(The following editorial by Casey Ross was posted on the Boston Herald website on February 24.)
BOSTON — A Bush administration plan to reform passenger railroad service by forcing Amtrak into bankruptcy would increase costs for the MBTA and eliminate popular express trains to Washington and New York, industry officials say.
“This would mean curtains for inter-city passenger rail,” said Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers. “. . . It is extremely unfortunate that rail (service) is getting played with in this way.”
Bush’s budget for the next fiscal year would end government assistance for Amtrak, which relies on federal subsidies to keep trains running between cities in the Northeast and across the nation.
In a letter to Congress last week, the chairman of Amtrak’s board of directors predicted Bush’s proposal would not only cripple long-distance rail service, but would also undermine heavily used commuter rail services in Massachusetts and other states.
“Anyone who assumes that further underinvestment in (Northeast Corridor) infrastructure is good medicine for Amtrak has missed the mark,” Amtrak Chairman David M. Laney wrote.
MBTA officials say, however, that cost increases due to the elimination of federal funding would only impact the Attleboro commuter rail line, which is the only T right of way still maintained by Amtrak.
The rest of the commuter rail lines are now operated by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., which took over for Amtrak in 2003.
The biggest impact for Massachusetts residents would likely be the elimination of popular Acela Express services to New York and Washington. Despite troubles with delays, millions of people use the services every year and would be forced to rely on increasingly crowded buses and air travel.
Congress, which has resisted previous proposals by presidents to eliminate Amtrak funding, is expected to take up the issue within weeks. A spokesman for Amtrak declined to comment yesterday.