NARP: Trump budget threatens Empire Builder route
(Photo courtesy AMTRAK) The Empire Builder passes through Sandpoint as it connects the Midwest and Northwest.
SANDPOINT — President Donald Trump’s plan to Make America Great Again is jeopardizing passenger rail service in northern Idaho.
The National Association of Rail Passengers said Trump’s budget outline cuts $2.4 billion from transportation in part by eliminating all federal funding to Amtrak’s national network trains, which would affect more than a dozen long-distance rail routes, including the Empire Builder.
The Empire Builder runs daily between Chicago and Seattle with an overnight stop at Sandpoint’s recently restored depot.
The cuts to Amtrak and other transportation cuts will lead to the loss of construction and manufacturing jobs, in addition to placing a disproportionate amount of pain on rural and working class communities, according to NARP President Jim Mathews.
“It’s ironic that President Trump’s first budget proposal undermines the very communities whose economic hardship and sense of isolation from the rest of the country helped propel him into office,” Mathews said.
Mathews noted that the cuts come as Trump continues to promise that tax dollars will be invested in rebuilding America’s infrastructure.
“Instead, we have seen an all-out assault on any project — public and private — that would advance passenger rail. These cuts and delays are costing the U.S. thousands of good-paying construction and manufacturing jobs in America’s heartland at this very moment.”
Mathews added that long-distance rail routes open up enormous development opportunities, a fact which Trump’s budget proposal ignores. When Trump touted a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal, voters likely figured more funding for project such as long-distance rail and light rail construction, Mathews said.
“These are the kinds of public works that spur private investment, create good jobs and lead to economic revitalization,” said Mathews.
If long-distance routes are ultimately abandoned because of Trump’s budget cuts, 220 towns and cities across the nation would lose access to Amtrak service, NARP said.
Amtrak reported in 2015 that the Empire Builder had 438,376 riders, down 2.8 percent from the previous year. Ridership statistics for 2016 were not immediately available on Thursday.
NARP is calling on the public in affected cities to contact their congressional representatives and voice their opposition to cuts to long-distance rail service.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.