(The Associated Press circulated the following on August 11, 2009.)
BOISE, Idaho — Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, says the state and local communities may still be asked to help cover some of the costs of restoring Amtrak’s Pioneer Route across southern Idaho.
But those costs may not be as significant as some once thought, Crapo said.
Idaho’s senior senator met with leaders in Boise on Monday about plans to resurrect the route, which stretched from Denver to Portland and included stops in Idaho cities like Pocatello, Shoshone, Boise and Nampa. The route was discontinued in 1997 due to ongoing financial losses.
Amtrak is expected to issue a preliminary report on restoring the route any day. A final report is due to Congress in October.
Crapo, along with congressional leaders from Oregon and Utah, has worked for several years to get Amtrak to bring back the Pioneer Route. Initially, Amtrak suggested that restoring passenger service along the route would require significant subsidies from states and communities, enough to make the line self-sufficient.
But the dynamics changed last fall, in part when Congress approved spending $13 billion over the next five years for Amtrak. The legislation also required Amtrak to conduct a thorough study of the Pioneer Route and consider the route it as part of Amtrak’s overall transportation operation.
“That means it’ll probably reduce, if not eliminate the question of whether states and localities would need to step up and provide the kind of subsidy to make the route viable,” Crapo told The Associated Press Tuesday.
Amtrak got another key financial boost earlier this year when lawmakers authorized another $1.3 billion in federal stimulus cash. Some of that money has helped the rail service refurbish its fleet of passenger cars.
Crapo says communities along the route may still have smaller financial stake, including track maintenance, managing depots or other support.
Across southern Idaho, support has been growing for bringing back the passenger rail service.
Earlier this month, officials in the resort town of Sun Valley approved a resolution backing efforts to return service to the region, including a stop in Shoshone.
In Boise, the city has owned the historic railroad depot since 1996 and has reserved space in it for Amtrak. The city also bought about 18 miles of track from Union Pacific in 2000 in hopes of keeping the rail connection into downtown Boise if Amtrak restored service.