Rail Passenger Association (RPA) and Amtrak officials are raising concerns regarding the House Committee on Appropriation’s draft Fiscal Year 2024 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) legislation.
The RPA indicated the bill would reduce Amtrak’s budget 64 percent from what was enacted last year and come in 76 percent below what Congress authorized in the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA).
“The funding levels outlined in this bill would require deep cuts to train service across the entire network—on the Northeast Corridor, State-Supported and Long Distance services—and threaten the complete elimination of some routes,” Rail Passengers Association President and CEO Jim Mathews said. “This proposed budget does not take the task of governing seriously, ignoring the needs of hundreds of Amtrak-served communities in favor of scoring cheap political points.”
Mathews said the RPA is ready to work with House and Senate leaders to form a budget preserving essential transportation and economic services.
“These proposed cuts are all the more infuriating coming at the same time as we’re seeing unprecedented interest in adding and upgrading passenger rail service from cities and towns across America,” Mathews said. “When the Federal Railroad Administration asked for proposals as part of their Corridor Identification Program, there was a massive response from states across the nation—Red and Blue, North and South, Heartland and Coastal.”
Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said if the proposed levels become law, Amtrak will have to radically reduce or suspend service on various routes across the nation.
“Additionally, with almost no funding for capital expenses, Amtrak would be forced to immediately reduce vital state of good repair work needed to reliably operate our network and defer many of the major modernization projects that were funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) just over a year and a half ago.”