[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) today was the first Senator in Washington to meet with the new CEO of Amtrak, Joe Boardman.  They discussed the benefits Illinois will receive from the inclusion of rail funding in the economic stimulus package.  Durbin also discussed his legislation – the Train CARS Act – that would create jobs by encouraging the production of trains in America.  

“Mr. Boardman is taking on this role at a very important time,” said Durbin.  “In Washington, we are talking about a new stimulus package and how we can build funding for Amtrak and commuter rail service into it.  Some investments now will pay off in the long-term by creating good paying jobs and making Amtrak service both safer and more reliable.”

The United States has seen a surge in ridership on Amtrak routes and Illinois is no exception.  Total ridership on downstate Illinois routes with state-supported trains has topped one million passengers for the first time in at least 30 years.  In the last fiscal year, 1,079,778 tickets were sold on three Illinois routes: Chicago – St. Louis, Chicago – Carbondale and Chicago – Quincy.  That is a 15% – 143,546 more passengers – from the previous year.

“Another thing we talked about is trying to find a way to build train cars in America,” said Durbin.  “Amtrak needs new trains to keep up with growing ridership and right now, we are importing those trains from overseas.  We can create new opportunities to manufacture trains in Illinois and in America which will create jobs, meet Amtrak’s needs and help build our economy.”

Durbin’s Train CARS Act aims to revive the domestic manufacturing of the train cars, locomotives and equipment needed to operate our nationwide passenger rail system – an industry that could once again offer high-paying jobs to thousands of workers and serve as the backbone of a national transportation system.  It provides funding to encourage manufacturers currently supplying passenger rail cars overseas to bring their modern design and manufacturing expertise to the U.S. and open manufacturing facilities here to meet growing demand. The bill also provides a tax incentive for private, domestic businesses to re-enter the passenger rail equipment business and rebuild facilities and train cars here in the U.S.

American railcar giants like the Pullman and Budd Companies provided a strong domestic manufacturing base for over a century, making rail cars that are still on the tracks today.  But those companies have long since closed their doors and left the business of making passenger rail cars, due in part, to years of underinvestment in the U.S. and increased investment by European countries.