http://samuel-warde.com/2015/05/gop-cuts-needed-train-safety-subsidy-after-train-derailment/
"According to officials, tracks, ties, electric wires, communications networks, major bridges and tunnels have outlived their “design life.” They need to be repaired and rebuilt in order to avoid tragedies precisely like this.
As a result of already insufficient financing, last month railroad experts estimated that it would cost an estimated $21.1 billion just to repair existing equipment and structures. That’s only to fix what they’ve got now. We’re not even talking about bullet trains, new stations, or expanding the rails to service more passengers.
And yet, the day after the crash, on Wednesday morning, the Republican majority on the House Appropriations Committee voted to cut Amtrak’s budget by about $260 million. Got that? The day after a train derailed, leaving seven people dead and 200 injured as a result of issues that may have been avoided, the GOP cut the funding that goes into making rail travel safe and possible."
