(The following article by Steve Cahalan was posted on the La Crosse Tribune website on August 24.)
LA CROSSE, Wisc. — Passenger numbers are increasing on the Empire Builder route between Chicago and Portland/Seattle, and recent train improvements and new amenities will create even stronger demand, Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer David Gunn said Tuesday.
Gunn, who boarded an Empire Builder train Sunday in Seattle, briefly visited with local officials Tuesday during its stop at the Amtrak depot in La Crosse.
In an interview on the train as it continued east to Tomah, Wis., Gunn also said Amtrak needs more than the $1.2 billion subsidy the U.S. House of Representatives recently approved for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has voted to increase Amtrak’s federal funding from $1.2 billion this fiscal year to $1.45 billion next fiscal year. The Bush administration proposed zero dollars for Amtrak, and this spring U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta proposed pushing 50 percent of Amtrak’s costs onto states.
Amtrak would have to do “pretty drastic surgery” if it received only $1.2 billion next fiscal year, Gunn said, “which I don’t recommend, or you can cut back on the capital, which I don’t recommend.” He added he isn’t prepared to say which would happen.
A record 25 million people rode Amtrak trains in the fiscal year that ended last Sept. 30, up 4 percent from 24 million the year before. Gunn said the figure for the current fiscal year is expected to be up slightly from the previous year.
Last fiscal year, the Empire Builder served more than 437,000 passengers, up 5 percent from the previous fiscal year. There are six sets of trains on the Empire Builder route, with five traveling at any given time.
This month, Amtrak introduced what it calls the Empire Builder’s fresh look, and said the changes are the start of a major initiative at Amtrak to improve passengers’ experience on long-distance trains and improve the trains’ financial performance.
The new look includes refurbished rail cars, new on-board services and improved passenger amenities. For example, the interiors of sleeping cars were extensively renovated, and the bedrooms have modern-looking toilet and shower units. The interiors of the coach and dining cars also have been refurbished. In the lounge car, an upstairs snack bar has been added in the peak seasons to serve light food and beverages.
“The most important thing was to rebuild the equipment,” Gunn said of the improvements.