The Derailing of America’s Rail Service
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 03.07.02 | 4:03 PM ET
Amtrak, America’s passenger rail service, is in a real financial mess, and its future is looking grim. If President Bush and Congress don’t agree to pitch in more money soon, long-distance trains could simply cease operating as early as this year. This is absurd. At a time when Americans are wary of air travel, they should be able to turn to top-notch high-speed rail service. Unfortunately, as the New York Times pointed out recently, under-investment in Amtrak has left Americans without this option. Even the new high-speed Acela trains aren’t running at full-speed for most of the trip from Boston to Washington. As for taking a quick train ride from Los Angeles to San Francisco, forget it. I tried last week. The scheduled 12-hour journey—double the time it takes to drive—took more than 15 hours counting the late start. The staff spent a good chunk of the trip joking about the slow service. I’ve had better rail experiences in Malaysia, Thailand and China. All of this leaves the automotive industry delighted, oil salesmen gushing and U.S. travelers as tethered as ever to their cars.
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
