HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – Amtrak has reduced service on the Empire Builder Line to tri-weekly after they did not receive emergency funding they requested through Congress.
The eastbound train now stops in Havre only on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday afternoons. The westbound train now stops in Havre on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday afternoons.
Paul Tuss, Executive Director of Bear Paw Development Corporation, says the reduced service could significantly harm local economies on the Hi-Line.
“We have senior citizens that don’t travel other means, we have disabled folks that rely on Amtrak to get to where they need to go. We have people who are sick who rely on this to get to larger communities for their health care, including Seattle and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. So there’s little question this is going to have an impact on not just the people who travel, but employees who work for Amtrak as well as businesses in the community.”
Tuss was supposed to speak at a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Hearing earlier this month, before the cuts took effect. That hearing has been rescheduled to October 21st at 10 AM eastern, and Tuss will be speaking virtually from Havre.
“The primary message is that the Federal Government’s substantial and historic commitment to funding public transportation infrastructure is just as important now as it always has been. We invest a lot of money from the Federal Government in highways and airports and seaports, and even airline companies right now in the era of COVID that we’re in. So to think of defunding Amtrak and to think of curtailing the daily service that we’re used to on the Hi-Line just seems to be antithetical to what we should be doing in this country with regards to investing in public infrastructure.”
Other scheduled speakers at the hearing include Amtrak CEO William Flynn and Association of American Railroads CEO Ian Jeffries.
The cuts are stated to be temporary, but Tuss worries they could become permanent.
“As we all know, once something is gone, it’s more difficult to bring it back. So I think that are challenge is a little bit more difficult today than it was yesterday, because today is the start of that reduced service.”
The cuts are part of a nationwide rollback of Amtrak services and staff, as they have also said they plan to layoff over 2,000 employees and decrease service on other routes.
The Empire Builder Line stretches from Chicago to Seattle and features numerous stops throughout northern Montana.
Tuss says the line costs an estimated $57 million per year to run daily and contributes an estimated $327 million to local economies.
“The Return on Investment on this is significant. So I think we’re being pound-wise and penny-foolish when it comes to this.”
Tuss also urges people that would like the Empire Builder to return to daily service to contact their representatives.
