Help bring Amtrak back to Tallahassee

The nonprofit Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers urges residents of the Tallahassee area to contact Amtrak's new president, Alexander Kummant, and their elected officials in Washington to request immediate ...

[PDJ66]

The article does not mention if this line was self-supporting before Katrina. The government does not need to subsidize this line - if it cannot support itself then it should not be restored.

[CRESNECK]

PDJ66 wrote:

The article does not mention if this line was self-supporting before Katrina. The government does not need to subsidize this line - if it cannot support itself then it should not be restored.

I was under the impression that amtrack was a form of public transportation funded by consumers. Like Grayhound or American Airlines. Is this not correct?

[PDJ66]

CRESNECK wrote:

<quoted text>I was under the impression that amtrack was a form of public transportation funded by consumers. Like Grayhound or American Airlines. Is this not correct?

That is not correct. Greyhound and American Airlines are part of the private sector. Amtrack is owned by the government. Huge difference.

[Fred Smith]

Greyhound runs on roads owned by the federal government. Have you ever heard of a Greyhound road crew?

American Airlines operates on airways operated by the Federal Aviation Administration and lands at public airports.

Why single out Amtrak?

[PDJ66]

Fred Smith wrote:

Greyhound runs on roads owned by the federal government. Have you ever heard of a Greyhound road crew?
American Airlines operates on airways operated by the Federal Aviation Administration and lands at public airports.
Why single out Amtrak?

Amtrack is OWNED by the government, Greyhound and American Airlines are not. Greyhound and American Airlines pay taxes and user fees to use public roads and airports, just as you and I do. Their employees are not government employees, as Amtrack employees are. When Greyhound and American Airlines lose money, it comes from their stockholders. Profits go to their stockholders. When Amtrack loses money, it is the taxpayer who takes it in the shorts. Which is why this line should not be reinstated unless it is self-supporting.

[Fred Smith]

Amtrak is indeed owned by the government, but the rails it runs on are, with the exception of the Northeast Corridor, owned privately.

CSX Transportation owns the rails the Sunset Limited ran on in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. CSX is a private, for profit corporation and pay dividends to their shareholders.

Similar setups exist throughout the entire Amtrak system, from coast to coast. Amtrak PAYS the freight railroads to operates its trains over their lines.

Isn't that a public-private partnership?

Incidentally, in addition to enjoying the subsidies provided by government-owned airports and the government- operated FAA, American and other airlines have received massive direct subsidies from the government in the years since 9/11.

Since it is a publc corporation (and not a government agency, as was implied here), Amtrak also pays taxes for items like fuel. Further, the payments it makes to railroads like CSX help pay those private companies' tax burden.

Amtrak provides a safe, fuel-efficient form of transportation which contributes to the private sector economy just as much as Greyhound and American Airlines do.

[daniel]

I am in support of the line from Tallahassee to New Orleans to be reinstated. some of us prefer rail travel.

[charlie]

If you dont know how to spell the name of the company how could you possibly understand. GOOGLE it. Look if you hate AMTRAK that bad, you should work there. Then you would know all about it.

[Pensacola comment]

I live in Pensacola - and have been waiting years now for train service to be restored to our beautiful area - and frustrated that it continues to be non existent. I have written to amtrack repeatedly, and have yet to hear any type of response.

[Riley]

I think its a disgrace that service have not been restored on this line yet. It does everyone living in the South a disservice. There is no tangible reason for not providing this service again. It was one thing to halt the service after the storm for clean up, but to hear people give lame excuses as to why it hasn't been retored is unacceptable.

[bob]

maybe if they restore it and come thru crestview at a decent hour not 4am more people would use it

[chris]

PDJ66 wrote:

The article does not mention if this line was self-supporting before Katrina. The government does not need to subsidize this line - if it cannot support itself then it should not be restored.

good thinking...same should go for roads, particularly the kind that service very specific people in small towns. hey, come to think of it, does the military support itself? what about schools? i think the boys in TN are onto something.

[David]

Considering that rail travel contributes substantially less greenhouse gasses than auto and especially air travel, there is indeed a good reason for the government to subsidize it. I also wonder whether the current and probably permanent much higher gas prices might the Jax-NO run much closer to self-supporting than before.

I would, in any case, be a customer if Amtrak resumed service. It is a disgrace that the train isn't running, considering our current circumstance.