Dick Durbin: Senate Reauthorizes Amtrak for 6 Years

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October 30, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today, a bipartisan group of Senators approved legislation to reauthorize Amtrak funding for the next six years. The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 – first introduced in January by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Trent Lott (R-MI), Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI), Ted Stevens (R-AL) and others – authorizes funding for Amtrak’s capital and operating needs to maintain current operations, upgrade equipment, and return the Northeast Corridor to a state of good repair. The bill also creates a new intercity passenger rail capital grant program for the states.

“Amtrak provides quick, cost-effective, and reliable public ground transportation to 30 communities and more than 3 million people in Illinois,” said Durbin. “As investment in passenger rail has increased, more and more communities are clamoring for service. Federal, state and local leaders recently worked together to find a rail route for residents in Rockford that would serve as an alternative to the congested roads in and out of Chicago. We are now pursuing the same process of cooperation to provide Quad Cities with expanded service. This bill, in tandem with state funding, makes it possible for us to continue to expand rail service throughout the state and country."

The new intercity passenger rail State Capital Grant program will allocate grants to states to help pay for the costs of facilities and equipment used to provide new or improved intercity passenger rail. The projects will be selected by the Secretary of Transportation based on criteria such as economic feasibility and expected ridership. The grants require a local funding match of 20%; however, the bill allows each state to use half of their previous capital and operating investments in Amtrak toward the match.

Amtrak set a new record for ridership this year with 25.8 million passengers – an increase of 1.5 million over fiscal year 2006. “These record high ridership numbers on Amtrak show the general public feels that Amtrak is a vital element of our national transportation system,” said Durbin. “It is one of the most valuable transportation programs for Illinois and the nation. Passing this reauthorization bill on a bipartisan basis shows the Senate is committed to ensuring that Amtrak maintains and builds its system to meet the growing needs of the traveling public.”

Durbin noted that Illinois benefits, both directly and indirectly, from Amtrak jobs and service. An average of 48 Amtrak trains run each day on more than 1,000 miles of track in Illinois. Amtrak employs more than 2,000 Illinois residents and annually spends $56 million for goods and services in the state. Illinois is the central rail hub of the North American continent, bringing 2.5 million passengers through Amtrak’s Midwestern hub in Chicago each year.

Last year, Durbin - a member of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee - helped secure a commitment from Amtrak to supply four new trains for additional roundtrip service on the three Illinois routes. Additionally, the 2007 Illinois budget committed to finance the service for these trains by doubling their Amtrak funding to $24.3 million. As result of this state and federal cooperation, new service on the Quincy, St. Louis and Carbondale lines began in October, 2006.
Over the past year, those three routes saw the greatest increase in ridership – more than any other line in the Amtrak system. The Chicago-Quincy routes have seen a 41.4% growth in ridership; the Chicago-St. Louis line saw a 55.8% increase in ridership; and the Chicago-Carbondale routes have seen an outstanding boost of 67.4%.

Source: Senator Dick Durbin