Monday, June 23, 2008

Amtrak Ridership Continues to Skyrocket

I'm sure you've all heard about this over the past 6 months, but what's important is that the news media is showing that Amtrak is important to sustainable development and transportation. Politics over the past 40 years have bled passenger rail service till this day. House Resolution 6003 shows that perhaps politics is moving aside so that we can finally have a decent rail service in this country. You can get some more details about Amtrak's ridership growth and future plans in this CBS News Video.



As what the pundit from the National Association for Railroad Passengers stated, we are spending only $1.5 billion instead of $8 billion a year on passenger railway service. Every year that goes by we have to make up for the lack of funding. At what point do we reach when what we have is so far behind we can't even afford to continue to fund it? Are we just waiting for personal teleportation technology? Is that why our transportation infrastructure is the worst for a modern country? As gas prices and global warming continue to rise, perhaps people will start to demand more from their elected officials. At this rate, we'll probably get an answer in 50 years.

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