September 25, 2001

 

Trains Need Help, Too

 

Stranded travelers made a fortuitous discovery when the airlines shut down after the terrorist attacks: The country still has an intercity rail system. Amtrak scrambled to provide additional service to accommodate the surge in demand. In the Washington-New York corridor, Amtrak's stylish new high-speed Acela Express trains are especially busy because of the continued shutdown of Washington's Reagan National Airport.

 

Congress has acted admirably to help the troubled airlines. But it should also make a commitment to improve passenger rail. Amtrak, which receives about 1 percent of all federal transportation spending, needs an immediate infusion of cash to beef up security throughout its system and to accelerate much-needed capital improvements along the Northeast corridor, where its fast trains are hampered by antique infrastructure.

 

Congress must also adopt a more sensible long- term strategy. For three decades it has grudgingly subsidized Amtrak, spending enough money to keep it alive but never enough to build an attractive service. Also, Amtrak is required to serve many communities where it does not make a profit, even while facing a Congressional mandate that it become self-sufficient by the end of 2002.

 

Despite these obstacles, Amtrak had been posting record ridership levels before the attacks, in part because travelers were frustrated by airport congestion. Congressional support for high-speed train service in designated corridors across the country had also been growing. Congress should now focus on investing in economically viable high- speed service in heavily traveled markets, and create a dedicated rail trust fund for Amtrak like the funds that pay for highway and aviation infrastructure projects.

 

The need for high-speed trains serving shorter routes extends beyond the Northeast to the Midwest, Texas and California. The Pacific Northwest from Portland to Vancouver is already benefiting from improved service. And Florida's voters last year gave a green light to developing new high- speed links between the state's largest cities.

 

Air travel is still projected to grow in the long run, intensifying gridlock. The current slowdown should not blind Congress to the need to upgrade the passenger rail system.