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A comment on End of an American tradition: Amtrak kills the traditional dining car. Parent comment

Re:End of an American tradition: Amtrak kills the traditiona... by drtillberg on Sunday September 22, 2019 @05:30AM (#21040465)
No, they're Quixotically trying to balance Amtrak's finances, which always has been bad. If Amtrak was an airline it would have declared bankruptcy over and over and over again through its history.

This sounds like cyclical political pressure brought about when anti-train politicians are elected. It's virtue signaling. As for the underlying problem: imagine if interstate highways and airports were subjected to local property taxes the way rail infrastructure is.... conversely, imagine if the government built out high-speed rail infrastructure as aggressively as it did high-speed auto and air infrastructure....

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Re:End of an American tradition: Amtrak kills the traditiona... by mentalpiracy on Sunday September 22, 2019 @08:44AM (#21041107)
Honestly attempting to balance Amtrak’s finances at this time is the wrong choice - there are some serious operational realities that need to be changed before it can run with balanced finances while providing worthwhile service.
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