Former Mass. Gov. MICHAEL S. DUKAKIS speaks to students about the need for high-speed trains at Gund Hall last night.

A “high-speed, viable and operationally profitable” national rail system would cost $1.5 billion per year, former Democratic presidential candidate Michael S. Dukakis said at a Kennedy School of Government luncheon yesterday.

Before a packed gathering in the Stubbons Room at Gund Hall, Dukakis, now vice chair of Amtrak’s Board of Directors, emphasized the need for an efficient form of national transportation in addition to airlines and highways. Congress has helped to revitalize Amtrak, he said.

“Clinton didn’t give as much attention to the rail system as I would have liked,” Dukakis said.

He said the $1.5 billion represented only 2.5 percent of the U.S. transportation budget.

After federal funding for Amtrak decreased somewhat during the 1980s, Congress reorganized Amtrak—which currently carries 22 million passengers each year—in 1997.

A board was appointed—including Dukakis—to a five-year term, with the intent of making Amtrak self-sufficient by 2003, said Dukakis, a former Mass. governor.

Dukakis mentioned virtually every geographic region in the U.S. during his talk, citing plans that Amtrak has for expanding service in each of them. Consistent support, especially from governors, will be essential, he said.

California in particular seems prime for an increased Amtrak presence, Dukakis said.

With a rapidly growing population and plenty of land in which rail lines and stations could be built—a real problem in the Northeast—high-speed trains seem to be a logical option for the Golden State.

“There’s enough real estate there,” Dukakis.

According to Dukakis, the San Jose-to-Sacramento corridor is the nation’s fastest-growing, and a high-speed train from Sacramento to San Diego would cost about $25 billion.

“This is a no-brainer, and a non-partisan issue,” Dukakis said. “We also have a lot of Republican support.”

Dukakis—who was Massachusetts’ chief executive from 1975-79 and again from 1983-91—mentioned Sen. Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) as one such GOP member.

According to Dukakis, Amtrak’s Acela Express serice—a high-speed train running between Boston and Washington, D.C.—will provide 10 frequencies each day after the first of the year.

Dukakis gave evidence of Acela’s effectivness, saying that even before Sept. 11, passenger volume on trains between Boston and New York was increasing, while that of the air shuttles between Logan International and John F. Kennedy International Airports was declining.