United Rail Passenger Alliance

• “No passenger rail system in the world operates without some type of subsidy, and it’s impossible for Amtrak to exist subsidy-free.” Read more…

Where does… where should… Amtrak figure into the development of high speed rail? The automatic answer is it should figure prominently. The realistic answer is, Amtrak, after being the monopoly passenger rail carrier in the United States since 1971, for nearly 40 years, still has not proven it is worthy of the tax dollars which are poured into it year after year.

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1. There is ample evidence the dog continues to eat Amtrak’s homework. Russ Jackson of California, master communicator and pretty good photographer, and one of URPA’s earliest denizens, made a personal survey of Sunset Limited “passenger stations” in the Southwest. Mr. Jackson also shares his skills with the California RailPAC group and is the retired editor of the esteemed Western Rail Passenger Review. The commentary below is in part featured on http://www.railpac.org with accompanying color photographs of the “station” sites.As you read Mr. Jackson’s account of his survey, keep in mind one of the main reasons Amtrak cites for not restoring the long missing Sunset Limited east of New Orleans is a lack of station facilities because of damage from Hurricane Katrina, now almost two full years ago, late in the summer of 2005. Here is Mr. Jackson’s account. Read more…