Passanger Trains vs Government Money

[Anonymous]

There are a few passanger routes that might and I say might make a small profit if given the chance. It is very hard though. Any public service has a hard time makine an operating profit. There has to be a mandate of no waste and efficiencies must be adheard to. This is where we separate directions. Very few government agencies make a profit. Very few know how. The whole mind set of the management must be changed in a profit is to be had. All governments work under the mind set that every dime in the budget must be spent or they will not get the same amount next year. This is the worst kind of mind set for longevity. At least is a operating profit is made due to efficient operations, it should be allowed to be be inevested in an endowment for lean times. That is how a debt service sinking fund works. The surplus is mandated. Agencies must be mandated by law to run at an operation profit and to put excesses asside.
The passanger train has its limits. Only in the corrider will it compete with the plane. Other areas it will compete with bus and car. IT is limited to 1000 miles in a 24 hour period. That is people's tolerance, but too it must be able to pick people up when they want to ride not the other way around. MOre to write later.

[Anonymous]

If we had high speed trains, averaging 150 mph with a few stops, not quite at Europe's standards of 186 mph, we could travel 1800 miles in 12 hours....which is the distance from Dallas thru Chicago to New York City.....Or one can travel the distance from Chicago to Miami in 9 hours....Or one can travel from Chicago to Dallas in 6 hours.....

The key is high speed rail. The technology exists. It is cheaper than building new four lane interstates..... And after a 10,000 mile network is built, there would be no need to fund aiports with federal funds at $12 billion per year.

[jsanchez]

Japan has privately owned high speed rail that is very profitble, we should ask them to come over here and say build a high speed line between San Diego to LA or Chicago to Minneapolis. We need some type of demonstration to show how its done. Our States and government are running huge deficits, in large part to poor pork barrel transportation spending decisions. The government keeps bailing out the airlines and building more roads that it can't afford to properly maintain, its like they are digging us into a bigger and bigger hole.

[Anonymous]

Your are right, considering that all of the federal highway funds are being spent on new or rebuilt highways and freeways. The simple repaving jobs are being done with state funds.

The airlines are having problems running in the black. As we watch how the airlines prune down in number this is a good time to put a moratorium on airport spending. Why spend more for airports, terminals and runways, when we are watching the airlines getting smaller, not larger?

Use these funds over a period of ten years to build a proper high speed rail network. We could connect San Diego to Los Angeles and Chicago to Minneapolis, some 1,000 miles of a total of 10,000 miles of new passenger only railroad tracks.

After we have built 10,000 miles of new high speed railroad tracks, we could end the moratorium on airport spending. One thing is for certain, after the new lines are built, the feds might find it hard to spend $12 billion annually for airports....More than likely high speed rail will win the passenger wars, at least in the short distances (less than 300 miles), and give the airlines a contest for the medium distance routes (less than 600 miles).

[Modelcar]

....The last two posts have made good points for our people to think about. If anyone can do it, it can be done by the Japanese. I'm all for a line set up for actual passenger use and at the same time it being a factual test corridor. Come on Rail Passenger people, Government Transportation people and investors and Rail vehicle builder people....Take a look with the Japanese leading the way in the program. I'm sure other people that I left out need to be involved too.

QM

[Anonymous]

The Japanese system was built by the nationalized JR, BEFORE the sections that could make $ were spun off to the private sector. NO private money has built a profitable passenger railway- anywhere.

[Modelcar]

...No probably not profitable but wouldn't it be nice to have a land transportation system in this country in the proper locations that we could be proud of and really do the job and be useful.

Of course I realize with the direction the Adminstration is taking us now....Money and Government....that will never happen.

QM

[andrewjonathon]

Given that you are talking about the USA this discussion belongs in the fantasyland catagory. Regardless of who is in power improvements in passenger rail service will be incremental at best because both the car and airline lobby groups are very powerful and wouldn't allow it. Also, since Americans do the majority of their travel by car and plane the grass roots support for these lobby groups is also very strong.