Editorial: Amtrak Deserves More Support

The causes of the deadly derailment in the Northeast Corridor Line are still not clear. However, the accident has put the spotlight on the Amtrak service, which has been under pressure for years due to a decaying infrastructure, budget cuts and even a plan to privatize its most profitable area, which is precisely where the tragedy took place.

From its inception in the 1970s, Amtrak was born with great ambitions and an already aging infrastructure. The idea was to create a national commuter system under the formula of a for-profit, federally-funded public company. This is how it was required to raise profits for every passenger, an unheard-of demand.

Over the years and to this day, Amtrak has been unprofitable although it has notably increased its number of passengers. This increase has been huge in the Eastern states, especially the lines linking DC, New York and Boston. This is the most profitable section, and those proceeds help the ones who are not, which are the towns without an airport nearby.

Republicans see Amtrak as a money-losing monster from a bloated government. Several legislators have tried to kill it by eliminating its subsidies, while others would like to privatize the Northeast corridor, which would take away indispensable earnings from the enterprise. As it has failed to achieve any of those goals, the GOP Congress keeps cutting its funding, as it happened yesterday in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

When more funds are demanded for the rail system, legislators reject them by conveniently blaming a budget system that requires cuts comparable to the spending increases, instead of their ideological animosity.

This lack of will is condemning Amtrak to keep depending on an infrastructure that, like its bridges and tunnels, dates mostly from the 1930s. Any long-term investment becomes impossible due to the limitations imposed by the annual budget extensions.

The U.S. lags way behind the European and Asian rail systems. In other countries trains are seen as they should: a quick, efficient way of transportation which is greener than others. But this is not happening here, and it won’t as long as Amtrak does not get the support and respect it deserves.