WASHINGTON – The Amtrak Reform Council’s report today has reasserted what has been recognized for a long time: the current policy model for passenger rail does not work, cannot work, and must be fixed.
It makes plain what is already known: the increasing need for passenger rail service requires a substantial capital investment, greater efficiency and, where it exists, ongoing operating support for the public service of long-distance service.
But the report sidesteps the underlying policy and funding issues that must be determined. First, a federal commitment to define, develop and invest in the passenger rail system must be made. Fundamentally, only then can the nation determine the system’s scope and nature, level of necessary funding, and source of funding. No council or commission can make these decisions – the ARC hasn’t – and until these issues are resolved, the nation’s passenger rail system will continue to be torn by conflicting policy mandates and inadequate capital, whether operated by Amtrak or anyone else.
Amtrak’s impending reauthorisation is the vehicle for Congress to determine the role, scope, funding level, and source of funding for our passenger rail network. It is time to provide the policy and funding that will give America the passenger rail system it needs and deserves.
It is also important to recognize that we have a policy problem, not an Amtrak performance problem. Under current management over the last five years, Amtrak’s total revenues have grown by 38% and nationwide rider ship has risen by 19%, while federal operating support has been cut by more than 80%.
The DOT Inspector General said it best in the Wall Street Journal on January 28:
"For what it has been charged to do, it is amazing that Amtrak has gotten this far." But the limits to this success are set by a flawed policy that must be fixed.
