Some of these tracks were built at taxpayer expense, (well subsidies of
one form or another), some were not. So were roads, and airports.
Until quite recently, (the 1970's) railroads were taxed to subsidies
airports and truck transport a practice that started in the late
1920's, Today we tax automobiles to subsidize rail. Prior to the 1940's
the US had some of the fastest interurban trains in the world.
John Sessoms wrote:
From: "Brian Walters"
On Sun, 24 May 2009 03:07 -0400, "P. J. Alling" <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Intercity passenger rail is expensive. It's estimated that Amtrak
would > save the taxpayers money, (and in fact on some runs actually
make a > profit), if every time someone bought a train ticket they
simply issued > them a plane ticket to the same destination.
Australia is a mostly low > population density place, much like most
of the US so I expect the same > economics would apply.
True. But I still think that our State Governments don't have a clue
when it comes to promoting rail travel. Not everyone wants or needs to
get from A to B in the quickest time possible. Governments seem happy to
let the infrastructure deteriorate and then wonder why passengers
numbers fall.
Yes, it's expensive. A few years ago we traveled from Brisbane to
Cairns (about 1500km) on Queensland Rail's Sunlander. We could have
flown there and back several times for what it cost. But it was one of
the most memorable travel experiences my wife and I have experienced.
Such comparisons frequently fail to take into account hidden subsidies
to the airlines, automobile and trucking industries when comparing costs.
And Amtrak is saddled with the additional expense of renting use of
tracks built at taxpayer expense; renting from freight railroad
corporations already subsidized by the government.
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