(The following article by Jim Ritchie was posted on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review website on October 1.)
PITTSBURGH — The cost of saving a cross-state Amtrak train set to be eliminated on Nov. 1 is too steep for PennDOT.
PennDOT said Thursday it cannot afford the $2.5 million annual subsidy Amtrak sought to keep the daily Three Rivers train running.
“We, too, are in a tough financial position, and we don’t have money in the budget,” said PennDOT spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick. “We can’t justify spending what Amtrak wanted us to spend.”
Amtrak will merge two of the three passenger trains serving Pittsburgh, cutting one cross-state run that has a growing ridership. PennDOT told Amtrak in early September that it wanted to keep the train and began discussing options.
Amtrak will merge its Pittsburgh-to-Philadelphia-to-New York Pennsylvanian train with the Chicago-to-Pittsburgh-to-Philadelphia-to-New York Three Rivers train. Then, only one train will serve the Chicago-Pittsburgh-Philadelphia-New York route.
In March, the route will be shortened to a Pittsburgh-Philadelphia-New York run.
“Amtrak is going forward with the plan outlined earlier,” said spokeswoman Marcie Golgoski. “If they come up with an alternate plan, we’re willing to listen.”
The failed talks disappointed passenger groups, including the Keystone Association of Railroad Passengers.
“We’d hoped that somehow PennDOT could find the money,” said Mark Spada, a Mt. Lebanon resident who is the group’s president.
PennDOT intends to continue talking with Amtrak about possible changes to improve the remaining service, Kirkpatrick said.
A third train that serves Pittsburgh, the Capital Limited, is not affected. It runs between Chicago and Washington, D.C., and stops in Pittsburgh.
Amtrak’s cuts are driven by its decision to no longer ship for the U.S. Postal Service. About 65 jobs in Pennsylvania will be lost.
Ridership on the Pennsylvanian has grown about 10 percent, from 13,191 passengers in June 2003 to 14,528 in June 2004. Three Rivers ridership has increased 5.1 percent, from 13,375 passengers in June 2003 to 14,055 in June 2004.