Bush plan threatens Amtrak in Michigan

Passenger rail service in Michigan could become extinct if President Bush succeeds with a plan to eliminate a $1.2 billion federal subsidy for Amtrak. The rail service that would be cut includes three Wolverine Amtrak trains that now make daily round trips among Pontiac, Detroit and Chicago, making stops in Birmingham and Royal Oak. The same fate would hold true for the Pere Marquette train that makes a round trip daily between Grand Rapids and Chicago and the Blue Water train that makes a round trip daily among Port Huron, East Lansing and Chicago. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said the budget was designed to get Amtrak to make needed reforms. "After 34 years of Amtrak operating losses and $29 billion in taxpayer subsidies, it's clear that the current model of passenger rail service is flawed and unsustainable," Mineta said. "The president's budget this year is a call to action." In his budget, released this week, Bush proposed eliminating Amtrak's operating subsidy and setting aside $360 million to run trains along the Northeast Corridor if the railroad ceases operating. Amtrak is getting $1.2 billion this year in operating subsidies and capital investment. The White House predicts that, without subsidies, "Amtrak would quickly enter bankruptcy, which would likely lead to the elimination of inefficient operations and the reorganization of the railroad through bankruptcy procedures." David Gunn, who took over as Amtrak's president nearly three years ago, has cut costs but not enough to stem the railroad's annual loss of more than $500 million. Gunn called the Bush budget plan "irresponsible and a surprising disappointment." The proposed cut in Amtrak funding comes following a year when a record 25 million passengers rode Amtrak trains nationwide during the 2004 fiscal year, up 4.3 percent from the 24 million passengers who rode the train the year before. [more]

• Greg Fuller Responds: The Insanity. On  9- 11 our nation , due to air traffic restrictions , came to a screeching halt and remained so for days , costing us untold billions. So wouldn't  a thinking people  want to invest more into alternative means of moving our  people , as do our competitors do throughout the world ? I 'm reminded of a  definition of insanity  that seems apt  . It is where insanity is defined as " Continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different outcome  "