RICHMOND, Va. — The Richmond area has lots riding on the future of Amtrak, but the passenger railroad can survive only if Congress gives it a green light for improvements, the Richmond times-Dispatch reported.
That was the message yesterday of Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, to about 75 members of the Richmond Friends of Rail, a business-backed advocacy group trying to upgrade local rail service.
“Development of rail means jobs; rail means making Richmond a better and more attractive place to live,” Cantor said.
Main Street Station is expected to reopen by spring after a $48.2 million renovation.
Other efforts seek faster rail links for the Southeast, with Richmond playing a key role in a regional transportation network. Backers hope better rail service can provide an alternative to car and air travel.
The state has spent millions of dollars in recent years to replace tracks and interchanges in Northern Virginia and is working on making improvements in the Richmond area.
Yet the service provider Amtrak “has been held hostage” by wrangling in Congress, Cantor said.
The Richmond-area Republican helped secure $250,000 in federal transportation funds for improving local railroad grade crossings this year and also helped start a Virginia-North Carolina High Speed Rail Commission.
Two bills are pending in the House and Senate to finance Amtrak in fiscal year 2003, but neither measure addresses the railroad’s deeper need for help in maintaining thousands of miles of track, bridges and train stations, Cantor said.
In its 31 years of service, federally subsidized Amtrak has never made a profit.
But that’s not likely to happen, Cantor said, unless Congress comes up with a way to finance a structural upgrade of Amtrak.
Cantor noted that during the past 30 years Congress has appropriated $750 billion for highway construction and billions more for airports.
Amtrak received $11 billion for improvements during that time, he said. “We have to change that,” Cantor said. “This country has to come to grips with its view of where rail fits in the pecking order.”
Congress should find a way to fix decaying rail infrastructure, and “let Amtrak focus on service,” Cantor said.
For its part, Amtrak needs to prove to Congress that it can get its financial house in order.
“It’s all about accountability,” Cantor said.
Speaking before key local business and government leaders, Cantor urged the Friends of Rail to keep lobbying Congress. By law, Amtrak can’t lobby on its own behalf.
S. Buford Scott, chairman of Scott & Stringfellow Inc., said after the meeting, “Groups like Friends of Rail become much more important because they’re the only ones that can lobby their congressmen.”
James Dunn, president of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, said Richmond is part of a regional business coalition pushing for high-speed rail service that would link the Southeast’s major cities.
Cantor said such regional alliances are vital for achieving better rail service in states such as Virginia and North Carolina, which have devoted considerable time and money to the cause.
Asked when central Virginians are likely to see faster trains, Cantor said, “I hate even to guess, because so much has to do with making physical improvements along the way.”