Necessity or Luxury

[Midland Valley]

Senator Lautenberg, part of this new Senate proposal (3.3 billion over 6 years) has made the comment of making Amtrak a necessity not a luxury. I think part of this is an attempt to rid Amtrak of food, drink and sleepers. No lounges either just cars with seats; no where to go, nothing to eat, nothing to drink from Chicago to LA or Seattle to Minneapolis, or New Orleans to New York. Come on! He is our Advocate? He is a friend of Amtrak? This isn't a passenger train they are talking about, but a return to livestock trains. Sure many domestic airline trips offer nothing but a small bag of nuts and an 8 oz cup of pop or juice. But they are relatively short trips in comparison to a LD train trip.

The truth is, these "Friends of Amtrak" have probably not ridden many LD trains if any, and have no clue what luxury or necessity is on one.

 

[Trogdor]

No. He said ""National passenger rail service isn't a luxury - it's a necessity for giving Americans another transportation choice..."

 

[saxman]

Yet the luxury is a necessity. Can you imagine no airlines with any type of luxury. I don't think so. Those flyers still want those first class seats and fancy meals for those 10 hour flights.

 

[Trogdor]

I think you're both missing the point of his comment. He was not speaking about the services on board the train. He was saying that Amtrak is not something we, as a nation, can just eliminate. National passenger rail is an economic and social necessity, not a luxury that we can cut for budgetary reasons.

 

[Midland Valley]

Well, I,m hardly ever wrong, but I sure hope your right! But it seems to me there is something disasterous in the funding proposal. :blink:

 

[Guest_Amtrak_flyer]

Its going to be interesting. I think we have a big problem with the current 1.4 billion in the Senate.