Amtrak has revealed intentions for the expansion its services, the largest of which run in Ohio, to other states under the federal US$1 trillion infrastructure bill for a passenger train, which could see a windfall of more than US$100 billion over the next five years. The law pledges US$66 billion in freight and passenger rail funding, with an additional US$36 billion contingent on future legislative appropriations. Amtrak anticipates that if the initiative is completely executed by 2035, it will have introduced 30 or more new routes and enhanced service on at least 20 current lines. Amtrak will add service to up to 160 localities, and 15 states would get several daily trips.
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Amtrak routes that have the potential for expansion
Transportation planners in the Midwest, Southeast, and West are interested in the legislation’s Corridor Identification and Development Program, which is intended to assist states in establishing new intercity trains, expanding current lines, or restoring former services. Existing Amtrak routes that have the potential for expansion include Chicago-Milwaukee, Washington, D.C.-Roanoke, Virginia, and Vancouver, British Columbia-Seattle-Portland, Oregon. Atlanta-Charlotte, North Carolina, Cleveland-Detroit, and Atlanta-Nashville might be among the future new routes. Amtrak took over the majority of the nation’s intercity passenger rail service in 1971, serving 43 states with 184 daily trips.
“This establishes a stronger structure for states and Amtrak to collaborate on expanding service,” said Mark Weitenbeck, treasurer of the Wisconsin Association of Rail Passengers. Under the proposed legislation, the federal government might fund a project for several years through a phased financing agreement until the state or a multi-state compact takes over. That estimate is not shared by Robert Poole, director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation, a free-market think group. “My main issue with this is the notion that there is a significant untapped demand for this type of rail travel,” he explained. “I don’t think we have any proof of that, and the cost of trying to stimulate it is is very large.”
As a libertarian, I agree that you cannot force people to use a method of transportation they do not want. As an train lover myself, and an older person that has given up driving, I am thrilled with anything that makes trains more accessible to me.