(The following article by David Jesse was posted on the Port Huron Times Herald website on August 11.)
PORT HURON, Mich. — A bill awaiting Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s signature could be the death knell for a state subsidy of Amtrak’s Michigan lines, including the Blue Water Line.
That in turn could kill the train service.
The legislation, passed last week as part of a state supplemental spending bill, requires the state to pay the same amount of money — $7.1 million — to bus companies as it does to Amtrak. That could cause problems with the state budget and lead to the cancellation of the Amtrak subsidy, said state Rep. Lauren Hager, R-Port Huron Township.
“We believe that would do irreparable harm to the Amtrak program,” Hager said. “That would be devastating to the Blue Water Line.”
The Blue Water Line runs between Port Huron and Chicago. Also affected would be Amtrak’s Pere Marquette line, which operates between Grand Rapids and Chicago.
Hager plans to gather signatures from other state legislators asking Gran-holm to veto that part of the spending bill.
“That portion is currently under review for any potential impacts,” state budget spokesman Greg Bird said.
Amtrak is “troubled” by the bill, spokesman Marc Magliari said.
“It would suggest that since they’ve (the state) only appropriated money for the (train services) and not any other operators, it would have to stop operating,” he said.
Tina Gomez, 34, of Port Huron doesn’t think the line should be stopped.
“I use it a lot. It’s a lot easier for me to go back and forth from Chicago on it than driving,” she said.
The news comes as Amtrak and state officials are celebrating increased ridership on the Blue Water Line. It was launched in April to replace the International line, which had run between Chicago and Toronto.
Ridership numbers are up 36% from 7,936 to 10,853 when comparing July 2003 to July 2004, Magliari said.
The state funding bill is a precursor to a battle looming with Amtrak’s subsidy in next year’s budget, Hager said.
“I believe, without a question, it’s an alternative form of transportation that the state needs to keep,” he said.