(The following editorial appeared on the Southern Illinoisan website on January 9.)
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Let’s do some wishful thinking. Say the Chicago Bears were still in the NFL playoffs this year, and you scored some great tickets to watch them play next week at Soldier Field.
You and your friends plan to go, and you’ve decided to let others do the driving.
You might guess that it would cost you an arm and a leg to take Amtrak; after all, it wasn’t but a few years ago that continuation of the federally subsidized railroad service was looking bleak.
Thankfully, federal lawmakers didn’t pull the plug on funding. These days, lawmakers are considering allocating more money to help Amtrak continue for the long haul.
We’re in full support of Sens. Dick Durbin and Barack Obama, as well as our Illinois congressional delegation, as they continue their push to see a $3 billion capital infusion for Amtrak survive a likely President George Bush veto.
If our wishful-thinking scenario were true, check out the deal we’d get: Amtrak tickets to Chicago from Carbondale could be had for as low as $66 round trip, with tax and with a professional membership discount such as one afforded for AAA standing.
Go ahead. Check it out. You can get a ticket to leave on Friday morning to Chicago and return late Sunday night or Monday to Carbondale, all for $66.
That’s $33 per leg, and likely much less than most of us would have to pay for the tank of gas needed to drive one way to Chicago.
Cost savings obviously isn’t the only benefit. Public transportation in many forms will play critical roles as our planet becomes more congested.
And it is wise now to invest in Amtrak’s long-term viability; the new trains, tracks and infrastructure to be purchased with the $3 billion sought in the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act – with roughly $200 million earmarked to benefit Illinois operations – would undoubtedly cost double in some short period of time.
Let’s not let the foundation of something decent crumble. Amtrak ridership nationally is up nearly 18 percent.
The increases on the lines between Carbondale and Chicago are up nearly 50 percent for 2006, Amtrak figures show.
Several factors likely are contributing to the gains, including higher gas prices, better service and a variety of rate options with lower weekday costs. No matter the reasons, we’re thrilled to see ridership way up, and urge passage of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act.