Trump budget proposal slashes Amtrak funding while boosting highway spending

Source: Reuters

Trump budget proposal slashes Amtrak funding while boosting highway spending

David Shepardson, Reuters Feb 10, 2020, 12:09 PM

The White House budget released on Monday proposed cutting funding for passenger rail carrier Amtrak, while calling for a significant boost in infrastructure spending.

The proposal would cut Amtrak funds by more than 50% over 2020 levels. It could cut funds to the congested northeast corridor from $700 million to $325 million and cut long-distance train funds from $1.3 billion to $611 million and then phase out support for long-distance trains.

Trump has proposed similar cuts in prior budgets and been rejected, and Democrats are not likely to go along. Trump has sparred with Democratic lawmakers over a $13 billion infrastructure project to build and repair tunnels and bridges in the New York City area known as "Gateway."

In November, Amtrak said for the year ended Sept. 30, it had set records for ridership, revenue, and financial performance, including 32.5 million customer trips, a year-over-year increase of 800,000 passengers.

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Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-budget-slashes-amtrak-funding-while-boosting-highway-spending-2020-2