Mineta (New York Times op-ed, Feb. 23): "The problem is not that Americans don't use trains, it is that Amtrak has failed to keep up with times, stubbornly sticking to routes and services, even as they...attract few users." Mineta (Charlotte, Feb. 22): "Amtrak today clings to routes that have long since faded from use..." Mineta (prepared remarks, Chicago, IL, press conference, Feb. 14): "Amtrak...is...running trains that nobody rides between cities that nobody wants to travel between."
Fact: In fiscal 04, the average number of travelers on a national network (NN; long-distance) trains at any one time (measured in passenger-miles-per-train-mile) was 149.3. That is 12% higher than on short-distance trains, where the comparable figure was 133.9. NN trains accounted for 48% of all Amtrak passenger-miles but only 42% of all Amtrak train-miles.
.... We believe any service crossing multiple state lines, including the NN trains as well as intercity trains on the Northeast Corridor, require federal leadership and support if they are to survive and prosper and thus are placed at risk by the President's budget. Even where states do provide operating support, they are funding direct operating costs only, not various overhead costs that would be thrust upon them if Amtrak actually did go bankrupt.