you an apology. I argued that the new Pittsburgh North Shore Connector would be a disaster. They are under budget and pretty much on-time at this point. I was just wrong.

Regards.

[jwparkerjr]

All things being equal I would LOVE to see the return of the passenger train. I have cut my travel to zero because I don’t like to fly and it’s a PIA to drive these days. I would like to make the 500 mile trip, one way, to see my sister in Mobile and would certainly take a train if it were available.

Maybe the thing to do is make a casino train, like the boats that used to sail from Florida every day. I go to the casino here in Tampa from time to time and it is filled to capacity, you can’t even get to a slot machine without waiting. Have a train that has casino cars and sleepers, plus a good dining service. Most of the people I see at the casino are senior citizens. It’s hard to believe how crowded that place gets. You can’t even find a parking place on Sat. night, and there are two huge parking garages, five floors high, plus a huge parking lot.

Just a thought.

[BfloGuy]

American consumers do not want trains.

If they did, Amtrak would be running near capacity and at least one light rail system would have paid its construction and operating costs through fare collections.

In the early 20th century, the government started to build roads. It was a no-brainer. People all over the country were buying cars -- it was easy to see that highways needed to be improved.

The same goes for airports.

Rail subsidies come to you favor of the we-know-better-than-your folks.

[Guenevere]

bttt

[Jimmy Valentine]

The only way to do this is to shut down AMTRAK and contract with the railroads to provide passenger service. It probably won't be profitable but it will be cheaper than AMTRAK.

Note: I love trains and would ride them when ever I could.

[iowamark]

You might point out that this article from Atmore, Alabama refers to the eastern section of the Sunset Limited. The Sunset Limited ran from Orlando, Florida to Los Angeles via New Orleans but the section from Orlando to New Orleans has been suspended since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

New Orleans still has the Sunset Limited to/from Los Angeles, the City of New Orleans to/from from Chicago, and the Crescent to/from New York.

[dalereed]

The only person pushing for 19th century transportation on this forum is YOU!!!

[LasVegasMac]

Holy crap, WG - last I heard of you, you were with me here in Clark County.....

So very nice to see you again!

I'm a die hard train fan anyway (pappy and grand pappy on trains), I would love to see passenger service......