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" Forget the subsidies... Why can't the trains run at a profit? Look at Government regulation, law, FRA reg and law, and other restrictions. Trains can and should be profitable, and we should be running lines everywhere. It is sad, pathetic, and a grand show of the incompetance of American law, regulation, and governance that we have destroyed our passenger trains, and stand around arguing of whether to subsidize them or not. The real question should be why isn't someone making, employing, and running many trains all over the place in today's age? It's because of the Government. ... read the laws, read the regs, watch the FRA, look at the markets, look at the real value of trains and you would see, there is much money to be made, if individuals and real entrepenuerial (and non-mooches and beggers) where allowed to actually compete and re-enter the marketplace for passenger rail... ...until then, just keep arguing over the hand outs like a bunch of unfed, unfettered, and unrestrained bums demanding their "fair share". "

" Poor old Huh! fails to comprehend that taxes of all sorts have been used to subsidize all forms of transportation throughout US history. Why pay for Amtrak? Because it is a public good. It is like every other form of transport however, in that they are never a unalloyed good. Witness the the checkered past and unpleasant present of the automobile. We are taxed on the vehicle, plates, insurance, fuel, maintainence and infrastructure and then there is the negative impact on the environment. Fund Amtrak correctly and it will be better able to fulfill its stated function. "

" Those "politicians fighting for pet projects" include the politicians of the Illinois General Assembly who fought to get the extra funding for intercity passenger rail this year and deserve credit. To the editorial: the money for these additional routes can't be shifted to some other city. And really, the long-term plan for Bloomington's economic development should include hourly trains to and from Chicago. 5 a day is a great start. Thanks for paying close attention. "

" This is great news for Illinois. I travel to Chicago often from Texas by train. With gas at or near $3.00 per gallon, it is way past due for America to turn back to the passenger train as a way to travel. Hats off to the "Land of Lincoln" for the increased funding for Amtrak. "

" I don't mind riding Amtrak to Chicago. I hope they put on a late train so that we could stay for supper. The last train to leave Chicago for Bloomington leaves around 5:00 or so, meaning we can't stay to eat in downtown Chicago before returning home. I also think that the train's ridership would increase if they would buy the newer train cars, improve the roadbed and increase the speed. If the train could maintain a 100 plus mph speed, the trip to Chicago or Springfield would be a breeze. Let's not just see more trains, let's see better and faster trains. "

" Revitalizing Amtrak to become more financially viable and user friendly would be appreciated. I would make use of added routes between Normal and Springfield if they were close to my work hours. Currently, I drive Mon-Fri from Bloomington to Springfield for work. Past carpools (others do the drive) have failed for one reason or another. "

" Dear: "Huh": You have a point. But, you could just as easily be describing the airlines. Airports/air traffic control infrastructure are built and operated by tax exempt gov. entities. Gov. provides air traffic control system. Airlines have a statutory exemption from Federal anti-trust law so they can "fix" fares. Airlines are protected by Federal law from foreign competition. That is, no foreign airline can carry passengers point to point in the USA. Airlines are exempt from State truth in advertising laws. Airlines pay nothing for research on military aircraft, knowledge which bleeds over into the airline industry. Pilots, mechanics' training is provided by the military, at no cost to the airlines. Anyway, there's more, before we even talk about "loans" to the airlines. Suffice it to say, Amtrak subsidies pale by comparison. Next to walking on hot coals, flying coach is probably the most uncomfortable mode of transportation devised by man. And getting worse. "

" Why should all the taxpayers in Illinois be forced to pay for the train rides of a few? Why not instead give us all a tax cut and the right to choose which form of transportation we want? Year after year, Amtrak sucks in tax dollars to pay for its bloated, inefficient service while we sit here getting robbed. I say enough already! If Amtrak can't at least break even then it should be allowed to fail like any other business. "