Indiana stands to lose its Hoosier State Amtrak line from Indianapolis to Chicago if the state fails to identify $3 million in local funding to cover the train's operating costs by a federally imposed Oct. 1 deadline.The deadline has been on the calendar for five years, since Congress passed the
Passenger Rail Investment Improvement Act of 2008, which included a provision that required states with passenger rail service lines of less than 750 miles to take financial responsibility for the routes — or lose them.
As part of the PRIIA's mandate of rail-related funding equity among the states, a multi-state working group partnered with Amtrak to devise a "single, nationwide standardized methodology for establishing and allocating the operating and capital costs among the States and Amtrak."
In Indiana's case, that methodology requires the state to cover 80 percent of the Hoosier State's operating costs for fiscal year 2014, or $3 million by Oct. 1.
As vocal groups of activists, from all points on the political spectrum, are rallying in support of the Hoosier State, others — most notably officials with the Gov. Mike Pence administration — are less than enthusiastic about the train's value.
Speaking to an auditorium packed with people at an Aug. 21
Amtrak Summit in Lafayette,
Troy Woodruff, chief of staff at the Indiana Department of Transportation, kept his message simple.
"We've approached this with an open mind," Woodruff said. "When [the PRIIA] came through Congress, we opposed it as an unfunded mandate. That position for us hasn't changed. We don't believe this subsidy should be the responsibility of the taxpayers of Indiana."
Woodruff's rough analysis breaks down as follows: The Hoosier State line's operating and equipment expenses of about $3.87 million for the upcoming year are anticipated to be offset with revenue of about $907,000. With an estimated 37,000 riders paying $23 per ticket, that leaves Indiana subsidizing each passenger by about $80, he said.
INDOT spent an estimated $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2012.
In anticipation of the pending deadline, the
biennial budget passed by 2013 Indiana General Assembly endowed INDOT with the authority to fund the Hoosier State, but legislators did not require state officials to do so. In line with the "open mind" approach, Woodruff said that INDOT commissioned a study to analyze a variety of options, so officials can consider the cost of doing nothing, funding the line at its current service level or expanding the frequency and speed of the line to accommodate two or four trips a day.
Of course, added service and performance means added cost, Woodruff noted, arguing that revenue increases other states have seen as ridership grows in response to service improvements would not be alter his assessment of the bottom line: "There will be subsidization no matter what ... unless we are willing to charge more (for tickets)."
Though the study has yet to be released, Woodruff offered the audience a basic assessment of his agency's thinking thus far.
"We view this as a bad model, not a good investment," he said. "Not that we won't participate ..."
If keeping the Hoosier State is important to local communities and stakeholders, Woodruff added, "We will come to the table; we can work collaboratively with you, we will have a hand in this. We will be a piece of the pie, a sliver of the pie — but not the whole pie."...
