(The following article by Christina Murphy was posted on the Staunton News Leader website on November 25.)
STAUNTON, Va. — Joseph Laurenzl traded his traditional plane fare for a train ticket Thanksgiving Eve because he has a soft spot for the children’s story “The Polar Express.”
Snow flurries fell outside the waiting room at Staunton’s train station as Laurenzl, 18, discussed his holiday plans. He was headed to Chicago to visit family.
But Washington infighting could limit his future transportation choices.
Earlier this fall, the White House called for an end to the rail line’s subsidies. Congress approved Amtrak’s funding anyway.
Soon after, the company’s board fired its president, David Gunn, angering some lawmakers and prompting speculation over the board’s motives. Chairman David Laney said the decision stemmed from Gunn’s unwillingness to make cost-cutting changes — including selling off portions of the rail operation to the private sector.
Gunn said he knew why he was fired: “I was definitely an obstacle to their dismantling of Amtrak,” he said.
Wednesday, the 20 or more travelers crammed into Staunton’s tiny waiting room said they want more trains, not fewer.
Bonni McKeown of Hampshire County, W.Va., said she’d been part of the 1979 campaign to save the Cardinal.
“It’s hard to get out of these middle-size towns in Virginia and West Virginia,” she said.
McKeown was on her way to Huntington, W.Va., on Wednesday night.
Mary Schambach of Lexington said the Cardinal was the best route out of town — even though she had to drive to Staunton to catch a ride.
“It’s so very hard to get out of Lexington,” she said.
Mary Baldwin freshmen Stephanie Makowski and Christian Romeo, both 18, said without the train, they’d be dependent on the whims of friends and acquaintances to hail rides home.
Car pools are not always a pleasant experience, Romeo said: “It’s always crowded and smelly; you don’t like their music, it’s hard to get schedules straight…”
“My parents would probably come and get me, but it’d be so much hassle,” Makowski said.
Neither student owns a car. The two spent the day idling between a coffee shop and the train station after their dorms closed Wednesday morning. Their train was about three hours late.
Laurenzl had a similar dilemma: He’s been waiting two hours when the eastbound Cardinal pulled into the station. He hoped the train ride would save some time.
“I’d fly (if there were no train), but I’d prefer to drive,” Laurenzl said.