(Mlive.com posted the following article by Edward Hoogterp of the Lansing Bureau on its website on March 31.)
LANSING — When Amtrak’s International and Pere Marquette trains speed along the rails through the Michigan countryside, they’re carrying more than just passengers.
The two trains, which serve Flint, Lansing, Grand Rapids and Holland on the way to Chicago, also carry massive subsidies from state government. And they carry an image of Americana that goes far beyond simple transportation.
“There is certainly a level of prestige in seeing that your community is served by passenger rail,” said Steve Bulthuis, transportation manager for the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council, a group of Holland-area governments.
“Community leaders and chambers of commerce certainly ascribe a value to being an Amtrak community.”
Railroading is an emotional issue, both for passengers and for the communities served by the trains. Michigan legislators are debating just how much that’s worth in cold cash.
The state’s $5.7 million subsidy for the Pere Marquette and International lines amounts to $38 for each one-way ticket. And Amtrak says it’s still losing money on the trains.
The national rail company may end service on the two lines in 45 days, unless the Michigan Department of Transportation provides an additional $1.4 million to maintain service through the Sept. 30 end of the state fiscal year.
Based on last year’s ridership of just under 150,000 passengers on the two trains, that would calculate to a subsidy of $47 for each one-way fare.
Amtrak had asked for $7.1 million during last year’s budget process, and agreed to operate only through March on the current subsidy level. That date was extended by six weeks to give the Legislature time to act.
A bill that cleared a house committee last week would let the Transportation Department take the extra money from an account that had been reserved for rail studies and track improvements. The legislation still must clear the full House and the Senate before the Transportation Department could make a new deal with Amtrak.
Trains on Amtrak’s Detroit-Chicago line are considered part of a national system, subsidized by the federal government. Those trains, which serve Ann Arbor, Jackson and Kalamazoo, will continue in any case, said Ray Lang, Amtrak’s director of government affairs.
The International, from Port Huron to Chicago, and the Pere Marquette, from Grand Rapids to Chicago, began running in the 1970s and ’80s under an agreement in which the state and federal governments paid part of the cost of operation, Lang said.
But in the 1990s, the federal government phased out its share. The state subsidy that stood at $1.9 million in 1995-96 had jumped to $5.7 million last year.
Meanwhile, ridership has fallen from its peak in the 1990s.
“The trends seem to be going the opposite of where they ought to be going,” said Rep. Jerry Kooiman, R-Grand Rapids, who is a member of the Appropriations subcommittee on transportation. “… Every year we’re bumping up the subsidy; every year we’re seeing a decrease in ridership.”
Kooiman said he supports the fund transfer to keep the train running through September. But he called for a “thorough review” of the state’s relationship with Amtrak before a new long-term contract is awarded.
Bulthuis is part of the Westrain Collaborative, which promotes ridership on the Pere Marquette through western Michigan. He was among more than a dozen rail supporters who testified last week before the House Transportation Committee, asking for the subsidy increase.
“It’s important that our state has a balanced transportation system. Passenger rail has to be part of that as well,” he said.
John DeLora, executive director of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, a nonprofit association of rail supporters, said the state subsidy is not out of line.
He noted that even at Amtrak’s full request, the total subsidy comes to about 74 cents for each resident of Michigan.
“Compared to other transportation projects, I think that’s a bargain,” he said.
DeLora suggested Amtrak could attract more passengers by running the trains more often than once a day.
“The real way out of this problem is to grow the service,” he said.
Gordon Mackay, president of Owosso-based Indian Trails bus line, has contacted state officials to suggest that the subsidy be dropped and intercity buses used to link towns served by the International and Pere Marquette with the Detroit-Chicago line.
Using buses to “feed” the Detroit-Chicago line would make that train more profitable while saving the state $7 million a year, he said.
“I’m not knocking the train,” Mackay said. “I’m just saying there are better ways to spend the public’s money. I think there’s a positive place for both (buses and trains).”