{"id":5712,"date":"2021-07-31T21:47:58","date_gmt":"2021-07-31T21:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=5712"},"modified":"2021-07-31T21:47:58","modified_gmt":"2021-07-31T21:47:58","slug":"senate-republicans-and-democrats-agree-to-double-amtraks-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=5712","title":{"rendered":"Senate Republicans and Democrats Agree To Double Amtrak’s Funding"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\n“An influx of additional funding<\/a> would allow Amtrak to eliminate this backlog and pave the way for faster, more frequent service, passenger rail proponents argue. “There’s so much we can do, and it’s the biggest bang for the buck we can expend,” said<\/a> Biden about increasing Amtrak funding back in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, one of the reasons that Amtrak’s maintenance backlog is so big in dollar terms is that it’s incredibly inefficient at spending the money it does get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At current costs, Amtrak needs to spend $90 million per mile “merely to keep the same service as exists today,” wrote<\/a> the Manhattan Institute’s Connor Harris in an April New York Post <\/em>column. “For comparison, in countries such as France and Spain, less than half that cost per mile would cover a brand-new high-speed rail line good for speeds of more than 200 miles per hour.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting Amtrak’s costs down to European levels would allow it to fix a lot more of its infrastructure for a lot less money. Lawmakers of both parties instead appear set on simply shoveling more taxpayer money at the inefficient agency.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Senate Republicans and Democrats Agree To Double Amtrak’s Funding<\/a><\/blockquote>