Central Illinois Rail

Amtrak is a vital and cost-effective tool of economic development. Passenger trains make money for towns they serve by generating jobs, retail, mobility, tourism and real estate development.

All travel modes are subsidized, from airlines enjoying the world’s safest air-traffic control system courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer to buses and trucks battering a highway system only half paid for by gas taxes.

Opinion | Focusing on profits misses the point of Amtrak Opinion Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events

"No passenger transportation system makes money absent subsidies, most of which are buried in transportation policy and thus hard to see on their face. Amtrak should not be held to this false standard."

Opinion | A false choice, and wrong turn, for Amtrak Opinion Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events

Provisions include
-A statement from the Congress that that long-distance passenger rail is an essential part of the nation’s transportation system, specifically for rural parts of the country, and should be retained to ensure connectivity throughout the National Network;

-A requirement to invest in the capital improvements for the Southwest Chief, and a prohibition on the use of these funds to “discontinue, reduce the frequency of, suspend, or substantially alter” the route;

-The return of discounted passenger fares for U.S. military veterans;

-Bringing back station agents to any Amtrak station that had a ticket agent position eliminated in fiscal year 2018;

-Congressional direction to Amtrak to improve communication and collaboration with local partners and take into consideration the unique needs of each community, including impacts to local jobs, when making decisions related to the staffing of Amtrak stations.

Key Funding and Policy Victories in FY19 Budget Deal | Rail Passengers Association | Washington, DC The Fiscal Year 2019 transportation budget was passed into law five months late by Congress today averting another government shutdown. The bill includes $2.9 billion for rail and $13.4 billion for transit, along with several key policy riders that Rail Passengers and its members fought for over the...

The initial budget proposal for the 2020 financial year issued by President Donald Trump on March 11 would see federal funding for Amtrak long-distance trains eliminated.

Buses to replace long-distance Amtrak trains under Trump budget proposal USA: The initial budget proposal for the 2020 financial year issued by President Donald Trump on March 11 would see federal funding for Amtrak...

As Peggy Noonan commented on Twitter: “Amtrak’s new management thinks trains are planes. A lot of us are on the train because we don’t want to be on the plane.”

Amtrak Forgot Trains Aren’t Planes Visit the post for more.