(The following editorial was posted on the Chico Enterprise Record website on June 28.)
CHICO, Calif. — America’s hopes for a balanced national transportation system suffered a setback last week when the House Appropriations Committee upheld an earlier subcommittee action slashing the Amtrak budget by 55 percent.
Amtrak president David Gunn said the cuts likely would force a complete shutdown of the national rail system. Amtrak critics argued their proposed $550 million is enough to keep trains rolling in the densely settled northeast corridor.
As for the rest of the nation, tough.
California’s state-subsidized intercity trains, like the Capitol Corridor that runs from Sacramento to the Bay Area, might survive in some form. But the long-distance trains – including the Coast Starlight, which stops in Chico – would be history.
The state would also lose the California Zephyr, from Emeryville to Chicago; the Southwest Chief, from Los Angeles to Chicago; and the Sunset Limited, from L.A. to Orlando, Fla.
All four trains would be discontinued under the House plan, which would eliminate any train requiring a subsidy of more than $30 per passenger. The Starlight is subsidized $94 per passenger; The Zephyr, $179; Southwest Chief, $290; and Sunset Limited, a whopping $466.
In all, the House cuts would shut down at least 15 long-distance routes and two regional lines.
Amtrak now carries 25 million annual riders to 500 stations in 46 states. California has the second-highest ridership behind New York.
Amtrak operates an average of 70 intercity trains and more than 200 commuter trains per day throughout the state. Three of the company’s five busiest routes in the country are in California.
The Starlight, which travels 1,389 miles from Los Angeles to Seattle, carried 415,598 passengers, Amtrak reported
The subsidies are high, but it is hardly fair to compare subsidies on such long-distance routes with shorter hauls like Washington to New York.
The rail subsidies are not out of line when compared with taxpayer underwriting of airlines, ports, highways and other transportation facilities. Public transit bus lines typically recover less than 25 percent of their costs from fares.
As just one example from air transportation: The federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has taken over responsibility for paying an estimated $6 billion in promised pension benefits to 120,000 current and former employees of United Airlines. That single bailout would pay Amtrak’s entire budget for five years.
The House has wreaked similar havoc on Amtrak in previous years, only to see the funds reserved by cooler heads in the Senate. This year, we’d urge the Senate to not just put the national railroad back on life support but to approve the $1.8 billion Gunn seeks. At that level, Amtrak will be able to make the repairs and service upgrades it needs to be a serious transportation alternative.
Concerns with air travel security in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and our growing dependence on foreign oil make bolstering our railroads – America’s safest and most fuel-efficient form of transportation – more important than ever.