WASHINGTON, D.C. – “Amtrak Joe” is making another run for the White House. Former Vice President Joe Biden announced Thursday he is running for President of the United States in 2020. The campaign is Biden’s third bid for the White House, having also unsuccessfully run in 1988 and 2008.
Biden has a long running railroad connection – when he represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate, he daily traveled Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor between Wilmington and Washington, D.C. His Amtrak commuting was born of tragedy. Shortly after he was first elected to the Senate in 1972, his wife and baby daughter died in a car accident. His two sons were injured. The train became his means of being home with his sons each night.
Through the next few decades, Biden became friends with several Amtrak employees and fellow passengers, earning him the nickname “Amtrak Joe.” In 2016 Biden said: “I have traveled over 2,100,000 miles on Amtrak. I have made over 8,000 – roughly 8,400 round trips. I believe it’s about 257 miles a day. And these men and women have become my family.”
Just before he won the vice presidency in 2008, Biden told one voter, “If we get elected, it will be most ‘train friendly administration ever,'” according to CNN. Unfortunately, while the Obama Administration pushed for high speed rail, its proposals never gained traction, and Amtrak underwent little change from previous administrations.
One notable success came in 2016, when Biden facilitated a $2.45 billion federal loan to Amtrak to buy 28 new train sets for the Northeast Corridor, which should begin arriving in 2021. Also included was money to upgrade four stations, including Washington Union Station and Baltimore Penn Station.
Biden made the announcement of the loan from the former Pennsylvania Railroad station in Wilmington, which in 2011 was renamed the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Train Station. At the time of the loan announcement, Biden said, “why in this country are we so boneheaded to not understand the essential value of a rail system that is modern throughout the whole country? Why do we argue about whether or not it makes sense.” He called the Northeast Corridor an “overall security net” for the economy. “We can’t make this country work without rail,” he added.
Biden enters a crowded field of Democratic candidates, with 20 announced candidates so far, all vying to unseat President Donald Trump in next year’s election.
Another candidate, U.S. Rep. Seth Moultin of Massachusetts, also has railroad connections. Before he ran for Congress, Moulton worked as managing director of the Texas Central Railway, a private company working with the Texas Department of Transportation to create a 240-mile high speed rail line linking Dallas and Houston. His platform includes support for high speed rail infrastructure in the U.S.
Only plus point in his favor is he’d probably get rid of “prop head”, but maybe not. Just as long as Killary Hillary does not run again. Evil woman for sure.
For the Record, Commodore Vanderbilt, born May 27, 1794, didn’t work his real magic on railroads until he was in his seventies. When he overhauled the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, after his son-in-law had made a mess of it, and died Vanderbilt was pushing 80. Vanderbilt had learned a lot from all that experience; Amtrak Joe I don’t know. What’s his position on Amtrak’s refusal to publish timetables and other Amtrak inanities?
Folks, Keep one thing in mind, It would be a cold day in Hell when Trump (oh, trump- Hitler) would ride Amtrak!!! Even Hitler wanted to build a 4 meter gauge rail road all over Europe.
David: Thank you for bringing up the subject of personal attacks and insults. That is something I forgot to expound on earlier. I will admit, I am one of those die-hard Trump supporters who SHAMELESSLY adores the kindergarten “playground” name-calling that he has helped to normalize in our national political deliberations. Although I don’t generally behave that way towards anyone in my own personal life, I do not mind a bit if he or anyone else in our politics does. It adds to the overall excitement and drama of the national political “arena” (for lack of better words)… I realize a lot of people dislike President Trump’s style of being a “counter-puncher”, and that is perfectly ok with me as well. However, I hate it when those same people act like this is something TOTALLY and COMPLETELY “new” in our society and in our world as a whole. I hate it when they try to push the completely false narrative this is ALL because of Donald J. Trump alone (ALL HIS fault).
