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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 7, 2005

SCHUMER, NY DELEGATION: HUGE DANGER FOR NY - PRESIDENT’S BUDGET DUE TODAY WILL SHUT DOWN AMTRAK; WOULD DEVASTATE NY ECONOMY

Senator and Members of Congress launch bipartisan push to stop plan that would shut down Amtrak in 10 months

8.7 million New Yorkers take Amtrak to New York City every year

Senator says passenger rail only conceivable backup system if Nation’s airspace is closed like it was in days after 9/11

Standing underneath the “big board” train schedule in the middle of Amtrak’s Pennsylvania Station today, US Senator Charles E. Schumer and other members of New York’s Congressional Delegation today launched an all-out push to stop the Bush Administration from shutting down AMTRAK. The President’s budget - which is being sent to Congress today - includes no money for AMTRAK’s operating expenses and would effectively shut Amtrak down on October 1, the first day of the US Government’s fiscal year.

“The more you learn about the new Budget, the more you feel like this is a game of whack-a-mole, and we’re the ones trying to stamp down attempts to shortchange the Northeast and New York all over the place,” Schumer said. “Eliminating Amtrak wouldn’t just cost us billions of dollars in operating funds for the trains and the businesspeople and tourists they bring here, it also shreds the safety net we’ll need in case - God forbid - our airspace is shut down again like it was after 9/11.”

Schumer emphasized today that without Amtrak, the regional economy could be crippled in the event of a shut down of the national airspace as happened following the attacks of September 11, 2001. Regional rail service provides the nation’s transportation network with redundancy: If air travel is halted, commerce must rely solely on regional passenger rail.

The President’s budget, which is due on Capitol Hill today, will propose ending federal subsidies for Amtrak's operating expenses for 2006. Congressional Budget staff have told Schumer’s office that the President will propose $360 million for the maintenance costs of local commuter railroads that are concentrated mostly in the Northeast and use Amtrak lines and other equipment, but that these funds may be available only if Amtrak went bankrupt.

Amtrak's 2005 capital infrastructure budget, which include maintenance costs, is about $418 million. Most of that money is for the Northeast Corridor. The President originally proposed $900 million for the current budget year, and Congress ended up providing nearly $1.2 billion. Over the last 7 years, Amtrak has invested more than $1 billion in New York State alone.

In 2004, more than 10.3 million passengers took Amtrak in New York State- including 8.3 million either departing or arriving New York City’s Penn Station. Penn Station is Amtrak’s busiest destination and the Northeast Corridor line which runs from Washington DC to Boston is Amtrak’s most traveled route. Schumer said that thousands of businesses rely on Amtrak service for convenient travel not only to major cities such as Albany, Boston, Washington but also to numerous destinations throughout New York State including Buffalo, Hudson and Syracuse.

In addition, Amtrak is an important vehicle for tourism- bringing millions of visitors who spend millions of dollars to New York City every year. According the NYC&Co, over 3.3 million visitors (non-residents and non-commuters) took Amtrak in 2004, spending about $2 billion dollars. Approximately 10% of New York City's annual visitors travel on Amtrak, and in the past five years there has been an overall increase in the use of Amtrak service by visitors to New York City. More than half of all domestic visitors to New York City live in the Northeast corridor which is served by Amtrak. International visitors also depend heavily on Amtrak with about 18% of overseas visitors to New York City taking Amtrak to travel within the U.S.

Amtrak employs 1,938 New Yorkers earning more than $69 million and last year purchased $18.5 million in goods and services in New York State. To keep peace with the growing demand, Amtrak in April added an 11th round-trip train on weekdays as well as more weekend service in the Hudson Valley Corridor between Albany and New York City. The President’s proposal to eliminate Amtrak’s subsidy would literally force service to shut down, cutting off this vital transportation lifeline for millions of commuters and visitors and costing the New York economy millions.

“Sometimes, a budget proposal is penny-wise and pound-foolish. This plan to gut Amtrak doesn’t even meet that low standard, and that’s why together we’re going to do everything we can to stop it,” Schumer said.

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