Potential Big Cuts To Amtrak Are Bad For Everyone, Including Drivers

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Potential Big Cuts To Amtrak Are Bad For Everyone, Including Drivers

Ryan Felton
Today 4:50pm

This may not surprise anyone, but with the incoming administration looking to implement “dramatic” cuts to federal spending, one budget blueprint calls for for federal subsidies for Amtrak to be slashed. Here’s why that’s a bad idea.

The Hill reports a coming budget proposal budget proposal hews “closely to a blueprint” from the Heritage Foundation, the influential conservative think tank. At first, it’s not exactly clear which Heritage blueprint The Hill is referencing—one published last February called for eliminating Amtrak’s operating subsidies, as well as the National Endowment for the Arts altogether; another, Blueprint for a New Administration, was published just days before the November presidential election.

But if The Hills’s report is accurate, the earlier blueprint mirrors what’s in the piece and is probably what President Donald Trump’s budget proposal is based off of. (Two members of Trump’s transition team are reportedly orchestrating the austere budget, and both worked for the Heritage Foundation.)

Here is what that document recommends for Amtrak:
{snip}

[msongs]

1. even worse traffic...mostly from states that did not vote for trump excpt maybe PA nt

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Answer this question,

who wants Amtrak,in that lies many answers of what is to come. This is a shot at Major Liberal Cities who have Commuter Amtrak Service.

The Koch Brothers want more autos and bus's on the roads. Follow the money.

[Kilgore]

3. I would like a middle ground

Tried Amtrak from Portland Oregon to Sacramento CA once. Round trip ticket was ~$300 and took ~12hours if I recall correctly. The train was less than half full.

Since then I have been buying tickets between those cities from Southwest for $49 to $89 each way advance purchase. Travel time was 1.5 hours.

I can definitely understand Amtrak between East coast population centers, with lots of riders, but the PDX to sacto run is a joke.

How about expanding Amtrak to routes that make economic sense and ditch the loosers.

[drubytue]

4. Oakland to LA is great

With bus connection in Bakersfield.

[Doreen]

5. Crap!! I tend to use Amtrak time to time.

Making travel harder and more expensive and finding ways to cut down our communication abilities it makes it harder to come together. Then maybe I am just being paranoid but with the dictator can you blame me? It is also kind of me talking from a point of being pissed.