Senate passes multi-year Amtrak funding

Bill heads to the House, includes studies for two new long-distance rail lines

By RICHARD HANNERS - Whitefish Pilot

Each year, Amtrak officials have faced an uphill struggle in getting the rail company's budget approved. But things could be different this year.

On Oct. 30, the Senate approved the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007, multi-year legislation that also provides increased funding for the nation's rail system. The bill now goes to the House.

Whitefish could benefit from the funding measure. Ridership on the Empire Builder Line in Montana, which stops in Whitefish and serves the Hi-Line and Glacier National Park, has increased almost 40 percent since 2002.

Funding authorization for Amtrak expired in 2003. For the past four years, the budget process has been a year-by-year fight. The new legislation is a first step toward getting regular funding, and it also includes a 67 percent increase over last year.

The bill passed 70-22. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester co-sponsored the bill.

"Amtrak is vital to our state," Baucus said. "The Empire Builder is the lifeline along the Hi-Line. It's good-paying jobs and helps us transport cargo across the state. It also enables us to travel for work and to visit family and friends. This increase in funding will help keep the trains running on schedule for years to come."

"Amtrak ties together rural towns across the Hi-Line, keeping Montana's economy on track and providing a smart travel option for hundreds of thousands of folks," Tester said. "As a farmer who lives near the Hi-Line, I know how important the Empire Builder is to our state. And I'll do everything I can to make sure the trains keep running."

Senate Bill 294 authorizes appropriations of $3.3 billion for Amtrak operations through fiscal year 2011, in amounts ranging from $455 million to $600 million per year. It also appropriates $6.3 billion for capital projects in amounts that range from $813 million to $1.2 billion per year.

Last year, Congress approved $1.1 billion for the rail service, increasing funding by $200 million over an earlier proposal. That was a significant change from 2005, when the Bush administration's initial request was zero.

"Every year, it's the same song and dance with Amtrak," Rep. Denny Rehberg said last year after the House approved the Amtrak budget. "Cross-country rail service is the responsibility of the federal government. There simply needs to be more funding for a transportation option that is vital to Montanans."

Rehberg is the co-chairman of the House Rail Caucus. In April, he successfully opposed an amendment to the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007 that would have prohibited homeland security funding for the Empire Builder. The amendment was defeated by a 130-299 vote.

"Along Montana's Hi-line, the rail service is a part of life," Rehberg said at the time. "So it's vital we ensure the safety and security of both the passengers and the rail workers. Thankfully, we were able to vote down this amendment before it could hurt local rail service."

In addition to a number of provisions aimed at improving accounting, financial planning, independent auditing and performance at Amtrak, the new bill includes numerous provisions for rail security under the Department of Homeland Security.

Ross Capon, a spokesman for the National Association of Railroad Passengers, applauded the Senate's recent vote.

"The importance of passenger rail will only increase as the price of oil pushes toward $100 a barrel, increasing the cost of gas and making cheap airline flights a memory," he said.

Amtrak ridership increased to nearly 26 million passengers last year, a record since the National Railroad Passenger Corporation started operations in 1971. Amtrak saw $1.5 billion in revenue last year, an increase of 11 percent over the previous year.

The Empire Builder, which provides daily service between Chicago and Seattle or Portland, carried 500,000 passengers last year, a 1.6 percent increase. In Montana, the Empire Builder stops at Wolf Point, Glasgow, Malta, Havre, Shelby, Cut Bank, Browning, East Glacier, Essex, West Glacier and Whitefish.

Two amendments to the new bill are aimed at increasing Amtrak's long-distance rail service. One directs Amtrak to evaluate re-establishment of the Pioneer route, which ran passenger trains between Chicago through Denver, Colo., and Boise, Idaho, to Portland. Amtrak discontinued that route in 1997.

The second amendment, introduced by Tester, similarly directs Amtrak to evaluate re-establishment of the North Coast Hiawatha route, which ran from Chicago to Seattle through southern Montana.

An amalgamation of two historical passenger trains — Northern Pacific's North Coast Limited and Milwaukee Road's Olympian Hiawatha — Amtrak's North Coast Hiawatha paralleled Interstate Highways 90 and 94 through Billings, Bozeman, Butte and Missoula. The route was discontinued in 1979.

Tester's amendment calls for re-establishing the southern route "provided that such service will not negatively impact existing Amtrak routes" — such as the Empire Builder.

"If we can get passenger service through southern Montana back on track without jeopardizing the Empire Builder, what are we waiting for?" Tester said.