Former Amtrak mouthpiece advocates scrapping Amtrak

Joseph Vranich, a former public affairs spokesman for Amtrak, has just written The Failure of Amtrak Reform and the Future of America's Passenger Trains, to be published by the American Enterprise Institute tomorrow. In the introduction he writes, "Having second thoughts about one's convictions is a growth experience. I should know, because I had helped create Amtrak, and later advocated its expansion. In my exuberance for train travel, I was one of Amtrak's staunchest supporters. I've since recognized that my advocacy ignored powerful forces in the travel marketplace, and I helped perpetuate a discredited transportation concept. I offer a mea culpa to American travelers, commuters, and taxpayers."