In Its Effort to Expand, Amtrak Seeks Tax Funds

WASHINGTON Given half a chance, W. Graham Claytor Jr. tellsanyone willing to listen that his quasi-public National PassengerRail Corp. - Amtrak - can resolve many of the nation's troublesometransportation and pollution problems.

And with a little help, the Amtrak president preaches, it sooncould do away with federal operating subsidies - something no othernational passenger railroad in the world has done.

"We can make this railroad self-sufficient in operating funds bythe end of this decade," he said in a recent interview. "But we'vemade it clear that we can only do it if we get a considerableincrease in capital investment."

To that end, Amtrak is …