By Andrew Selden, Railway Age Magazine; September 19, 2018
Underlying the ancient aphorism “be careful what you wish for … because you might get it” is the law of unintended consequences.
That law applies in full force to Amtrak’s current campaign to eliminate its long-distance, interregional services in favor of discontiguous corridors of much shorter lengths. Amtrak is gambling that states will pay it to operate at least some of these corridors after the interregional trains are removed. Current law excuses Amtrak from operating corridors fewer than 750 route-miles unless subsidized by a sponsoring state (except in the politically charged Northeast Corridor (NEC), where states enjoy lavish, but sharply underutilized, “free” Amtrak service solely at federal expense).
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