A commentary I shared with the NARP as we are preparing to drive an excruciatingly long route through the desert; a route once served by long-distance train service (Los Angeles to Salt Lake) - I am a rail supporter who must travel across the continent for work on a semi-frequent basis. What baffles me is why the government continues to both directly and indirectly subsidize private airlines to the point that round trip fares aboard heritage carriers are often cheaper than traveling in coach aboard Amtrak. The government should be supporting further rail development and more extensively subsidizing the private railroads who provide and maintain the rights of way in the same manner it provides entire airports and air traffic control to the airlines who in turn make passengers pay the usage fees above the quoted ticket price. I vote for candidates who agree with me, but Im getting tired of not seeing any forward progress. I just quoted a round trip ticket back east [LAX-ATL] for a date over two months away at $512 coach/$1,800 roomette with an overnight stay in New Orleans at my expense and 6 total days en route (sans income for 4 of those days). Air fare was $256 coach/$1010 business for a non-stop, round trip itinerary on the same dates with less than 2 total days en route. The rail fare system has also recently entered the mysterious and foggy universe of demand-based pricing, further alienating it from potential new users. Amtrak also operates our regional commuter service and it costs $26 to cross the metro area. Add an employee to the mix and it now costs twice as much as paying him as we sit in traffic. I can take the train to the beach for a meager $50-60 round trip per person ($100-120 for two, of course) whereas it costs me about $15 in fuel and $5 in tolls to drive. Dont forget that weekend commuter rail service is very limited, meaning we have possibly one train option each way which might only give us 4 hours to enjoy the beach - miss the one train and were looking for a hotel. In short, I am a supporter but I am beginning to fly and drive long distances again simply because I cant afford the long-distance train anymore. As we constantly talk about preserving long-distance rail travel and developing more comprehensive local and national service, when will we begin the conversation about making rail travel as financially accessible as it once was?
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 14:53:00 +0000
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