"Amtrak's high fixed costs are simply not spread over enough services and passengers to break even."
and later follows up with...
"Amtrak can be saved only by visionary expansion, not by further cuts in budgets and services."
But I must add, especially after events in Madrid, that the comments that followed the above seem a little naive.
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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy
Me and my family would go across the country on a train if we didn't have to be in Coach, which is not always comfortable. But, being in a sleeper is soo much more! Yes, you get the meals, and don't take me wrong I love trains! But for the sleeper price on Amtrak you could stay at a hotel+airfare for nearly the same price. I dont know about upgrading to a sleeper from coach.
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--Anton
pillsbury09@excite.com
AIM: pillsburyMN
Suffice to say, 3/11 has shattered that perception. Needless to say, even though the media has been providing a railfan slide show, the message of railroad passenger safety is negative.
However, Nicholas D. Kristof's column in Today's New York Times does a lot to put the loss of life in a reasonable perspective. It is worthy of your attention.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/13/opinion/13KRIS.html?hp