Trump again asking Congress to slash Amtrak funding
President Trump is again asking Congress to slash federal aid to the nation’s passenger railroad by cutting funding for Amtrak, including its network in the Northeast Corridor, which stretches from Washington to Boston, by more than half. Trump’s proposed 2021 budget includes reductions in funding to the U.S.’s busiest rail corridor, the Northeast, to $325 million from $700 million. Funding for Amtrak’s long-distance trains would decrease to $611 million from $1.3 billion under the plan, which intends to phase out aid for long-distance service. [washingtonpost.com]
UK’s HS2 to go ahead, Boris Johnson tells MPs
Boris Johnson’s cabinet has given its approval for the whole of the HS2 high-speed train line to go ahead, with work expected to start within weeks. The prime minister announced his decision to the House of Commons, saying the government believed it should proceed despite spiralling costs that could top £100bn. He committed to both the London to Birmingham rail line and the next phase from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester, saying he would integrate the project with Northern Powerhouse Rail, a wider scheme including a fast link between Leeds and Manchester. [theguardian.com]
Trump stiffed Gateway Tunnel while giving OK for Portal Bridge funding
Joy that the federal government finally green-lighted funding for the Portal Bridge was tempered when the Gateway Tunnel failed to win support. The U.S. Department of Transportation said that the sponsors of the new Hudson River tunnels failed to show that they had the local funding in hand to qualify for federal dollars. Gateway supporters, however, said they did everything required to ensure that they had the money to cover their share of the project. A new application submitted last August lowered the tunnel’s cost by $1.4 billion and sought $4.4 billion from Washington. [nj.com]
All aboard! Wisconsin on track for improved passenger rail
A variety of railroad projects are coming together to greatly improve passenger service in Wisconsin. They include: doubling daily service between St. Paul and Chicago; increasing the number of round-trip Milwaukee to Chicago trains from seven to 10; express service between Minneapolis and Duluth-Superior; and, already underway, more than $5 million in improvements to the Milwaukee Airport Railroad Station at General Mitchell International Airport, with completion expected in 2023. [wisconsinexaminer.com]
