United States Department of Transportation
i
Intercity Passenger Rail: Decisions on the Future of Amtrak and Intercity Passenger Rail Are Approaching
-
2000-09-26
[PDF-147.00 KB]
Details:
-
Creators:
-
Corporate Creators:
-
Subject/TRT Terms:
-
Publication/ Report Number:
-
Resource Type:
-
Geographical Coverage:
-
TRIS Online Accession Number:00811235
-
Corporate Publisher:
-
Abstract:Key decisions will soon have to be made regarding the future of Amtrak, the nation?s intercity passenger rail operator. If Amtrak does not reach operational self-sufficiency within the next 2 years, federal law requires that the Amtrak Reform Council submit a plan to the Congress for a restructured intercity passenger rail system and that Amtrak prepare a plan for its own liquidation. On the other hand, if Amtrak does attain operational self-sufficiency, it could require a substantially higher level of financial support than it receives now to meet its capital needs and for certain railroad retirement expenses. In either case, the future of Amtrak will need to be decided. If that future does not include Amtrak, basic decisions must be made about an intercity passenger rail system. The decisions include the scope of a national intercity passenger rail network, if any; how it would be operated; and the level of federal funding that would be provided to support this network. The Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 created Amtrak to provide intercity passenger rail service. Like other major national intercity passenger rail systems in the world, Amtrak has received substantial government support?over $23 billion through fiscal year 2000. However, the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 (Amtrak Reform Act) prohibited Amtrak from using federal funds for operating expenses, except for an amount
equal to excess Railroad Retirement Tax Act payments, after 2002. To help accomplish this goal, the Amtrak Reform Act provided Amtrak with flexibility to address certain costs.
-
Format:
-
Collection(s):
-
Main Document Checksum:
-
Download URL:
-
File Type:
