More Trains

In both the light rail and interstate rail categories, federal funding has always been an important part of the equation. Amtrak, which handles most of the interstate consumer travel, has been a money pit for decades and is deeply dependent upon the half billion it receives from the government each year to keep it afloat. Even so, its service level outside of the Northeast corridor is fairly described as abysmal. Light rail systems in cities also heavily depend upon federal funding for expansion projects. With fuel costs inexorably rising as they are, the priority of rail travel is becoming a more pressing question. Ridership is up everywhere, and at both the city and interstate level, it is becoming pretty clear that what we have is not going to be adequate going forward without some shifting in our priorities.

So with respect to the two candidates running for President, it is worth asking how they might approach these issues. Here’s a pretty good summary at the DCist. To put it bluntly, there isn’t much of a contest on this particular issue. Senator Obama has a particular interest in transit issues dating back to his time in the Illinois Senate. He wants to increase Amtrak funding by a significant amount (11.6 billion over the next five years) and has put forth the idea of mirroring the Amtrak approach in the Northeast corridor for the midwest. He has also clearly signaled his support for more high speed rail.

Not much to be said about McCain on the issue except that he is clearly not very fond of Amtrak. He has actually suggested shuttering Amtrak altogether to presumably be replaced by smaller rail companies.

Tags:   amtrak · Barack Obama · interstate passenger rail · John McCain · Light RailNo Comments