Politics has ALWAYS been a nasty business. The whole nastiness of it has just been noticed a lot more in RECENT times because we have never had a president as UNCONVENTIONAL as he is… AND, people these days, especially in my horrible generation (the Millennials), emphasize political correctness WAY too much. We (along with the spoiled little brats of Generation Z) are SUCH WUSSES! Donald is OLD SCHOOL, and they just don’t like it! SUCK IT UP! There are (and have been) plenty of other politicians over the many decades with styles similar to (or just like) The Donald, but nobody wants to talk about THEM and all the “horrible” things THEY have done to “ruin” our country… Right? Hmm… Interesting… 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
…and Steve Foster: I agree with you a thousand percent. Why would we want to vote for someone (ESPECIALLY a perverted old WHITE man) who has been part of the Washington, D.C. S*** Swamp for years? He is one of the “dinosaurs” of the Failing Democrap Party (just like Pelosi and Schumer). AND… even MORE importantly, why would we want to vote for someone (no matter what party affiliation) who wants to just throw more money at the already deeply flawed passenger rail systems in this country, instead of helping to REFORM them first?
Well said, Mr. Foster.
Jeremy , at least you lot give the rest of the world something to laugh about. Lets just hope railroads benefit no matter who gets in .
I lived in Delaware for over 21 years and Joe Biden was one of my senators. My wife and I owned a home on a corner close to a community center that sponsored running races so it was very common to look out the window on a Saturday and see a couple of hundred people jogging down the road outside of our home. One Thursday we had a big snow storm that ended as freezing rain so that there was a thick layer of ice everywhere. The next day the plow came by and cleared the road and the sun came out drying the road so everything was fine except there was still a thick layer of ice on everyone’s lawn. Saturday came and I was fixing my lunch and looked outside to see a couple of hundred people jogging down the road; but there was one guy out there taking pictures of people in the race. Instead of staying on the road which was clear and dry, he started to take a shortcut across my back yard and was having a hard time with the ice. Concerned about his safety, I walked across the kitchen and opened the door to the back yard to find Joe Biden standing in my back yard, a bit embarrassed about doing something silly, but appreciative of my concern for his safety.
I come to the Trains.com Newswire and looks like I stumbled into political Twitter, Facebook or something…
I agree with the comment by Steve Glischinski re: respect and civility – something we’ve lost as a nation over the past few decades. For those that wish to open their eyes and get their news from more than one source there’s a reason why coverage and talking points between Fox News and Russia Today overlap – it’s called disinformation, Provokatsiya and overall Active Measures – what we used to call ‘information warfare’ in my day. It is time for the citizens of this country to get as woke as our defense and intelligence services to the threat to our country and our allies posed by the Chekist Russian bear. Working with his like-minded Axis partners Xi in China and Kim in N. Korea they are able to destroy us from within (just as Khrushchev said) – by getting Americans to square off from their respective left-right corners, where we forget how the real enemy is. It’s the guys with ICBMs still pointed at us, not “lefty liberals” or “reactionary conservatives.”
Don’t believe me? Tune into Russian state TV, and let them tell you themselves. Yes, they are talking about how they’re playing us off each other (and usually laughing about it live on TV). Meanwhile they keep pumping money, online Facebook and Twitter bots and trolls (working from St. Petersburg, RU – Google ‘Information Research Agency’) so Trump/Bernie/Jill Stein supporters keep duking it out, weakening our ability as a country to defend freedom here and abroad. Russia and China are gaining ground at our expense, and this won’t end well until we pull our heads out of our collective behinds and come to our senses. We’re being played… and the sad irony is they’re doing it right out in the open, and we can’t even see it when we’re focused on beating each other rather than the enemy that has looked for our defeat since 1917.
Off my darn soapbox for now, and back to the rails. Meanwhile, America has to decide how long to remain blind and stupid while we fight out allies and cozy up with “friends” like Putin and Xi.
Signed, a cranky Cold War vet (who wonders why I wasted so much of my youth at the front line, only to see it squandered now)
Chris – I don’t recall saying anything about Trump until earlier this morning, when I posted he wasn’t any brighter than Biden..
Amtrak’s current proposed subsidy of $2B will cost each of the current 140.9 million American taxpayers $1.42. How big a drain really is one dollar and forty-two cents per taxpayer on the annual budget? Imagine what a great national system we could have with only $3.00 per taxpayer.
