Amtrak: Billions needed to rebuild system KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Local rail passengers can take comfort in knowing that Amtrak trains will continue to roll through Kalamazoo with the same frequency and speed that they have been, according to the Kalamazoo Gazette.
But Amtrak officials who authored a recently released five-year strategic plan say they need a systemwide annual operational budget of $1.8 billion from the federal government if they are going to:
•Pay for needed improvements to facilities and equipment.
• Move the national passenger rail system past an annual funding crisis.
• Increase the passenger rail service's operational reliability.
• Maintain increases in ridership in areas such as the Chicago-to-Detroit corridor.
Amtrak is operating on an appropriation of $900 million this year. Its five-year plan calls for Congress to rebuild the national passenger rail system for the 21st century and restructure the federal government's planning, funding and oversight of the system.
B-29 Superfortress WWII bomber set to land in the Lehigh Valley
