Bush proposes ending passenger rail support
February 12, 2005
BY JAMES PRICHARD
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GRAND RAPIDS -- Amtrak supporters in Michigan said Friday they're concerned about the future of the passenger rail service because of President George W. Bush's proposal to end federal Amtrak subsidies.
"It all rests with Congress, whether they will modify the president's proposed budget and how much," said Mike Whims, operations director of Transportation Riders United Inc., a group that works to improve public transportation in metro Detroit.
"But it doesn't look good. We don't see any private investors coming forward to take over the service."
Amtrak operates three lines in Michigan: the Wolverine, which makes three daily round trips between southeastern Michigan and Chicago; the Blue Water, which offers one daily round trip between Port Huron and Chicago; and the Pere Marquette, which makes one daily round trip between Grand Rapids and Chicago.
In his budget released Monday, Bush proposed eliminating Amtrak's operating subsidy and setting aside $360 million to run trains in the Northeast between Washington, D.C., and Boston if the railroad ceases operating. Amtrak is getting $1.2 billion this year in operating subsidies and capital investment.
Amtrak President David Gunn said Tuesday he expects more than 25 million people to ride Amtrak during the current federal budget year, which began Oct. 1, breaking the previous record of 24 million.
U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar of Minnesota, the leading House Democrat on transportation issues, predicted this week that the Bush administration's proposal will face strong opposition in Congress. And U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Friday that he "will continue to fight in the Senate for full Amtrak funding."
During the previous budget year, ridership increased on all three of Amtrak's Michigan routes when compared with fiscal 2003. According to figures from the carrier:
• On the Wolverine trains, the number of passengers climbed 12.2 percent, from 326,367 to 366,291.
• The Blue Water line saw a 16.7-percent increase, from 80,890 to 94,378.
• The Pere Marquette's ridership went up 19.6 percent, from 73,392 to 87,767.
"Our routes here in Michigan are all up by double digits, and we see no leveling off or decline in sight," said John DeLora, executive director of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers.
He founded the Detroit-based organization, which strives to improve passenger-train service, in 1973. Whims also is involved with DeLora's group, serving as its chairman.
DeLora said, since Amtrak's creation in 1971, the U.S. government has given it about $34 billion.
"When you break that down annually, Congress has given them just enough money to limp along for one more year without fixing any of the basic structural problems that rail-passenger service faces," he said.
For instance, Amtrak's Northeastern corridor is in dire need of infrastructure upgrading, he said.
U.S. Rep. Vernon Ehlers of Grand Rapids agreed that the money Amtrak gets each year from Congress is, relatively speaking, "not much of a subsidy." He opposes Bush's plan to eliminate the funding and says most other House members feel the same way.
"There are a substantial number of people in the Congress trying to get rid of Amtrak subsidies but the difficulty is, there are millions of people who ride Amtrak and depend on it every day for their transit and many others who like to ride Amtrak for long distances," said Ehlers, who, like Bush, is a Republican.
The Michigan Department of Transportation this year provided $7.1 million in subsidies for the Blue Water and Pere Marquette lines. If Congress agrees to eliminate funding for Amtrak, it would mean more tough choices for Michigan's lawmakers, who already are dealing with a shortfall of at least $350 million in the state's current general fund budget.
"But we don't know that that's going to be the case," said Deryl Holmes, an MDOT spokesman. "We've found that there's a lot of support (for continuing Amtrak subsidies), especially in the House in Washington, and we're hoping that there will be a changing of minds and we'll get Amtrak service restored in the budget."
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