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I posted excerpts from Mr. O'Toole's column because they represent a contrarian point of view, and I believe that they are worthy of a rational discussion. I have never been to France or Spain.  If you want Mr. O'Toole to support any of the assertions that he made in his column, you are free to contact him.  I understand that he has responded to e-mails and letters from interested parties. I have ridden the Acela on several occasions.  Most of the people that I met on the trains were business people traveling on expense account.  Moreover, I have looked closely at the fares for the Acela and have compared them to the regional fares, as well as those for competing buses and airlines.  The differences are particularly dramatic between Philadelphia and New York, for example.  They are less so between Washington and New York.  The fare structure, coupled with my experience, plus the accommodations on the Acela (first and business class only), tell me that the Acela service is intended primarily for persons traveling on an expense account or higher income patrons.  To further buttress this argument, most of the discounts that are available on other Amtrak trains are not available on the Acela.  The fact that rail travel experienced an upsurge in personal and business train travel following the introduction of TGV service tells us nothing about the incomes or class of the riders.  In fact, it does not tell us whether they rode the TGV or a non-TGV service.  Who are these personal users?  Who are the business users?  What criteria were used to define the categories?  Did the personal rail users ride on the TGV or a non-TGV service?  Did the business travelers use the TGV or a non-TGV service? It is interesting to note that business travel increased 180 per cent whilst personal travel increased 90 per cent.  It is possible that the business travelers went on the TGV, whilst personal travelers went on non-TGV services.  What was the base?  What per cent of intercity travel in France was by train prior to the introduction of the TGV service.  What was the per cent after introduction of the TGV?  What is the per cent today? Just to keep the record straight, I favor moderate speed passenger trains in high density corridors where the cost of expanding the highways and airways is prohibitive.  I supported the implementation of commuter rail between Fort Worth and Dallas, although the subsidy required to operate it is very high.  I also support the Austin commuter rail service and will be a regular rider when they get it going.  I support the development of train service from Austin to San Antonio if it can be done for a reasonable cost.   I have not bought into the argument for TGV style high speed rail.  It is a very costly alternative that will be used by a small percentage of the population.
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