(The following editorial was posted on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website on December 2.)
Amtrak is dying. More precisely, it’s being forced to commit suicide through the willful negligence of the White House and members of Congress, leaving the national rail system and millions of passengers at risk.
A recent assessment of the railroad by the federal Department of Transportation confirms that Amtrak has reached a crisis stage that can no longer be ignored. Funding cutbacks have forced the system into playing “a form of Russian roulette, spreading capital much too thinly,” says DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead.
That isn’t hyperbole: Amtrak’s physical stock includes worn tracks that haven’t been maintained in years, locomotives that should be retired and several bridges in danger of collapse. It’s not a matter of “if” such a system meltdown will occur, but “when.”
Congress has appropriated $1.2 billion for Amtrak, $600 million less than railroad officials say is needed to keep the system running at minimum safety and performance. Even that higher amount isn’t enough to address long-delayed maintenance and repair problems. The Bush administration has proposed dismantling Amtrak altogether, selling off the most profitable routes to private companies and leaving the rest to cities and states that still want the service. But cash-strapped local governments cannot and should not be running a transportation system so critical to interstate commerce and national security.
The decision to let Amtrak bleed to death comes as its ridership and revenues are increasing. The number of Amtrak passengers rose by about 5.7 percent with revenues increasing by a like amount in the last fiscal year. Amtrak logged a record 24 million passengers last year and ridership jumped 80 percent during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Congress and the White House must get on board Amtrak before it’s too late.