(The following story by Caleb Hale appeared on the Southern Illinoisan website on February 15.)
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS — President George W. Bush wants to leave Amtrak in the hands of the company and the states that run the rail system, the U.S. transportation secretary said on a visit to Chicago Monday.
Secretary Norman Mineta said the federal government has benefited little from the nearly $30 billion it’s invested in the ailing rail system since the 1970s, and now it is time for the company to roll on its own, with state support for infrastructure. Bush scrapped operating funds for Amtrak in the 2006 fiscal year budget. Last year $1.2 billion in federal subsidies went to the passenger rail line.
Mineta said Bush is willing to offer a 50/50 split between the state and federal government for station, tracks and other infrastructure expenses.
Illinois provides roughly $12 million a year to keep regular rail service running from Chicago to Carbondale, said Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Matt Vanover.
Amtrak employs 2,000 workers in the state and runs 50 trains daily. The rail line served more than 3 million customers last year and acts as the main lifeline for Chicago students attending Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Last year Amtrak spent $56 million on Illinois operations.
ADVERTISEMENT >> ADVERTISING INFO << The company runs trains through two stations in Southern Illinois, one in Carbondale and one in Du Quoin. Vanover said supporting infrastructure isn't that much of a strain for state funds, since Amtrak only mainly owns Union Station in Chicago already. What he and other state officials are concerned about, though, is Amtrak's ability to keep its operations afloat without federal support. "The operations budget, as it is proposed today, would be a major blow to the Illinois public transportation system," Vanover said. State Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, called the transportation secretary's announcement "disheartening." "The bad thing is I'm from a district where Amtrak is vitally important," Bost said. Bost said the Amtrak trains bring students to and from SIUC at an affordable rate. For many, he added, the system allows students from Chicago their only access to SIUC. "It's just unbelievable what it does to keep college affordable," Bost said. State Sen. David Luechtefeld, R-Okawville, whose district also is served by Amtrak, said he'd have to see the overall budget picture and how much more it could cost the state before declaring the rail service a total loss. Luechtefeld added, however, if funding support is left solely to the state, it might be difficult to get legislators unaffected by Amtrak's service to put money into the system. "One of the problems you would have in getting that funding is many state representatives don't have Amtrak running through their districts," he said. "I know the east side of the side is virtually untouched by Amtrak. It would be difficult to get those people to agree to additional funding." U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, said for Mineta to even suggest Illinois take over the development of Amtrak shows he didn't do his homework. "There's no money for Amtrak in Springfield," Durbin said. Durbin said Amtrak is an important feature for Illinois, especially in the downstate communities, where the passenger train is the only form of public transportation available. And Illinois is not alone in its quest to save Amtrak. "It's more important in the northeastern United States," Durbin said. He said Illinois may soon be part of a new coalition of states to pool resources for Amtrak funding. Durbin said with the lobbying the northeastern part of the country is doing for the system, coordinators should be able to put together a pretty big group. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Chicago, also has been critical of Bush's plan to cut Amtrak funding. "It strikes me that we should make a greater investment in upgrading our rail system rather than eliminating the subsidies that already exist," Obama said. "We're the only developing country in the world that doesn't make a significant commitment to our rail transportation system." -- The Associated Press contributed to this report.