Charles L. I’ve been on this news wire long enough to know I’ve never once heard you say anything bad about Trump. You tore into Obama and every other Democratic that’s ever been mentioned on this site. So maybe it’s inferred that you Ike and or respect him. If you think he’s competent then say it. His views on trains or about like anything else. The party line. Kind of like Biden as you say.
Historically, other than during the Nixon administration and under then Secretary of Transportation John Volpe, can anyone name any specific administration or SecTrans who has been an advocate for intercity passenger rail and who actually accomplished something in support of that advocacy by securing funding for any route expansion, equipment purchases and major infrastructure improvements for the national network? I’m just curious.
Chris T. – I don’t recall making any evaluation of Mr. Trump. Me calling Joe dumb doesn’t mean I consider The Donald any more intelligent.
Here’s the problem with Mr. Biden: He’s spineless. When his party goes left. He goes left. When his party goes further left, he goes further left. When his party is indistinguishable from outright communism, Joe is indistinguishable from outright communism.
I can say three good things about Mr. Biden. (One) Joe is a great family man (as is Mr. Obama, who fortunately hasn’t experienced Mr. Biden’s three family tragedies). (Two) Mr. Biden supports rail passenger travel.(Three) Joe seems to be a pretty amiable guy.
Beyond those three, he’s useless.
Jeremy , I don’t think anyone is saying cut the debate , or even arguments. Its more the personal attacks that seem to have become acceptable from the president , and seemingly copied more frequently by his followers as been an acceptable form of debate. Myself , I tend to think if someone resorts to attacking me or the subject of the argument personally, then I have won the argument, as they have nothing constructive to add. .
Charles Fermier, John Rice, and Charles Landey: I very much concur with the different points you all made. “Derogatory” or not, sometimes the truth hurts, doesn’t it? 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
If y’all think all THESE comments on the Trains Newswire Forums are “vitriolic”, “denigrating”, and “insulting”, then you ain’t seen NOTHING yet! What a hyper-sensitive, EXCESSIVELY politically correct world we live in these days. Jeez!
Ok Charles you can’t be serious. You are calling Biden stupid. And I guess Trump is a genius. That dude can’t even make a complete sentence. I for one hope Amtrak Joe runs and wins.
Steve Foster – Many valid points in your post. There’s one point I respectfully disagree with you (and most of my fellow Republicans). It’s not how long an elected official has been in office, it’s how he or she serves in office. My Congressman (F. James Sensenbrenner R-Wisconsin) has been in Washington since before the Great Flood and has maintained his independence. In contrast a certain bartender from Bronx has been there a few weeks and is the very definition of a socialist statist swamp creature.
I follow politics in states both with term limits (Michigan) and without term limits (Wisconsin and Massachusetts), I’m convinced that term limits are (a) antidemocratic – they take away the right to vote for whomever you want to vote for; and (b) accomplish nothing. Long-sitting elected officials who know the ropes are the only antidote to the iron triangle of special interests, lobbyists, and government bureaucrats.
So I don’t fault Mr. Biden for being in office for several centuries. I fault him for being a thoroughly mediocre Senator. He was that way as soon as he got there.
Mr. Lugar who died this week was a Senator for a long time and before that mayor of Indianapolis. He was superb in both jobs and the top end of integrity, human decency and dedication to public service. There’s a lot of people in both parties who should follow his example, including the Republican fool who knocked him off in the primary several years ago.
I would never vote for someone like “Uncle” Joe. He was a lawyer for awhile and now has been in politics for over 40+ years. He is a “protected” DC insider who has used his position over the years to make a lot of money for both him and his family. In short, his is a charter member of the “swamp” that now governs inside the beltway in DC. The fact he wants to continue with and give more money to an antiquated Amtrak instead of calling for real changes in order for passenger rail to survive and grow the next 30 years is actually one more reason not to vote for him.
Daniel Mitzel has brought up some very valid points regarding recent foreign interference/influence in our democracy. That being said, though, I have a respectful disagreement with a lot of people on this forum and everywhere else about the whole speel on “civility”… Things have NEVER been completely civil when it comes to politics, at ANY point in our nation’s history or the entire earth’s history. That’s just the pure nature of the beast. It will never change. People are ALWAYS going to have differences… at every level of society, and at every position on the whole “spectrum” that divides those to the left, those to the right, and all who are somewhere in between.
