House approves $1.17 billion for Amtrak

[deminks]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives defied the Bush administration on Wednesday by approving more than $1.17 billion for Amtrak next year, which could avert a threatened shutdown of the national rail system.

The surprise action in an amendment to a transportation and treasury appropriations bill was a breakthrough in congressional wrangling over Amtrak funding. Lawmakers also stripped from the bill a requirement that Amtrak end service on its most unprofitable long-distance routes.

The Bush administration proposed no new subsidy for Amtrak beyond what it would cost to run commuter operations if the national rail corporation went bankrupt.

The White House and Transportation Department demanded Amtrak cut costs sharply and radically change the way it does business. Amtrak supporters claim the administration is trying to bankrupt the rail system to reduce government spending in an era of record budget deficits.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050630/us_nm/transport_amtrak_dc

(end snip)

[DianeG5385]

1. Yeay! Good News for once

We need to revitalize out cross country rail lines. I don't understand why this isn't part of Homeland Security Strategy!

[suston96]

2. Whatta ride!

Rode east and west and back across this very large country some years ago on AMTRAK.

Recommend very highly.

Hope it stays around.

[wakeme2008]

3. Bush is losing his Repug support in Congress... 2006 elections

are coming up REAL fast and these Repugs do not want to lose..

[Harry S Truman]

4. Grand news!

Amtrak deserves to be fully funded as an equal and reliable part of the transportation system.
It's a bargain for what it does!

[NEOBuckeye]

14. With the Energy Crisis coming, it would be criminal not to fund Amtrak.

The imminence of Peak Oil must force the entire country to look at ressurecting Amtrak in a major way, not to mention those old Municipal light rail lines that GM, Firestone and Rockefeller bought up and shut down to propel the automobile-driven economy forward. That economy is about to tank big time now, and we aren't going to have a whole lot to show for it.

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. Most cost efficient way to move lots of people

and freight. We've gone to using long haul truckers for convenience, but as the cost of gas and diesel goes up, it will be a convenience that we can't afford. Large trucks will be used for picking up loads and delivering them to their destinations, not for hauling hundreds of miles.

[Skink]

7. Probably came out of the No Child Left Behind budget...

Wait there is no no child left behind budget.

[TheFarseer]

11. good point

I can't believe we don't use rails more than we do to haul cargo. Probably about a million times more efficient than semis. I know in the country, elevators can't hardly beg a train to haul grain for them.

[rox63]

6. Wow, that's all it costs for a year of Amtrak?

$1.17 Billion? We spend about that much each week in Iraq.

[mojavekid]

8. This is good news!,

in the coming years rail will be the only affordable means of long distance travel in this big country. * knows he and his buddies will always be able to afford the air ticket on one of the two or three remaining airlines, not so for the rest of us. We need these rails preserved and improved.

[Dr.Phool]

9. That's great news

As a retired railroader, I want to see the service continue. My father,also a retired railroader, who always votes Republican, called me this afternoon. He was watching c-span, and said every fucking Republican was voting against it. I told him you're the guy that keeps voting for these assholes!

[tonekat]

10. So glad to hear this

These days, taking Amtrak from DC to NY and back is far preferable than dealing with the airlines for a hop like that. And I don't have to take off my frickin' shoes!

[Catchawave]

12. Wow, that's alot more than they usually get !

Great news!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. I'm delighted!

The American Translators' Association is meeting in Seattle in November, and I hope to take the train at least one way. :7

[SaveAmerica]

15. Let's get out there and plan trips via Amtrak

When I have errands over by the track and see the Amtrak train flying by with hardly anyone on board, it breaks my heart. Here's a link to their weekly specials;

http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/WeeklySpecials

[are_we_united_yet]

16. Most Excellent n/t

[Catchawave]

17. Thank the NARP !

Their site hasn't been updated yet, but definitely have been fighting Bushco for years. I sent them a donation for their "hard work". Here's a snip from their website:

We think trains need more prominence in the U.S. because:
Trains provide more mobility and travel choices, especially in the post-2001 travel environment.
A wisely developed train network has great potential to accommodate future travel demand.
Trains are energy-efficient -- Intercity (Amtrak) trains are far more efficient than airlines (2441 Btu's per passenger-mile vs. 3999 for airlines in 1998, according to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory).
Increased use of trains reduces America's dependence on foreign oil.
Trains are safe, especially in bad weather.
Trains contribute to development which is more compact and less wasteful than auto-oriented development.
Trains pollute less than other modes of transportation.

Despite all that, public policy is skewed against users of trains. The federal government provides a tiny (and diminishing) proportion of its transportation funding to rail -- in 2003, $32 billion to highways (doubled in 20 years, accounting for inflation), $14 billion for aviation (more than doubled in 20 years), and barely $1 billion for Amtrak (cut more than a third in 20 years).

NARP works to steer federal policy toward fair treatment of all transportation modes. If you care about mobility and the environment, and want train service to improve now and in the future, then please join us : http://www.narprail.org/

[BiggJawn]

18. Now my daughter can still visit me!

She lives car-free in Chicago. Amtrak is her prime mode of transport to visit me and friends thoughout Indiana and Illinois.

All Aboard!

[realms]

20. Amtrak and a bike

as much as I like my sister and her husband, I made a very long all day car ride with them to a family reunion. It was a hard trip which nearly drove me to distraction.

How about sitting in a train just watching gentle scenery flow by and when I'm at my destination, I unpack my bike which I brought with me and finish the last so many miles along local roads. Michigan to Iowa and I pick it up in town, switch in Chicago, and then the Zepher gets me close.

[BiggJawn]

23. Wish we could take bikes on the "Cardinal".

Amtrak has some weird rules about bikes. You'd think she'd be able to slip the conductor a tenner and park it in the vestibule, but No-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o.....No baggage or freight service at our stop, so she couldn't check into the baggage car, either...

BTW, welcome to DU.

[SnowGoose]

19. 1.17 billion, compared with how many billion for united airlines bailout?

And wingnuts gripe about gub'ment subsidies to Amtrak. Hello, Pot, Kettle, I'm Supermassive Black Hole, from which no light escapes.

[sidpleasant]

21. GOP always demands that Amtrak "turn a profit"

Despite the fact that passenger rail travel is subsidized by governments everywhere on earth. It's always been unprofitable or marginal at best. Even in the golden age of rail travel in the early 20th century passenger trains received a lot of their revenue from carrying mail.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. Not only that--the railroads were BUILT with government subsidies

They were expanded westward financed by a scheme under which the government GAVE them the land along their rights of way to develop or sell as they pleased.