The Northeast is breathing a sigh of relief as the prospect of an Independence Day Amtrak shutdown has disappeared.
The Bush Administration and Amtrak officials have cut a deal to help the financially strapped rail system through September.
But a solution to Amtrak's financial woes could pit the Northeast against other parts of the country, and appears to have divided New Hampshire's delegation.
NHPR's Washington correspondent Don Rush has this report.
DESPITE A COMMITMENT ?FOR THE
NATIONWIDE RAIL SYSTEM TO BECOME SELF-
SUFFICIENT?AMTRAK is STILL AWASH IN
RED INK.
NEW HAMPSHIRE CONGRESSMAN JOHN E
SUNUNU?A U-S SENATE CANDIDATE?SAYS
IT?S TIME TO CHANGE ALL THAT:
SOUND: ?Amtrak lost one-point-one billion dollars last year ? the most it has ever lost. And we need to make sure that we strengthen, reform modernize it so that it can be more effective, more efficient and focus on those areas such as the northeast corridor that has the highest passenger intensity and use.?
SINCE creating AMTRAK IN 1971?the federal
government has subsidized the national train system.
According to the General Accounting Office,
taxpayers have spent 39 billion dollars over the more
than 30 years of operations.
But NEW HAMPSHIRE CONGRESSMAN CHARLES
BASS BELIEVES THE PROBLEM REACHES BACK even
further.
He says back in the 1950?S? THE COUNTRY
FAILED TO REALIZE?RAIL SERVICE WOULD NEED
GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES.
SOUND: ?It was felt at the time unfortunately that the rail system was strong and robust and didn?t require the kind of long range planning that occurred with highways. The result has been that now for the last thirty years the passenger rail system in this country has been struggling. There is no passenger system in the world that I know of that is not subsidized in some form or fashion by either state or federal governments?
But Bass?s Republican COLLEAGUE,
?CONGRESSMAN SUNUNU HOPES REFORMS AT
AMTRAK WILL MINIMIZE future GOVERNMENT
SUBSIDY.
THE NORTHEAST, from Washington to Boston,
CARRIES 2/3RDS OF AMTRAK?S
RIDERSHIP?
AND that route is GROWING.
RIDERSHIP LAST MONTH WAS UP 23 PERCENT
WITH A REVENUE GROWTH OF 44 PERCENT OVER A
YEAR AGO.
Just last December, AMTRAK added lines up to
Portland, Maine which have also been exceeding
expectations.
CONGRESSMAN SUNUNU BLAMES PART OF
AMTRAK?S RED INK?ON OTHER UNPROFITABLE
LINES OUTSIDE THE NORTHEAST:
SOUND: ?Because of restrictions and Amtrak?s ability to set their own routes nationwide, restrictions on their ability to make investments and to hire and fire workers we?re short changing travelers in the northeast and other parts of the country where the potential is much greater than is being realized.?
LAST YEAR?AMTRAK OPERATED IN 45 STATES.
BUT?IN 34 OF THOSE?IT CARRIED LESS THAN
1-THOUSAND PASSENGERS.
AND SUNUNU POINTS OUT IN SOME of those
CASES?THE GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY ROSE TO 300
DOLLARS A PASSENGER.
BUT?WHILE CONGRESSMAN BASS WANTS TO
MAKE AMTRAK MORE EFFICIENT?HE SEES A NEED
FOR LINES THAT ARE NOT PROFITABLE:
SOUND: ?There are some lines that are profitable now but there?s also a lot of service that goes to remote places that can never be profitable. But it?s part of what we do as a country when we provide services to our people. We provide a service that sometimes isn?t profitable.?
AND THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT
THE POTENTIAL FOR PROFITABILIY IN THE NORTH
EAST CORRIDOR.
THE G-A-O FOUND?THAT AMTRAK?S ONLY
PROFITABLE ROUTE LAST YEAR WAS THE NEW
YORK TO WASHINGTON METRO-LINER ?
But that line is only profitable if THE COST OF
BUYING TRAINS AND iMPROVING
TRACKS is EXCLUDED.
FOR NHPR NEWS
THIS IS DON RUSH
IN WASHINGTON
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