Missouri's Amtrak Service Threatened Again
Gov. Matt Blunt’s revised budget request eliminates all funding for the St. Louis-Kansas City Amtrak service. Those trains almost certainly would be discontinued if the budget is approved.
As you may recall, the governor included Amtrak funding in his initial budget request in January, but that request was accompanied by his request for permission to decide administratively on $240 million in cuts needed to balance the budget.
The legislature, not surprisingly, wants to know where those cuts come happen before passing the budget. Hence the governor’s revised request, which also includes temporary closure of a state prison, and elimination of the grandparent foster care program.
Please urge your state legislator to work to restore funding for the Amtrak trains and, if you have time, give the governor your opinion as well. Once these trains are gone, chances for their return would be slim indeed.
[One issue, of course, has been on-time performance. That is largely a function of freight congestion and track capacity. Interestingly, when a Union Pacific official spoke at the March 12 regional NARP meeting in Omaha, St. Louis-Kansas City was the line he singled out as an example of where California-style state investment in track capacity was most needed.]
ASSOCIATED PRESS ARTICLE -
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -
Social service agencies would take the hardest hit under Governor Blunt's plan
to cut 240 (m) million
dollars from their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. Blunt wants to kill
the grandparent foster care program, temporarily close a state prison and
cut out
the state's payment tokeep
Amtrak trains running between Kansas City and St. Louis.
When Blunt proposed his 19
(b) billion-dollar budget, he suggested lawmakers pass it while leaving his new
agency directors
discretion to cut an additional 240 (m) million.
But lawmakers planned to determine the cuts before passing a budget.
Legislation detailing agency budgets hasn't been introduced yet.
Blunt said the cuts would eliminate 13-hundred more state jobs, some of them
vacant, in addition to the 14-hundred-56 he proposed to cut earlier.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Flyer to help save Missouri's passenger trains. Word document on the Ann Rutledge and Kansas City/ St. Louis Mules which provide twice-daily service between Missouri's biggest cities. The train serves an important part of Missouri's traveling public and according to a Missouri Dept. of Transportation study, enjoys a significant amount of public support. UPDATED 03/05
It may be best to download this file to your computer.
Missouri state representative contacts
Write your elected officials.
Tell them to properly fund
Missouri's Amtrak service. .
The following is a draft letter to your state legislators. Feel free to use as many of these words as you like, but please use your own words wherever possible. If you (or people you know) ride these trains, but sure to mention that. Go to http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspx or http://www.senate.state.mo.us/05info/senalpha.htm
and enter your zip code in order to learn who represents
you in Jefferson City in BOTH the House and the Senate, and for contact
information. (FYI--the Missouri House website is http://www.house.state.mo.us/.)
As with federal legislators, if you use fax or e-mail be sure to include your
regular mailing address. We would be glad to get any feedback from state
legislators that might be helpful to our efforts to save these trains.
--Ross B. Capon,
NARP Executive Director
Dear Senator [or Representative?]:
Please work to assure continuation of our two daily trains linking St. Louis,
Kirkwood, Jefferson City and Kansas City. [Obviously add any other Amtrak stop
that might catch the fancy of your legislator.]
We need more transportation choices, not fewer, Please work to restore the $6 million for
continuing the St. Louis-Kansas City Amtrak
service that Gov. Blunt in his FY2006 budget eliminated. I urge you to work for adoption of that amount.
The move to discontinue the service is particularly disheartening since Amtrak
just upgraded the St. Louis station and a major station project by the City of
Again, please work for the $6 million needed to save the "Mules" .
Please be sure to tell your representatives that the state's citizens need this
funding to preserve this important travel alternative.
Sincerely [your name and FULL, REGULAR ADDRESS]
