Of late the news is all about the delays and cancellations at our nation’s airports. With our climate change coming into full view these days, it is likely that the air travel chaos will continue. What is the answer? AMTRAK is the logical substitute however, outside of the Northeast and the West Coast, AMTRAK is seriously lacking.

The AMTRAK schedule between certain cities is remarkably sparse. For example, from New York to Chicago there are 2 trains a day. Boston to Chicago, 1 train and our Nation’s Capitol, 1 train. Each of these trains take approximately 24 hours travel time between the two cities. Each of these cities needs to have available trains doubled. And with a combination of track repair and scheduling adjustments for low passenger loadings, the schedules’ time can be reduced. But even leaving them as they are, they provide a mode of travel, while considerably slower than air travel, give a reliable option of travel.

There are other potential high speed corridors, cities that not presently have corridor style service, that need to be considered: Las Vegas to Los Angles, Tuscon to Phoenix to Los Angeles, Chicago to St. Louis, and other cities.

This would require and substantial influx of cash but it has become obvious that such funding is necessary. It will require infrastructure work as-well-as new equipment. But the return on investment is obvious, the reduction of people using the nation’s airlines.