Amtrak Answers Senators But Leaves The Future Of Kansas Passenger Rail In Question

Passenger trains will keep rolling through rural communities in Kansas, for now. But Amtrak still hasn’t committed to operating the long-distance routes that connect small towns to larger cities long-term.

Earlier this year, Congress agreed to an additional $50 million to keep the Southwest Chief, which travels from Chicago to Los Angeles with stops in several small Kansas cities, running through September.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and a handful of his senate colleagues then pressed Amtrak for answers about future plans for long-distance routes. The rail service responded with a letter this week.

CEO Richard Anderson wrote that Amtrak will not alter or truncate any long-distance routes before the end of the 2019 fiscal year. But he didn’t make any promises beyond that.

Read more: https://www.hppr.org/post/amtrak-answers-senators-leaves-future-kansas-passenger-rail-question