May 16 - Amtrak

Amtrak suffers another loss...funding for Amtrak is cut, again. http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/13/politics/congress-amtrak-funding-crash/
As a frequent traveler of Amtrak, I wish our government would aide something as important as this. Look how they (us) helped the banks. You know, I do not know of a single bank that closed. In fact, in our area, banks are continuing to be built. It's kind of like the health industry that keeps building new buildings. There is no reason why United States should have inferior train travel compared to other countries. It's a blight to our country that we ignore the people who travel by train and their safety. I'm not going to stop riding the train. I love it. Have been in many states throughout the United States traveling by train. It has been an inexpensive way for me to see United States. What was best was that I didn't have to drive and could enjoy the scenery. One of the other things I wish is that there would be high speed rail in the Midwest from Minneapolis to Chicago. What would be really nice is passenger train from Minneapolis to Texas. Well, we all know I'm a dreamer.

As a frequent traveler of Amtrak, here is a copy of the email received from Amtrak the other day

A message from President and CEO Joe Boardman

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A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT AND CEO JOE BOARDMAN ON TRAIN 188 The derailment of Northeast Regional Train 188 was a terrible tragedy that we are responding to with every resource we have available. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation to determine the cause of the incident, and Amtrak is providing full cooperation. With truly heavy hearts, we mourn those who died. Their loss leaves holes in the lives of their families and communities. On behalf of the entire Amtrak family, I offer our sincere sympathies and prayers for them and their loved ones. Amtrak takes full responsibility and deeply apologizes for our role in this tragic event. We recognize that for everyone onboard the train, including those who suffered injuries, the healing process may be long. Within 24 hours of the incident, Amtrak set up a Family Assistance Center in Philadelphia to work closely with the family of passengers and crew on the train. We are also working with the individuals and families affected by this event to help them with transportation, lodging, and of course, medical bills and funeral expenses. Amtrak is ever grateful to the City of Philadelphia—its first responders who bravely worked in difficult conditions, including the dark of night, to rescue and provide aid to hundreds; its hospital personnel who went into full alert as patients arrived at emergency rooms; its officials who quickly implemented a response plan; and its citizens who opened their doors to offer assistance. Although our current focus is on the passengers and employees affected by this incident and the resulting service disruption along the Northeast Corridor, we must also take time to learn from this event. Passenger railroading is at its core about people; the safety of our passengers and employees was, is and always will be our number one priority. Our goal is to fully understand what happened and how we can prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in the future. We will also continue to focus on completing Positive Train Control implementation in the Northeast Corridor by December of 2015. Thank you for your support of America's Railroad during this difficult time. Sincerely, Joe Boardman President and Chief Executive Officer The letter above makes me feel better but I sure hope Congress wakes up and smells the roses. They're so busy spending money elsewhere why can't we spend it in the United States to take care of our infrastructure. The major freight train companies are making money hand over fist and putting it into the pockets. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States Freight has priority on the rail when Amtrak is late but I've been on the train when it was on time and Amtrak was delayed. Happens all the time because money is burning in the freight trains when they're not moving. If you don't think the companies are making money on the tracks, look up who owns them. Today's earrings are a pair from Donna