House/Senate Agree to 1.22 Billion For Amtrak

[AlanB]

House-Senate bargainers have agreed to give Amtrak $1.22 billion for the new year, close to what railroad officials say they need to keep trains running and maintenance projects on track.
Negotiators from the two chambers planned to meet late Wednesday to formally shake hands on the agreement, which was described by congressional aides speaking on condition of anonymity.

The full story from the San Francisco Gate.

Thanks go to OTOL for finding this story.

 

[battalion51]

Well survival is key. I know it's not what Gunn wanted, but as long as the wheels keep turnin, that's all that matters for now.

 

[AlanB]

Well survival is key. I know it's not what Gunn wanted, but as long as the wheels keep turnin, that's all that matters for now.

Agreed.

But it is a shame that Congress can't get their act together and do it right. :angry: For the first time in years Amtrak finally has the right man at the controls. A man who might actually be able to turn things around for Amtrak and seriously increase ridership. A man who can reduce Amtrak's debt while still getting new equipment. A man who can fix most of Amtrak's problems, if Congress would just give him the funding he needs.

After all, it's not like he asked for the moon or 20 billion dollars. He gave them a realistic number, tied to a realistic budget.

 

[jccollins]

I just don't get it. I really don't. WHY won't Congress give Amtrak the funding it needs and desrves? WHY can't Amtrak have a dedicated budget each year like pretty much everything else does instead of being stuck in the center of this ridiculous Russian Roulette game?

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

Thank God!! We will take what we can get and breath a big sigh of relief...........and, yes.......wonder why it is so hard year after year after year.

 

[WICT106]

Hopefully, Amtrak will have another year of high ridership, which, when combined with this budget, will at least give the organization some more money with which to deal with all their issues and challenges. We have someone at the helm who gave the Congess a realistic figure, based upon a serious assessment of the property. Unfortunatly, there are members of Congress who just haven't seen the light. How they intend to deal with growth and transport by the time our nation reaches 500 million population has eluded them so far. Oh, yeah, I forgot: "no one takes trains. We'll just pave things over like we always have."

US$1.22B isn't what any of us had in mind. However, it's much better than the $900 M that the House proposed. It looks like Gunn will just have to do what amtrak has always been forced to do, which is to make good with what one has.

 

[scott]

I'm happy Amtrak got the money To answer JCcollins: the reason Amtrak isn't getting the infusion of capital it really requires has to do with the Bush Administration and the neoconservatives needing tens of billions of dollars to fund their foreign wars. Simple as that.

Scott