(The Associated Press circulated the following article by David A. Lieb on February 4.)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri’s cross-state passenger train service is again in jeopardy of cutbacks if the Legislature does not commit to spending more money by the end of this month, a state transportation official said Wednesday.
The state subsidizes Amtrak to operate two daily trains between St. Louis and Kansas City, with eight stops in between.
The service costs the state about $6.2 million annually. But this year, as it did last year, the Legislature appropriated just $5 million for Amtrak in the Transportation Department budget.
Last year, when Amtrak threatened to end one of the two trains by March 1, 2003, the Legislature agreed to spend an additional $800,000 and state officials struck a nationally unique deal with Amtrak to impose a $5 per passenger surcharge on Missouri trips. Amtrak also eliminated ticket agents in Jefferson City and Kirkwood to help make up the difference.
That surcharge remains in effect this year, and is expected to generate $263,000, which counts toward Amtrak’s bill to the state.
But Amtrak still will be forced to halt one of the two trains near the end of February if the Legislature does not appropriate an additional $884,815 to pay the state’s bill, said Brian Weiler, director of multimodal operations for the Department of Transportation.
“Right now, we’re basically in a survival mode, just trying to keep the service going,” Weiler told the House Budget Committee.
The committee, which also heard requests to boost midyear spending on other government programs, took no vote Wednesday on the proposal.
During the state’s 2003 fiscal year that ended June 30, Amtrak ridership in Missouri dipped to 167,245 passengers — the lowest level since 1996. Weiler attributed the decline partly to the budget uncertainties, delays in the trains’ arrival times and railroad track repairs that forced some passengers to ride buses for a while.
Union Pacific, which owns the tracks Amtrak uses, also plans to make track improvements this spring, which again could divert some Amtrak customers to buses, he said.
Through the first six months of the 2004 fiscal year that started July 1, Amtrak ridership was up 10 percent over the previous year, Weiler said.