posted by gut
No, I knew exactly what I was doing. The passenger argument is DOA, I was just shooting down your inevitable pivot to freight. Because you don't appear to realize that freight and passenger trains share a lot of the same rails, so the question wasn't dumb but perhaps the reader was. The point is EV and automated trucking will easily absorb the 10% of freight handled by trains in the future. You really need to try thinking before you shit post.
To further illustrate how uninformed you are, Amtrak began hauling parcels decades ago to boost profitability. Do you ever bother to google before you start talking about something you have no clue on? And, no, parcels are not separate from freight they are considered "freight"
Amtrak had 32M passengers in 2019, and with expansion for this estimate another 20M by 2035 or something. So that's 52M passengers.
Airlines already serve over 1 billion passengers = 20X Amtrak. I believe buses serve a similar number as Amtrak (if we exclude intercity/commute). And I'm not going to waste my time with how many travel by car.
Like I said, this is a total waste of money in a dying mode of transportation. Can you tell me what $66B is divided by 50M?
That is a very short sighted view of transportation. Any actual look at projecting future modes of travel and movement includes rail. To ignore it is simply limiting our own options. Look at any future DOT planning document along the east coast.
Some of the other options you mentioned, increasing bus or trucks, in some areas, makes little sense. The roadways simply cannot handle more trucks or buses.
Virginia did a study a few years that any additional improvements along I-95 corridor would only increase traffic flow by a few percentage points while investing that money in increasing passenger rail and improving that would increase movement even more. It makes more sense to spend money on rail in that area than buses or trucks.
http://www.ctb.virginia.gov/projects/major_projects/i-95_study.asp
I know that does not apply to all areas, but in areas where the infrastructure is needed. along the east coast, it does.
I admit that Amtrak does not work in many areas outside the east coast, and that money should be spent on other modes like buses and trucks as you stated/.