When it comes to funding, Amtrak is treated like the poor relation: Adjusted for inflation, passenger rail in 2003 got less than two-thirds of what it was getting twenty years ago, while highways and aviation got more than double. To remedy this situation, the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) has proposed a passenger rail revitalization plan that would integrate intercity rail with other modes of transport.
Amtrak provides services with a smile
“I want cheesecake and strawberries.”
“Aint no strawberries,” replied the waiter. “Just cheesecake. Plain.”
“I don’t want that,” she said with a dismissive wiggle of her hand. “I’ll take Mud Pie.”
There was a pause. “Aint no Mud Pie,” remarked the waiter eventually.
She laughed: “It’s the best kind of chocolate cake…”
“I’ll see what I can do,” said the waiter as he turned and left.
They were sitting four to a table in the California Zephyr’s dining room. The train sped along at 60 miles an hour through the Nevada desert making the white tablecloths flutter, the salt and pepper shakers clink, and the wine tip gently in the wine glasses. Outside the window, the setting sun was making the Nevada mountains glow pink, and as it darkened, the outside receded to be replaced by the brightly-lit interiors of the train.
The waiter returned, bearing platters: “Who these dessert for?” he called. “Bundt?”
One person put up her hand.
“What’s this? Cheesecake with strawberries?”
“Yes!” She smiled delightedly. “But how?”
“He was teasing,” said another passenger.
“You were?” she opened her eyes wide.
“Well, darling,” replied the waiter. “That’s just the way it is.”
And that summarizes the service that passengers get on Amtrak trains that make their way across this vast country every day: relaxed, caring, and humorous.
The origins of Amtrak
Amtrak’s origins can be traced to the decline of private passenger rail services in the United States from 1920 to 1970. In response to the decline, Congress and the President of the United States created Amtrak in 1971. For its entire existence, the company has been subjected to insufficient capital resources, due in large part to political crosswinds. Recent years have been among Amtrak’s brightest: In fiscal 2008, Amtrak served 28.7 million passengers, representing six straight years of record ridership. With the dramatic rise in gasoline prices in 2007-2008, Amtrak has seen record growth in its regional lines with a 12% year-over-year growth in May 2008.
And yet, Amtrak is treated like the poor relation when it comes to funding: Adjusted for inflation, passenger rail in 2003 got less than two-thirds of what it was getting twenty years ago, while highways and aviation got more than double.
Amtrak has a mandate from Congress to run, and during the 9/11 crisis was vital in keeping freight and passengers moving. But this also means that Amtrak is accountable to Congress, and therefore at the mercy of senators and representatives who allocate funding on a year-by-year basis.
The NARP plan
The National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) has proposed a passenger rail revitalization plan that would integrate intercity rail with other modes of transport. They propose seven key strategies :
- Stabilize and increase funding for rail by establishing a fund so that Amtrak is not so dependent on annual appropriations by Congress.
- Design a system that connects all significant metropolitan areas and serves all major travel routes.
- Focus on public need and benefit, not financial profit.
- Provide incentives to states to develop regional services that supplement the national system.
- Establish farebox recovery goals consistent with mass market pricing.
- Encourage innovation and efficiency by introducing competition for resources.
- Provide incentives to freight railroads to increase track capacity, install state-of-the-art train control systems and raise the speeds on routes used by both passenger and freight trains.
Lastly, members of Congress should authorize the Big Three automakers in Detroit to completely redo their factories, so that instead of making gas-guzzling SUVs, they make new train cars and locomotives for Amtrak and the regional rail systems around the country.
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