FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 25, 2007
CONTACT: Matt Mackowiak
Sen. Hutchison Defends Texas Amtrak Routes
Works to preserve “Texas Eagle” and “Sunset Limited” Lines
WASHINGTON -- Texas’ senior Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) today spoke on the Senate floor to defend key Amtrak routes, the Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited, from crippling budget cuts. Sen. Hutchison helped defeat the amendment 28-66.
“I recognize some of my colleagues’ good intentions in trimming the federal budget, but Texas rail passengers depend on these routes daily,” Sen. Hutchison said. “I’ve long said that Amtrak must be ‘national or nothing’, and eliminating the Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited would be a step backward in this pursuit.”
Sen. Hutchison’s remarks came in response to a proposed amendment to the Amtrak Reauthorization bill, S. 294, which she co-sponsored. The amendment would have stripped funding from all of Amtrak’s long haul routes. Trains on these routes generally travel over 750 miles, connect distant regions of the country, and are often the only intercity rail service available in a state or region, and are an essential option for many travelers.
Amtrak’s Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited routes account for more than 250,000 annual passenger boardings in Texas and serve both urban markets and rural areas where transportation option are very limited.
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