Amtrak Funding Bill Does not pass

[Anonymous]

Amtrak seems to come up on the short end every time but this time it may be terminal. Northeast Cooridor trains and Caltrains may continue but long distance rail travel may be a thing of the past.

[CSXrules4eva]

OH my!!!! This is news to me!! I don't want long distance travel to be gone forever!!! I don't think that'll happen (I'm hopeing). I wasn't aware that Amtrak made yet another proposal to the government involving their financual state. Well, I don't think the government is going to give Amtrak all of the money it's asked for, ever. They would rather see Amtrak fall and an new airline rise, which to me isn't allways the best way to go. I ganrentee (spelling) this if long distance rail travel is eliminated you will here many people complaining, espually those people who are afraid to death of flying.

[oltmannd]

They only need to come up with 5 more votes in the Sentate. They'll have to bake some reform into the next proposal - or at least the appearance of reform. This one that failed had zero reform.

[conrailman]

The War just top 300 Billion for the War just a waste of are taxes money.[V]

[Anonymous]

Some how I just got this feeling that this topic "is not" gona go away any time soon.
BNSFrailfan.

[METRO]

any word on the Milwaukee-Chicago Hiawathas? I thought that that run was funded by the states of WI and IL, is it toast too?

~METRO

[oltmannd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by METRO

any word on the Milwaukee-Chicago Hiawathas? I thought that that run was funded by the states of WI and IL, is it toast too?

~METRO

If Congress does nothing but authorize the $360M in the prez's budget, then everything goes away except commuter service in the NEC.

But, Maneta says that the $360M submission was just to get things started, that $1-2B would be an agreeable amount to the prez if Amtrak was reformed.

The proposal put out there by Maneta is unworkable and maybe even silly - Feds match capital investment by states. States provide operating subsidy. But, I'd be willing to bet the final version of Amtrak reform will look like a hybrid between the Maneta proposal and existing Amtrak. We might be able to hang on to some sort of network of long distance trains and actually get more investment money for new corridors.