Inside UDJ by Editor K.C. Meadows

I hope that it is not too late for the California Transportation Commission's Caltrans fans to realize that much of the millions upon millions of dollars they have spent on highways over the past 10 years should have been going to revitalizing our train systems. How nice would be it be right now to have a passenger train running up and down the Highway 101 corridor on tracks that already exist. Yes, I know there have been more than a few missteps by the North Coast Railroad Authority, but their efforts were often stymied by a lack of funding from the state which never saw a highway it didn't love. I am guessing that had we had available for railroad redevelopment just the money the state has spent at Confusion Hill in the past 20 years we could have a fully functioning passenger railroad up and down the North Coast. I'll concede that the Eel River corridor is a challenge but from Willits south there's no reason we can't have freight and people running on rail tracks. Now that many of us are spending close to $100 a week on gasoline, how nice would it be if I could hop down to the depot in Hopland and take the train to Ukiah every day?
Nationwide our train system is seeing an upsurge in use. For thirty years our federal government has treated Amtrak like a freeloading uncle who won't get a job. It must pay for itself! they cry. I have never understood why federal tax dollars should not go to subsidizing our national transportation system. How much less dependent on oil would we be now if trains were readily available everywhere in our nation - not just in major cities, but everywhere. People get tired of hearing it but it has to be said that the Europeans have the kind of train systems we should have. Even in the smallest towns, a usable and frequent train schedule is available to anywhere.
I hope it's not too late for us.