Amtrak Connects Rural California Communities

Some critics will tell you that we only need trains in dense urban areas like the Northeast Corridor between Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  Amtrak’s national network of trains provides a vital transportation service to many communities left behind by the “discount” airlines.  And with gas prices climbing upwards, it’s unlikely that you’ll see air service to communities such as Havre, Montana (on the Empire Builder) or Crawfordsville, Indiana (route of the Hoosier State and Cardinal).

Moreover, my home state of California proves that Amtrak can provide frequent “corridor” passenger rail service to rural communities.  Last week, I traveled from Los Angeles to Fresno on business aboard Amtrak’s San Joaquin.  Amtrak’s San Joaquin provides six roundtrips per day through rural Central California (starting in Bakersfield, home of country music great Buck Owens) up to the urban communities around the San Francisco Bay.  Slicing through cornfields and farming towns that most Americans would associate with Iowa or Arkansas, the San Joaquin provides a vital travel option for Central California residents.  The San Joaquin has the most extensive system of dedicated feeder buses in the entire Amtrak network (see full schedule) allowing the train to reach the far corners of California and southern Oregon.  California’s innovative cooperation with Amtrak is a national model – the San Joaquin is among Amtrak’s five busiest routes.

But we can’t do it without Amtrak!  Currently Amtrak’s fate is in the hands of the Senate Appropriations committee.  NARP’s efforts last month kept the House of Representatives from approving a shutdown budget for Amtrak. Contact your Senators (click here)  and let them know you want Amtrak to receive its full appropriation this year.  Communities from Bakersfield, California to Crawfordsville, Indiana deserve it.

Dennis Lytton
NARP Board Member
Los Angeles, CA