by Eric Miller
In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan launched an early and unsuccessful attack on Amtrak by pointing out that in many cases it would be less expensive to purchase plane tickets for passengers than to keep the trains running. More recently, Amtrak was faced with a Congressional mandate to turn a profit or risk being disassembled and shut down.
The terrorist attacks of September 11 may have not only once again saved Amtrak from making the transition from struggling carrier to forgotten icon, but begun a new renaissance of rail passenger travel in the United States.
When airplanes were grounded following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Amtrak trains reached capacities not felt by passenger railroads in decades. Amtrak announced Sept. 13 that trains were seeing significant increases in ridership throughout the national system. It added 200 seats on virtually every unreserved train operating between Washington, New York and Boston, increasing this capacity by nearly 30 percent. Service was also boosted on the West Coast and on long-distance trains. Almost all of Amtrak's long-distance trains were sold out. Amtrak honored most airline tickets for travel to the cities it serves.
Imagine for a moment that Amtrak had been dismantled when all flights landed at the nearest airport on the day of the terrorist attacks. The thousands of passengers stranded for days would not have had the option of train travel, forcing airline passengers to wait for flights to resume or hit the already overcrowded highways with a rental car.
Additional security measures imposed at airports following the attacks and requests for passengers to arrive at airports as much as four hours before flights have done something else. As was noted by at least one freight railroad executive, the additional times added to airline travel could just make short-haul railroad passenger trips profitable again.
The realization of the value of having an alternative form of transportation echoed through the walls of the U.S. Capitol, with Amtrak supporters saying the government should now support Amtrak whether or not it makes money.
"I would suggest strongly that investment in Amtrak and high-speed rail makes more sense now than before this horrible tragedy,'' said Rep. Peter DeFazio, (D-OR), a member of the House Transportation Committee who suggested a repeal of the 1997 law requiring Amtrak to break even by 2003 or face dissolution. The events even had Amtrak critics changing their tune on the fate of the railroad. Critic John McCain (R-AR) told reporters Congress should take this opportunity to hold an ``open debate'' on the future of rail passenger service.
But critics say the recent surge in Amtrak ridership may disappear once Americans regain enough confidence to return to the skies. Even if that were the case, looking at inefficiencies in the current system of transportation and investing in a reliable and practical alternative is likely to be part of many debates in the coming months.
Consider first that train stations are located downtown, or in the centers of smaller towns, eliminating trips to the airport and saving an hour or more off travel time. The construction of high-speed rail lines between cities would also make rail travel competitive with shorter air trips between, say, San Francisco and Los Angeles or Chicago and Cleveland.
The resurgence in rail travel that connects downtown to downtown would also increase the need for hotel and convention facilities in downtowns and decrease the need for such facilities at the airport, helping the environment by concentrating development. It would also make such facilities accessible by public transportation to greater numbers of people.
New investment in railroad infrastructure could also be built to connect airports to downtowns, and even to other airports, allowing airports to be built in more secure locations further removed from population centers. Fewer strategically-placed airports could connect clusters of cities, rather than having separate air facilities for each city. Passengers could board a hihg-speed train in Akron, Ohio, for example, ride it to an airport that serves cities in the Chicago-Detroit and Milwaukee area, and then jet to an airport in the Los Angeles area. Such a comprehensive system of high-speed trains and airports would eliminate the need for commuter planes, make air travel more efficient because fewer planes flying could carry more passengers, and making travel accessible to more passengers.
Congress may soon consider legislation designed to build high-speed train routes connecting cities around the country. Competing bills differ in that one would allocate the money to Amtrak, and the other would allow states to build the systems.
Those opposed to giving Amtrak the money to build the system undoubtedly see the political benefits from providing the subsidies directly to their home states and worry that, given Amtrak's record on profitability, it may not be able successfully to complete the task. Those in favor of subsidizing Amtrak recognize the need for a coordinated national system as is demonstrated by the map showing regional rail links ignoring connections between cities as close and economically integrated as Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
In the short-term, airlines have requested a 24 billion dollar bailout from the federal government, paling arguments that Amtrak should not be subsidized because it cannot profit. Amtrak has requested $3 billion, half in order to improve security, and half to go towards modernizing tracks and putting more cars into service.
In normal times, trains are more energy efficient than airlines, they provide more mobility and travel choices and contribute to development that is compact and less wasteful than auto-oriented development. They are safe, even in bad weather, and pollute less most other forms of motorized transportation.
In these special times, trains provide crucial links between cities and alternatives when air and auto travel may not be available. They can allow airports to be strategically placed rather than located adjacent to major population centers. They reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources. Construction of new high-speed systems will spur downtown development and even help jumpstart the economy.
Amtrak and passenger rail in general have many benefits. It's time to make them a real and permanent part of the national transportation system and to make a connected and comprehensive transportation system part of the agenda for the new America.
For more information see:
The Federal Railroad Administration
Amtrak
The National Association of Railway Passengers