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"There is not a transportation -U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) |
America,Trains are the most fuel efficient form of transportation and the least environmentally damaging. ________________________ Passenger trains can operate safely under weather conditions that bring airports and highways to a standstill. ________________________ Rail lines are the least expensive transportation systems to build and maintain. ________________________ One railroad track costs about one fifth as much to build as a single highway lane, but can carry substantially more people and goods. ________________________ In FY 2005 Amtrak carried a record 25.4 million passengers, the equivalent of 348 fully loaded Boeing 757-200 jetliners every day. ________________________
Amtrak consumes less energy per passenger mile than any other mode of
transportation, even beating motorcycles by a slim margin
Interstate rail technology in the United States hasn’t seen significant improvements since the days of two-lane intercity highways and piston engined airliners. ________________________ High-speed bullet trains were introduced in Japan in 1964. ________________________ In 1964 most passenger trains in the United States were going out of business. ________________________ Don't you know me?________________________ Congress formed Amtrak in 1971 to save America’s passenger trains. ________________________ France's high speed TGV trains entered service in 1981. ________________________ The first and only high speed train in the United States, the Acela between Washington DC and Boston, was not introduced until 2000. ________________________ In the 1940s America’s passenger trains routinely ran as fast as 90-110 miles per hour. ________________________ Because of track conditions most Amtrak trains outside the Northeast Corridor are limited to 79 miles per hour. ________________________ Airlines, private motorists, bus lines, trucking companies, and shipping companies all use publicly owned and financed infrastructures. ________________________ Railroads provide their own infrastructure entirely at their own expense. ________________________ Industry experts say that the railroads do not have sufficient capital to meet increasing track capacity demands for the next 20 years. ________________________ Airports, highways and waterways are owned by public agencies that do not pay property taxes. ________________________ Railroads pay property taxes on tens of thousands of miles of right of way. ________________________ Since 1980 railroads have taken 37% of their tracks out of service. ________________________ Since 1980 railroad freight has increased 64%. ________________________ I'm Your Native Son,________________________ Amtrak pays fees to private freight railroads for access to the tracks, and offers additional incentive payments if the trains run on time. ________________________ Amtrak trains are frequently delayed by freight traffic. ________________________ European and Japanese trains consistently run on time. ________________________ Air traffic control is provided by the federal government at taxpayer expense. ________________________ Railroad traffic is controlled and paid for by private freight companies or (in the Northeast Corridor) by Amtrak. ________________________ State Police who patrol highways are funded by taxpayers. ________________________ Amtrak has its own police force that is funded with ticket revenue. ________________________ European countries spend 15%-20% of their transportation budgets on passenger trains. ________________________ About 1% of the US transportation budget is spent on passenger trains. ________________________ Amtrak’s critics in Congress say Amtrak’s funding is excessive. ________________________ Congress spends more money to spread salt on icy roads than it spends on Amtrak‘s entire national system. ________________________ Since 1980, measured in constant dollars, federal highway spending has more than doubled, aviation spending has tripled, but rail spending has been reduced by 27%. ________________________ A 1997 Gallup poll showed that 69% of Americans want the federal government to continue funding for Amtrak. ________________________ A December 2000 survey conducted for the U.S. Conference of Mayors showed 82% of Americans believe the federal government has ample resources to fund Amtrak. ________________________ An August 2002 Washington Post poll showed 71% of Americans support federal funding for Amtrak. ________________________ A 2006 Harris poll showed that the public prefers commuter trains and long distance trains as their top two choices for transportation service expansion. ________________________ Airport and highway projects are eligible for federal grants of 80% provided the states put up 20%. _______________________ In most cases, states must pay 100% for rail projects with no federal funding. The only exception is in Amtrak's Northeast Corridor where Amtrak funds 100% and the states fund 0%. ________________________ Most states outside the Northeastern US choose to build highways and airports instead of railways. California is one of the few exceptions. ________________________ Three-fourths of Amtrak's subsidies go into 7 states served by the Northeast Corridor trains, while the rest of the national rail network gets the remaining one-fourth. ________________________ Amtrak's 15 long distance trains are often characterized as the company's largest financial drain. In fact, however, they generate 54% of Amtrak's passenger miles while requiring only 18% of its subsidies. ________________________ Amtrak's allegedly "profitable" Northeast Corridor generates 33% of Amtrak's passenger miles while consuming 76% of its subsidies. ________________________ Aviation and highways have a reliable source of funding through dedicated trust funds which remain fairly consistent from year to year. ________________________ Amtrak is funded through the general fund and is subject to the political winds of the annual approproations process. ________________________ Althought Amtrak is one of the smaller spending items in the federal budget, Congress spends a disproportionate amount of time debating its funding every year without ever making any substantive changes. This has been the routine for over 35 years! I'm The Train! |
Caltrain and the Coast Daylight
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