In South Dakota, billions for freight, not one cent for passengers

Fortune reports that Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) added an earmark to last summer's transportation bill that greased the skids for a $2.5 billion loan to the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern for a new rail line from South Dakota to Wyoming's Powder River Basin, a source of low-sulfur coal.

Hmm . . . South Dakota and Wyoming. What do those two states have in common? Why, they're the only 2 states in the "lower 48" with no Amtrak service.

In an unfortunately unrelated development, folks in Aberdeen--a city DM&E considers a "partner in progress"--are restoring their historic downtown depot. The restored building will serve many different functions. "Train station," however, won't be one of them.

To be sure, better access to relatively clean coal is a public good. The nation's economy depends on coal-fired power plants. But should this be the only public good required of a public-private rail venture? Your conductor doesn't think so.

Next time the FRA loan program gets revisited, what if some senator reconfigured it to require a passenger component for the projects it funds? Call it a kind of Community Reinvestment Act for the railroad industry.

Remember, it's the Federal Railroad Administration, not just the Freight Railroad Administration.