EMAIL DETAILS

To Our Friends at Amtrak:

The top two letters in today's Washington Post are by NARP Council Member Michael Alexander of Pittsburgh and me. In the print edition, the headline over the two letters was, "A fast track to the future."

The negative editorial we were answering, "A rail reality check that President Obama should heed," is at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/16/AR2010111605823.html

Have a nice weekend!

--Ross Capon

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111906674.html

High-speed rail projects are worth keeping on track

Friday, November 19, 2010; 9:19 PM

The Nov. 17 editorial "Not all aboard<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/16/AR2010111605823.html>," attacking the cost of operating high-speed rail in the United States, ignored the fact that passengers can be asked to pay a premium price for premium service (for example, $315 to travel on Acela round-trip from Washington to New York City).

As for the claim that rail is unpopular, Americans are voting with their feet as they buy tickets for the trains we already have, with steady increases in passengers and ticket revenue posted in almost every year of this century.

When the editorial concluded that only the Northeast Corridor has the population density to justify passenger rail, it ignored the increasing population densities in the South and West.

The negative attitude toward investment in rail infrastructure rang false emanating from an urban area whose phenomenal growth over the past 50 years has been made possible by farsighted rail projects such as Metro, Metroliner and Acela.

Michael C. Alexander, Pittsburgh

The editorial on President Obama's intercity passenger rail initiative stated that "to the extent that the Nov. 2 election was a referendum on those plans, voters rejected them." Since the $10.6 billion committed to the program in the past two years represents 0.16 percent of federal spending over that period, that was quite an assertion.

President Obama's vision for high-speed rail is merely a recognition that our economy will continue. Indeed, 130 million additional Americans are expected by 2050. Gasoline prices are likely to rise substantially. Highway and airway capacities are limited. Thus, we must give more Americans the choice to travel by rail. To discredit this vision based on the results of a midterm election in a recession is to give up on a commitment to American growth.

Ross Capon, Washington

The writer is president and CEO of the National Association of Railroad Passengers.

Post a Comment


View all comments<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111906674_Comments.html> that have been posted about this article.