By Carol A. Clark, Los Alamos Daily Post; September 11, 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) are calling on the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development to preserve funding included in the fiscal year 2019 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill to maintain Amtrak train service along the long-distance Southwest Chief route.
The lawmakers successfully included funding in the Senate-passed version of the bill for maintenance and safety improvements along the Southwest Chief route and language to compel Amtrak to fulfill its promise of matching funding for the successful TIGER IX discretionary grant supported by local communities in New Mexico along the route. Their provision would effectively halt Amtrak’s proposal to substitute rail service with bus service over large segments of the route through FY19.
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