Senate Hearing On Amtrak Service Rescheduled
With the topic of Amtrak’s future service throughout Montana being covered, a Senate Commerce Committee hearing has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 8 a.m.
A livestream of the hearing was accessible on the Senate Commerce Committee’s website: https://www. commerce.senate.gov/2020/10/passenger- and-freight-rail-the-currentstatus- of-the-rail-network-and-thetrack- ahead U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., requested the meeting in order to understand Amtrak’s long-term plans after Amtrak’s Empire Builder reduced its services from seven days to only three days a week.
Amtrak’s reduction to from seven days a week to three days a week went into effect on Monday, Oct. 19.
“I’ve been sounding the alarm for months that this reduction in service will be devastating to Hi-Line communities, economies and families who use the train to visit family across the country. It’s unacceptable, and I will be pushing Amtrak for clear answers about why they’re cutting service and when it will be returned during my oversight hearing in the Commerce Committee on Wednesday,” Tester said in a press release.
The hearing will include testimony from Paul Tuss, executive director of Bear Paw Development. Tusk, who will be introduced by Tester, will explain the importance of Amtrak’s service to the Hi-Line and rural Montana.
“The truth of the matter is, Amtrak keeps Montana’s Hi-Line communities connected to the rest of the country while providing jobs and revenue to folks in places like Shelby, Havre and Glasgow,” Tester said in a press release. “The coronavirus pandemic has devastated Amtrak ridership, and looming cuts to long-distance lines like the Empire Builder are threatening the livelihood of thousands of Montanans. I’m proud to have secured this hearing so politicians in Washington can finally hear firsthand from folks like Paul Tuss just how critical Amtrak services are to rural America.”
Tester has demanded that Amtrak provides a timeline for resuming full service. He helped secure $1 billion for Amtrak in the Cares Act to maintain long distance routes during the pandemic.
“For Congress to continue its support for all operations, we need a commitment from Amtrak on what the conditions and timelines of a full resumption of seven-daya- week service on all long-distance routes would look like, and the costs associated with the reduction and resumption of service,” Tester said in a press release.
Amtrak operates 15 long-distance routes in 47 states across the country, connecting rural and urban centers and providing inter-state mobility to underserved communities and populations. Earlier this year, Amtrak announced that it would cut jobs and reduce service in rural communities on the Empire Builder Long-Distance Line beginning in October, which includes 12 stations along the Montana Hi-Line that served 121,429 passengers who boarded or disembarked in the state in 2019.
