Column by Paul C. Thompson
This is our promise
Byron and I know who put us here. We know the 24-hour days, middle-of-the-night calls, setting and waiting to leave and return to the yards, and the loss of family time. We know who we represent, and will give you 100%. This is our promise. -- Full text.

Column by James M. Brunkenhoefer
A lot can happen in 10 years
I must say that as we move towards the end of the first 100 days of the Bush Administration, I have not seen the kinder, gentler, more compassionate administration that we were promised. So far, I have seen only a focus on helping our very richest and ignoring the needs of our most needy. -- Full text.

Column by Daniel W. Collins, Sr.
Amtrak solution to gridlock
We need a sound national transportation policy that requires public investment in an interstate railway system, just as we do for our highway and airway systems. We have waited 60 years for a more balanced national transportation policy, one that would cover the needs of all modes of transport, to be legislated by Congress. It hasn't happened yet, and there are no signs of it happening in the future unless gridlock forces remedial action. -- Full text.

Ahead of the curve
Having spent two years and many millions of dollars, the 11-member Amtrak Reform Council (ARC) has released a report which includes some statements that sound strangely familiar.

In bold-face type on page three of the report's executive summary is the following sentence: "The Council believes Congress should provide a stable and adequate source of federal funding for the capital needs of the NEC and other rail-passenger infrastructure."

As a source of funding, the panel suggested creation of a "dedicated rail passenger transportation fund, perhaps funded by adding a new penny to the existing federal excise tax on gasoline and requiring a state match of an additional penny per gallon. Since each penny of the federal excise tax on automobile gasoline generates $1.6 billion, a penny at both the state and federal levels could raise about $3.2 billion annually."

Also in the report are five options for Amtrak, including one for full privatization that the council ultimately rejected as "politically and economically impracticable."

Meanwhile, in Great Britain, the privatized rail system has so deteriorated that the government has discovered it needs to spend the U.S. equivalent of $88 billion to keep the trains on the rails. Strategic Rail Authority Chairman Alistair Morton recently remarked, "Privatization was a flawed structure and did not deliver what was needed."

The above examples seem to underscore that UTU members know at least as much about railroading as the "experts." We're sorry that the ARC panel and our friends overseas had to spend so much money and time only to discover what we've been saying all along. But we're ready and willing to offer our expertise to anyone willing to listen.

What's your opinion?
We'd like to hear your thoughts on these topics, and others. Include your name, address, phone number, and (if applicable), your UTU Local number and an e-mail address with items submitted to:

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