(The following editorial was posted on the Billings Gazette website on July 5.)
BILLINGS, Mont. — Amtrak supporters have an uphill climb to save the nation’s passenger rail service from cuts proposed by the Bush administration and written into budget resolutions passed this spring on party-line votes.
But last week, the railroad got a boost. The House voted to maintain Amtrak funding at its current level. Bush had proposed zero money for the rail services, and the House earlier had endorsed a cut of more than 50 percent from this year’s budget.
Wednesday’s House action specifically allows Amtrak to keep its long routes, including the Empire Builder, which runs through Montana on a route connecting Chicago, Seattle and Portland, Ore.
Rep. Denny Rehberg of Montana was among the GOP legislators who backed Amtrak despite the administration’s call to eliminate its funding.
Next stop for Amtrak: the U.S. Senate. There we expect Sens. Max Baucus and Conrad Burns to be on board to preserve this interstate public transportation. Despite a March 16 roll call vote against Amtrak funding, Burns has lately been calling for continuation of the railway subsidy. Baucus voted back in March to preserve Amtrak.
The Montana congressional delegation knows that Amtrak is the only public transportation available in many Hi-Line communities. It transports people to shopping and medical care. The train regularly delivers merchandise and supplies to Hi-Line businesses. Amtrak brings travelers and tourists through northeastern Montana, and many disembark in Glacier National Park or Whitefish.
Last year, more than 24 million passengers depended on Amtrak for transportation on the railway’s 22,000 route miles. Use of the Empire Builder increased to 129,000 passengers. In Glasgow alone, more than 6,000 passenger departures and arrivals were logged last year, according to the Gazette State Bureau. That’s that the equivalent of every one of the town’s 3,300 residents taking a train trip.
Amtrak merits federal support – just like airports and highways. The House recognized that in a voice vote last week. The Senate should do the same in supporting Amtrak funding when senators return from their July 4 break. Let’s keep interstate passenger trains rolling through Montana and across the United States.