Lobbying For Amtrak

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

tp49

Engineer
Joined
Aug 23, 2002
Messages
2,747
Heard on KCBS on the train coming down that several US mayors went to Washington, DC to lobby Congress to appropriate the full $1.2 billion to keep Amtrak service operating. Looked on their website and could not find a link to a story and the blurb was only a sentence or so. I'll see what the NY Times might have to say on this later today.
 
U.S. mayors urged approval of Amtrak's $1.2 billion budget request on Friday, saying that a proposal in Congress to reduce spending on unprofitable long-distance routes would devastate service to dozens of cities and hurt regional transportation investment.
In a letter to congressional leaders, the U.S. Conference of Mayors criticized the plan moving through the House of Representatives that would cut long-distance funding to $150 million this fiscal year. Amtrak says that amount is wholly insufficient.
TP49,

Here's a story on the mayors lobbying for Amtrak. You can read the full story here from the NY Times.

Note: Free registration is required to view this story.
 
I'm glad to hear that the mayors are voicing their opinion and concerns about this congressional shortfall and political game playing.

The trickle down affect of loosing just one long distance train is enourmous.

Our government needs to identify a funding source for rail travel that will adequately meet AMTRAK's needs and allow them to operate fully and even look to expand their network. A recent article I read stated that Senator J Biden had mentioned a simple two-cent gasoline tax would generate ample revenue earmarked for long distance trains.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top