By Sabrina Burkiewicz
A news story I keep hearing about is the proposed reduction in state funding to Amtrak. The state currently contributes about $42 million dollar each year to help keep four train routes in Illinois. The Governor proposed a $16 million dollar reduction to this funding. As expected, Amtrak says routes could be reduced, and public outcry about the proposed reductions has been loud. It seems like every year Amtrak engages in a wrestling match with state and federal governments for subsidy money and it got me wondering if the train is so popular, why do they need so many subsidies?
A quick Google Search reveal financial statements from their 2103 fiscal year told the story. Total revenues were just under $3 million dollars while expenses hovered around $4.2 million dollars with $2.1 million dollars allocated to salaries, wages, and benefits. It doesn’t take an economist to realize more is going out than coming in.
A recent press release says they just experienced their lowest operating loss of $227 million dollars, which is lowest amount of money they’ve needed since the early 70s- yikes.Maybe the proposed cut isn’t such a bad thing. When I worked for a non-profit organization, when we were faced with a budget cut that was it- you had to get creative and innovative or go without.
Some people say it should be fully subsidized as a free service or with low cost like taking the bus. Some people say it should be privatized in order to transform it into a break-even/or profitable operation. It sounds like some long term strategic planning and decisions should be made about the service to avoid this annual argument of the size of the band-aid to apply. This would also bring a measure of stability to its budget. Again, I’m no economist but sometimes the simplest answer is the right answer.
I’m a huge fan of Amtrak and I want to make sure it’s here for the next 50 years. I’ve always loved trains and I feel it’s a vital component to our public transportation infrastructure in Illinois.
Sabrina Burkiewicz currently works in Marketing at the Illinois Farm Bureau and is a graduate student at Illinois State University. Sabrina spent nearly a decade at Home Sweet Home Ministries where she worked to create awareness about the invisible people in our community. Sabrina is an avid reader, enjoys baking, gardening, skiing and snorkeling with her husband Chris. Sabrina and Chris live in Bloomington where they attend the Evangelical Free Church.
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