Your weekly source of fresh takes on news affecting America's passengers. See also the NARP Blog.
June 20, 2014
By Jenna Jablonski Procedural disagreements between Democrats and Republicans kept the Fiscal Year 2015 Transportation-Housing and Urban Development budget from coming to the floor as scheduled this week. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), however, has introduced an amendment that would increase Amtrak’s funding to $1.62 billion (an increase of roughly $230 million). Call your senators now to ask the...
June 13, 2014
By Jenna Jablonski It was an eventful week for passenger rail in the House—one that ended on a down note, with several anti-Amtrak amendments attached to the Fiscal Year 2015 transportation funding bill in last-minute votes. On Monday, departing Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) made two attempts to cut funding—first by $340 million, then by $34 million. Both were rebuffed in a bipartisan fashion (one...
June 6, 2014
By Jenna Jablonski The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a budget that allocated $1.39 billion for Amtrak as part of a $54.4 billion transportation bill for FY2014, pushing back against House attempts to cut $200 million from the program by freezing investment at 2014 levels. Senate appropriators also included $11.1 billion for transit programs, a $309 million increase above the FY2014 leve...
May 30, 2014
By Jenna Jablonski A $350 million track-improvement project could mean significant time savings for train passengers passing through the Los Angeles Union Station. The Southern California Regional Interconnector Project will install four new sections of track, reconfiguring the current layout which is hindered by dead-end tracks and only having a single entrance. The interconnector will extend s...
May 23, 2014
By Sean Jeans-Gail Congressional House appropriators met May 21 to markup the fiscal year 2015 transportation and housing budget. From the pro-train amendments offered, it’s clear that Representatives heard the voice of passengers who have been bombarding Congress with messages of support for Amtrak and high performance rail. Key committee actions included: Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) off...