Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Amtrak

House Democrats Begin to Push Back on Draconian GOP Spending Cuts

By Tanya Snyder | Feb 9, 2011 | 4 Comments

Hasn’t it felt lately like Capitol Hill is in some kind of bizarre vortex? On one hand, everyone acknowledges the November election was all about “jobs, jobs, jobs.” And President Obama is pushing for some serious government investment in passenger rail and other infrastructure projects to create jobs and build the foundation for economic growth. […]

“Amtrak Joe” Biden, in Philly, Announces a New Plan for High-Speed Rail

By Tanya Snyder | Feb 8, 2011 | 41 Comments

The Obama administration is taking its infrastructure push on the road. First stop: Philadelphia, to announce a $53 billion plan to invest in high-speed rail. To Vice President Joe Biden, high-speed rail isn’t just another administration initiative. He’s Mr. Amtrak. He gets it. Biden says he’s made 7,900 round trips between Wilmington and Washington on Amtrak. […]

What Will Become of Amtrak If It’s Left Out of Plans to Expand HSR?

By Tanya Snyder | Feb 2, 2011 | 14 Comments

When President Obama and Secretary LaHood talk about their bold new vision for high-speed rail, you don’t hear them mention the country’s very own train company, which just celebrated ten years of providing the closest thing this country has to high-speed rail service, in the Northeast Corridor. The administration has doled out $10.5 billion so […]

Republicans Propose Spending Cuts Targeting Amtrak, Transit Funding

By Tanya Snyder | Jan 21, 2011 | 37 Comments

A new Republican proposal would eliminate federal subsidies to Amtrak; kill New Starts, the primary federal transit funding program; and make painful cuts to dozens of other federal programs. It’s a plan by the Republican Study Committee, which is trying to keep alive House Speaker John Boehner’s campaign pledge to reduce the budget by $100 […]

Dem and GOP Senators Seek More Long-Term Rail Vision From Obama Aides

By Elana Schor | Apr 29, 2010 | 1 Comment

The senior Democratic and Republican senators in charge of setting annual transportation spending levels today urged the leader of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to develop a more comprehensive plan for using the White House’s high-speed rail program to spur the development of viable U.S. train networks. FRA chief Joseph Szabo (l.) and Amtrak CEO […]

Amtrak on Pace to Break Annual Ridership Record

By Elana Schor | Apr 8, 2010 | 4 Comments

Amtrak carried 13.6 million passengers over the past six months, putting it on pace for a record-breaking ridership year, according to a statement released today by officials at the national inter-city rail system. Amtrak’s Acela line carried 13.5 percent more riders last month than in March 2009. (Photo: Flickr/pgengler) Every one of Amtrak’s lines recorded […]

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