[Publius]

James Coston is a member of the Amtrak Reform Council. He made this address to the NARP regional meeting in Dallas.

For an opposing viewpoint, read Paul Weyrich’s Why a Pro-Transit Conservative Voted Against Amtrak.

[Publius]

For your review.

[Rodney King]

all forms of inter-city commercial passenger transportation are money losers --

Then how does he explain that NYC taxi medallions now go form more than 400K a piece.

[Rodney King]

I was going to rip this piece apart, bit by bit, but the guy has such a poor understanding of basic economics that I don't even know where to start.

[DoctorHydrocal]

Some old railroad executive once said, "The passenger train is like the male teat: neither ornamental nor useful."

[Cacique]

all forms of inter-city commercial passenger transportation are money losers

There is Bus service between a number of cities and they make money. If they are subsidized by taxpayers then maybe we should cut that subsidy too. Railroads are an albatros and antiquated form of transportation. We might as well subsidize horse buggy service between cities as well with that logic. Let the market determine need and price and someone will provide for it. I don't think the taxpayer should be subsidizing anything whether it's trains, airlines or buses. Let the market determine what should be charged. If some people can't afford to travel then so be it.

[caddie]

Great post, thank you.

IMHO, it's not a matter of if, but when, when it comes to train resurgence in the US.

There is too much congestion on the roads and in the air, and too much atrophy of the railroads' right-of-way for anything else to happen.

The feds can either facilitate, by huge tax incentives, this transition, or they can wait until it becomes something the public overwhelmingly supports -- i.e., one or more transportation crises will have occurred, maybe with September 11 as the first.

The country is large enough that a fast train could go from Chicago to Indianapolis in about two hours, check-in time, etc., included.

That's what air travel takes, with all the congestion in either city, along with security considerations, etc., taken into account.

Factor in the fact that the rail stations are already downtown, and you can see that passenger rail is more than a possibility nationwide -- it could become the mode of choice for most interurban travel.

I would agree with the author that it will take some 'nurturing' from the feds to do this, but, hey, they have done that much and ten times more for ALL other modes of transportation.

By way of comparison, the rails are the stepchildren of the feds, and have been for years.

Ultimately, too, is the often-quoted physical argument that there is simply no more energy-efficient way to transport things than on long trains of cars on rigid, non-deformable wheels.

Apply modern technology to the problem of rail travel and it will thrive.

But any form of taxation may be too much to allow this to occur.

As Eisenhower said about the interstate highway system subsidies in the 50s -- there was an important security consideration in having first-class roads nationwide, so as to facilitate transportation of goods and manpower in the event of a national crisis.

I remember the three days following September 11, 2001, when the skies were clear blue and empty.

I think Eisenhower was right then, and I think that rail advocates who invoke national security are right for exactly the same reason.

In addition to the many other benefits of rail transportation.

[Texaggie79]

I got one better.....

ABOLISH AMWAY!!!!!

[FormerLib]

I think the author is on to something. If it weren't for the federal government's huge subsidies to the airline industry and to the building of Interstate highways, the train would probably be a very desirable alternative.

However, I think his argument is stronger when it is used to justify reducing government support for the airline industry and highways than to increase taxpayer support for passenger rail.

[jimt]

This one really deserves a barf alert. The author's thesis boils down to "I like passenger trains so you need to pay for them."

Socialism, pure and simple. Mobocracy at work.

[doglot]

Whether some on this forum like, or not, passenger trains are going to come back strong. Petroleum will one day run out if some world crisis doesn't make it difficult to obtain before that event. Most people don't realize it, but today's locomotives are actually diesel electric sets. They can use an overhead power line, or alternatives for electrical energy could be employed. In other words a petroleum crisis would slow down the railroad, but not stop it.

Convenience and price will be the key to quick adoption of rail. A cartwheel system will have to be reimplemented where passengers are brought in to mainline stations and transported rapidly to other mainline stations non-stop to transfer onto another train that reaches into the hinterlands if that is where their destination lies. These trains would need to operate on a 1 hour schedule between major metropolitan areas so travelers could go and come at their leisure.

Something else that is going on quietly on railroad right of way (read private property) is the burial of fiber optic cable for communications sales. This is being done partly to help defray these property tax expenses some have talked about. Using the property to its highest and best use. But don’t forget. The tax man used to tax each and every telegraph pole. I’ve heard my dad talk about when Southern Railway did away with telegraph in his area, the railroad immediately chainsawed every pole and gave it away so they would not have to pay tax on it another year.

[CedarDave]

BUMP for relevance with today's Amtrak news about Warrington's resignation and the Congressional hearings on Amtrak's future. The above is a well written article, irrespective of the opinion of some naysayers responding on the thread.

Coston is being considered as a replacement for Warrington:

Already there is widespread talk about a successor. Most prominently, though not exclusively, mentioned is James Coston, a former Amtrak employee and a member of the soon-to-be defunct Amtrak Reform Council. Many on Capitol Hill involved in rail transportation are excited about the prospect of Coston, now a Chicago railroad lawyer, taking over the reins of America’s passenger railroad. While not denying that he would be interested in the job, Coston stopped short of saying he was seeking it.

“I am very interested in a solution,” Coston told TRAINS news wire, “and want to assist in the best way I can.”

(from Trains NewsWire,03/07/02 [site registration required])