First off, they compare it to Amtrak.
State ridership on Montana's current lone passenger route, Amtrak's Empire Builder along the Hi-Line, is up at least 20 percent and travelers are looking for more options in the face of high gas prices and heightened air travel costs and security, Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger said.
Not a good thing to look at if you ask me, they admit right in the article that the Federal government subsidizes Amtrak to the tune of $1.3 billion, yes that's a b for billion, a year. Adding to that amount wouldn't go over real well so that is not to be expected but wait, they have another idea.
For the first time, capital matching grants may be available for states looking to expand rail service, said Ray Lang, Amtrak's senior director of governmental affairs in Chicago.
Legislation setting up such a program is scheduled for debate by a U.S. Senate committee next week.
The bill, introduced in January, would provide about $340 million in matching grants a year paying for up to 80 percent of a qualifying project, Lang said.
Matching grants. What an idea, not only will I have to subsidize this idea with my State tax money, I will subsidize it with my Federal tax funds. What a hell of a way to spend my money. Will this passenger service ever pay it's own way or will I have to subsidize it forever? Amtrak has yet to pay for itself so I doubt this idea ever will so another handout from my pocket for an idea that doesn't have a chance of making it.
As for grants, you should ask my sister about jobs being provided by Government grants. She had a job paid for that way until the Government would no longer renew the grant. She has been looking for a job ever since. What happens a few years down the road to this idea if the Feds decide to let the grants ruin out and not fund them anymore. Than our state would need to come up with the whole amount if we stupidly buy into this idea. Those grants are a real good thing aren't they? There only good as long as they are funded.
If the backers of this mad scheme think this is such a good idea, why don't they raise the money to do it themselves? Approach MRL about leasing the rail space and the engines, cars and everything else to do this and start a private company to provide this service. This would tell me that they really believed in this concept. Running to the government right away for the money means that the idea is not fiscally feasible and it's just another way to crawl into my pocket and pull out money. THIS IS A STUPID IDEA AND NEEDS TO BE KILLED QUICK. IT WILL ONLY COST THE TAXPAYERS LOTS OF MONEY FOR VERY LITTLE BENEFIT.
There's no such thing as 'hard sell' and 'soft sell.' There's only 'smart sell' and 'stupid sell.' Leo Burnett
They wonder why Amtrak is going down? You ever price a ticket to ride the train...EEK!
Passenger trains are great alternative to highways and air travel, and as the cost of fuel continues to mount they will look even better. We might as well get the lines running now, rather than waiting until everything costs 10 times more. As for the grants running out, that doesn't matter in this case because we're talking about grants for capital costs, which refer to the one-time costs of getting the system going again. Those costs will not be continuing.
And from what I gather, this will be part of Amtrak, not a competing or separate entity. It will merely restore Amtrak's southern route, which I rode more than a dozen times in the '70s. It makes so much ense, since nearly all of the state's big cities would be served by the southern line.
I agree that it was a big waste of money to bail out the airlines, I never said I supported that because I flat don't. They take thier chances and if the go belly up that should be the end of it. For the Government to walk up and bail them out it is wrong.
What that has to do with the idea of a passenger line service from Billings to Missoula, some 400 miles or better, for a population of around 400,000 is beyond me.
If you think this is such a good idea Ed, why don't you get some money together with the other people that want to do it and start up your own line. If it works as well as you think, you will make a killing in the future. Stranger things have happened.
Just think Sam- maybe you can use your "carbon credits" for discounts on tickets to ride the southern Amtrak...
Hell, following up on this logic, the government subsidizes the lower income in our society with food stamps, chips, wic and many other programs so by your logic they should also subsidize the wealthy with these things too. The subsidize one, the low income, so they should subsidize the other. That's what you are telling me.
Pretty foolish isn't it Tim? I will repeat it.
THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT AN ENDLESS FOUNTAIN OF MONEY THAT EVERYONE CAN TAP INTO FOR THEIR PERSONAL, CRAZY SCHEME. The taxpayers have a limited amount of money so there has to be limits on what the government spends. Obviously you haven't been paying attention to the GAO reports that indicate that at our present rate of profligate spending it won't take to many more years to be out of money. The American public needs to learn fiscal discipline. We can't afford to fund every idea that is out there even if it is a good one, which this one is not, just because we subsidize something similar. It just don't make no sense to this dumb cowboy.