Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Amtrak

House GOP’s 2012 Transportation Budget: Deep Cuts, Especially for Livability

By Tanya Snyder | Sep 8, 2011 | 3 Comments

In about an hour, Congressional appropriators will vote on how much money to allocate for transportation in the next fiscal year. It won’t be pretty. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) is planning deep cuts to many programs, some reminiscent of House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan’s notorious budget proposal, […]

Mica and Rail Supporters Meet Halfway

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 28, 2011 | 3 Comments

At a meeting with members of the U.S. High-Speed Rail Association Tuesday, House Transportation Committee Chair John Mica softened his stance somewhat on his plan to privatize the Northeast Corridor. He acknowledged that the proposal is “controversial” and said that was why he framed it in a separate bill, apart from the rest of the […]

Amtrak’s Loco Locomotive Purchase for the Northeast Corridor

By Stephen Smith | Jul 22, 2011 | 31 Comments

We’re pleased to welcome Stephen Smith as a new contributor to Streetsblog Capitol Hill. We’ll be running Stephen’s work on a regular basis, and you can catch more of his writing at his home blog, Market Urbanism. Amtrak’s annual ridership may inch over 30 million for the first time this year, but the assault on its […]

CRS: Northeast Corridor Privatization Plan Violates Constitution

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 13, 2011 | 4 Comments

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has examined the question of whether the GOP plan to privatize Amtrak’s most valuable corridor is constitutional – and it’s determined that it is not. Warning: this is about to get a little wonky. But I figure if Streetsblog readers can get all nerdy on transit, you can probably geek […]

The Economist Issues a Reality Check to Rail Privatization Proponents

By Tanya Snyder | Jun 27, 2011 | 1 Comment

The Economist’s blog on business travel, Gulliver, has a short post this morning about Rep. John Mica’s proposal to privatize the Northeast Corridor. Blogger “N.B.” has a healthy dose of skepticism for arguments on either side but does significantly more damage to Mica’s argument that that of his opponents. Gulliver strikes a blow at the […]

Mica Extends Olive Branch to Amtrak, Dems Pound Rail Privatization Plan

By Tanya Snyder | Jun 23, 2011 | 9 Comments

Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), the top Democrat on the Railroads Subcommittee, began her remarks at yesterday’s Transportation Committee hearing like this: My notes say that I’m supposed to say, ‘Thank you Mr. Mica for holding today’s hearing.’ I don’t think so. Because I think legislation that affects the entire passenger and freight rail system in […]

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