Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
Don, I agree that if AMTK is going to upgrade to HSR then they should build their own R/W. My question is, who's going to pay for that? I think the users should pay for it. But it appears that everyone agrees that is not economically viable. So some say let the government pay for it. But the government is me, and you and everyone else whether they visit this website or not. Most folks, when they hear the cost, would not want to shoulder the burden. I am not so sure that AMTK would be better if it were only in the long haul business. Then there would be scheduling conflicts between AMTK and the local commuter systems. The old railroads ran commuter trains, along with long haul passenger and freight trains. They were able to coordinate schedules and provide service with much less technology than we have today. I also think that if you break the long haul and NEC commuter type service apart, then AMTK becomes pollitically unviable at the Federal level. As soon as the NEC people have to pay for their portion of AMTK without outside contributions, AMTK is dead at the Fed level. BTW, the same works in reverse too. If the Feds only supported the NEC and the long hauls had to go it alone, AMTK would be dead at the Fed level as well. But your idea has merit. I think it should be reorganized into Regional and National profit centers. Have the regional profit centers work out the commuter stuff with the states/regions and have the National profit center deal with Congress. But a significant majority of the costs are going to have to be paid by the users directly or AMTK is not going to survive. Their over-reliance on government will insure they never walk on their own. I still can't see AMTK having enough demand to provide regular scheduled long haul passenger service. They might be able to operate charter or excursion trains from time to time, but I just don't see the demand for the long haul ever being great enough to pay for the construction and maintanence of the R/W. - Ed
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