The following editorial appeared Sunday in the Tri-City Herald.

Another blow in the Bush budget, not so specific to the Northwest, is his plan to eliminate Amtrak.

The budget he sent to Congress allows no money for Amtrak operation, but would allot $360 million to help commuter rail systems (read the Northeastern corridor of the United States) maintain tracks now owned by Amtrak.

It’s a kind of quasi-privatization gesture that might allow the most heavily used elements of the passenger rail system to stay in operation.

“What the administration would like to see and has sought for several years is fundamental reform in the Amtrak system,” Joshua Bolten, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told Hearst Newspapers. “It was originally set up 30-some years ago to be a for-profit, self-sustaining corporate entity, not intended to run on federal government subsidies.”

Even Republican members of Congress are stunned by the news.

It’s even harder to understand when railroad history is considered. Back in the 19th century, the federal government gave the railroads every alternating section of land beside their tracks to encourage them to expand into a nationwide system.

It was an inducement to carry passengers. When the railroads decided to dump passenger trains four decades ago, Amtrak was created to fill the void.

And now Bush wants to end even the struggling and marginal system that millions still must count on.