Whither AMTRAK? NH Congressmen Divided

By Don Rush on Wednesday, June 26, 2002.

The Northeast is breathing a sigh of relief as the prospect of an Independence Day Amtrak shutdown has disappeared.

The Bush Administration and Amtrak officials have cut a deal to help the financially strapped rail system through September.

But a solution to Amtrak's financial woes could pit the Northeast against other parts of the country, and appears to have divided New Hampshire's delegation.

NHPR's Washington correspondent Don Rush has this report.

DESPITE A COMMITMENT ?FOR THE

NATIONWIDE RAIL SYSTEM TO BECOME SELF-

SUFFICIENT?AMTRAK is STILL AWASH IN

RED INK.

NEW HAMPSHIRE CONGRESSMAN JOHN E

SUNUNU?A U-S SENATE CANDIDATE?SAYS

IT?S TIME TO CHANGE ALL THAT:

SOUND: ?Amtrak lost one-point-one billion dollars last year ? the most it has ever lost. And we need to make sure that we strengthen, reform modernize it so that it can be more effective, more efficient and focus on those areas such as the northeast corridor that has the highest passenger intensity and use.?

SINCE creating AMTRAK IN 1971?the federal

government has subsidized the national train system.

According to the General Accounting Office,

taxpayers have spent 39 billion dollars over the more

than 30 years of operations.

But NEW HAMPSHIRE CONGRESSMAN CHARLES

BASS BELIEVES THE PROBLEM REACHES BACK even

further.

He says back in the 1950?S? THE COUNTRY

FAILED TO REALIZE?RAIL SERVICE WOULD NEED

GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES.

SOUND: ?It was felt at the time unfortunately that the rail system was strong and robust and didn?t require the kind of long range planning that occurred with highways. The result has been that now for the last thirty years the passenger rail system in this country has been struggling. There is no passenger system in the world that I know of that is not subsidized in some form or fashion by either state or federal governments?

But Bass?s Republican COLLEAGUE,

?CONGRESSMAN SUNUNU HOPES REFORMS AT

AMTRAK WILL MINIMIZE future GOVERNMENT

SUBSIDY.

THE NORTHEAST, from Washington to Boston,

CARRIES 2/3RDS OF AMTRAK?S

RIDERSHIP?

AND that route is GROWING.

RIDERSHIP LAST MONTH WAS UP 23 PERCENT

WITH A REVENUE GROWTH OF 44 PERCENT OVER A

YEAR AGO.

Just last December, AMTRAK added lines up to

Portland, Maine which have also been exceeding

expectations.

CONGRESSMAN SUNUNU BLAMES PART OF

AMTRAK?S RED INK?ON OTHER UNPROFITABLE

LINES OUTSIDE THE NORTHEAST:

SOUND: ?Because of restrictions and Amtrak?s ability to set their own routes nationwide, restrictions on their ability to make investments and to hire and fire workers we?re short changing travelers in the northeast and other parts of the country where the potential is much greater than is being realized.?

LAST YEAR?AMTRAK OPERATED IN 45 STATES.

BUT?IN 34 OF THOSE?IT CARRIED LESS THAN

1-THOUSAND PASSENGERS.

AND SUNUNU POINTS OUT IN SOME of those

CASES?THE GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY ROSE TO 300

DOLLARS A PASSENGER.

BUT?WHILE CONGRESSMAN BASS WANTS TO

MAKE AMTRAK MORE EFFICIENT?HE SEES A NEED

FOR LINES THAT ARE NOT PROFITABLE:

SOUND: ?There are some lines that are profitable now but there?s also a lot of service that goes to remote places that can never be profitable. But it?s part of what we do as a country when we provide services to our people. We provide a service that sometimes isn?t profitable.?

AND THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT

THE POTENTIAL FOR PROFITABILIY IN THE NORTH

EAST CORRIDOR.

THE G-A-O FOUND?THAT AMTRAK?S ONLY

PROFITABLE ROUTE LAST YEAR WAS THE NEW

YORK TO WASHINGTON METRO-LINER ?

But that line is only profitable if THE COST OF

BUYING TRAINS AND iMPROVING

TRACKS is EXCLUDED.

FOR NHPR NEWS

THIS IS DON RUSH

IN WASHINGTON