(The following column by Sen. Ben Nelson appeared on the York News Times website on November 14.)
YORK, Neb. — Nebraskans do not want to lose the California Zephyr. Experienced travelers say the California Zephyr is one of the most beautiful train trips in all of North America.
The Zephyr runs daily between Chicago and San Francisco, coursing through the plains of Nebraska to Denver, across the Rockies to Salt Lake City, and then through Reno and Sacramento into San Francisco.
In Nebraska it makes 5 stops _ Omaha, Lincoln, Hastings, Holdrege and McCook.
Long distance routes, like the Zephyr takes, are the least profitable routes Amtrak runs and are the most likely to be cut if Amtrak were ever to be privatized. This is why it’s important to make sure there is a subsidy for Amtrak.
A bipartisan bill, S. 294, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007, passed the Senate in October with an objective to improve the overall performance and service of Amtrak while lessening its dependence on federal subsidies, thereby reducing the calls to privatize the system, at a cost over the next five years of $11.4 billion.
While the bill continues a federal subsidy for Amtrak, the bill also aims to reduce Amtrak’s federal operating subsidy by 40 percent and requires Amtrak to become more efficient through increased revenue and ridership, cost containment, and management improvements. The reauthorization bill also requires performance improvement among the long distance lines, such as the California Zephyr.
Amtrak must have the resources necessary to maintain and improve its services. It is particularly important for rural states like Nebraska to ensure that there are viable transportation options available. Nebraska’s future relies on remaining connected to the region and the rest of the nation.
During debate on the bill, I joined a successful effort to block an amendment that would have arbitrarily capped subsidies on long-distance routes. This cap likely would have resulted in the termination of the California Zephyr _ Nebraska’s only passenger rail service. Elimination of the California Zephyr would mean one less transportation option for Nebraskans, which I believe is unacceptable.
This amendment would have stripped the railroad of needed flexibility to improve and ensure the future of America’s railroads. While there are certainly problems with reliability and quality service on the California Zephyr, it makes more sense to allow the proposed plans for improving the long-distance routes that are included in this reauthorization bill to go into effect rather than picking an arbitrary subsidy cap that likely would result in the line being terminated within one year.
I will always put the needs of Nebraska first and reject attempts to balance the budget on the backs of the people of Nebraska.