Sunday, September 09, 2007

U.S. National Train Service (Amtrak) has a banner year



The haggling over funding comes as Amtrak's ridership flourishes. Passengers for the fiscal year that ended last September numbered 24.3 million, setting a record for the fourth year in a row when comparing the same routes along the 21,000-mile system serving 500 stations in 46 states and Washington, D.C.

AP

Why should Amtrak be expected to support itself?

Does the National Highway System operate free of government support?
Hardly.

Ask the thousands of workers and tourists who left NYC in the days after 9/11 how important Amtrak is to national security. The train was the only option for long distance trips for those without cars when airports were all locked down for a week.

2 comments:

Brains said...

Thanks for your point about the highway system!!

Anonymous said...

Not to mention the many thousands in New Orleans who could have evacuated on Amtrak trains, had local authorities coordinated their escape. Large trains left the town empty due to this inexcusable failure.