Few people would deny that New York can be stimulating but it’s becoming increasingly clear that New York could use a little stimulation of its own. I refer, of course, to the infrastructure aspect of the stimulus package being kicked around the corridors of power in DC.

Some of our regional corridors need a little sprucing up. The Northeast Corridor for example. It’s the busiest line in the country and lack of funding has led to deterioration of the track and power supply infrastructure (almost a hundred years old in some places) that led to delays, passenger safety hazards and a throttling of progress. High speed train? Sure, only minimally faster than the regular train and not as high speed as it could be because we won’t upgrade the rails and power supply needed to run a REAL high speed train.

So come on, Powers That Be. Be different. Reverse decades of short-term and short-sighted thinking. The $15 billion you voted on earlier this year was a good start but it is merely a start. How about taking some of that stimulus package and applying it to Amtrak. Amtrak is doing the best it can with what little you’ve given it. Ridership is up — May 2008 was the biggest month in Amtrak’s history with ridership up 12% and ticket revenue up 16%  — but the system needs work to keep up with, meet (and dare I say it) exceed rider expectations. Amtrak is having a Winter Sale, by the way. If you’ve yet to experience the fun of a proper Amtrak ride –even strangled as the system is — now is a great time to try it out.

And what’s wrong with exceeding expectations? It shouldn’t be hard to do that. We the people have been trained by long experience to keep our expectations of government as low as possible but I simply don’t understand why it sits well with anyone for our rail infrastructure to be so woefully sub par. Don’t get me wrong – I understand the power of “highway money” and how dependent the states are on it. I understand the sway held by Detroit (which surely, SURELY at this point should be faltering it not down right failed). But even considering those historical obstacles, how is it possible that we have allowed – no, EMBRACED – things to reach such a state regarding passenger trains? Bring that system up to scratch and you will get a substantial ongoing, wide-ranging economic bang for your buck.

Speaking of the stimulus package and transportation – a little less focus on new highways and roads please. Certainly, fix the ones in the worst condition and for crying out loud, let’s see if we can’t get more than one bridge sorted at a time. But instead of new highways, why not focus a bit more on the major urban transit systems. New York can’t be the only city where the system is failing to meet the demands of a growing ridership and population.

Yes, I said growing ridership. Don’t believe me. Forget MTA studies. Get on the train. Never in all my years riding Metro-North (and I’ve been doing so for 25 years) have I seen trains so crowded. More and more people have done the right thing and I have opted to take the train. So how does the MTA (using the economy as their rationale) intend to reward them? By cutting service! Cutting service that is already operating mostly by a paper clips and string, minimum levels of maintenance and the grace of lots of crossed fingers. And that is all better ruin than the subways. The city and outlying areas outgrew the current system years ago and for a lot of well documented reasons (some harkening back to the NYC bankruptcy of over 20 years ago), things have been allowed to settle into what I call “acceptable disrepair” – acceptable to the Powers That Be, that is. Not acceptable to the people who depend on and use the system. The public has been conditioned to believe this is what they can have because it’s all many of them know. Huge swathes of the population of this city no nothing except this miserable, creaky collection of routes laid out on a housing and population pattern over 30 out of date, operating on life support funding and pie in the sky expansion plans that come down to the inevitable (rueful and slightly wistful) chuckle over the mythical Second Avenue subway.

Regarding the Second Avenue line (75 years in the dreaming, planning and digging – Japan was rebuilt faster), let’s not even talk about when that is supposed to be “finished.” Maybe they can borrow Bush’s Mission Accomplished” banner once they have the 125th to 59th street section dug out.

I can see it now, “Whoooo hoooo – we got us a long hole here. What? We’ve run out of money again? We can’t afford trains for this new hole? Again? Oh well – better close this puppy up. Again. But you’ve done a hell of a job, Brownie – uh, I mean, MTA.”