PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE: DECLINE AND RESURGENCE

This article examines the history of passenger rail service in the U.S. Passenger rail has seen a decline in the twentieth century in terms of levels of service and passenger volumes. Analysts have proposed several explanations for this decline, including financial losses, technological obsolescence, disparities in subsidy levels for competing modes and poor quality of service. In response to these trends, the Amtrak system was proposed and signed into law in 1970. Amtrak's history reveals a need for a stable, long-term capital investment program to provide adequate system capacity. With adequate funding and support, an effective passenger rail system can reconcile mobility needs with the declining availability of oil from domestic sources.