Now would probably be a good time to contact your elected of

That only benefits the Acela corridor. The rest of us get it in the shorts, as per usual.

Also - "fund" transit and the money will likely go to overpaid and lazy-assed SEIU or AFSCME represented government employees and ex-employees anyway. Maybe you're one of those, and if so, fuck you.

>>1057073
I literally cannot find the thread of logic in this post, apart from the generic anti-union sentiment in the second part. What does the NEC in particular have to do with it? It's the only part of Amtrak's network that has a farebox recovery in excess of 100%, so changes in federal funding have much less impact than every other route.

>>1057075
Assuming we're discussing public-owned entities - transit and rail funding disproportionately benefits those that live in metropolitan areas, who tend to use public transportation. The Acela corridor is a perfect example. Amtrak and metro transit systems lose more money than they take in through fares. What do people in fly-over country get out of the deal? Does that USW or UAW employee in rural Michigan or Wisconsin benefit, and if not, why should they subsidize hipsters in Ann Arbor or Madison?

State and local politicians sometimes funnel money away from infrastructure to pay for pension funds, which are crumbling (ex. the CalPERS Ponzi scheme). Yet they keep demanding more federal funding for infrastructure to compensate for their irresponsibility (in catering to the demands of AFSCME & SEIU members).

At some point you have to ask - if the recipients of funding aren't good stewards of the money (which they haven't been), why does it make sense to continue the funding?

>>1057078
This isn't about Acela. The NEC makes money; it is not at risk (apart from privatization attempts).

What *is* at risk are Amtrak's long-distance routes and state partnership networks, which do serve suburban and rural communities.

>>1057015
The key to a much more attractive intercity rail system in the United States is to privatize both intercity rail, as well as intercity expressways.

People aren't going to be as tempted to drive, let's say from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, if the most direct and fastest route is around $15-20 in tolls.

Plus, tolling intercity roads seems to have worked wonders in places like Italy, France, and Spain, where intercity rail travel is indeed very popular (and attractive for private companies compared to the USA).

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780KB, 2400x1530px

>>1057086
>Privatize intercity rail
Britain says otherwise.