(The following story by Bruce Edwards appeared on the Rutland Herald website on October 24.)
RUTLAND, Vt. — Amtrak service in Vermont could fall victim to the state’s budget knife as the state Agency of Transportation looks to come up with an additional $4 million or more in spending cuts.
But agency spokesman John Zicconi said Thursday a budget scenario that would eliminate Amtrak service is unlikely during the current fiscal year or in fiscal 2010.
Any talk of cutting Amtrak service to Rutland raises concerns among local officials who point to the lack of an interstate highway.
The Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce and the Rutland Economic Development Corp. sent a joint letter this month to Agency of Transportation Secretary David Dill, expressing serious concern about even the possibility of cutting passenger rail service.
“At a time when Rutland is losing businesses and residents (our population is stagnant and aging), all Vermont Transit bus service has now been eliminated, U.S. Route 7N (North) improvements have been delayed and our downtown is at a crucial tipping point for the future; curtailing daily passenger service to this county could have disastrous effects,” the Oct. 8 joint letter to Dill said.
The state spends $5 million a year on the two Amtrak routes — the Ethan Allen Express from New York to Rutland and the Vermonter from Washington, D.C., to St. Albans.
Amtrak funding is part of the state’s fiscal 2009 budget but the Agency of Transportation, faced with an $8 million revenue shortfall, was forced to make cuts. The AOT has already cut $4 million and is looking into areas to cut at least another $4 million in November.
“It’s on the table because everything has to be on the table,” Zicconi said, referring to Amtrak. “When we go through a budget exercise like this, you can’t leave any stone unturned.”
But Zicconi said the reality is cutting the state’s Amtrak funding at this time wouldn’t make a lot of sense as the state tries to find another $4 million or more in spending cuts. He said if the state were to eliminate service the contract requires the state to give Amtrak 90 days’ notice. He said such a move to cancel both routes would only save the state approximately $200,000.
“At this point, we’re not expecting cuts to Amtrak,” he said.
As far as the fiscal 2010 budget, Zicconi said, the AOT should be under less financial stress. He said the 2010 transportation budget should get a boost from several sources including $10 million in state bonding authority, a likely increase in motor vehicle fees that could generate at least an additional $10 million, a legislative proposal by Gov. James Douglas to roll back by $4.5 million a year the practice of raiding the transportation fund to fund general fund programs, and another $3.7 million in federal funds anticipated as a reward for increased seat-belt usage in the state.
For 2010, that’s $25 million more the AOT could have access to than it has this fiscal year, reducing the pressure to make budget cuts, Zicconi said.
In his Oct. 5 letter to Chamber and REDC officials, Dill said while no one wants to cut Amtrak service, his agency is faced with some tough decisions. Dill said the agency is now facing $10 million in budget cuts this fiscal year. He said the agency’s revenue forecast was downgraded in July while actual revenue is running behind projections. He said the state is taking in less money because Vermonters are becoming more frugal, buying less gasoline and fewer expensive vehicles — two of the AOT’s major revenue sources.
“In November, a new revenue forecast is due. Although I do not know what the exact news will be, we are bracing for more bad news,” Dill wrote. “Chances are good at that time that we will have to cut an additional $3 or $4 million from our FY09 budget.”
Thomas Donahue, the Chamber’s executive vice president, said Thursday retaining Amtrak service is a vital transportation link for a region that lacks easy access to the interstate highway system.
“We tried to get beyond complaining about not having an interstate highway on this side of the state,” Donahue said, “and we felt very strongly the state has supported us with other means of transportation so that it almost makes up for the lack of an interstate.”
In addition to Amtrak, Cape Air serves the Rutland-Southern Vermont Regional Airport with several flights a day to Boston. Cape Air receives an annual federal subsidy under the Essential Air Services program.
According to Amtrak, combined ridership on the Ethan Allen increased 2.8 percent in fiscal 2007 to 18,885 while ridership on the Vermonter jumped 16.6 percent to 53,886 over the previous year.