With Amtrak’s proposed cuts, what will happen to rural rail?
September 16th, 2020
August 27, 2020 - DailyYonder.com -
(editor's note: service to smaller Texas towns on the Texas Eagle route will also be affected by Amtrak's retrenchment to 3x weekly service. Stops at Alpine, Sanderson and Del Rio are already only served three times a week).
A few years ago, I found myself in the dining car of Amtrak’s Empire Builder in the part of Montana that gives it the name “Big Sky Country.” My fellow travelers were an elderly couple heading to North Dakota. As we ate our dinner and watched the scrublands pass by, I asked why they decided to take the train. It turned out that they regularly used it to travel to auto auctions in Montana, as they didn’t like making the all-day drive. From our conversation I got the impression that without the money from this marginal business, they’d struggle to make ends meet. Given the risk of long-distance driving for the elderly and the lack of flights, this was the best way to make the trip.
Many people in rural America depend on Amtrak as their only viable connection to the outside. Driving isn’t an option for some, and Greyhound doesn’t stop in Havre, Montana, or Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. According to the National Association of Railroad Passengers, a non-profit that lobbies for improved rail service, a full 18% of Amtrak passengers travel to a station with no air service. For many of those passengers, Amtrak is a necessity. But some fear it will soon struggle to meet even that need.
Read more: https://dailyyonder.com/with-amtraks-proposed-cuts-what-will-happen-to-rural-rail/2020/08/27/
(editor's note: service to smaller Texas towns on the Texas Eagle route will also be affected by Amtrak's retrenchment to 3x weekly service. Stops at Alpine, Sanderson and Del Rio are already only served three times a week).
A few years ago, I found myself in the dining car of Amtrak’s Empire Builder in the part of Montana that gives it the name “Big Sky Country.” My fellow travelers were an elderly couple heading to North Dakota. As we ate our dinner and watched the scrublands pass by, I asked why they decided to take the train. It turned out that they regularly used it to travel to auto auctions in Montana, as they didn’t like making the all-day drive. From our conversation I got the impression that without the money from this marginal business, they’d struggle to make ends meet. Given the risk of long-distance driving for the elderly and the lack of flights, this was the best way to make the trip.
Many people in rural America depend on Amtrak as their only viable connection to the outside. Driving isn’t an option for some, and Greyhound doesn’t stop in Havre, Montana, or Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. According to the National Association of Railroad Passengers, a non-profit that lobbies for improved rail service, a full 18% of Amtrak passengers travel to a station with no air service. For many of those passengers, Amtrak is a necessity. But some fear it will soon struggle to meet even that need.
Read more: https://dailyyonder.com/with-amtraks-proposed-cuts-what-will-happen-to-rural-rail/2020/08/27/