Eastern Railroad Discussion > Fleecing of America: Great Train Robbery

It's not just Leno who doesn't like Amtrak at NBC. Amtrak gets an uncomplimentary review on its 30th anniversary tonight on NBC's Nightly News. I've already seen the 6:30 edition, but for the 7:00 edition, the segment will begin around 7:18 EDST.

lets see Quotes by Vranich, failure to explain electrification cost .
etc etc same retoric different station.

Well, they had quotes by Vranich and McCain, but NOTHING about the electrification, except some film clips of AEM7s and a bit about the aging infastructure. The piece was biased and one-sided... a real "hit piece."

This is just the normal BIG media BS.If we only knew what they cost the tax payers.As far as i know USA has the ONLY partly funded national rail system,i'm not sure about CANADA.Most countries have a rail system that is 100% tax payer funded.


RADIOMAN2 OUT

All sides are partly to blame on this one. I think there are Amtrak management as well as Congressional leadership issues present. Amtrak has done a poor selling job to the American public basically because it has tried to be all things to all people and therefore has had no chance of succeeding, much less having anything to brag about. Congress has provided only politically correct management itself. Politically motivated "dabbling" rather than commitment usually makes things worse. The American public doesn't seem to care.

As for me (excluding the NEC...a unique island of demand and profitability), I don't mind my tax dollars subsidizing rail transportation, I subsidize every other mode of transportation already. I just wish Amtrak would supply service only where they can fill the legitimate need of the average american working family.......by going where people want/need to go everyday at the times people want/need to there and at the frequency thereof.

Let's leave freight out of the question except for true express freight that people will pay for and that other transportation concerns cannot supply or cannot supply at the same price as Amtrak can (including a true charge that covers cost and extends to the bottom line.....why else would you want it?).

Why should everybody be willing to subsidize Amtrak? Everyone riding the rails is not on the road or in the air.

Doug

Again this is the PERFECT oppurtunity to write letters to the editor of your local papers. Railfans are well educated (well most of us). It is time to use some of that to set the story straight.....

Don't think about it... DO IT!

Bob