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[quote user="Mr. Toy"] [quote user="philbert5118"]I think passenger service would be a lot better if the Government was out of it.[/quote]That's easy enough to say, but I am uncomfortable with blanket statements such as this. After all, the government is heavily involved in all forms of transportation. However, the government plays a different role in rail than in the others due to the different management structures of the different systems. Specifically, airports, shipping ports and highways are usually publicly owned and financed, while railroad tracks in most of the country are privately owned and financed. In essence, railroads are competing against the government on infrastructure development. This in turn has left the railroads with insufficient capital for passenger development, hence the government's direct (though paltry) involvement in rail passenger service.  I'm not wedded to Amtrak. I don't really care who is running the trains as long as they are running. However, I have yet to see an alternative plan put forth in sufficient detail to convince me it will work any better than, or even as well as, what we have now. Nevertheless, I am open to any suggestions, so please share your ideas with us.   [/quote]I have to agree with this person.  I am not wedded to Amtrak either.  I like to see them out running, but as far as who the president and who offically runs Amtrak.  Who really cares as long as Amtrak gets the job done safely.  Now as far as like the CSX deal goes.  If Amtrak is going to run on CSX mainline even though CSX and other frieght railroads are getting tax cuts that does not pay for the mainline maintence.  Amtrak should pay a portion for the amount of use.  If say they run 1 train a day on that particualar track and CSX runs 10 freight trains a day.  Then Amtrak pays a percentage.  Like say 10 % while 90% is paid by CSX.  If Amtrak runs 20 trains a day and the freight roads only run 1 or 2 then Amtrak pays the higher percentage.  If the government comes in and says you will run Amtrak on time with no Freight Delays, then the railroads will come back and say ok, let me put it to you this way, get Amtrak off of my line. Railroads can not make money if trains are moving.  Granted there is a happy mediam for everything.  You can make Amtrak and freight roads happy.  You just got to find away.  If Amtrak had of gotten some of the money that they were supost to get around 9-11 then Amtrak would probably be doing just fine.  But, when the airlines came flocking to the goverment for money Amtrak was pushed to the curb.  Even airlines that were not involved with 9-11 got money that was rightfly Amtraks.
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