[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I do not oppose trains; I just wish
> there were more of them and in reasonably convenient locations and
> routes. We have had absolutely _no_ passenger train service here in
> Independence since the middle 1970's. The nearest passenger trains are
> in Topeka (slightly) and in Kansas City. To get to New York I would
> have to somehow find a ride to Kansas City, get a train for Chicago,
> then change trains to get to New York. I would almost rather take the
> Jefferson Lines/Greyhound Bus; at least the bus station is out by
> the Walmart store west of town. It is not a good scene at all. PAT]
Plane and auto will be the dominant travel mode. But those modes have their problems and simply aren't adequate to meet the country's transportation needs. Thursday's four hour delays was not an isolated event; it has happened often before and will happen often again. (Telephone failures have hurt airports).
But the train system could and should be expanded to cover much more of the country and trains could run a lot faster than they do now. The "powers" have fought against Amtrak since its creation and still do. It has crawled along with literaly a sliver of funding (1% of the DOT budget). In other words, doubling or tripling the Amtrak budget would be a big boost while barely noticed by highways and airways.