From The Knock Me Over W. A Feather Dept. - Bush Signs $13B In Amtrak Upgrade Funding

[hatrack]

President Bush reversed his seven-year opposition to a nationally subsidized railroad Thursday and signed a bill authorizing more than $2.6 billion a year over five years to upgrade and expand Amtrak.

The law requires that Amtrak upgrade the Washington-to-Boston Northeast Corridor, which crosses New Jersey from Trenton to North Bergen, to a "state of good repair." That means replacing or upgrading aging tracks, switches, signals and even bridges that frequently cause delays on the corridor, which NJ Transit uses to carry roughly 100,000 commuters daily.

Without comment, Bush bowed to broad bipartisan support for a bill sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg that combined Amtrak funding with new railroad safety standards.

"New Jersey commuters depend on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor every day, and this law will make sure our trains run more smoothly and reliably," said Lautenberg, D-N.J., the chairman of the Senate's surface transportation subcommittee.


EDIT

Ed. - emphasis added.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/nationalpolitics/31151864.html

[madmax]

1. Joe the Senator

will be happy ;) He won't be using Amtrack for the next 8 years but, he'll still be happy.

[Wetzelbill]

2. Biden has to like that

:)

[wryter2000]

3. Please send some this way

My train, the California Zephyr needs some love.

[mainegreen]

4. Amtrak is supported by a broad range of Republican and Democrat congress critters.

It makes for strange bedfellows.

[Wetzelbill]

6. yes it does

[iamjoy]

5. This Reeks....

It smells like a trap. Why would Dubya do something good? Is this something to trip up Biden?

I mean, if McSame voted against this, he call the Amtrak funding pork and that Obama/Biden only like it for their own self interests and he (McCain) opposed Bush whereas his opponent agreed...

I've learned with Dubya (and other Republicans) that when he gives you what appears to be a gift hourse, you better look it in the mouth. For that matter, best check and make sure it isn't a mule.

[Wetzelbill]

7. oh it is easy to be cynical nowadays

You typed some of what I first thought too, lol.

[DS1]

9. or, simply just spending more money on his way out

not that I'm complaining about this selection, but it still is another 13 billion whisked away

[nebenaube]

8. Too bad we can't make them as quite as the Dutch trains are... n/t

[HeraldSquare212]

10. But there was a signing statement saying Amtrak would be shut down.

[stuntcat]

13. wha?

I need the Amtrak.

[JDPriestly]

11. I wish they would improve the service and put in fast rail out here in California.

We really, really need it. We need an alternative to air transportation. We need transportation that can run on alternative fuels in time. Why is this only for a small portion of the eastern U.S.?

[NNadir]

12. Of course, $13 billion is trifling compared to the car CULTure subsidy.

I suppose if one really measured the car CULTure subsidy, one would quickly find that $13 billion dollars represents a few hours of the subsidy.

[machI]

14. Florida expects to benefit from the the new life in AMTRAK also

http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/31165304.html

It appears Amtrak passenger train service will be returning to the panhandle after all. President George Bush has withdrawn his veto threat and signed the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2008.

Congressman Allen Boyd says the bill requires Amtrak to submit a plan to congress for restoring passenger rail service between New Orleans and Sanford, Florida.

The Sunset Limited's panhandle stops included Crestview, Chipley, Tallahassee, Madison, Lake City, and Jacksonville.

Amtrak reported record ridership this year, mostly because of rising gas prices.

The Amtrak plan must include a timetable for restoring that service to Northwest Florida, so right now we don't have a restart date.

I would like to see the AUTO TRAIN in more places. I would love to put my car on a train, go to some distant city, and be able to drive.