01-20-2009, 10:35 AM
I suspect that most if not all of the metro commuter lines get more funding than Amtrak. Congress has never really come to any sort of conclusion as to what to do with Amtrak. It is still touch and go with 1/2 of Congress considering passenger trains to be as obsolete as the horse and buggy and desperately in need of being discontinued, the other half sees them as a viable alternate mode of transportation across country and should be funded. If we still had an oil shortage with record oil prices, Amtrak might pick up more funding this year; but with cheap fuel and falling oil prices thanks to the current deep recession, there may be a lot of pressure in Congress to stop funding Amtrak to save some money somewhere in the budget with all of the extra expenditures expected to bail out floundering corporations, and jump start the economy with infrastructure improvement expenditures. In the end, they will probably continue to support Amtrak with the same sort of half hearted under funding that they have done with Amtrak since its inception.
On the other hand the local or regional metro commuter lines are funded cooperatively by Amtrak plus local or regional financial support. If the local commuter line uses the same right of way as Amtrak, then the local or regional transportation authority pays for the non-Amtrak train sets that run on the line. If the line uses right of way not used by Amtrak, then the transit authority pays for the whole thing, but they usually get some sort of federal matching grant funds like they do for Interstate Highway construction and maintenance. Even when they use Amtrak right of way and split costs with Amtrak, they also often get some sort of matching fund deal from Washington as well.
On the other hand the local or regional metro commuter lines are funded cooperatively by Amtrak plus local or regional financial support. If the local commuter line uses the same right of way as Amtrak, then the local or regional transportation authority pays for the non-Amtrak train sets that run on the line. If the line uses right of way not used by Amtrak, then the transit authority pays for the whole thing, but they usually get some sort of federal matching grant funds like they do for Interstate Highway construction and maintenance. Even when they use Amtrak right of way and split costs with Amtrak, they also often get some sort of matching fund deal from Washington as well.