Realism is a Good Thing…

My love of trains has been discussed before. However, in a recently released study recommending against adding an Amtrak line connecting Saint Louis to Springfield (MO), the State Department of Transportation and Amtrak seem to have sided with common-sense and the free-market. Subsidizing a train connecting your two largest cities with the State Capitol is one thing, but adding to that without the market demand would be poor policy and even worse economics. Not to mention the increased subsidy required might jeapordize the one existing route. Much more important is connecting St. Louis to New Orleans without a required bus ride to Carbondale. Maybe the market would support it, maybe not, but this is New Orleans we are talking about here for christsakes…