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I am a Canadian so there may be a lot that I am missing about American politics but you are quite right that the vision has to match the budget realities. The fight has to be with the makers of the budget not the implementers of the budget.From what I saw of Mr. Bush's plan is a lack of co-operation and probably rightly so from the states. I can just see how 1 state in the middle of a route can destroy service for all the other states on the same route. This is planning at its best! The real inadequacies that have to addressed is the unreliable funding levels for rail transit in both the US and Canada. While there is a place for the long distance passenger train maybe by focusing on short distance service with multiple frequencies the overall service would be improved. By short distance I mean nothing longer than 14 hours by rail. Obviously if the speed were improved the distances could be greater. Having shorter trips also increases the ridership because more of the travelling public is served a more convenient times. Shorter trips also increases schedule reliability and severely limits the excuses the railroads can come up with for delays which in turn boosts ridership.On the downside shorter trips does not necessarily improve equipment utilization as transcontinental equipment is moving on a 24/7 basis where as on short routes the equipment would sit idle overnight.This is offset by reduced capital costs as coaches are less expensive than sleepers. Does it feel like we are going in a circle? With respect to the UK experience,we already have it in North America; the freight railroads are the infrastructure companies and Amtrak and Via are the Train Operating Companies with the exception of the NE Corridor and therein lies the problem with the whole system. <br />ian
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