Amtrak unveiled a new railroad expansion roadmap Thursday in response to President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure package, which consisted of over 160 new destinations and over 30 new routes.
Amtrak's response to the Biden infra plan: https://t.co/b8qRz4LIve
— Yonah Freemark (@yfreemark) March 31, 2021
Proposes:
-30+ new routes
-20+ enhanced existing routes
-20m more annual riders
-Better service to cities like HOU, ATL, Cincy
-New service to unserved cities like Las Vegas, Nashville, Columbus, Phoenix pic.twitter.com/Di9BmnCsfr
The proposed transcontinental network would allegedly bring in 20 million new riders as they could choose to travel to destinations between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, New York and Allentown, Cheyenne and Denver, or Cleveland and Cincinnati.
"Major cites like Houston, Atlanta, and Cincinnati have service that is simply inadequate, with trains that only stop once a day and open in the middle of the night," said Amtrak. "Other cites like Las Vegas, Nashville, Columbus, and Phoenix don’t have Amtrak service at all!"
"With a growing and diverse population, a global climate crisis and longer traffic jams, America needs a rail network that offers frequent, reliable, sustainable, and equitable train service. Amtrak has the vision and expertise to deliver it," said Amtrak in a statement.
Amtrak announced they would need to secure significant funding from Congress in order to implement their plans, which shouldn’t be a hard feat given Biden’s allotted $80 billion in funds for the railroad industry under his $2 trillion infrastructure package.
Finally we can spend trillions of dollars to have an expensive and slow way to travel between cities that already have airports. https://t.co/b67AqnZ1XA
— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) April 1, 2021
"Significant government funding is required to support passenger rail around the world, and the U.S. is no different," said Amtrak. "We need enhanced funding and tools to build and operate these new and improved routes."
Amtrak also indicated these new railroad destinations will offer a more equitable option for those who may not be able to afford other means of transportation, including those in marginalized communities.
"Millions of people, including large populations of people of color, do not have access to a reliable, fast, sustainable, and affordable passenger rail option," said Amtrak. "This is neither fair nor equitable."
The Biden administration plans to generate the funding for his $2 trillion infrastructure package through increased taxes on wealthy individual's and corporations.
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