Train Funding

John Boehner may think discussing Amtrak funding in the wake of the crash is “stupid” but of course it isn’t. Boehner notes that the crash was caused by the train going too fast, not infrastructure. But it’s not like high-speed trains are unknown in the world. Instead, Republicans prefer to attack the terrible national train system we already have because only those urban hippies ride trains, not good truck drivin’ folk. We could invest in super-modern high-speed trains that could zip Americans around the nation. We could also invest in better safety infrastructure so that such train wrecks don’t happen if they are the fault of the conductor. Instead, the rail industry and its Republican friends are pushing for the reduction of train crews on freight trains, which would only cause more crashes.

So Democrats should absolutely push for greater Amtrak funding in the wake of the crash. I don’t expect Boehner or any Republican to take any real heat for opposing this, but at least it makes their moral position on these issues more clear.