Why Amtrak Deserves To Die

John Tierney, a "train buff", rides on Amtrak's Sunset Limited.

1 minute read

June 17, 2002, 11:00 AM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


" For most Americans, trains are either unavailable or too inconvenient and expensive compared with planes or buses...What environmental or economic sense does it make to give 170 passengers on the Sunset Limited priority over a freight train that's keeping 500 trucks off the road? ...Some optimists believe that short-distance trains in...densely populated corridors...could cover their operating expenses and possibly generate a profit if they were run by a private company freed of political constraints...Not even optimists, though, expect Amtrak's long-distance network to become profitable. Long-distance trains have been losing passengers to planes throughout the world, including Europe."

Thanks to transport-policy@yahoogroups.com

Monday, June 17, 2002 in The New York Times

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