WASHINGTON – Senators used words like “concerned,” and “dismayed” as they considered the Trump administration's proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Transportation during a hearing July 13. Members of the Senate Ap...
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2017/07/14-usdot-amtraks-proposed-2018-budget-includes-all-available-funding
Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine
So much for the accuracy of a member who previously contended that Trump would support Amtrak.
"The [Trump] administration proposes to reduce DOT's annual budget from $18.6 billion to $16.2 billion. It would eliminate subsidies for Amtrak long-distance routes, and channel the funds into improving the infrastructure in the Northeast Corridor."
“The Northeast Corridor has a $38 billion 'state of good repair' backlog. How do you envision that backlog being addressed?” [Sen.] Coon asked. [Secretary] Chao's response seemed to say the repair backlog was Amtrak's problem. “These are repairs which have been delayed and the maintenance requirements are immense,” Chao said. “There has to be some way of looking at all these repairs, strategically figuring out best to prioritize these repairs, have a program, and then execute.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
H-h-h-m-m-m-m, now if I look at that Date that Trains Magazine put on the article and then I do a Google of a similar publication and compare the date of the news......
http://www.progressiverailroading.com/federal_legislation_regulation/news/Trump-budget-ends-funding-of-Amtrak-long-distance-trains-TIGER-grants--51091
Whats up with the Trains Magazine News Feed????
Also, you can also Google what the current status is of the Amtrak budget is (trying to find the link I read the day before yesterday)................there have been significant updates since the above article was published made to the Amtrak Budget. I read they restored funding for the Amtrak "Gateway" project to NYC so that they could start construction......forget the amount but it is part of a multi-year funding proposal from Congress. Also, I believe they restored funding for the LD trains (going off memory though).
Also,.........another point...... the draconian White House Budgets that reduce Amtrak to death are nothing new. It would be better to report and devote more time on actually what will pass through Congress vs a WH Budget proposal that we know from past history never makes it into law and never passes Congress as proposed without modifications.
So I would file this as nothing to be concerned about any longer. It was 4 months in the past at least.
CMStPnPI would file this as nothing to be concerned about any longer. It was 4 months in the past at least.
The Trains News Wire is from a Senate hearing July 13, one day prior to posting July 14, not from four months ago.
Senators used words like “concerned,” and “dismayed” as they considered the Trump administration's proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Transportation during a hearing July 13.
schlimm CMStPnP I would file this as nothing to be concerned about any longer. It was 4 months in the past at least. The Trains News Wire is from a Senate hearing July 13, one day prior to posting July 14, not from four months ago.
CMStPnP I would file this as nothing to be concerned about any longer. It was 4 months in the past at least.
For those with any residual doubt about the timeline: here is the official session video.
RME schlimm CMStPnP I would file this as nothing to be concerned about any longer. It was 4 months in the past at least. The Trains News Wire is from a Senate hearing July 13, one day prior to posting July 14, not from four months ago. For those with any residual doubt about the timeline: here is the official session video.
"Error: No valid source could be found."
schlimm"Error: No valid source could be found."
Either the Government's own link is corrupt or it's been intentionally protected against any kind of hotlinking. It's the video link from the Senate hearings Web page as linked in the original Newswire item,, and can be viewed (in its own little embedded window) there.
Yes, it's from the thirteenth, and not "four months ago" or whenever. Some of the topics are rehashes of older material, of course, but that wasn't the question here.
RME schlimm "Error: No valid source could be found." Either the Government's own link is corrupt or it's been intentionally protected against any kind of hotlinking. It's the video link from the Senate hearings Web page as linked in the original Newswire item,, and can be viewed (in its own little embedded window) there. Yes, it's from the thirteenth, and not "four months ago" or whenever. Some of the topics are rehashes of older material, of course, but that wasn't the question here.
schlimm "Error: No valid source could be found."
Even if you go directly to the Senate Appropriations Committee webpage, and "Hearings" and then the "Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, Thursday, July 13, 2017" the link is corrupted.
schlimmEven if you go directly to the Senate Appropriations Committee webpage, and "Hearings" and then the "Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, Thursday, July 13, 2017" the link is corrupted.
I actually have a copy of the video identified as "https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/review-of-the-fy2018-budget-request-for-the-us-dept-of-transportation" running in a Firefox window now, but I can't explain exactly how I got to that point. I opened the page using the Newswire's link, then clicked below the video window on 'Open in new window', then clicked in the large 'start video' triangle control in the actual window (not the control in the bottom pop=up bar) to start the video, then went to the 'scrubbing' bar at the bottom of the video and manually advanced to a point in Chao's testimony. about 28:42 in. This showed scrubbing video and the content started up when the 'play' control adjacent to the bar was clicked, with sound. This was immediately after a restart to update Windows 10 to all the latest Microsoft Update 'improvements', not that I think that necessarily has something to do with it.
I can find no way to paste or hotlink anything that actually plays, but there is at least a confirmation there is something with the good video content somewhere on the senate.gov page.
