Salt Lake Tribune climbs on board

It was not so long ago that Salt Lake City was an important Amtrak hub. Trains bound for Portland-Seattle, Oakland, and Los Angeles were combined and split up there. All of this was before a round of incomprehensible cuts. Today, only the Zephyr visits.

There is discussion about restoring service through Idaho and on to Portland and Washington State, but that is just talk. Without new equipment, there will be no new service. Amtrak has been just plain starved and this new bill, good as it is, provides nothing for rolling stock. It does not even provide for essential work on the northeast corridor.

Here is part of a solid opinion piece.

The U.S. government spent just $1.3 billion last year on Amtrak, the same amount as in 1971, the year the national passenger rail network was born, cobbled out of the remnants of a once-proud industry. But equipment is aging, routes have disappeared, and short-sighted Bush administration officials, who proposed just $800 million for Amtrak in fiscal 2008, would kill it if they could. But they can’t.
Amtrak, which serves 500 destinations in 46 states, is experiencing a comeback, especially as an alternative to short-haul air travel in the Northeast corridors. Last year, a record 24.3 million passengers rode the rails. People are tired of sitting in traffic and sitting on runways. Where the option exists, they’re taking the train. And Congress appears poised to help them aboard.
Last week the Senate approved legislation – the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 – to bring our passenger rail system into the 21st century. The bill, which was sent to the House, would provide $11.4 billion for infrastructure improvements and expansion of rail routes to serve more cities over the next six years. That includes nearly $1.4 billion in grants to help states alleviate traffic congestion by establishing passenger rail service between cities.
We need reliable passenger rail service, and we need it fast. Congress should approve the bill.

Filed under: Amtrak, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy