Posted on 05/16/2015 3:19:15 PM PDT by jazusamo
“If we’re going to have passenger rail, we’re going to need to make it safe and make it efficient,” he told The Billy Penn.
“It’s going to require investment,” he added, predicting Amtrak would need $117 “billion with a B” for reaching optimal safety and speed along its Northwest Corridor.
Fattah, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, criticized Republicans for opposing additional funding measures for Amtrak.
“One party thinks we should invest in passenger rail and mass transit, and the other party doesn’t,” he said.
House Republicans approved a funding reduction for Amtrak on Wednesday.
Fattah argued Saturday the move was insensitive given Amtrak Regional Train 188 had derailedoutside Philadelphia only the night before.
“The [Republicans] could have delayed the meeting out of respect for those in the accident but they decided to go forward and vote on party line votes,” he said.
“That is not unusual,” he added of Wednesday’s vote.
Fattah said that the accident illustrated the growing deterioration of America’s infrastructure overall.
“Our airports, bridges, railroads and highways are in pretty bad shape,” he said. “But we can’t fix them without money.”
Wednesday’s reduction was part of a $55 billion funding bill for the departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.
The new measure gave Amtrak $1.13 billion, down from approximately $1.4 billion Congress appropriated for the organization in 2015.
The Federal Railroad Administration on Saturday ordered Amtrak to improve safety regulations along its Northeast Corridor line.
The agency instructed Amtrak to install an automated system for slowing out-of-control trains along the heavily traveled railway.
It also asked that Amtrak improve its signage for the proper speed limits in that corridor.
National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said Thursday evening that Train 188 had sped up to 106 mph before its accident late Tuesday.
That pace, he added, took place in an area with a 50 mph speed limit.
Train 188’s crash Tuesday evening killed eight passengers and wounded at least 200 more.
The FBI announced Friday it was investigating the possibility that the vehicle was hit by a bulletor some other flying object.
No. All of its problems were fixed in 2009 — as part of the $800 billion (with a B) “stimulus”
I’m going to start demanding ransom from the government or I’m going to start speeding.
If Nixon hadn’t been so far left, he would have deregulated the railroads and then the private companies could have used their own funds to speed up the trains themselves. They were trying during the 50s and 60s, but the regulation and taxation kept piling on.
Most national governments don’t spend that much in an entire year. Is he high?
If the customers of Amtrak actually valued it, they would be willing to pay the fare. That they are not willing to pay the fare, but are willing to pay much more than the fare for other things of no obvious value tells us something. It tells us what they think of our money.
Shook the money Magic 8 Ball to come up with a figure.
I'm SURE DC ... and the USofA could survive without all those worker bees ..... especially that biden guy.
And Dems are all Douche bags with a Capital D
Is this guy a nut?
You might as well knock down Baltimore and turn it into a Farm
Well said, dead on the mark.
Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture … — The Naked Communist, Chapter 12We cannot say we weren’t warned, and all this government involvement in “infrastructure” no matter what type it is has to end.
Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. — Communist Manifesto, Chapter 2
But that would have meant the Northeastern Entitlement Class would have actually have had to be footing the actual cost is operation.
“Is he high?”
Nah. Its just that he’s got rich friends standing there on his front porch with their hands out.
How about deregulating it before not having it? Freight rail got some deregulation, but passenger rail’s regulations only keep getting bigger and bigger.
Amtrak can go Chaka Fattah themselves.
Ed
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