Encouraging?

Recent news reports about the problems most airlines are having (cancellations, lost or delayed luggage) encourage those of us who have high hopes for Amtrak and the American rail system in general. A recent column in the Detroit Free Press makes a good point about the lack of a national transportation policy. The current administration has been anti-Amtrak from the beginning, trying constantly to break it up into state-funded pieces. More and more people are coming to appreciate the varied pleasures of riding a train: going from city center to city center, being able to get some business done comfortably, perhaps even getting a decent meal (or food, at any rate).

Yes, problems continue to plague Amtrak. Full funding is still fought by the current administration, relatively nothing allowed in the present budget. But maybe things will change. They will change if the public has to face higher gas prices and increasing problems with the airlines.