Amtrak is in the train business

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Every time Amtrak transports passengers by bus, or cancels a train, it has failed in its mission. Unfortunately, Amtrak seems to have forgotten this. Indeed, the title of Amtrak.com is "Train & Bus Tickets -- National Railroad -- USA & Canada." Every time I see "bus," I shudder.

I'll give Amtrak a pass in places where there are no tracks, or for short distances, such as the connections between San Francisco and the East Bay. But it's time to get serious about plugging the egregious holes in the system map. Amtrak should not be running a fleet of buses between Bakersfield and LA, or between cities where there used to be trains, like New Orleans to Florida, Duluth to the Twin Cities, or Minot to Missoula. Amtrak counts these places as being served by Amtrak, but one or two buses a day is not sufficient.

And when the unexpected happens, Amtrak seems to rush to put people on buses. There seems to be a mindset that it's more important to get people to their destinations in a hurry than to get them there by train. Granted, for some people, travel time is paramount. But as I talk to passengers, I have become increasingly convinced that most would prefer a delayed arrival by train than a sooner arrival by bus (or air). Such passengers have chosen to take the train for medical, physical, or comfort reasons, and may be incapable or unwilling to travel by other means.

The railroad should remember that it's a railroad, and make getting people to their destination by train its top priority.

To do that, you and I need to pressure our national, state and local officials to give Amtrak the staff and equipment it needs to meet this simple goal. Today's passenger rail network is much too fragile and skeletal to do so. That urgently needs to change. And the freight railroads that host Amtrak need to be reminded that we the taxpayers have funded a good chunk of their infrastructure, and they were let off the hook for running passenger trains when Amtrak was created. It's time to hold them to their end of the bargain.

Politicians, Amtrak, and the private railroads must get together and restore the rail network you and I paid for. That will benefit everyone in a 21st century where fossil fuels are rarer, more dangerous, and much more expensive.

Yes, it will cost money. But infrastructure needs to be a national priority, and trains are the most efficient way to make this country as mobile as it needs to be.

We're seeing more support for passenger rail today than we have in the past few years. Now, let's make our dreams a reality. Join NARP and your local rail advocacy organization. Contact your elected officials. The light at the end of the tunnel to a brighter future is a train!

--CH