But in recent years, there have been signs of life for restored rail service.
Now, that progress is in doubt. In his federal budget blueprint released in March, President Trump has proposed major funding cuts for Amtrak, forcing service disruptions that would be felt everywhere from rural towns to mid-sized and big cities. In total, nixing federal funding for Amtrak’s long-distance routes would cut rail service in 220 cities across 23 states, eliminating a mode of transit used by 144.6 million travelers a year, according to the NARP. Amtrak received $1.385 billion in federal funds in 2016.
If Trump has his way with the federal budget, it will spell certain doom for Mobile’s plans for a new Amtrak station. Some of the funds are safe despite any proposed federal cuts, because they were previously earmarked. However, “if the long distance network was shut down, the new station wouldn't be used anyways. Our long-term goal is travel between New Orleans and Orlando,” Ross explains.
driving isn’t an option for many Amtrak customers, according to Mathews. “Roughly 25 percent of Amtrak passengers are elderly” and can’t or don’t like to drive, he says. The loss of passenger rail will leave residents of rural towns without options if they want to visit family or receive medical care out of town. For some small towns, losing Amtrak service would render them “completely cut off from the world,” Mathews says.
It’s now up to Congress to decide what happens with Amtrak funding, and the clock is ticking. A short-term funding bill will likely avoid a government shutdown this week, but what ultimately happens in the final budget is still uncertain. Mathews says that hundreds of NARP members have been calling and writing their representatives to express concerns over a loss of passenger rail service.