WORD FROM WASHINGTON 220 Cities, 140 Million Americans To Lose Amtrak Service Federal Budget Will Kill U.S. Train Network

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More than 220 cities and 23 states will lose ALL Amtrak service under the proposed White House budget.
More than 220 cities and 23 states will lose ALL Amtrak service under the proposed White House budget.

(NAPSI)—This summer travel season may be the last year with train travel as an option for millions of Americans. The Administration’s proposed 2018 budget wipes out funding for almost all Amtrak trains except on the East and West coasts. More than 220 cities and towns will lose train service completely and 140 million people will completely lose an entire transportation mode.

“If Congress enacts this budget, our national passenger rail network will largely cease to exist,” said Jim Mathews, National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) president and CEO. “These cuts will have a profound economic impact both nationally, regionally and locally.”

Although the trains impacted are often called long-distance trains, they are also local and regional transportation for the areas they serve. In Montana and North Dakota, for example, the Amtrak line goes across both states and connects 19 towns and cities. In Florida, 28 communities are bound together by Amtrak trains that offer a real option for family and business travelers.

This summer, the National Association of Railroad Passengers is organizing Americans across the country to participate in “Rally For Trains” in an effort to demonstrate the significant impact trains have on the lives of Americans.

“’Rally For Trains’ symbolizes the broad support Americans have for trains and passenger rail,” Mathews continued. “We will push back until our collective voice is heard, and get the funding passenger rail deserves—and America needs.”

Although the White House budget is regularly ignored by the Congress, it is often seen as an opening bid in the federal budget negotiation process. This budget slashes infrastructure investment and completely eliminates funding for long-distance rail across the United States.

Cuts to Amtrak, transit, and commuter rail programs, and even air service to rural towns, would not only cost construction and manufacturing jobs, but will place a disproportionate amount of pain on rural and working-class communities.

The people who will suffer the most are those who rely on passenger rail to get to their job, for an ADA-compliant mode of travel, and for people in so-called “flyover country,” where other transportation options are limited.

The full list of towns at-risk of losing Amtrak service is published at www.TownsWithoutTrains.com, and information on the rallies being planned continues to be added.