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Wednesday, February 06, 2002

By Joyce Gannon, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Ticket agent Betty Johnston joined Amtrak in the early 1970s when the federally subsidized rail corporation was a fledgling start-up that could guarantee her a job for just six months.

Amtrak ticket agent Betty Johnson -- "Every fiscal year, we wonder what they're going to keep. We kind of live day by day." (Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette)

So news that cash-strapped Amtrak might eliminate most of its long-distance routes -- including trains that stop six times daily in Pittsburgh -- didn't rattle Johnston.

Reports of Amtrak's collapse have been swirling for years, she said.

"Every fiscal year, we wonder what they're going to keep. We kind of live day by day."

The latest threat to Amtrak's operations surfaced this week as the Bush administration released a budget proposal that provides $521 million for Amtrak -- far short of the $1.2 billion Amtrak says it needs to keep many of its long-distance routes in business.

Trains that stop in Pittsburgh on runs between Chicago and New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., are among 18 routes nationwide that Amtrak is targeting for shutdown if it can't secure more federal money.

If the routes are eliminated, what would remain of the Amtrak system would mostly be heavily traveled operations in the Northeast and routes that states help subsidize, including some between Chicago and other Midwest cities, some in California and some in the Pacific Northwest. Amtrak also would retain the popular Auto Train that runs between Virginia and Florida.

Amtrak must give 180 days' notice before it curtails service on any routes. A decision is expected to be made by March 29 so that service could be eliminated in October when the next federal fiscal year begins.

The Amtrak Reform Council, a congressional committee, is scheduled to release a report tomorrow recommending that the government break up the railroad and open passenger rail travel to competition.

	Map: Pittsburgh train routs in jeopardy

Though the Sept. 11 terror attacks resulted in a boom for train travel, especially the first five days after the attacks and during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the spike in ridership apparently wasn't enough to stave off possible cutbacks.

Amtrak has said that long-distance routes such as those that run through Pittsburgh are its biggest money-losers. Yesterday, it disclosed that it would cut $285 million in expenses and capital improvements this year.

"Everyone knows that you can't make a profit while running a network of unprofitable trains, but that is exactly what we're expected to do," Amtrak President and Chief Executive Officer George D. Warrington said.

Warrington said the recession and additional security costs since Sept. 11 contributed to a revenue shortfall of $120 million for the current fiscal year, adding to ongoing burdens that have confronted rail travel for decades as travelers began using cars and planes for long-distance journeys.

In Pittsburgh, ridership dropped by 9.5 percent last year from 2000 levels. For the fiscal year October 2000 through September 2001, a total of 85,738 passengers got on or off trains at the Downtown Pittsburgh station, said Amtrak spokesman Kevin Johnson. That's down from 94,707 passengers the previous year.

Amtrak service from Pittsburgh consists of three eastbound and three westbound trains daily: the Capitol Limited that runs between Chicago and Washington, D.C.; the Three Rivers that runs between Chicago and New York City; and the Pennsylvanian that runs between Chicago and Philadelphia.

About two hours before yesterday's westbound Pennsylvanian was scheduled to depart for Cleveland and Chicago at 2:32 p.m., there was only one passenger holding a reservation to board the train in Pittsburgh, Johnston said, though she noted there was the possibility more passengers could show up and buy tickets before it left.

Johnston said the most heavily traveled route out of Pittsburgh is the eastbound Three Rivers to New York City.

News of possible cutbacks left regular Amtrak rider Evelyn Wade of Crafton hoping she could find someone to drive her to visit her mother and five sisters in Washington, D.C., and her two daughters in Philadelphia. Wade doesn't like to drive long distances herself and doesn't plan to board a plane unless a family member is gravely ill.

Wade, who usually travels by Amtrak to Washington for Thanksgiving and for summer vacations, opts for the train because, "I like the freedom to get up and walk around."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.