(The following editorial appeared on the Register-Guard website on November 17.)
EUGENE, Ore. — President Bush has done his best to pound a rusty spike through the heart of Amtrak, but Congress finally appears willing to sharply increase its support for the chronically underfunded national rail system.
Last month the U.S. Senate voted 70 to 22 for $1.9 billion annually over the next six years for Amtrak. That’s a 40 percent increase from the $1.2 billion that the system has received in recent years. The bill includes an additional $1.4 billion that would be available as matching grants to states seeking more passenger train service within their borders, and it removes an unrealistic provision from existing law that requires Amtrak to eventually become self-sufficient.
The House has yet to take up Amtrak funding, but it should match the Senate’s allocation if lawmakers are paying attention to the changing travel habits and needs of their constituents.
Rising gas prices, congested highways and airports, concerns about climate change and recent improvements in Amtrak services have combined to significantly boost ridership over the last five years. On some heavily traveled routes, such as between New York and Washington, D.C., more people are actually taking the train these days than flying.
Yet President Bush obstinately says he will veto the Senate bill if it comes to his desk.
Forget that Amtrak just last week reported an 11 percent increase in ticket revenue and carried 25.8 million people in the last fiscal year.
Forget that customer satisfaction is on the uptick and that ridership on the nation’s first high-speed train — the Acela Express, which serves the Washington-Boston corridor, has increased 20 percent over last year.
Forget that the United States is the only major industrialized nation with a substandard national rail system — and that European and Japanese trains rely on government subsidies.
Forget that the United States pours tens of billions of dollars annually into subsidizing airlines, highways and ports — and a relative pittance into maintaining interstate rail service.
Forget that trains provided an invaluable transportation alternative when the nation’s airline traffic came to a standstill after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
President Bush doesn’t care about any of that. He continues to favor sham “reform” proposals that would dismantle Amtrak, privatize its profitable runs and drive the remnants into bankruptcy. The White House’s most recent budget request would provide only $300 million for Amtrak’s operating costs.
The Senate passed its Amtrak bill with a veto-proof majority, and the House should do the same. America is an advanced nation that needs a 21st century rail network. Whether its president realizes it or not.