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1 1 (2004)

handle is hein.amenin/aeiaahs0001 and id is 1 raw text is: (con tinued from front flap) This review examines developments in fifty-five nations that are doing away with their versions of Amtrak and replacing them with more efficient private operators that provide higher quality service. For instance, British rail franchise operators have generated the highest passenger- train traffic since 1947, and Japan's priva- tized railroads are more innovative than the nationalized system they replaced. A Canadian tourist train operating at a profit could serve as a model for leisure rail travel in the United States. While Amtrak is unlikely ever to become financially sound, the future of passenger rail in America has great potential if we pursue privatization, fran- chising, and devolvement of services to more responsive regional and state transportation agencies. JOSEPH VRANICH has been involved with passenger railroad issues for more than thirty years. He has served as a public affairs spokesman for Amtrak and as president of the High Speed Rail Association and is the author of two previous books about passenger rail service. JACKET DESIGN BY AMBER WILHELM Cover image: www.comstockcom This incredible work documents Amtrak's quest to undermine even mild congressional reforms. End of the Line will inspire a reassessment of Amtrak, a dysfunctional organization that has failed taxpayers and travelers time and again. -ANTHONY HASWELL, railroad passenger advocate instrumental in the formation of Amtrak This book is long overdue. Joe Vranich makes an overwhelming case that Amtrak cannot be 'reformed' but needs to be replaced. And he shows that we don't have to start from scratch, because nearly every other civilized country has already done something similar, usually with great success. -ROBERT W. POOLE Jr., director of transportation studies, Reason Foundation End of the Line is a serious public policy text that is a page turner right through its appendices. Joe Vranich has assembled a mountain of rock- solid evidence of Amtrak failures and fabrications and the futility of reform efforts. He offers a bright vista for U.S. passenger rail-without Amtrak-that is persuasive and pragmatic because scores of other nations and several of our own states are already leading the way with inspiring results. Meanwhile, the book's chapter on terrorism should be mandatory reading for every politician and policymaker who makes decisions affect- ing our nation's transportation system. -NANCY RUTLEDGE CONNERY, member, Amtrak Reform Council and Blue-Ribbon Panel on Amtrak PUBLIC AFFAIRS AEI American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 ISBN 978-0-8447-4203-8 5 2 5 00> 9 780844 7420381 Zm =z-m - $25.00 END of the LINE Joseph Vranich has produced the first insightful analysis of the deficit-ridden Amtrak system since the passage of major reform legislation in 1997, the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act. His review comes as Amtrak is seeking record federal subsidies while continuing to resist mean- ingful reforms. The book addresses myths and fallacies about Amtrak, exposing how the railroad is not as essential to mobility as it claims. For example, each of the nation's top six- teen airports serves more travelers every day than does Amtrak's entire national system. This well-documented study chroni- cles Amtrak's repeated threats to shut down the nation's passenger railroads, including many commuter trains that operate on Amtrak's lines, unless Congress increases subsidies. Vranich also explains why deliv- eries of supposedly high-speed Acela Express trains were years behind schedule. Most shockingly, Vranich exposes Amtrak's failure to address critical safety problems in the New York City railroad tunnels-the most critical infrastructure it owns. This disregard for public safety in New York leaves travelers on Amtrak's busiest line needlessly vulnerable to terrorist attacks, while the railroad continues to squander billions of dollars elsewhere on lightly traveled routes. (continued on back flap) $25.00

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