(The Associated Press distributed the following article on October 27.)
WASHINGTON — The Senate has approved a $1.34 billion subsidy for Amtrak for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1.
The action sets up a conflict with the House, which approved $900 million less and has been eager for structural changes at the railroad.
Amtrak had been seeking $1.8 billion, which it said it needed to return to a state of good repair.
The railroad president, David L. Gunn, said in a letter to senators on Wednesday that the $1.34 billion “leaves us at great risk in terms of reliability” but said that Amtrak could continue operating with an appropriation of that size “and hopefully not worsen the amount of deferred maintenance.”
The Senate acted late Thursday. The two versions will go to a conference committee, probably one that will consider several last-minute appropriations bills, congressional staff members said.
That left some Amtrak supporters in Congress in doubt over what level of influence they would have in the conference.
The White House favors the $900 million subsidy, but Gunn insists that number would force a shutdown next year.
The House favors a provision that would let another federal agency, the Surface Transportation Board, step in to keep the Northeast Corridor open for commuter operations and freight traffic if Amtrak were to shut down.
Amtrak owns the Northeast Corridor, the tracks from Washington through Penn Station in New York to Boston.
The House negotiators may also push for a clause that would allow a single Amtrak long-distance route to be contracted out to a private operator as an experiment, a House aide said.
The White House favored giving states the power to decide which Amtrak routes would keep running, and after a transition period, giving them the financial liability as well. But neither house favored that approach.