Amtrak Needs Real Commitment

Wed., May 28, 1997

John Webster For The Editorial

Congress is about to debate the nation’s transportation budget, and that means people once again will call for Amtrak’s demise.

How foolish.

The problem is not that Amtrak requires a federal subsidy. The problem is that passenger rail has not received enough federal support for its potential to be realized in the United States.

In fact, the federal government provides a massive subsidy for every means of mass transportation. Federal money built and maintains the interstate highway system. Federal money builds airports and operates airplane navigational aids. Federal backing helped create our harbors, navigable waterways, city buses and, yes, the railroads.

In Europe and Japan, railroads are efficient, fast and popular.

Even in the United States, along the Eastern seaboard, Amtrak plays a key role. Along routes connecting New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., Amtrak serves 70 percent of the commuters who don’t drive. Its trains generate less air pollution and use less energy per passenger-mile than automobiles or airplanes do.

Vacationers who rely on Amtrak to cross the country actually see the country and sense its scope. The Rockies at dawn. The Great Plains in a midnight lightning storm. The great cities and their factories’ back doors. The tidy farms of Ohio. Hidden valleys of the Alleghenies, sailboat-dotted coves of Connecticut. … You can’t see these things racing between airports in a high aluminum cocoon.

We would be foolish to abandon passenger rail service at a time when it is increasingly clear that there is no end to the building of roads. Before they are completed, they are clogged.

In vain, Amtrak has asked Congress for capital to invest in its aging engines and cars. It has asked for a loosening of federal rules that prevent it from operating more efficiently. Congress should grant these requests.

Yes, highway and airport improvement needs are significant and compelling. Money is available to address them - and Amtrak’s needs as well - if Congress would spend all of the money taxpayers send to transporation trust funds rather than using unspent balances to hide the federal budget deficit.

Yes, Amtrak could improve its services. Better arrival and departure times in Spokane, for example, would encourage more of us to discover its value. Before Amtrak can improve, however, Congress must make a more serious commitment to its success.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster For the editorial board

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.