Trump budget proposes again to cut federal funding for Amtrak in half, which Congress has rejected

Bart Jansen | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump's $4 trillion budget delivered to Congress President Donald Trump's budget proposal for next year, fiscal year 2019, was delievered the to the House Budget Committee in Washington on Monday. (Feb. 12)

WASHINGTON — President Trump proposed again in his budget to cut Amtrak subsidies nearly in half despite a series of accidents that led some lawmakers to propose more funding for the passenger railroad.

Trump's budget blueprint proposed Monday to cut grants to the national network for Amtrak from nearly $1.2 billion to $538 million for the year that starts Oct. 1. The budget would also cut grants to the Northeast Corridor from $328 million to $200 million.

Amtrak has improved its ridership and revenue on the Northeast Corridor and on state-sponsored routes, the budget said. But long-distance routes rely exclusively on federal subsidies and serve a small number of passengers, according to the budget, which calls on states to begin subsidizing long-distance routes.

Amtrak issued a statement saying the proposed cuts are a concern.

"While we have not yet seen the details, we are concerned that any dramatic cuts could negatively impact the more than 31 million people who depend on Amtrak across the nation, in 46 states and more than 500 communities large and small," the statement said. "As the budget process progresses, we look forward to working with the administration, Congress, state partners and other stakeholders to consider these proposals and the impacts they could have on this important part of the nation’s transportation system."

Trump proposed similar cuts in his first budget a year ago, but lawmakers have ignored him so far.

As Congress continues to debate spending for the current fiscal year, the Senate Appropriations Committee agreed to provide $1.6 billion and preserve all current routes. The House Appropriations Committee agreed to provide $1.4 billion.

The precise funding will be determined in a spending package targeted for completion by March 23.

Railway advocates said Trump’s infrastructure proposal, to shift $200 billion from elsewhere in the budget to attract $1.3 trillion from local governments and private investors, should have given higher priority to railroads such as Amtrak.

Michael Friedberg, executive director of the Coalition for the Northeast Corridor, called Trump's proposal an important step. But more than 820,000 people ride trains each day along the corridor from Washington, D.C., to Boston. The crumbling system has been ignored for years and “is in dire need of federal investment,” Friedberg said.

“Letting the corridor slip further into disrepair could upend the American economy, threaten jobs across the region and undermine President Trump’s pro-growth agenda,” Friedberg said.

More about Amtrak, its accidents and federal funding:

Amtrak accidents hurt safety reputation, but railroad remains popular with Congress, riders

What's going on with Amtrak? Few passengers killed on trains, but high-profile crashes spark concerns

Largest railroads operate automatic braking on 56% of routes, but experts say more would prevent crashes

A group of five House Democrats who serve on the Appropriations Committee urged the administration in a letter Feb. 7 to fully fund Amtrak. The lawmakers also urged funding to help private railroads install automatic-braking technology called Positive Train Control, to reduce accidents along the 21,300 miles of private tracks where Amtrak operates.

Michael Barasch, a New York lawyer who represented victims in a fatal Amtrak crash in Philadelphia in 2015, said the country needs to invest in Positive Train Control because even the best-trained engineers could make mistakes. He said it's reasonable to support Amtrak federally because the routes cross state boundaries, in contrast to transit systems.

"As our infrastructure continues to get older and less reliable, these kinds of fatalities are going to happen more and more often," Barasch said. "If they want to eliminate or reduce the number of fatalities, they should definitely increase the subsidies."

The budget debate comes as the railroad suffered a spate of high-profile accidents. But even as they are investigated, the causes appear different in each of the recent cases, and sometimes beyond Amtrak’s control.

The incidents include:

• Feb. 4, 2018: An Amtrak train collided with a CSX freight train parked on a siding in Cayce, S.C., killing the train's engineer and conductor. Investigators said a switch was locked to shunt the Amtrak train onto the siding and toward the parked train. Investigators said work crews were updating automatic-braking technology on the tracks when the accident occurred.

• Jan. 31, 2018: An Amtrak train collided with a garbage truck at a crossing in Crozet, Va., killing the truck driver. The crossing had crossbars and warning lights.

• Dec. 18, 2017: An Amtrak train derailed in DuPont, Wash., going about 80 mph into a curve posted for 30 mph, killing three passengers and injuring dozens.

• April 3, 2016: An Amtrak train going 99 mph near Philadelphia slammed into a backhoe on the track, killing two workmen and injuring 39 people on the train. Federal investigations found a series of safety lapses — including a lapse in communications that failed to notify trains that the track was closed — led to the crash.

• May 12, 2015: A train traveling 106 mph into a 50-mph curve in Philadelphia derailed, killing eight passengers and injuring hundreds. Investigators ruled the engineer lost awareness of where he was on the route.

The House Democrats — Nita Lowey of New York, David Price of North Carolina, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, Mike Quigley of Illinois and Pete Aguilar of California — said "it is clear more must be done to invest in safety improvements to our nation's rail infrastructure."

Freight and commuter railroads have spent an estimated $13 billion to adopt automatic-braking technology. But it's not clear how much of the tracks nationwide will be operational by the end of the year, a deadline that Congress had set.

Lowey proposed last year adding $199 million for the technology to a federal spending bill.