State cuts again imperil Amtrak routes

[Save Our Trains Michigan]

Amtrak's threat to halt two of its three rail routes in Michigan, including the Port Huron-to-Chicago Blue Water line, is back in the forefront as the state Legislature finalizes the 2005-06 budget.

The proposed $40 billion budget, which is expected to go to Gov. Jennifer Granholm this week, includes a cut of $1 million from Amtrak's $7.1 million annual state subsidy. The money is used to run the Blue Water line and the Pere Marquette line in western Michigan. A third line, in Detroit, gets no state money and would be unaffected.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the rail line negotiated the $7.1 million contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation and if money is cut, services most likely would have to be cut as well.

"Without funding we couldn't be running the trains seven days a week, 12 months a year with staffing and food service," he said. "You could run the train less often, but that hasn't been very successful."

Lawmakers have told Amtrak they would restore the funding if the company moves a proposed heavy maintenance facility to the state from Indiana. Magliari said Amtrak has no plans to move the project.

The budget needs to be reconciled and signed by the governor by Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year. Granholm has said she opposes the Amtrak cut.

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[Save Our Trains Michigan]

Riders also are urging residents to contact the governor's office and state legislatures to oppose the funding cut. Cecile Shoulders of Port Huron is part of the group Save Our Trains Michigan. The group has held rallies in the past in an effort to restore funding.

"I don't know why they would not fund the train when they know there is a need for it," said Shoulders, who rides the train several times a year. "We don't have any transportation outside of this city and with high gas prices, people will ride the train because it's cheaper."