Unprofitable rail transportation seeks more money from taxpayers

NY Times:

Senate Democrats Press G.O.P. to Fully Fund Amtrak

Senate Democrats have asked their Republican colleagues to fully fund Amtrak in the wake of last week’s deadly accident in Philadelphia and after a House panel cut the railroad’s appropriation.

Democrats want the rest of the country to subsidize nineteenth century technology mainly for the benefit of blue states in the northeast.  Even with a government monopoly, and subsidies this form of transportation struggles to survive.  Buses are probably a more economical alternative.  Using a train wreck as a sales pitch is laughable.  Before making this pitch they should at least figure out why the train sped up to over twice the speed limit going into a curve.  Since that was the obvious cause of the accident, infrastructure spending is not going to solve that problem.