This is an installment in an ongoing series, titled "Reader Sound-Off," which will focus attention and conversation on readers' and NARP members' opinions on important rail and transportation issues.
Recently, citizens and politicians in the southern cities of New Orleans and Orlando, Florida, have expressed desire for the return of that portion of Amtrak's Sunset Limited route.
CSX Railroad agrees, and so does Amtrak. Why has nothing come to fruition?
Political wildfire
One of passenger rail’s lasting downers following Hurricane Katrina is the loss of Amtrak service from New Orleans to areas east, along the Gulf Coast. Many remain unaware of this, but these areas still lack connection by passenger rail.
Those who are aware find themselves in a state of disbelief.
Jerry Sullivan, a former member of the National Association of Rail Passengers (NARP), places blame for passenger rail’s bumpy road to recovery in the American South firmly on politics.
In an impassioned letter to Reader Sound-Off, Sullivan explains "The track [between New Orleans and Orlando] was restored by mid-March 2006, and shortly after, Amtrak [received] clearance from CSX to return the service."
Are politics to blame?
That question has become common, following the May 12 derailment of an Amtrak train traveling from Washington, D.C., to New York City. The accident occurred on the Northeast Corridor in Philadelphia's Port Richmond neighborhood and resulted in over 200 injuries — 11 critical — and eight deaths.
Still, mere hours after the disaster, House Republicans voted to cut Amtrak's budget, much to the ire of Democrats who pointed to the crash as an example of what lack of funding can do to America's transportation system.
This sparked a swirling wildfire of back-and-forth arguing from a governing body tasked with the job of solving disagreements, rather than creating opportunities to construct them.
A month later, two senators — one Democratic, one Republican — introduced legislation that would spend around $9 billion on Amtrak. Sens. Cory Booker and Roger Wicker called for a spending budget of approximately $1.65 billion annually over the next four years on the rail service, in addition to $570 million per year on rail grants.
With both houses of Congress fighting on sides so diametrically opposed, it’s no wonder progress has been stunted.
Who's to blame?
But does Congress shoulder the blame entirely on its own?
To be fair, according to Frank N. Wilner of Quartz, Amtrak runs a business that isn't always profitable. "Hauling coals to Newcastle for sale offers greater likelihood of profit than operating an extensive rail passenger network" Wilner stated.
"While government subsidies keep Amtrak trains running, those sums perennially fall short of fully satisfying Amtrak's capital-investment needs — like the purchase of new locomotives and passenger cars, plus renewal of track, signals, bridges, and stations," he noted.
This doesn’t even take into account the $150 billion necessary to upgrade the entire Northeast Corridor for Japanese- or French-style high-speed passenger rail. "On average, Amtrak can coax no more than $1.5 billion in subsidies from Congress annually, which barely allows fluid operations, and delays most modernization projects," said Wilner.
There are numerous bridges, tunnels and tracks that need rehabilitation and can run costs in the billions. For Congress, this requires raising taxes, and that is something today’s electorate isn’t entirely comfortable with.
Congress is essentially in a no-win situation.
States fare no better. Many states — like those financially strapped districts that line the rails of the NEC where the Philadelphia derailment occurred — most likely couldn’t afford to offset the gaps left if the federal government suddenly chose to end Amtrak's subsidies. Similar to the federal government's Catch-22, if state governments choose to raise ticket prices, it would likely draw attention away from public transit and back towards highways.
Regardless of the political haggling that seems to be at the core of Amtrak’s inability to progress, the fact still remains that the people of New Orleans and Orlando, and points between, still want and need an Amtrak presence in their lives.
According to John Robert Smith, former long-time mayor of Meridian, Mississippi, in an interview with Al.com, “This isn't about nostalgia or rail fans, it's about economic development and it's about commerce. It's about security and evacuation and movement of goods in and out before and after tropical storms and hurricanes; it impacts southerner's lives on many different levels.” chairman of the board with Transportation for America
In fact, it has been shown recently that residents of these areas want daily passenger rail service, even though pre-Katrina rail service operated less frequently than that.
If the recent Senate bill introduced by Sens. Booker and Wicker is any indication, then at least some members of Congress are aware of how important Amtrak is and are making strides to address its deficiencies.
But are they alone, and will this bill that could give Amtrak an annual stream of grant funding, ultimately leading to $1.65 billion per year for the next four years, hit the same wall of congressional inaction and obstructionism that has plagued Amtrak for years?
Only time will tell.
What are your opinions?
Don't hesitate to contact the Hotline Midweek Brief and share your thoughts at rclark@multibriefs.com. Please let us know if you have an issue on which you would like to "sound off."
