(The following story by Joe Grata appeared on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette website on September 3.)
PITTSBURGH — At a time when three daily passenger trains serving the region are attracting growing ridership, Amtrak has decided to discontinue at least one of them.
Amtrak officials will announce today that the Three Rivers, which operates between Chicago and New York City via Pittsburgh, and the Pennsylvanian, which operates between Pittsburgh and New York City, will be consolidated into a single train, probably when new national train schedules go into effect Oct. 31.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari confirmed changes will be announced “before the close of business [Friday]” but he would not elaborate.
The loss of the long-distance train also will affect communities with stops along the mainline: Greensburg, Latrobe, Johnstown and Altoona.
Formed as the National Railroad Passenger Corp. in 1971 to preserve passenger service, Amtrak has notified Transportation Workers Union Local 14 that its 33 members who provide on-board services out of Pittsburgh will lose their jobs.
Union members said dozens of other jobs, from train mechanics and baggage handlers to ticket agents, also will be lost.
For now, the Capitol Limited, which operates between Chicago and Washington, D.C., via Pittsburgh, will remain intact, except on-board service crews will no longer be provided from here.
Amtrak has notified the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation of pending changes in the Three Rivers and Pennsylvanian service, but PennDOT said Amtrak will have to announce them.
“At this point, we’re looking at the details in order to assess the impact,” PennDOT spokeman Rich Kirkpatrick said.
The cutbacks are an apparent result of Amtrak’s bleak financial situation. While it has struggled to survive on a $1.2 billion federal subsidy this year, Congress wants to cut it back to $900 million next year. President Bush has proposed $1 billion in aid.
“What we’re thinking is that [Amtrak President David] Gunn is trying to send a message: ‘If you give me half the money I need, I can only run half a railroad,’ ” said John Perrucci of Pleasant Hills, an on-board service employee for the past four years.
A co-worker who also is losing his job, Jay Smith of Monroeville, said the trains have been operating at near capacity or selling out, and carrying standing-room-only loads for peak holiday travel.
“It is time to save Amtrak before Mr. Gunn kills it for good,” he said, alluding to efforts to downsize the quasi-public carrier into a regional rather than a national network.
Amtrak carried more than 24 million people last year, a record. The Pennsylvanian posted a 64.5 percent ridership increase for the year, carrying 124,372 passengers, and the Three Rivers gained 8.3 percent to 137,234. The Capitol Limited carried 153,969 passengers, a 5.6 percent gain from the prior year.
Many Amtrak passengers are students, families and senior citizens. Others prefer the convenience of stations in center cities, don’t drive or fear flying.
“The news is devastating,” said Bob Abraham of Monroeville, regional representative of the Keystone Association of Railroad Passengers, an advocacy group.
He rode the Pennsylvanian on Aug. 20 for a visit to Philadelphia.
“There were over 250 people on board and the cafe car sold out of everything,” Abraham said. “The Amtrak station in Pittsburgh was packed. With Greyhound and US Airways cutting back, this is a big, big loss to us.”
Amtrak officials also are expected to announce tomorrow that the consolidated new train between Pittsburgh and New York City will mean discontinuing use of a sleeper car and possibly using a smaller cafe car.