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[quote user="Phoebe Vet"] I merely expressed curiosity about why you post here since every post that I have seen expresses the sentiment that rail is dead and we should move on.  Basically, I don't understand why someone who feels that way follows the thread.[/quote]I did not realize that agreement with the orthodox view on passenger trains, if there is one, was a requirement to participate in these forums.    I have repeatedly stated in numerous posts that rail is an appropriate option for relatively short, high density corridors.  Boston to New York to Washington, LA to San Diego, Chicago to Milwaukee, etc. are good examples where rail is a viable alternative to relieve highway and air traffic congestion.  There are other possibilities.  I only favor rail if it can cover its variable costs in the short run and all costs in the long run.  Otherwise, it is a welfare program.  By the same token, all forms of transportation should be self supporting.  See my post on transport subsidies.For the fiscal year ended 2007, only five corridor routes were able to cover their variable operating costs (NEC, Illini, Illinois Zephyr, Washington to Newport News, and Pere Marquette). As a group, however, after application of the fixed costs, they lost approximately $495 million.  A big chunk of this loss was the depreciation and interest associated with the NEC.  Nevertheless, the net loss for the other state and corridor trains was $127.6 million.  Those who propose an expansion of passenger trains without showing a clear need for them, or how they would pay for them, other than with government handouts, don't strike me as builders.  They strike me as consumers of government (taxpayer) monies.  Many of the posts seem to see only one side of the accounting equation (revenues) and miss the other side (costs).  NARP, amongst others, talks about increases in revenues and riders, but it never talks about the millions of dollars that are lost each year because the revenues don't cover the costs I was associated with a capital intensive industry for decades.  We never started a project unless we had good numbers to show that there was a market for the output and had a workable program to finance it.  None of our projects were financed with government money.  I take three or four Amtrak trips a year.  This year, to date, I have taken the Sunset Limited from El Paso to Austin, the Pacific Surfliner (2) from LA to San Diego, the San Joaquin from Bakersfield to San Francisco, and the Capital Corridor from San Francisco to Sacramento.  I have commented favorably on my trips in several postings.
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