Column by George Sibley
Political Economics – February 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
A READER FROM Whitefish, Montana, took me to task for an inaccuracy in my enthusiastic bashing of private-sector public transportation (December 2002 issue). Specifically, he took issue with my perception about the poor quality of the rails the trains run on, and it turns out that he is right. Checking some more authoritative sources than my own perceptions and word-of-mouth from fellow rail passengers, I’ve learned that the Class I trunk lines in the United States today are in much better shape than they were in the 1970s and 80s, when my perceptions were formed. That doesn’t mean things are great, but I wasn’t giving credit where it’s due, and I apologize to both readers and railroads.