Comments on: Close Call: Amtrak Train May Have Nearly Hit Oil Train https://gregladen.com/blog/2015/05/14/close-call-amtrak-train-may-have-nearly-hit-oil-train/ Fri, 15 May 2015 01:59:45 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.8 By: G https://gregladen.com/blog/2015/05/14/close-call-amtrak-train-may-have-nearly-hit-oil-train/#comment-477366 Fri, 15 May 2015 01:59:45 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/?p=21148#comment-477366 As usually happens, every attempt will be made to blame the engineer at the controls of the derailed train. This will also be used as “evidence” to “support” replacing human vehicle operators with “self-driving” vehicles, thereby throwing a few million more Americans into chronic unemployment. All of this will be used to stir up a media circus that will conveniently keep the attention off the near-miss with the oil tank cars. Meanwhile our worse-than-useless Congress just passed another pathetic Amtrak budget that’s not even sufficient for maintenance.

Unless.

Unless we keep the spotlight where it belongs, which is first and foremost on obtaining adequate maintenance budget for our rail network, and as well, on the issue of these dangerous oil trains traveling over the antiquated network.

The Oligarchy seeks to have it both ways: slash the rail network to ribbons, but in the meantime keep using it to make bank for fossil fools and their minions.

We can’t let them have that.

Our task is to force them to choose:

Upgrade the rail network OR stop the rolling bombs.

(Coincidentally, by the time the upgrades are completed, the speculative oil plays will have lost their value and, we can hope, no more such fossil foolishness will be replacing them.)

]]>