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Norm's idea might be a good thing,
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[quote]QUOTE: <i>Originally posted by jchnhtfd</i> <br /><br />Dave -- it isn't that the States might or might not have the money. They don't, in most cases, have any interest in spending it on mass transport unless a) they have to and b) there is a great big Federal matching grant, as is found in the highway programs. 50% might be enough of a match to fund some local service in areas where highways are really truly totally congested, and expansion is almost impossible (e.g. commuter service to New York or Chicago) but... anything beyond that? Forget it. <br /> <br />Further, may I second the point that has been made that the Federal Governent was set up, in part, to regulate and promote commerece between the several states; that is not an exact quote, but pretty close to it. It is choosing to not do its part in terms of rail transportation. <br /> <br />Both of these are political problems, and the solutions to them will be political. <br />[/quote] <br /> <br />Jamie, <br /> <br />I agree with you totally that the federal government's role regarding transportation is to promote and regulate interstate commerce. When you point out the lack of federal involvement in promoting rail transportation, you also know that there is a reason for that. It is because our primary rail system is a privately held owner operator network, controlled now by an oligarchy of 7 or so companies. The North American rail network is one of the few remaining examples of the owner-operator transportation network, and historical logic would dictate that such a characteristic is an anachronism. Every sense of logic would suggest that an open access system works best for the citizens interests; it works for waterways, airports, highways, even pipelines and transmission is heading in that direction. <br /> <br />Because of this economically perverse ownership fiefdom, there is only so much the federal government can do relative to what can be done for other transportation modes. Let's face some facts here: Highways are open access, and they host private passenger service providers. Airports and air corridors are open access, and they host private passenger service providers. Rivers and waterways are open access, and they host private passenger service providers. If you follow the logic, then it would be feasible to suggest that an open access rail system would also be able to host private passenger service providers. <br /> <br />It is kind of ironic that the only example of a publicly funded federal passenger service has or had its home on the only examples of privately held ROW's, while the public held ROW's host the private passenger service providers!
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