New Departures: Rethinking Rail Passenger Policy in the Twenty-First Century [Hardcover]

Anthony Perl (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0813122112 | ISBN-13: 978-0813122113 | Publication Date: February 1, 2002

" North America faces a transportation crisis. Gas-guzzling SUVs clog the highways and air travelers face delays, cancellations, and uncertainty in the wake of unprecedented terrorist attacks. New Departures closely examines the options for improving intercity passenger trains' capacity to move North Americans where they want to go. While Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada face intense pressure to transform themselves into successful commercial enterprises, Anthony Perl demonstrates how public policy changes lie behind the triumphs of European and Japanese high-speed rail passenger innovations. Perl goes beyond merely describing these achievements, translating their implications into a North American institutional and political context and diagnosing the obstacles that have made renewing passenger trains so much more difficult in North America than elsewhere. New Departures links the lessons behind rail passenger revitalization abroad with the opportunity to recast the policies that constrain Amtrak and VIA Rail from providing efficient and effective intercity transportation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Any Canadian or American with a serious interest in transportation policy will find this thoughtful and informative book worth reading." -- Canadian Public Administration

"Well written and timely, New Departures provides excellent background from the current debate over the future of Amtrak and VIA Rail (in Canada)." -- Choice

"Dispassionately examines every angle of the perplexing rail-passenger dilemma in North America." -- Louisville Courier-Journal

"A seminal work that lays out all the dimensions of the current state of intercity rail passenger service in both the United States and Canada." -- New York History

"An informed analysis of where rail passenger operations in the U.S. and Canada have been, where they are, and where they may be going, along with a look at those countries whose passenger trains are light years ahead of ours." -- Railway Age

"New Departures is not only the most comprehensive look at rail passenger service in North America, it is the most timely. With air travel suddenly becoming a mature industry after September 11th, the nation is realizing that it is missing a vital balance in passenger transportation, a balance that could be provided by high speed passenger rail service. Anthony's book lays out the best policy framework I have ever seen for making rail passenger investments. Anyone engaged in debating the role of high speed rail in North America should read this book." -- Thomas Downs

From the Publisher

“New Departures is not only the most comprehensive look at rail passenger service in North America, it is the most timely. With air travel suddenly becoming a mature industry after September 11th, the nation is realizing that it is missing a vital balance in passenger transportation, a balance that could be provided by high speed passenger rail service. Perl’s book lays out the best policy framework I have ever seen for making rail passenger investments. Anyone engaged in debating the role of high speed rail in North America should read this book.” —Thomas Downs, Executive Director, Center for Smart Growth

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813122112
• ISBN-13: 978-0813122113
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,480,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rare Insight into the Fog of Transport Policy, June 28, 2002

By 

Henry Posner III (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Departures: Rethinking Rail Passenger Policy in the Twenty-First Century (Hardcover)

I found the book to be the most insightful analysis of passenger rail at the global level I've ever seen. It is a great resource for anyone involved in policy, or for someone who just wants to know 'why we don't have trains like Japan or Europe'. To his credit, Dr.Perl does not come up with a crystal-clear solution for the future of Amtrak. This is reflective of the reality of the mix of economics and politics that is US transport policy, namely that: funding for passenger rail is a subsidy, but funding for road and air is infrastructure.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible insight into passenger rail and the US, October 10, 2007

By 

R. Nizlek (Burlington, VT, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Departures: Rethinking Rail Passenger Policy in the Twenty-First Century (Hardcover)

New Departures is a fantastic look at what other cultures are doing right with passenger rail, and what America (and Canada, for that matter) is doing wrong. It's really a one of a kind volume, because so many books on Amtrak take highly polarized views of what should occur with that agency. Instead, Anthony Pearl illustrates rail policy that actually works in several countries around the world, and explains America's failed attempts at high speed rail. He does not make political judgments (such as Joseph Vranich's "End of the Line" and "Derailed" do), but rather succinctly provides a wealth of information about what actually works. I walked away from New Departures with an immense wealth of knowledge about passenger rail policy and its history in the US and the world. This book is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in passenger rail policy and Amtrak.