Amtrack funds could be slashed

Students who take the train home to Charlotte might have to find an alternate mode of transportation if a proposed budget plan is passed by Congress.

The federal transportation budget, proposed by congressional Republicans, would cut funding to Amtrak and prevent it from using federal funds to operate state-supported railroad lines, such as the Piedmont line from Raleigh to Charlotte.

The proposal would force 15 states to decide whether to keep local Amtrak lines up and running.

Rep. Bill McGee, R-Forsyth, said he doesn’t think there will be enough state funding to cover the proposed Amtrak cuts.

“We are already in shortfall, and we would love to have more money in the (Department of Transportation),” he said.

McGee said state trains will be more in demand as the price of fuel rises, meaning less federal funding could cause problems for the state.

Steve Kulm, a spokesman for Amtrak, said the proposal cuts Amtrak’s operating funds by more than $350 million.

“We think it’s a shortsighted policy,” Kulm said. “America needs more passenger rail, not less.”

Patrick Simmons, director of the rail division of the N.C. Department of Transportation, said the funding cut would impact Amtrak’s record-breaking number of passengers.

Passengers for the Piedmont line have increased 50 percent compared to last year, he said.

“North Carolina’s trains do very well in returning revenues to support the service,” he said. “Passengers in North Carolina pay about 79 to 80 percent of the total cost of the operation.”

But Simmons said the annual contract with Amtrak covers the rest of the costs of operation.

“There’s no transportation system, whether it’s railroads, or highways, or transit, or aviation, that funds itself,” he said.

Scott Saylor, president of the N.C. Railroad Company, said the state might not be able to afford the operating costs of trains if the budget plan is approved.

“We could have the infrastructure but not the trains,” he said.

The company, whose stock is owned by the state, hosted a Progress in Motion Forum last week to discuss the future of railroads, Saylor said.

Some students who rely on the train to travel to Charlotte might struggle to find transportation.

Roli Tyagi, a UNC sophomore, said she would have to rely more often on friends with cars.

“It would be really inconvenient,” she said.

“I use the train as a backup when I can’t find a ride or if it’s last minute.”

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