Thoughts on Trains

Via Megan McArdle over at The Atlantic, comes the news that McCain wants to shut down Amtrack. I think this might be the first time John McCain has said something that might, maybe make sense- on the face of it, it totally makes sense. The only parts of Amtrack that actually turn a profit are on the east coast and some company can easily take those on and maybe even turn a profit with the Acela. The rest of Amtrack is a non-efficient, essentially sight-seeing train not at all useful for transportation purposes.

Shutting it down though, might be a little counter-productive. Republicans tend to push the idea of private, regional high-speed rail networks, but with the sky getting really crowded and oil prices spiking a hardcore national investment in an actually high speed rail network maybe in order. That means grading lines specifically for high speed service and developing trains that can rival MagLevs or the TGV for speed. Price it less than airlines but more than cars (a nice in-between alternative for people that can't afford to fly to a distant destination and don't want to drive for gobs of time) and you might actually get something.