Port Huron Times Herald
By David Jesse
Grace Rush wants to be able to take the train to get to Michigan State University in East Lansing this fall.
"I'm not alone," the-soon-to-be college freshman said. "There are a lot of other students from the Port Huron area that need this."
She made the remarks Thursday night at a town-hall meeting on the future of Amtrak funding.
The Michigan House and Senate have passed a 2006 budget that would cut $1 million from the rail service's $7.1 million state subsidy.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm has said she is opposed to the cut.
Amtrak officials have said they will close the two state lines that receive state funding if the $1 million is made. Those are the Blue Water Line, which runs between Port Huron and Chicago, and the Pere Marquette, which runs between Grand Rapids and Chicago.
A third line, the Wolverine, runs between Detroit and Chicago and is supported fully by federal funding. The house voted this week to keep Amtrak's funding next year the same as it is this year.
Ray Lang, Amtrak's director of governmental affairs, said Amtrak needs the full $7.1 million.
"We have held the line ... for the last three years, despite real dramatic increases in fuel prices," he said.
State Rep. John Espinoza, D-Croswell, sponsored the meeting. He said the line is needed.
"It's great news (that Congress approved the funding)," he said. "The fight's not over. It's up to us in Lansing to restore funding. It's ironic that funding is being threatened at a time when ridership is up."
Ridership is up 17% from last year, and ticket revenue is up 27% on the Blue Water Line, largely due to the decision last year to cancel the service across the river to Canada with an eventual end point in Toronto. Officials said border tie-ups often made the train miss its schedule.
Port Huron City Manager Tom Hutka told the crowd of about 20 people the city needs Amtrak.
"We consider it a necessary component in our path to economic recovery," he said. "It's a selling point as we develop our convention and tourism business."
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