Mineta plugs proposal to end Amtrak fundingRail agency would compete for routes
Amtrak would compete with other railroads to run long-distance passenger trains under a controversial proposal, advanced by the nation's top transportation official Monday in Chicago, to reform the "fundamentally irrational" Amtrak system.
The proposal is part of the Bush administration's overall goal to get the federal government out of the business of subsidizing passenger operations, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said.
If Amtrak were to lose its monopoly on routes, competing railroads would eliminate little-used routes and concentrate on long-distance rail service that would attract more riders, the administration believes.
"On some Amtrak routes, the company could actually save money by not running the train and buying the riders an airplane ticket instead," Mineta said at Chicago's Union Station, where about 200 Amtrak employees carried signs protesting the administration's plan.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0502150244feb15,1,5726627.story?coll=chi-news-hedUhm, competition didn't work Pre-1971 you dumb-phucks, what makes you think it will work now? THe existing 3 or 4 Class I Railroads that control the nations rails look at Amtrak as a nuisance and are not going to run their own equipment.
McCain has been trying to KILL Amtrak for decades. Now we know why he sucks at the bush** teat.
RL