Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 2, 1993 TAG: 9307020071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The money to pay for it.
Everyone likes the proposal, but they say it will be an uphill climb to get funding.
Equipment would cost $60 million, and an annual subsidy of up to $10 million would be needed to pay the operating costs.
Virginia's senators, Republican John Warner and Democrat Charles Robb, back the proposed route, as do Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, and Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon.
Several congressmen in eastern Tennessee also have written letters supporting the proposed Amtrak line.
But they all say it will be hard to get federal funding for it at a time when Congress is trying to reduce the federal deficit.
The route from New York to Atlanta via Roanoke was identified as desirable in a 1992 federal report.
The proposal has substantial benefits to the economy and to people who live along the corridor, Robb said, but it will have to compete with other proposed Amtrak routes for funding.
This week, Warner sent a letter to Graham Claytor, Amtrak's chief executive officer, expressing strong support for the proposed route. He also asked for information on its costs and benefits.
Goodlatte has met with Claytor to discuss the route. He also has offered to help Roanoke Mayor David Bowers in any way he can to get Amtrak service through Roanoke.
But Goodlatte said the immediate prospect for federal funding is not good. "We are going to do what we can, but Amtrak does not have the funds to do it now," he said.
Officials in communities along the proposed route are hoping to use the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta as a springboard for the proposal.
Bowers, who initiated the campaign for the route last winter, said Olympic officials need to be included in lobbying efforts and meetings.
"They will need additional access to the Olympics," Bowers said, when thousands of people are expected to travel to Atlanta.
John Gaines, mayor of Bristol, Tenn., admits that it could take years to get federal funding, but tying it to the Olympics "is a reason to move up the timing."
Bowers and other leaders in the push for the Amtrak route hope to meet soon with Atlanta and Olympics officials.
And there were indications Thursday that this strategy could be productive.
A top official with the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce has written a letter of support for the Amtrak route, saying the passenger service could be beneficial for the Olympics.
"We support additional Amtrak service for Atlanta, and the route by Knoxville, Chattanooga and other cities would be especially good," said Jeff Rader, manager of transportation programs for the Atlanta chamber.
"An awful lot of people are trying to use the Olympics as a leverage for projects," said Bob Brennan, press director for the Atlanta Olympics Committee.
Atlanta has a small Amtrak station, but city officials have plans for a large terminal for trains and buses.
A spokeswoman for Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson said Thursday that Jackson supports efforts to improve rail access to the city.
"Certainly, any funding that would help Atlanta would be welcomed," said Deborah Speights, Jackson's press secretary. But she didn't know if he would support the proposed route.
Bowers and others have raised the possibility of federal officials' treating the new route as a demonstration project so it would not have to compete with other new Amtrak routes for funding.
But Goodlatte said that could be difficult, because Amtrak does not have any demonstration projects.
Boucher has warned that it could be tough to get funding, because there are other proposed routes that would have a higher projected passenger volume than the New York-Atlanta line.
He said it would cost $1 billion a year to subsidize all the routes.
Amtrak is trying to become self-supporting - a goal that could make it even tougher to obtain federal funding, because the route would lose money.
Supporters of the proposed route are expected to visit congressional members in Washington later this summer.
by CNB