Key Congressman: Amtrak is “a lifeline” and “an engine of economic growth”

Threatened with yet another round of starvation-level funding, Amtrak is in desperate need of more champions on Capitol Hill. Amtrak is fortunate, for the first time in its history, to have steady backing from the White House and the Secretary of Transportation. Now, with a column in The Hill newspaper (a free daily publication circulated to all Congressional offices and around Washington), the Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee offers a passionate defense of the nation’s passenger railroad.

Amtrak’s Cardinal near Prince, WV. Photo by John Mueller on Flickr.

Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), whose southern West Virginia district is served by one Amtrak train just three days a week, understands the economic development potential that world-class passenger train service offers to rural and urban communities alike. “I have long advocated for the return of daily Cardinal service because it is a lifeline for rural communities and an engine of economic growth for the region,” he writes.

Responding to T&I Committee Chairman John Mica’s (R-FL) proposal that the Northeast Corridor be siphoned off from Amtrak and run by a private company, Rahall explains, “Private companies did not want to run passenger rail service [at the time Amtrak was created], and there is very little evidence they want to do so now.”

Rahall commends Amtrak for surviving so many Congressional attempts to cripple it, and coming out with record-high ridership in its 40th year of operation. He says the investment required to achieve Amtrak’s vision for 220-mph train service on a new right-of-way in the Northeast Corridor “pales in comparison to what other countries are spending on high-speed rail and the $1.8 trillion this country has spent on our world-class highway and aviation systems.”

NARP applauds Ranking Member Rahall for taking a big-picture view of the passenger rail issue: not as another line item in the budget to be trimmed, but as an investment that will, in due time, return dividends of greater economic growth, energy security, and a higher quality of life—not to mention making mobility possible for a growing US population that can’t be accommodated solely by expanding highways and airports.

We are encouraging other members of Congress to follow his lead and take the courageous, principled stand that safe, efficient mobility for all Americans—a key to our present and future prosperity—is something we cannot afford to skimp on. You can help us by calling or emailing your Representative and Senators.

—Malcolm Kenton