Megan Dowd takes Amtrak’s International Route from East Lansing home to Chicago at least once a month.
Fortunately for Dowd, the Michigan Transportation Committee approved a $5.7 million subsidy for Amtrak last week in order to save two of its most popular routes running.
The approval follows plans by the 22,000-mile passenger rail system to reroute its train service, cutting the stops in East Lansing as well as Durand, Flint, Lapeer and Port Huron, in order to save money.
Dowd, a communication freshman from Winnetka, Ill., is relieved that her route will not be removed.
“If it weren’t here I wouldn’t be able to get home,” she said Sunday after stepping off a train. “I’d only be able to go home for Thanksgiving.”
Janet Foran, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Transportation, said MDOT was concerned about keeping the International Route and the Pere Marquette Route intact, especially with more than 107,000 trips a year taken from East Lansing.
“Although we would prefer to invest in capital improvements, we are going to be doubling the amount of subsidy in order to maintain this service,” she said. “There is a significant number of people who might be stranded or not have another means of travel.”
State Rep. Judith Scranton, chairwoman of the state’s appropriation transportation subcommittee, said the Amtrak routes were very valuable to Michigan and needed to continue.
“We feel the ridership is important,” the Brighton Republican said. “And we felt it would be important for that route to continue.”
Amtrak has a deadline for 2003 to become operationally self-sufficient, after which it will lose any subsidy. It operates a 22,000-mile passenger rail system, which serves more than 500 communities in 45 states.
“We are right on target to meet that deadline,” Amtrak spokesman Kevin Johnson said. “We are very happy to continue our business relationship with Michigan.”
Amtrak also worked out a new contract with MDOT, which will contain new performance factors, such as trains being on time and better customer service.
“This is good especially if you are a student and you are traveling and having problems,” Foran said. “You can talk to service representatives right on train.”
The new contract has not been signed yet, but MDOT hopes for it to be approved by the state administrative board in early February.
Katherine Douse, an English freshman, said keeping the stop is important for college students, since it provides a cheap mode of transportation.
“I live in Nashville,” she said, waiting for a friend at East Lansing’s train station Sunday. “It’s a lot cheaper for me to take the train to Chicago and then go to Nashville, than to fly out of Lansing.”
Michael Kabuage, a computer engineering sophomore who takes the train to Chicago to visit his brother, said students shouldn’t be limited to road or air travel.
“It would be unfair for students to not have the train,” he said after traveling Sunday on the train from Chicago. “People should have options of ways of transportation.”
