Opinion: Getting There in America - We Want Amtrak!

This essay originally appeared in the Fredricksburg Free Lance-Star on Sunday, March 27, 2006.

by Colin Peppard
Friends of the Earth Transportation Policy Coordinator

Over the last year, I have been traveling by rail through communities across the nation, speaking with local officials, business groups, and residents about Amtrak.


Everywhere I go, people tell me the same thing. Amtrak gives them a critical link between nearby cities and forms the backbone of their regional commuter and transit systems. No one wants anything but more and better Amtrak service.


As one official in Michigan told me, “If we had more trains, we’d put more people on ‘em.” And people are not just talking, they’re walking (or riding, as it were). Amtrak has set ridership records in each of the last three years.