By Railfan & Railroad Staff

WASHINGTON D.C. — Amtrak President and CEO Bill Flynn said long-distance train services would not be cut if a proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives to give $26 billion to the passenger railroad and other agencies came to fruition. Last week, the House Appropriations Committee announced it wanted to give Amtrak $2.05 billion in Fiscal 2021. However, Amtrak could not use the money to “discontinue, reduce the frequency of, suspend, or substantially alter the route of rail service on any portion of such route operated in Fiscal Year 2018.” In June, Amtrak announced that it plans on reducing most of its long-distance train services to three days a week starting Oct. 1. due to budget issues. 

On July 10, Flynn said that funding would enable Amtrak to continue offering daily service on long-distance routes like the Empire Builder, Coast Starlight and others. “This historic level of investment would allow Amtrak to address the short-term operating challenges we recently highlighted in our supplemental request letter, as well as support the longer-term capital needs that are so critical for the railroad’s future,” Flynn wrote to House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies subcommittee Chair Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) and Ranking Member Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.).

The pandemic has had a major impact on Amtrak and transit operators in recent months. In May, a coalition of transit agencies said they needed at least $33 billion to survive plummeting ridership and revenues, on top of the $25 billion included in the pandemic relief bill in April. Besides cutting long-distance services, Amtrak has said it would need to reduce its workforce.