smitty195 Wrote:
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> As Charlie Brown would say, "Good grief!".
>
> Everything is status-quo with Amtrak. It doesn't
> matter who is in the White House. What matters is
> who is in Congress. With rare exceptions, there
> aren't any Congressmen (the term also applies to
> women) who want Amtrak defunded and sliced on
> their watch. Ain't gonna happen. Every year they
> will struggle, and every year there will be
> threats for them to end, and every year they will
> get a last-minute appropriation. SOS/DD

"Status quo" is not an option in a few years. The Genesis locomotives and much of the passenger fleet are nearing the end of their useful lives. New rolling stock will be needed.

The Northeast Corridor requires major infrastructure investments. Additionally, Amtrak is being forced off lightly used freight lines (Raton Pass line may be next) because it does not have the money to assume responsibility for them.

Bottom line - increased investment is needed for Amtrak to survive