The Cracker Squire is a big fan of trains and keeping Ambrak: States Face Decision Day on Saving Trains - Federal Subsidies to Short-Haul Amtrak Routes End Oct. 1

From The Wall Street Journal:

Residents of this capital city looking to visit Chicago can board an Amtrak train for a five-hour journey that costs about $24—a price that excludes the $80-per-ticket in federal subsidies that keep the service running.

Or they can take a bus for about $24 to $37, with no direct government subsidy, a trip scheduled at a bit more than three hours.

 

That divide is driving a debate in Indiana and 18 other states about whether to drop expensive passenger-rail services, a defining moment for a mode of transportation that shaped the U.S. for a century and a half.

 

The debate comes as passenger rail nationwide—once a centerpiece of the Obama administration's plans to modernize transportation infrastructure—takes a hit from tighter government spending.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the biggest expenses of the Hoosier State train are leasing the track from the private freight company that owns it, along with labor and fuel. The train's slow speed—while it hits 79 miles per hour it averages about 39 mph, including station stops—reflects the condition of the track and lack of technology, such as updated signals, he said. Amtrak says boosting investment would improve service and increase ridership.