[!CrackMonkey!] Dying Salon writes about trains

[Nick Moffitt]

http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/11/21/amtrak/
> Amtrak supporters argue that criticism of transportation subsidies
> is fine -- it just needs to be spread around.
> 
> "There's nothing wrong with this argument if you apply it evenly,
> but if we apply that principle only to rail and not to aviation and
> highways, you have a tremendous skewing of investment," says Scott
> Leonard, assistant director of the National Association of Railroad
> Passengers (NARP). Leonard and others point to a longstanding
> "investment gap": in fiscal year 2001 federal highway investment
> totaled $33.5 billion, while aviation spending was $12.6 billion.
> Intercity rail got only half a billion. Amtrak also lacks a
> predictable mechanism for capital investment, such as the taxes on
> gasoline and airline tickets that provide a ready source of funds
> for road and airport infrastructure. The railroad goes begging every
> year.

The article's a little on the stale side, but covers the good bits.

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