Saturday, December 05, 2009

The George Kenney Interview: "James McCommons on Trains" - Electric Politics

Dear Michael,

I've probably put more effort into trying to find a guest to talk about passenger rail than any other subject. Until now I had had no luck, and I suspect I know why: people who know about trains -- even advocates of passenger rail -- don't want to acknowledge that passenger rail isn't ever, anywhere, a profitable enterprise. Instead, it's a clearly socialized form of transportation.
Other countries are OK with that but here in the U.S. it's like saying passenger rail has got cooties. How sad, and too bad for us...

James McCommons, author of the most excellent and recently published Waiting on a Train, evidently doesn't know that he's not supposed to talk candidly about the economics or politics of passenger rail. I find his explanations for things reasonable, easily understood, interesting and extremely helpful.
As always, if you enjoy the podcast please feel free to forward the link!

Best,

g.



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