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Amtrak could use some help from feds

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 6:57 AM CST

For too long, Amtrak seemed to have a bull's-eye painted on all of its train cars when it came to federal funding. Since the mid-1990s, monetary support for the subsidized passenger rail service had been slashed dramatically.

Entire lines of service were jeopardized, including the popular City of New Orleans line that serves riders from Chicago, Champaign, Carbondale and Du Quoin on south.

Ticket costs increased, and initially state leaders here balked at the suggestion that state funding save the rail service.

Thankfully, enough funding was cobbled together on a state level to save both sets of lines that run north and south through Carbondale and Du Quoin. And last year, Illinois leaders doubled the state's allocation to support Amtrak to $24 million. The increased funding paid off; ridership throughout Illinois has now doubled, and a third line through Carbondale - appropriately named the Saluki - whisks students, faculty and others to and from Chicago.

Mass transportation is critical for urbanites, but it has proved invaluable for Southern Illinois University Carbondale students and families here in Southern Illinois.

Now, with a new Congress in place, it appears a bill that sailed through the Senate last year but died in the House may have new support. It provides $12 billion over the next six years. Even Amtrak officials have recognized the states' valuable contributions over the years.

We encourage our federal representatives to sign on and send it on a quick whistle-stop to the White House for approval.

The bill calls for the government to match dollar for dollar the commitment states are making to support Amtrak.

The success of state corridor routes recently is clear; and they have succeeded because of the support state legislatures, including Illinois', have provided.

It's time the feds ante up some of the same support.