(The following editorial was posted on the News Journal website on October 16.)
WILMINGTON, Del. — Amtrak may be one step closer to disappearing and that could be a big mistake.
The directors of the national passenger rail service have voted to spin the Northeast Corridor line into a separate subsidiary, one that might leave the states between Washington, D.C., and Boston responsible for upgrading aging tracks, tunnels and signals.
The most disquieting thing about the move is that the directors did it without telling the taxpayers. The board voted Sept. 22 to create a new entity. News of it only leaked out last week.
Count the Bush administration among the severest critics of the Amtrak system. Much of the criticism is warranted. For years the system has been the victim of questionable management as well as shortsightedness in federal government.
The more severe critics want the federal government out of the passenger rail business. But we’re not sure that move would make sense, either.
The Northeast Corridor is an ideal rail line. The business is plentiful and the connections are logical. On the other hand, some Amtrak trains out West serve too few people to make them worthwhile.
This latest move by the Amtrak board is seen by many as the first step to dismantle the entire service. In the new Northeast Corridor arrangement, Amtrak will keep control of the trains and service. The new subsidiary would be in charge of the track, tunnels and so forth.
This separation of trains from infrastructure would make it easier to ask states to pay to keep the tracks in place, the signals flashing and the tunnels from falling in.
The Amtrak directors probably don’t need congressional approval to put this into effect.However, the states can be expected to say something.
They should. This move is too slippery and too quick. This is an age of oil shortages. Shouldn’t an operating rail system be given a little help luring riders out of their cars?
Before the switchover happens, the federal government should prove that its idea will work. Otherwise, the penny pinching might prove to be unwise.