Privatize Amtrak...Make Passenger Service Better and More Affordable

Amtrak is analogous to the elephant in the Indian tale, being examined by four blind men. The experience is completely different, depending on what arm of the service that you are experiencing. Along the Northeast Corridor, the service is generally excellent, and the farther you get into Flyover country, the worse it gets. California is pretty good, with good legs to different destinations along the coast.

The problem with privatizing is that the track & right-of-way is owned by several companies that make their profit primarily with FREIGHT. Passenger service is a distraction. As long as AMTRAK doesn't have dedicated track and ROW the service will be compromised and it will never be comparable to Europe or Japan. Sad to say.
 
Amtrak is analogous to the elephant in the Indian tale, being examined by four blind men. The experience is completely different, depending on what arm of the service that you are experiencing. Along the Northeast Corridor, the service is generally excellent, and the farther you get into Flyover country, the worse it gets. California is pretty good, with good legs to different destinations along the coast.

The problem with privatizing is that the track & right-of-way is owned by several companies that make their profit primarily with FREIGHT. Passenger service is a distraction. As long as AMTRAK doesn't have dedicated track and ROW the service will be compromised and it will never be comparable to Europe or Japan. Sad to say.

Are you saying privatizing Amtrak would not be great for all? That flies in the face of every conservative belief about Big Business and government. So, you are obviously wrong.

.
 
Amtrak is analogous to the elephant in the Indian tale, being examined by four blind men. The experience is completely different, depending on what arm of the service that you are experiencing. Along the Northeast Corridor, the service is generally excellent, and the farther you get into Flyover country, the worse it gets. California is pretty good, with good legs to different destinations along the coast.

The problem with privatizing is that the track & right-of-way is owned by several companies that make their profit primarily with FREIGHT. Passenger service is a distraction. As long as AMTRAK doesn't have dedicated track and ROW the service will be compromised and it will never be comparable to Europe or Japan. Sad to say.

Are you saying privatizing Amtrak would not be great for all? That flies in the face of every conservative belief about Big Business and government. So, you are obviously wrong.

.

Why would anyone in this country take a train when they can fly or drive for relatively cheap?
 
I’m old enough to have taken a cross-country rail trip in the days before Amtrak.

The service was abysmal. No sleepers or diners on the longest sectors. The porters and staff were deliberately rude and unhelpful

This wasn’t because of a failure of Capitalism but because railroads were forced by legislation to provide passenger service even on sectors where it couldn’t be provided with profitability.

Amtrak took over private railway service in response to the poor service and has been operating at a loss every year since.

It’s time for passenger rail to go the way of the stage coach except where it can be done profitably.
 
Or let it die out as a mode of transportation that no one really wants to use anymore. Isn't that how evolution works.
 
Amtrak is analogous to the elephant in the Indian tale, being examined by four blind men. The experience is completely different, depending on what arm of the service that you are experiencing. Along the Northeast Corridor, the service is generally excellent, and the farther you get into Flyover country, the worse it gets. California is pretty good, with good legs to different destinations along the coast.

The problem with privatizing is that the track & right-of-way is owned by several companies that make their profit primarily with FREIGHT. Passenger service is a distraction. As long as AMTRAK doesn't have dedicated track and ROW the service will be compromised and it will never be comparable to Europe or Japan. Sad to say.

Are you saying privatizing Amtrak would not be great for all? That flies in the face of every conservative belief about Big Business and government. So, you are obviously wrong.

.

Why would anyone in this country take a train when they can fly or drive for relatively cheap?

Because they don't want to drive or fly.
 
Amtrak is analogous to the elephant in the Indian tale, being examined by four blind men. The experience is completely different, depending on what arm of the service that you are experiencing. Along the Northeast Corridor, the service is generally excellent, and the farther you get into Flyover country, the worse it gets. California is pretty good, with good legs to different destinations along the coast.

The problem with privatizing is that the track & right-of-way is owned by several companies that make their profit primarily with FREIGHT. Passenger service is a distraction. As long as AMTRAK doesn't have dedicated track and ROW the service will be compromised and it will never be comparable to Europe or Japan. Sad to say.

Are you saying privatizing Amtrak would not be great for all? That flies in the face of every conservative belief about Big Business and government. So, you are obviously wrong.

.

Why would anyone in this country take a train when they can fly or drive for relatively cheap?
If you don’t feel like driving, and the closest air travel can you to your destination is 85 miles...but the train stops in your town...why not?
 
Amtrak is analogous to the elephant in the Indian tale, being examined by four blind men. The experience is completely different, depending on what arm of the service that you are experiencing. Along the Northeast Corridor, the service is generally excellent, and the farther you get into Flyover country, the worse it gets. California is pretty good, with good legs to different destinations along the coast.

The problem with privatizing is that the track & right-of-way is owned by several companies that make their profit primarily with FREIGHT. Passenger service is a distraction. As long as AMTRAK doesn't have dedicated track and ROW the service will be compromised and it will never be comparable to Europe or Japan. Sad to say.
Even sadder is that all the freight the carry is made in China.
 
How about no?

Not everything should be privatized...
Most everything should...except military. I bet the DMV is an enjoyable experience for you. Do you get better service at Post Office or FedEx?
 

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