These cuts have led Amtrak to reduce its service by 15 percent, lay off nearly 3,500 employees and eliminate entire train routes. Despite these cuts, ridership between Chicago and Milwaukee has increased 124.9 percent between 1982 and 1996. Funding Amtrak out of the HTF puts it in direct competition with highways and transit for the money. The deck is stacked against Amtrak if the Transportation Committees have to make a choice between highways and rail. S. 436 and H.R. 1437 make this a non-issue.
Passenger rail is vital to reducing congestion on our clogged highways.
Each day Amtrak removes 27,000 cars from highways between Boston and New York. It moves 23 percent of all Philadelphia to Washington travelers. Furthermore, Amtrak is 64.5 percent more energy efficient on a per passenger basis than the automobile. Amtrak carries 55 million passengers a year and connects 68 of the 75 largest cities in the country. By keeping cars off the road, passenger rail improves air quality and reduces the Nation's over-reliance on imported oil and the demand for new and bigger highways.