(The following article was posted on the Grand Rapids Press website on June 16.)
LANSING, Mich. — A $1 million subsidy cut to Amtrak approved by the state Senate on Wednesday could pull the rails from under the Pere Marquette train route between Grand Rapids and Chicago, area public transportation advocates fear.
The regional rail service, which set a ridership record last year and has seen increased traffic to date in 2005, could end on Oct. 1 if the funding is not restored, state Rep. Michael Sak, D-Grand Rapids, said.
“If that money isn’t there when the contract lapses, Amtrak will have to make that determination if they can continue to run the line,” Sak said, noting the Blue Water Line between Port Huron and Chicago also could be axed.
“This is a quality of life issue, and people are taking advantage of a service. The negative ramifications of saving $1 million now would be much larger down the road if this line doesn’t continue.”
Rail funding long has been in jeopardy at the state and federal levels, putting the Pere Marquette line on the chopping block for years despite strides in adding riders. In the service’s last fiscal year, ridership rose to 87,767 from 73,392.
Wednesday’s Senate vote would reduce Amtrak funding to $6.1 million. Budget changes for the Department of Corrections, the state police and the Department of Human Services also were included in proposals sent to the House.
Railroad supporters are planning on rallying for legislators to return the cash before October, said Jim Snell, a senior transportation planner for the Grand Valley Metro Council.
“It’s really a shame that it appears politics have played a role in this,” Snell said. “It’s not been deemed a waste of money or a service that’s not needed. It’s unfortunate we seem to battle this year after year.”
Holland Mayor Al McGeehan said the loss of the line would be a blow to public transportation advocates.
“We can either talk the talk about the need for public transportation, or we can put our money where our mouths are,” McGeehan said. “If they cut that money, it’s quite possible the Pere Marquette won’t survive, and it’d be a huge loss for the lakeshore.
“This is a service we should be trying to expand, not diminish.”
The Senate also voted on the corrections budget Wednesday, and senators decided to at least temporarily spare an Upper Peninsula prison and camp marked for closure, setting up a showdown between the Newberry Correctional Facility and Camp Manistique against Lake County’s privately run youth facility, which Gov. Jennifer Granholm recommended closing.
Sen. Alan Cropsey, a DeWitt Republican who helped write the corrections budget, plans to hold a public hearing on the Newberry prison next week. “We do not have an unlimited amount of money we can spend,” Cropsey said, noting that more cuts are needed than originally expected because of revenue estimates showing a shortfall in the new budget year. The new budget starts Oct. 1.
“There will be in all likelihood at least one institution closed,” Cropsey said.
Granholm proposed ending the state’s contract with a youth prison in Lake County to save $17 million from the state’s budget.
The Senate, meanwhile, followed Granholm’s recommendation to close state police posts in Oakland County’s Groveland Township, Grand Haven and Iron River, despite objections from lawmakers who represent districts where the posts are located.