We should in NO way be encouraging ANY extremist ideology or violence towards those with opposing views, BUT… We SHOULD continue to have vigorous dialogue and debate!!! That continues to be a major part of what makes a country like the United States of America so wonderful overall… FREEDOM OF SPEECH! Freedom to AT LEAST TRY to work out our differences, no matter how much we may end up “duking it out” along the way.
Interesting how Steve Glischinski’s on-topic comment has been ignored. The ad hominem vitriol is one good reason why more Trains readers choose to not waste time on Newswire.
Charles,I was not necessarily thinking about you in my previous post. What I was writing about was the attacks and extremely derogatory comments that some of the posters have used on this site in regards to Joe Biden. And it seems to me that anything or anyone that could have a positive impact on passenger trains in this country gets attacked immediately by some posters on this site. I just call things as I see them and I,of course, recognize everyone’s right to their opinions. I do believe,however, that there are those among us that do not have the best interest at heart in regard to rail transportation,you may or may not be among those,as only you know if you are or not.
Roger, If anyone is misusing this forum it is you, to cast doubt on the integrity and the motivation of other people posting opinions other than yours.
I am a dyed in the wool rail fan and lifelong advocate for passenger trains. No one influences my posts or tells me what to post. My “agenda” to use your term is to give my opinions.
You criticize people that “name call and hurl insults at anyone that might be a threat to hinder their true agendas”.
Roger the person who is “name call and hurl insults” actually is you.
Roger I expect more from you, someone who has had three great persons or things named after you: — (1) The distinguished founder of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was named after you (2) Quite a fine little university in Bristol County, Rhode Island (formerly Bristol County, Massachusetts) was named after you, and (3) A New Haven Railroad experimental passenger train was named after you.
Now to get back to the issue. I have a long list of reason to vote for or against a person running for U. S. President, or any other elected office. Much as I advocate for passenger trains that issue is about 20th on my list. Other issues are more important and carry far greater weight.
It really seems odd that on a site such as this one that there are those posters that practically panic when anything looks like it might be positive for passenger trains in the future,such as Joe Biden becoming president with a favorable attitude toward Amtrak and passenger rail in general. It is evident that anti-passenger train people most likely affiliated with organizations with an anti-Amtrak agenda have certainly infiltrated this site. They are shamelessly resorting to the tactics used by Donald Trump to denigrate, name call and hurl insults at anyone that might be a threat to hinder their true agendas.
ALL – If we depend on the federal government for supporting Amtrak, then we stand in line behind all the other concerns of the federal government from Afghanistan to Medicare to Iraq to education to space exploration to national parks to wetland protection to everything else.
That being said, I must concede that this forum’s left wing does bring up a legitimate point. Why is Amtrak the political football when all of Washington’s other expenses and waste just keep rolling around from one generation to the next. Broad consensus emerges in Washington for things more expensive and less worthy, like Essential Air Service. I ride my bike on federally funded bike trails fifty miles from the nearest state line. That doesn’t become a political issue. How is a bike trail “interstate transportation” while the Hoosier State train to Illinois is a problem for the state of Indiana. How is it that no one asks why the federal government pays for school lunches, which is clearly a 100% local concern.
I may not agree with this forum’s more leftist contributors (like Gerald MacFarlane) on much, but I do agree with the Geralds of this forum on this point. Amtrak is hardly what’s driving the federal government’s budget. Take Amtrak’s federal subsidy and multiply it by a factor of fifty, it’s pocket change in Washington. The National Debt increases far more every day, than Amtrak costs the government for a year.
Gerald, this is your second math fail in about three days.
Joe Biden is toughly 3.5 years older than Donald Trump, the oldest president even on inaguaration day. If Joe were to become president with the next term, he’s be roughly 7.5 years older than the previous oldest ever president.
Roger, So noted and appreciated. You know, Roger, after my post (after …..) I realized that’s what you were getting at.