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House panel approves cutting Amtrak routes
The Associated Press/WASHINGTON
By ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press Writer
JUN. 15 1:05 P.M. ET Amtrak would have to end all of its cross-country routes, service between Chicago and New Orleans and the Auto Train to Florida under big cuts in taxpayer subsidies approved by a House panel.
The proposed cuts, which need approval of the full House and Senate, came Wednesday as an Appropriations subcommittee approved a transportation funding bill that would slash Amtrak's budget by more than half and limit federal subsidies to $30 per passenger per ride.
The cuts would not apply to most Amtrak service in the Northeast corridor, as well as shorter corridor routes in the Midwest and California. Panel chairman Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich., said those routes account for 80 percent of Amtrak's ridership. He said some money-losing routes, such as the Sunset Limited between Los Angeles and Orlando, require federal subsidies of more than $400 per passenger.
Full story here
The Associated Press/WASHINGTON
By ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press Writer
JUN. 15 1:05 P.M. ET Amtrak would have to end all of its cross-country routes, service between Chicago and New Orleans and the Auto Train to Florida under big cuts in taxpayer subsidies approved by a House panel.
The proposed cuts, which need approval of the full House and Senate, came Wednesday as an Appropriations subcommittee approved a transportation funding bill that would slash Amtrak's budget by more than half and limit federal subsidies to $30 per passenger per ride.
The cuts would not apply to most Amtrak service in the Northeast corridor, as well as shorter corridor routes in the Midwest and California. Panel chairman Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich., said those routes account for 80 percent of Amtrak's ridership. He said some money-losing routes, such as the Sunset Limited between Los Angeles and Orlando, require federal subsidies of more than $400 per passenger.
Full story here