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News Travel in the News Passenger Trains Finding Broader Appeal With High Fuel Prices
News Travel in the News Passenger Trains Finding Broader Appeal With High Fuel Prices
| Passenger Trains Finding Broader Appeal With High Fuel Prices |
| Wednesday, 31 December 2008 | |
 The high cost of gasoline and highway congestion are sending travelers back to train travel, and public officials are responding by putting more money into the nation’s rail systems.It’s been slow in coming, according to Rep. James Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "I think we're at a transformational point in intercity passenger rail service,” he told the Associated Press, noting that public interest in trains as an alternative to travel by car or plane is on the rise, while government has so far been slow to respond. Amtrak, which looked doomed in the 1990s as it desperately sought to attract riders, transported a record 28.7 million passengers last year – 11 percent more than the year before, a record ticket revenue of $1.7 billion. In California, a bond measure was floated to fund an 800-mile system of bullet trains linking cities between San Francisco and San Diego, and Midwestern transportation officials are attempting to connect cities in nine states with rail service. Further, Amtrak got a boost in October when Congress passed legislation to provide $13 billion over five years to the rail service, funding development of high-speed rail corridors and creating new service between cities. There is opposition, however. Currently, most rail traffic in the U.S. takes place between Washington and Boston, in parts of California, and routes based in Chicago. Most routes in the rest of the country don’t even pay for themselves, much less make a profit. Lawmakers in states with light rider ship argue that their constituents shouldn’t subsidize rail travel in other regions. Governmental support for Amtrak looks good, though, with the election of Barack Obama. The President-Elect sponsored the rail bill, and has promised to support development of high-speed rail networks across the country as a means to conserve energy and boost the economy. |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 01 January 2009 ) |
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