THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 21, 1994 TAG: 9412200026
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
Amtrak appears to be heading for the last roundhouse. A recently announced 20 percent cut in route miles is supposed to save the undercapitalized, government-subsidized rail system, but it won't.
It's the latest chapter in a decades long decline. And it is time to call a halt to the death of a thousand cuts to which the system has been subjected.
European countries have rail systems that are models of efficiency, popular with consumers, generally profitable, well-run and handy. But Amtrak has never been given the financial support needed to become a viable passenger alternative. Living on crumbs, it has predictably under performed. With the new belt-tightening mood in Washington, the crumbs will get fewer and farther between.
Logically, there ought to be a place for short-hop rail trips from central city to central city - particularly for business travelers. Air travel is increasingly cramped, annoying, and unpredictable, but Amtrak hasn't been able to offer a high-speed up-to-date alternative.
Perhaps private industry could, but the present system simply isn't competitive with plane and auto. Nor will it get the chance to be since the government isn't willing to invest sufficient resources to reverse the trend in an enterprise viewed as a losing proposition.
That being the case, rather than look for ways to keep an unworkable and diminished Amtrak hanging on, barely alive, it's time to look for ways to disconnect the life support and let it die with dignity. Or, if for-profit doctors can be found willing to try a miracle cure, let them take on the case. by CNB