Save Our Trains Michigan
Conductor
Amtrak is vital to homeland security
The fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon will be here soon. We will look back at what happened that day and we will ponder what we have done to prevent another attack. There is one more thing we need to do, and that is to be ready should terrorists strike American soil again.
For a few days after 9/11, military aircraft were the only things in American skies. Travelers were stranded. Many had to rent cars, take the bus or find a seat on a train. Car rental and inter-city bus service are the responsibility of private industry. Amtrak provides passenger rail service, but it is not yet self-supporting. It might never be. Amtrak is an easy target when Congressmen perform their occasional attempts at cutting the federal budget. As 9/11 showed, Amtrak is an important part of this country's response to emergencies.
Keeping it running is essential. That is far truer now than it was five years ago.
Story
The fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon will be here soon. We will look back at what happened that day and we will ponder what we have done to prevent another attack. There is one more thing we need to do, and that is to be ready should terrorists strike American soil again.
For a few days after 9/11, military aircraft were the only things in American skies. Travelers were stranded. Many had to rent cars, take the bus or find a seat on a train. Car rental and inter-city bus service are the responsibility of private industry. Amtrak provides passenger rail service, but it is not yet self-supporting. It might never be. Amtrak is an easy target when Congressmen perform their occasional attempts at cutting the federal budget. As 9/11 showed, Amtrak is an important part of this country's response to emergencies.
Keeping it running is essential. That is far truer now than it was five years ago.
Story
