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https://montanafreepress.org/2025/0...Wu-21H3PAHhwxQt-eg_aem_BBnGzmjbajAwfENV6wh6ZA
Nothing we don’t already know unfortunately.
Nothing we don’t already know unfortunately.
Are passenger trains entering a golden age or reaching the end of the line?
- Thread starter Amtrakfflyer
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There was a golden age for passenger trains in Europe, too. IMHO, it was from the 1970s to the early 2000s. I only experienced Europe in the 1990s and early 2000s. All of my trips were on time, and the trains were comfortable. The Eurail pass was easy to use. Now, even Germany and France have issues. And the Eurail pass is not the deal it once was because seat reservations in France, Spain, and Italy are difficult to obtain.
When Amtrak was founded there were two schools of thought. Those opposed to continued funding of passenger rail thought it would go belly up and disappear within a couple of years. Supporters of passenger rail thought it would grow, expand and eventually become self-sustaining or even profitable.
The reality was that neither of these happened. Obviously Amtrak didn’t disappear, but neither did it achieve the growth and profitability that supporters envisioned. It pretty much has stuck around and mostly maintained status quo for all these years.
I strongly suspect that the reality will be more of the same. I don’t think the national passenger rail network is going to be abandoned completely as some fear. Look at the attempt to bustitute the SW Chief in Kansas for example. Kansas is about as ruby red a state as there is and its representatives and senators fought to keep the SW Chief. However, I am skeptical that projects like the NC Hiawatha will ever be actually implemented. IMO, more of the status quo seems likely.
The reality was that neither of these happened. Obviously Amtrak didn’t disappear, but neither did it achieve the growth and profitability that supporters envisioned. It pretty much has stuck around and mostly maintained status quo for all these years.
I strongly suspect that the reality will be more of the same. I don’t think the national passenger rail network is going to be abandoned completely as some fear. Look at the attempt to bustitute the SW Chief in Kansas for example. Kansas is about as ruby red a state as there is and its representatives and senators fought to keep the SW Chief. However, I am skeptical that projects like the NC Hiawatha will ever be actually implemented. IMO, more of the status quo seems likely.
