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The Boston Globe and Amtrak Long Distance

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[quote user="henry6"] But Sam, Amtrak is not a private business and cannot operate as a private business as long as Congress keeps things the way they are.  If they would set it up as they did Conrail, allow it to make  decisions and investments in property, equipment and operations as a business things would be different and you might be able to compare it to a private airline or bus company.  But Congress keeps a strangle hold on Amtrak, its finances and it's decision making process, so that it cannot be judged as a company but as another piece of Legislation which is controlled by politics and not sound application of operations and business.  As for school lunches....what passenger service can do for an economy just might have bought a lot of lunches for school kids and the whole town, too.  Why keep removing passenger trains from the mainstream economy when it can be, and often is, a major part of it.  Discussions about Amtrak are mere extensions of discussions about politics and are more often based on political pursuasion rather than real business or even real railroading.. [/quote] Much in all as I love to ride trains (i.e. just came back from a round trip on the Texas Eagle to Dallas), government should not run a commercial business.  Amtrak is a commercial business, i.e. a quasi governmental organization similar to the U.S. Postal Service.  It is a failed business, to be sure, but it is a commercial business. It competes with other commercial businesses, i.e. airlines, bus companies, etc.  Amtrak is saddled with excessive Congressional oversight.  It is to be expected.  Congressional authorization pays more than a third of Amtrak's costs.  To believe that it will authorize the money for Amtrak and then take a hands off stance is not realistic.   The federal government is not in the airline business.  It is not in the bus business or trucking business or barge business.  It should not be in the railroad business.  If the market for intercity passenger rail will not support it, it should be allowed to die.  It should have been allowed to dies in 1971.  You and I will never see eye to eye on what is and is not in the public interest or what is the proper role of government in commerce. Obviously, many of the people who participate in these forums disagree with me.  Some have wondered why I participate.  In fact, a few have crudely suggested that I butt out.  Well, here is the reason.   Drop the long distance trains and rationalize Amtrak.  It probably could break even in a few high density, relatively short corridors.  Moreover, as the population of the nation continues to grow, there will be more opportunities for passenger rail.  I would like to see different competitors put it together on the bases of competitive bidding.  And run it like a business. If this is not sufficient controversy for you, here is some more. I would privatize Amtrak in a heartbeat. Then I would privatize air traffic control, the U.S. Postal Service, etc.  And a few others.  I would sell the airports to the highest bidder.  And I would bid out the operation of commuter rail and local transit systems, with the understanding the government would subsidize them.  All with the appropriate regulatory oversight. Sound unreasonable?  The Australians have done it, with the exception of Australia Post.  As a result, they have one of the most dynamic economies in the world.  Privatization is not the only reason.  But it sure helped.  And they are not the only ones. But a discussion of the dynamics of privatization is beyond the scope of these forums.
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