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I would like to be able to support rail travel, but the schedule to places I want to go is not alway convenient for me. Amtrak was set up to fail and will continue to do so until the govt and the people deside to spend more money to built it up a viable travel alternative. Until then Amtrak will continue on life support. The problem with rail is that it doesn't interface well with the other transportation systems ( car, bus, air). Rail was around before all these forms of transportation were developed and was made to only interface with other rail carriers and station stops. The way we travel has changed since the rail system was developed. The highway and airport systems were developed at the same time and were designed to work with each other and for the way we travel now. The difference between Rail in the USA vs rail in Europe is that Europe's rail system was designed to work with auto and air travel as a whole system to provide more efficient travel between locations. There are some USA commuters and reginal rail sevice that are getting it right. Those that interface with airports, public transportation, and private auto seem to make it work. These agencies are usually funded heavily by states and local communities. But in turn are also used by those same local people. There needs to be a clear distinction for funding and management of commuter, regional, and long distance rail systems. Commuter rail seems to be working in some places provided the locals put in money to update the rail and stations. Regional does compete with air and car in the NEC and could do a better job if the money were invested by local states that use the corridor invested money to update the system. The focus does not need to be if we should keep or lose Amtrak. The focus should be on how to improve our overall transportation system. That includes air, auto, and rail. In some case investing in rail will make sense. In others it will not.
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