Tommy Meehan wrote:goodnightjohnwayne wrote:Moreover, there doesn't seem to be a disagreement between parties as the importance of passenger rail on Amtrak's core Northeast Corridor, regardless of the tangibility or intangibility of the social benefits. The Republicans specifically reference the NE Corridor in their platform, which comes as a surprise, since the Democrats don't.
Well make no mistake there is a h-u-g-e difference between the two parties regarding Amtrak. The Republican platform very clearly states it wants to phase out Amtrak and turn the NEC over to a private operator.
It doesn't say anything of the kind. It actually says:
Amtrak continues to be, for the taxpayers, an extremely expensive railroad. The public has to subsidize every ticket nearly $50. It is long past time for the federal government to get out of way and allow private ventures to provide passenger service to the northeast corridor. The same holds true with regard to high-speed and intercity rail across the country.
Now, as to whether that means private ventures in cooperation, competition, or in replacement of Amtrak isn't clear. It is clear that Amtrak saw its biggest historical cuts in route mileage under the Carter administration, was starved of funding in the Clinton and Bush eras, and hasn't seen a substantial change in labor practices since the Reagan era. So there's room for investment, either public or private, and there is certainly room for innovation. The Republicans are actually discussing the issue, and in a way that's not altogether unfavorable to high-speed rail.
Tommy Meehan wrote: The Obama Administration is already advancing a plan to expand Amtrak and build a high speed passenger rail network
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It's not being addressed specifically or publicly in recent months. The Democratic platform has less to say on the issue of passenger rail than the Republican platform, and some of the Democratic language might even pertain to freight rail and business interests in general.
It is clear that the term "high speed rail" was absent from DNC convention speeches, from the platform and from stump speeches, before and after the convention. It isn't being addressed, at least not on the Democratic side.
I think it's high time to realize that the polarization of a presidential election year shouldn't be taken too seriously. Democrat presidents have agreed to cuts to Amtrak. And substantial improvements have been made to Amtrak under Republican administrations. Nixon originated Amtrak, and a lot of the current rolling stock was funded under Ford, the same being true of major route expansions, that were later cut under Carter, while NE Corridor improvements were continued under Reagan and the last conventional single level coaches were ordered under the first Bush.
In an election year, it's important to remember that differences are magnified, while historical similarities are ignored. There's a lot less attention being paid to Amtrak than two decades ago. And for all of the stereotypes, no Democrat has resurrected the "Amtrak penny" gas tax idea and the Republicans lack the naive reformist sentiments of the Gingrich era, when there was a belief Amtrak could transition to self-supporting profitability with enough Roadrailers and odd route expansions. We all know better now, Democrat and Republican, Republican and Democrat.
And for the record, I still like Roadrailers.
