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Amtrak Benefits All Areas

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We are not "spraying billions" at long-distance trains. Amtrak says eliminating such trains would save at most $300 million a year, and only several years after service ends. Elimination also would leave 26 states without passenger trains. We would have four isolated mini-networks serving 21 states -- probably not enough to generate support in Congress for funding anything. Moreover, long-distance trains are heavily used; last year they averaged about 364 passengers per run, and subsidy per passenger-mile is almost identical for long-distance trains and for short-distance trains outside the Northeast Corridor.

The biggest expense Amtrak faces is restoring the Northeast Corridor to good condition. In the past three years Amtrak has ramped up that effort to a level unprecedented in recent decades. Bashing previous Amtrak managements for not making such progress, bashing long-distance trains and advocating impractical forms of competition is not helpful.

ROSS B. CAPON

Executive Director

National Association of Railroad Passengers

Washington

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