(The Chicago Sun-Times posted the following story by Robert C. Herguth and Lynn Sweet on its website on July 30.)
CHICAGO — The future of Amtrak’s Chicago service, high-speed rail in Illinois and more than 2,000 local jobs is tenuous, according to critics of the Bush administration’s plans to restructure the national railroad system and shift much of the financial burden to states.
If the plan is approved by Congress–as it’s now crafted, that appears unlikely to some–service most likely would shrink.
“Fewer trains, fewer long-distance trains out of Chicago, fewer people employed out of Chicago” are some of the probable implications, said Illinois Transportation Secretary Tim Martin. “How do people out of Downstate, western and southern Illinois get from Point A to Point B? How do people with no access to planes or inter-city bus service get from Point A to B?”
Union Station, which is owned by Amtrak and serves the railroad as well as Metra, “would be a shadow of itself,” he added.
State government contributes around $12 million a year to help subsidize four Amtrak corridors: Chicago to Quincy, Chicago to St. Louis, Chicago to Carbondale and Chicago to Milwaukee, said the Illinois Department of Transportation’s John Schwalbach. With budget troubles, it’s unclear if the state would cough up more.
Bush’s plan, submitted to Congress Monday, would split Amtrak into three entities over six years: a private company that would be hired by states and consortiums of states to operate passenger trains; a company that handles the busy Northeast Corridor; and a governmental operation that would hold Amtrak’s name and ability to use freight tracks.
“If it’s enacted as it is, it’s really bad for Chicago, it’s really bad for Illinois and it’s really bad for a lot of people across the country,” Martin said.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) echoed those concerns. “The Bush administration’s proposal to ‘reform’ the nation’s inter-city passenger rail system will derail Amtrak, costing Illinois over 2,000 jobs, adding more congestion to our nation’s highways and increasing air pollution,” he said in a prepared statement. “We should reform Amtrak, not wreck it.”
Amtrak has been like a sickly old uncle, many times nearing–then defying–death in recent years as experts debated a cure. Its ailment has been financial, caused by stagnant ridership levels, mismanagement and, more generally, a lack of vision and commitment for its future.