RME schlimm Even if you go directly to the Senate Appropriations Committee webpage, and "Hearings" and then the "Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, Thursday, July 13, 2017" the link is corrupted. I actually have a copy of the video identified as "https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/review-of-the-fy2018-budget-request-for-the-us-dept-of-transportation" running in a Firefox window now, but I can't explain exactly how I got to that point. I opened the page using the Newswire's link, then clicked below the video window on 'Open in new window', then clicked in the large 'start video' triangle control in the actual window (not the control in the bottom pop=up bar) to start the video, then went to the 'scrubbing' bar at the bottom of the video and manually advanced to a point in Chao's testimony. about 28:42 in. This showed scrubbing video and the content started up when the 'play' control adjacent to the bar was clicked, with sound. This was immediately after a restart to update Windows 10 to all the latest Microsoft Update 'improvements', not that I think that necessarily has something to do with it. I can find no way to paste or hotlink anything that actually plays, but there is at least a confirmation there is something with the good video content somewhere on the senate.gov page.
schlimm Even if you go directly to the Senate Appropriations Committee webpage, and "Hearings" and then the "Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, Thursday, July 13, 2017" the link is corrupted.
Thanks for the extra effort. Not sure I will try to follow, however, as what is of interest to me is Amtrak and infrastructure funding, both of which seem likely to be very limited according to Sec. Chao.
The House situation on Amtrak funding is, however, at variance from Sec. Chao's representation of the Trump budget. From the July 12 Reuters Business News:
Amtrak scored a victory on Monday when a U.S. House Appropriations Committee panel rejected massive budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration that would have ended $630 million in subsidies for Amtrak to operate long-distance train service.
The House panel instead approved $1.4 billion for Amtrak, about what it received last year. It also backed an additional $900 million in new funding for the $24 billion planned Gateway rail project to build a new train tunnel under the Hudson River near New York City. The funding also will pay to repair the existing, century-old tunnel between New York and New Jersey before it becomes unusable in the next decade.
ah-h-h-h-h-h-hh-h-h-h-h, tremendous sigh of relief.
schlimmThe House situation on Amtrak funding is, however, at variance from Sec. Chao's representation of the Trump budget. From the July 12 Reuters Business News: Amtrak scored a victory on Monday when a U.S. House Appropriations Committee panel rejected massive budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration that would have ended $630 million in subsidies for Amtrak to operate long-distance train service. The House panel instead approved $1.4 billion for Amtrak, about what it received last year. It also backed an additional $900 million in new funding for the $24 billion planned Gateway rail project to build a new train tunnel under the Hudson River near New York City. The funding also will pay to repair the existing, century-old tunnel between New York and New Jersey before it becomes unusable in the next decade.
The info didn't come from Trump's twitter account so it must be fake news.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACD schlimm The House situation on Amtrak funding is, however, at variance from Sec. Chao's representation of the Trump budget. From the July 12 Reuters Business News: Amtrak scored a victory on Monday when a U.S. House Appropriations Committee panel rejected massive budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration that would have ended $630 million in subsidies for Amtrak to operate long-distance train service. The House panel instead approved $1.4 billion for Amtrak, about what it received last year. It also backed an additional $900 million in new funding for the $24 billion planned Gateway rail project to build a new train tunnel under the Hudson River near New York City. The funding also will pay to repair the existing, century-old tunnel between New York and New Jersey before it becomes unusable in the next decade. The info didn't come from Trump's twitter account so it must be fake news.
schlimm The House situation on Amtrak funding is, however, at variance from Sec. Chao's representation of the Trump budget. From the July 12 Reuters Business News: Amtrak scored a victory on Monday when a U.S. House Appropriations Committee panel rejected massive budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration that would have ended $630 million in subsidies for Amtrak to operate long-distance train service. The House panel instead approved $1.4 billion for Amtrak, about what it received last year. It also backed an additional $900 million in new funding for the $24 billion planned Gateway rail project to build a new train tunnel under the Hudson River near New York City. The funding also will pay to repair the existing, century-old tunnel between New York and New Jersey before it becomes unusable in the next decade.
SAD!, but true.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Check with CMStPnP. He is a Trump insider, apparently.
schlimmCheck with CMStPnP. He is a Trump insider, apparently.
Not sure where you got that from but also incorrect. It is interesting how you could miss entirely the point of my first post and then reprint an article from Reuters before July 14th that backs up what I stated that the news has substantially changed and is old news.
BTW, you might want to check with the Mods on this but you can get Trains in a lot of legal trouble copyright wise with cut and paste of the article text. Essentially you are relocating Reuters content to another location without their permission.........it is much safer to use links.
Reuters was cited through a link. In any case the fair use doctrine applies = (in US copyright law) the doctrine that brief excerpts of copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder.
The facts are these: the House and Senate are independently pursuing their options as well as Trump's proposal. The final version remains TBD.
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