Congress approves reauthorization funding for Amtrak

Amtrak’s fortunes may finally be turning around. The House of Representatives recently passed a bi-partisan bill (HR 6003) for Amtrak’s long-awaited reauthorization funding with a veto-proof margin. There is no major national railway in the world operating without some type of government subsidy, and yet it had been more than ten years since Congress approved reauthorization funding for Amtrak.

We applaud the bipartisan support and historic compromise between Republicans and Democrats on the financing of Amtrak, $14.4 billion over five years.

The bill will enable Amtrak to make major improvements along the Northeast Corridor, including the building of high-speed rail lines and encourage private sector involvement, which is particularly essential to the future economic vitality of the Greater Philadelphia region. We are the only region in the country with three major Amtrak stations: Trenton, Philadelphia, and Wilmington.

The key to the bill’s easy passage in the House was its support by 87 Republicans, led by Rep. John Mica (R-FL), Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who introduced a provision to create privately funded high-speed rail service in the Northeast Corridor. Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-PA), our regional representative on the House Subcommittee that determines Amtrak funding and policy, brought Representative Mica to Philadelphia to meet with the CEO Council for Growth as we have become a leading voice in support of maintaining funding for Amtrak due to its importance for Greater Philadelphia’s competitiveness.

When it comes to attracting new businesses and a highly skilled workforce, our region’s easy access by train to the nation’s financial capital in New York and its political capital in Washington is one of our primary competitive advantages. We have several strong and growing industry clusters, including the pharmaceutical industry, chemicals and IT that will continue to attract foreign companies who want to establish a US headquarters. Our close proximity and accessibility to both New York and Washington, along with our relatively low commercial and residential real estate costs, is an important part of our region’s value proposition. We simply would not be as competitive without Amtrak’s intercity service and we would be hard pressed to meet our future goals for economic growth without continued and improved Amtrak service.