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State-Funded Amtrak Routes Pull in Riders

Posted on: Friday, 26 August 2005, 00:00 CDT

Aug. 25--Amtrak ridership grew by 10 percent on average this year on the four routes through Illinois partially paid for by the state, officials announced Wednesday as the national debate over the passenger railroad's future moves toward a funding showdown.

State-supported Amtrak trains in Illinois carried a record number of passengers in fiscal 2005 for the second straight year, according to Amtrak and the Illinois Department of Transportation. The state gives Amtrak about $12 million annually to help fund the $20 million cost of service, most of it between Chicago and Downstate.

David Gunn, Amtrak's president and chief executive officer, said the recent ridership spurt reflects a positive public response to the railroad's efforts to enhance the comfort and convenience of train travel, improve the reliability of schedules and market the service better.

"We are now trying to convince our critics that we run an efficient operation," Gunn said during an interview in his private rail car Wednesday on one of the State House trains between Chicago and St. Louis.

President Bush, who contends federal support of Amtrak has been a failure spanning more than three decades, did not include any operating assistance for Amtrak in his fiscal 2006 budget.

The Bush administration says Amtrak is in need of reforms that include requiring the states to pay up to 50 percent of Amtrak's operations, eliminating the most unprofitable routes and privatizing others.

Amtrak supporters in Congress respond that the president is intent on starving Amtrak into bankruptcy.

The U.S. House in June approved $1.2 billion in funding for Amtrak in 2006, the same level of funding provided in 2005. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted a month later to increase Amtrak's funding to $1.45 billion. The measure is now before the full Senate and a bruising battle is expected between the White House and Capitol Hill before the matter is resolved, probably late this year.

Meanwhile, the Illinois-supported State House train between Union Station in Chicago and St. Louis provided 120,852 rides in fiscal 2005, up 11 percent from the previous year. The Illini, between Chicago and Carbondale, also was up 11 percent, serving 121,311 rides. Ridership on the Illinois Zephyr, which operates between Chicago and Quincy, rose almost 8 percent, serving 113,086 passengers.

The Hiawatha Service between Chicago and Milwaukee carried 494,075 passengers, up 11 percent.

The 2006 numbers are expected to rise significantly on Hiawatha. Amtrak partnered with the state of Wisconsin to build a rail station at Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport. The station, the stop nearest to the downtown Milwaukee station on the Hiawatha line, opened Jan. 18.

The state trains are outpacing national ridership on the Amtrak system. Overall ridership is up 0.7 percent.

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Source: Chicago Tribune

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