One of the frustrating aspects of NARP’s passenger rail advocacy is coming up against those influential members of Congress who are anti-Amtrak as a matter of political philosophy or ideology. Somehow we need to find a way to get the discussion back to the issue itself. Of course with some of these people, nothing…
American cities need public transportation and it needs to be subsidized. Why? To keep fares reasonable so people who don’t make a lot of money can get to their jobs! This is a simple concept, easily grasped by most of us, but evidently beyond the cognitive capacity of State Senator Bob Hall of Texas. …
Aw, gee … now there’s another one. Congressman Phil Gingrey, a Republican from Georgia, has introduced a bill that would prohibit any federal dollars from being used to subsidize Amtrak’s food and beverage service. Good heavens … where to begin? Does Amtrak lose money on its food service? Of course it does. Serving an estimated 10,000 meals…
I have a hard time figuring out the people in Congress who have it in for Amtrak. What is it that drives them? Ideology? Spite? Ignorance? Stupidity? Maybe even all of the above? Why, for instance, would a Congressman from Texas introduce a bill that would kill a long-distance train that crosses the entire width…