Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.