Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 30, 1993 TAG: 9306300303
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BRISTOL, TENN. LENGTH: Medium
Buoyed by a turnout of 250 people at a reception Tuesday for supporters of the proposed new Amtrak route through Virginia and Eastern Tennessee, Bowers and other political leaders in the region decided to seek the backing of Atlanta and Olympics officials.
They said millions of people will be traveling to Atlanta for the Olympics and many of them could use a new Amtrak route from New York to Atlanta, easing traffic congestion.
Georgia will be asked to join with Virginia and Tennessee communities in mapping a lobbying effort, Bowers said.
The Olympics connection could bolster the effort to obtain federal money, said George Gaines, mayor of Bristol, Tenn.
"The Olympics will be our bargaining chip. It can work to our advantage," he said.
Gaines said the localities also will take their campaign to Washington and seek the support of the congressional delegations from both states.
"We know the timing is not ideal to be looking for funding, but the United States is far behind most industrialized countries in rail service," Gaines said.
Bowers said the large crowd at the reception will send a message to congressmen and state legislators in Virginia and Tennessee that there is strong grass-roots support for the new route.
"This was a rally with a message. It shows the widespread support for it," Bowers said.
No congressmen attended the meeting, but several sent aides. Several state legislators from Virginia and Tennessee were in the audience, which included local political leaders, businessmen and representatives from the tourist industry.
Bowers and others pushing for the Amtrak service acknowledged they face long odds to get federal funds for it, but are not dismayed.
Bowers initiated the lobbying effort last winter, and dozens of other communities have joined the campaign. Officials from the two states met together for the first time Tuesday after separate meetings earlier in each state.
Bowers will be on a four-member steering committee that will oversee the campaign to get the new route.
"We face an uphill battle and we are asking for a lot of money, but we need to keep up our enthusiasm," said Jerry Wolfe, mayor of Bristol, Va.
"Whether it takes three years, five years or seven years, we will have to stay with it. Your support will be needed in the coming months and years," Wolfe said.
Amtrak has estimated the equipment for the new route would cost $60 million, and a $12 million subsidy would be needed each year to cover its operations because it would not be self-sufficient.
But Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, says the localities face a much larger funding problem because about a dozen proposed new Amtrak routes have a higher passenger volume than the New York-Atlanta route.
Although Graham Claytor, Amtrak's chief executive officer, favors the Southwest Virginia route, he would be required to provide service first to those routes with a higher passenger-mile ratio, Boucher said in a letter distributed at the meeting.
"The net effect of this consideration is that for the Southwest Virginia route to be funded, Amtrak must receive an additional operating subsidy from the federal government of approximately $1 billion annually," Boucher said.
Boucher supports the proposed route, but said it will be difficult to get the funds when Congress is cutting the federal budget and Amtrak is trying to become more self-sufficient.
Bowers and others pushing for the route say the financial obstacles could be overcome if federal officials treated it as a demonstration project for moving people to the Olympics. This would mean it would not be competing with other Amtrak routes for funding.
Gaines said the New York-Atlanta route is the only one on Amtrak's feasibility list of proposed routes that would provide access to the Olympics.
"This could help us and be the chip we need," Gaines said.
by CNB