Intercity rail passenger service in the United States is at a critical juncture. The decade-long efforts of Amtrak, the quasi-public corporation created by Congress in 1970 to operate the nation's rail passenger service, have successfully turned the tide of decline and given the public a glimpse of what quality rail service can be. Ridership has increased more than 60 percent since Amtrak's inception and passengers are riding in new cars pulled by new locomotives. Trains arrive closer to scheduled times than they have in many years.
Yet problems linger-the Amtrak network is thin and little changed, the number of trains operated is not much different from 1971, massive subsidies are required to keep the system running, and there is a noticeable lack of direction concerning the corporation's future. In a time of severe government financial squeeze, serious questions are asked about the priority of federal subsidies for train service that carries only 22 million passengers a year.
Two alternatives for Amtrak seem to be most frequently discussed. One is essentially a continuation of the status quo. While it emphasizes cost-cutting measures in operation of the system for a slow, gradual financial improvement, it also requires high subsidies for a long time. The other alternative, the one that has been frequently practiced by federal budget makers, is to rapidly reduce subsidies by cutting back the system. Neither alternative is politically very attractive. It is clear that greater fiscal responsibility in government spending makes high subsidy requirements increasingly unpalatable. The cutback alternative means some areas lose service entirely, as happened in 1979 and 1981. Cutbacks of the system also have long-term negative impacts on Amtrak because they reduce the constituent support for the system in Congress. Neither alternative is conducive to continuation of a national rail passenger system.
Amtrak 90: A Route to Successoffers another alternative-a far-reaching, comprehensive plan that not only will establish a truly nationwide rail passenger system by the end of this decade, or by 1990, but also that will turn Amtrak into a profitable system that can stand on its own financially and provide the United States with a quality intercity rail passenger system. Amtrak 90 is a way out of the difficult dilemma that is facing decision makers who wrestle with the problem of intercity rail passenger service. Two major goals are laid out in Amtrak 90: the development of a geographically broad system that meets the needs of the traveling public and a system that is operationally efficient and generates enough revenue to cover all costs of operations and contributes towards future capital investment needs.
Emphasis is placed on the solutions to the problem of turning the corporation's financial situation around through a systematic program of planned expansion. The public gains by having a more usable rail passenger system and one that no longer is a drain on the federal budget. There are no losers in this plan, only winners.
This Executive Summary highlights only the strategy and the results contained in Amtrak 90. The detailed year-by-year budgeting, operating techniques, system-wide schedules and equipment allocations, economic forecasting methodology, and physical plant investment priorities are in the full study, a culmination of three years of research efforts.
The Executive Summary was prepared to introduce the ideas and concepts of the plan to a broad audience and to present an overview of the profitable and comprehensive national rail passenger service that would result from implementation of Amtrak 90.