(The following editorial was posted on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website on July 3.)
ATLANTA — The United States may consider itself the most civilized country in the world. But when it comes to train service, we’re more like a Third World nation.
On both a national and local level, we lag way behind other countries in our rail network, both for passengers and freight. And every year, the fight for rail transportation only seems to get tougher and tougher.
Just this year, President Bush recommended zero funding for Amtrak, already an extremely limited national passenger rail system.
A U.S. House subcommittee then recommended that Amtrak receive a $550 million appropriation (instead of the $1.8 billion the Amtrak board had requested), which would have eliminated virtually all long-distance trains in the United States, including all passenger lines that serve Georgia.
Even if Amtrak had received $1.8 billion, that appropriation would represent only a fraction of what this nation invests in its highway system every year.
Amtrak funds restored
Fortunately, just a couple of weeks ago, the House voted to appropriate $1.2 billion to Amtrak, which means most service should stay intact but that the passenger rail system will not be able to properly invest for its future. (More than 70 Republican representatives voted in support of Amtrak.)
“It’s a remarkable victory for Amtrak in the House,” says Ross Goddard, an at-large director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers who lives in Decatur. “I hope the administration will wake up, and we won’t be doing this next year.”
Goddard, a Republican, says the administration’s anti-rail attitude reflects “colossal stupidity” because surveys show that most people in the United States (about 70 percent) believe there needs to be a national passenger train system. “And they are willing to pay for it with their tax dollars,” Goddard says.
And don’t let people tell you that Amtrak is dying. In its last fiscal year, Amtrak carried about 25 million passengers, more than it ever had in its 34-year history. And that’s despite a reduction of about a third of its service from when it was created in 1971.
The fight for rail is not limited to Amtrak. Even here, the state Department of Transportation has had a commuter rail plan for years that calls for trains to serve much of North and Middle Georgia.
But those plans remain lines on a sheet of paper. Despite already designated federal funds to start service between Atlanta and Lovejoy, as well as support from communities up and down the line, it continues to be a struggle to get trains rolling.
Meanwhile, our traffic woes get worse. It becomes much more expensive to drive or fly given the increased price of gasoline. And our quality of life declines.
The problem is that we need a three-legged transportation stool, but we’ve been funding only two legs, roads and air. By not fully investing in our rail transportation system, we have ended up with unbalanced, inefficient and expensive ways to move goods and people.
The United States needs a vision, similar to the one that President Dwight Eisenhower proposed for an interstate highway system in the 1950s, to create a first-class railroad network.
Win-win proposal
Imagine how much better our nation would be if we invested in our rail infrastructure to eliminate as many at-grade crossings as possible and improve the tracks so trains can go at higher speeds — rivaling service in Europe and Japan.
In return for the federal and state governments investing in rail corridors, railroads would need to agree to allow their tracks to be used for passenger service.
Under this scenario, everyone wins. The United States would get much-needed improved passenger rail service. The railroads would get much-needed enhancements to their corridors, permitting them to haul freight quicker and safer.
And the more people and companies used trains, the less wear and tear we would have on our highways — not to mention how much safer it would be to reduce the number of trucks and cars traveling on our roads.
As we celebrate our national independence today, we must reflect on our future independence. How we can reach greater independence from foreign oil. How we can reduce our dependence on automobile, truck and airline transportation. How we can develop a transportation system that is balanced, fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly and healthy for our cities and communities.
The answer is rail.
And once we commit to a first-class rail system, then we will truly become a civilized First World nation.