Save Our Trains Michigan
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Amtrak faces aid cut for wrong reason
State shouldn't link full subsidy to maintenance facility's move
Amtrak's Blue Water Line, the passenger-train service that connects Port Huron and Chicago, again is in doubt. State lawmakers are ready to cut Amtrak's annual $7.1 million subsidy by $1 million as part of the 2005-06 budget.
The Times Heraldposition is consistent. Subsidizing the railroad is a poor use of public dollars, particularly when the state budget has faced massive deficits in the past three years.
That said, the proposed cut is a troubling example of public policy. In essence, state lawmakers who support it are offering to take it off the table if Amtrak agrees to move a heavy-maintenance facility from Indiana to Michigan. Amtrak refuses, and that's understandable.
While it is bad public policy to keep underwriting the Blue Water and Pere Marquette lines, subjecting the railroad to blackmail is worse.
Amtrak officials consistently have argued the $7.1 million subsidy is essential to keep the two lines operating. The Blue Water Line actually has seen a rider increase.
From Oct. 1, 2004, through August, 102,306 passengers used the train service, a significant improvement from the 94,378 during the 2003-04 fiscal year.
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State shouldn't link full subsidy to maintenance facility's move
Amtrak's Blue Water Line, the passenger-train service that connects Port Huron and Chicago, again is in doubt. State lawmakers are ready to cut Amtrak's annual $7.1 million subsidy by $1 million as part of the 2005-06 budget.
The Times Heraldposition is consistent. Subsidizing the railroad is a poor use of public dollars, particularly when the state budget has faced massive deficits in the past three years.
That said, the proposed cut is a troubling example of public policy. In essence, state lawmakers who support it are offering to take it off the table if Amtrak agrees to move a heavy-maintenance facility from Indiana to Michigan. Amtrak refuses, and that's understandable.
While it is bad public policy to keep underwriting the Blue Water and Pere Marquette lines, subjecting the railroad to blackmail is worse.
Amtrak officials consistently have argued the $7.1 million subsidy is essential to keep the two lines operating. The Blue Water Line actually has seen a rider increase.
From Oct. 1, 2004, through August, 102,306 passengers used the train service, a significant improvement from the 94,378 during the 2003-04 fiscal year.
My Webpage
