Washington, D.C. - Rep. Rick Larsen today expressed his concern over the Administration’s proposal for Amtrak, which it released today.

“In order for Amtrak to be successful, potential passengers must be able to rely on its stability in the future.  Families who plan trips must be able to count on the future of Amtrak before they buy their train tickets.  Commuters who look for ways to get off of our clogged highways need to know that Amtrak will be around to get them back and forth between home and work.  Businesses that plan for the future need to be able to rely on Amtrak as a means for transporting goods from one place to another.”

“The Administration has an obligation to make Amtrak a viable, solvent solution for the transportation needs of Americans.  The proposal released today does not offer ways to do that.  It will not sufficiently fund Amtrak and it places a larger burden on states like Washington, that are already working under strained budgets.”

"I commend Senator Murray for pushing for a real solution."

“Amtrak ridership on Northwest routes continues to increase.  According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, Amtrak Cascades ridership grew to just over 530,000 trips, diverting more than 40 million vehicle miles of traffic from congested regional highways.  This was a 17 percent increase in ridership from 1999, with 452,000 riders.”

“Washington state works with Amtrak to make Amtrak work for Washingtonians.  The Administration can learn from this partnership to make Amtrak work for the nation.”

Larsen serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.