(The following editorial appeared on The Roanoke Times website on November 24.)
ROANOKE, Va. — By consistently skimping on funding for Amtrak, Congress has failed the nation’s passenger railroad service.
Lawmakers need to change tracks. Until the public realizes that the nation’s transportation network is incomplete without a reliable, sufficiently funded rail component, Amtrak will continue to deteriorate from financial suffocation and Americans will continue to suffer congested highways.
A sobering report this week from the Transportation Department’s inspector general found that continuous money troubles have left Amtrak struggling under the weight of operating losses. The system’s on-time performance has fallen, and it has delayed critical repairs that could result in a major equipment failure.
“We are playing Russian roulette,” Amtrak President David Gunn said.
That grim assessment alone should prompt Congress to provide generous subsidies to rail service, as it does all other forms of U.S. transportation.
To try to foist itself from financial quicksand, Amtrak implemented a strategy two years ago of deferring capital improvements, expecting that revenue and funding would increase.
But the strategy is failing, according to the report, in part because Congress has not provided the financing to support the plan.
This year, Amtrak sought $1.5 billion. The Bush administration proposed $900 million, and Congress approved $1.2 billion.
Last year, the rail service asked for $1.8 billion and ended up with about $1.2 billion.
Such parsimony not only shortchanges the railroad but puts public safety at risk. Amtrak has acknowledged worn-out bridges in Connecticut and wiring at least 50 years old in New York City.
Sufficient investment in rail service would recognize the many advantages of rail.
For too long, Amtrak has scraped by because Congress has not made rail a transportation priority in this country. The inspector general’s report should provide the wake-up call to rouse Congress to action.