Login
or
Register
Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
General Discussion
»
Amtrak funding
Edit post
Edit your reply below.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
Why Ed, are you trying to cause trouble, or something? <br /> <br />Define what the money is to be used for first. If you mean the infrastructure costs ie track, signals, etc... well the Gov. paid for the highway construction. Still does, tho usu. at the state level and not Fed any more. <br /> <br />Course highway construction is paid for now days by the Trust Fund (he he can that really be true? Can you say "government" and "trust fund" in the same sentence and keep a straight face?) <br /> <br />However, let us assume that the Trust Fund does indeed pay for all modern road construction. That trust fund comes from amongst other things gas taxes. <br /> <br />RRs do pay a fuel tax- towards deficit reduction, (agh!) and this could be diverted. But it would take decades to build it up. <br /> <br />I would suggest bonding the first construction, and then establishing a trust fund to pay for future construction in say 10 - 20 years. <br /> <br />As for operational expenses. Operational costs for the trains SHOULD come from tickets as you say. <br /> <br />Another thing to keep in mind tho is that the ticket costs should reflect actual service costs. A person riding LA- Chicago should not have to pay an additional $30 to offset the bleeding losses of a train from Lincoln Nebraska to Omaha. <br /> <br />So I think the highway model is best. Why? Because, largely, it works. After all, go ask JB Hunt, or Greyhound.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
Update Reply
Join our Community!
Our community is
FREE
to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Login »
Register »
Search the Community
Newsletter Sign-Up
By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our
privacy policy
More great sites from Kalmbach Media
Terms Of Use
|
Privacy Policy
|
Copyright Policy