TxDOT to study routes for Houston-Dallas line

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Amtrak shouldn't "get" the funding they need, they should "earn" the funding they need. But they can't. Because nobody wants to pay three times as much to ride a train for days when they can get on a plane and be somewhere in a few hours.

Ridership has been climbing , they deserve it now more then ever.....[/quote]

They don't deserve anything. Of all the recipients of government welfare, it's hard to imagine a bigger waste than Amtrak.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by rb4browns

Ridership has been climbing , they deserve it now more then ever.....

They don't deserve anything. Of all the recipients of government welfare, it's hard to imagine a bigger waste than Amtrak.[/quote]

The Airlines , Roads and Oil companies don't deserve anything the Govt gives them and yet you have no issue with that?

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

They don't deserve anything. Of all the recipients of government welfare, it's hard to imagine a bigger waste than Amtrak.

The Airlines , Roads and Oil companies don't deserve anything the Govt gives them and yet you have no issue with that?[/quote]

It all depends on what we as society get back in return. Amtrak is a money pit and if they stopped running tomorrow it would have zero impact on the country's economy.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by rb4browns

The Airlines , Roads and Oil companies don't deserve anything the Govt gives them and yet you have no issue with that?

It all depends on what we as society get back in return. Amtrak is a money pit and if they stopped running tomorrow it would have zero impact on the country's economy.[/quote]

No , none of those other things should get subsidize , Oil companies and Airlines rank in Billions in profits every year , y do they deserve any of our tax $$$? If Amtrak got enough $$$ then maybe they could upgrade there trains and become profitable on every route.

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

It all depends on what we as society get back in return. Amtrak is a money pit and if they stopped running tomorrow it would have zero impact on the country's economy.

No , none of those other things should get subsidize , Oil companies and Airlines rank in Billions in profits every year , y do they deserve any of our tax $$$? If Amtrak got enough $$$ then maybe they could upgrade there trains and become profitable on every route.[/quote]

In a perfect world there would be no corporate welfare. We don't live in a perfect world. The problems with Amtrak are many, but none of them could be fixed by just throwing more money at them.

[travelguy_73]

Originally Posted by rb4browns

In a perfect world there would be no corporate welfare. We don't live in a perfect world. The problems with Amtrak are many, but none of them could be fixed by just throwing more money at them.

Agreed, like most problems in this world, the solution doesn't fit into a soundbite, which means that, say, 50% of the people tune out and close their minds. However, I think that AMTRAK's failure can be a model for HSR planners to learn from. Just like the Japanese learned how to build a better car, we can learn how to build a better transportation system that doesn't rely on more than an acceptable amount of taxpayer funds to operate. Not every part of American life pays its own way. I'm not sure when we got to the point that infrastructure became a profit center or even cost-neutral.