Expanding passenger rail service will generate $30 billion in direct investments in our communities and reduce carbon emissions by nearly 50% when compared to automobile travel. In addition to the economic benefit and positive impact on our environment, investing in Amtrak benefits everyday Americans and their families.
Investment in passenger rail will help Amtrak riders as well as people and goods traveling by road. To many Americans, highway congestion is the most problematic of all transportation issues. In recent decades, congestion has grown in most urban areas where the average commuter loses more than 40 hours per year (the equivalent of a week of vacation) to highway traffic delays. Without improving our passenger rail system, congestion and delays experienced by automobile and air travelers today will only get worse.