Amtrak's funding was cut in the State of Montana. | Pixabay
Amtrak's funding was cut in the State of Montana. | Pixabay
Montana Sen. Steve Daines encouraged Senate leadership to reverse funding cuts to the Amtrak railroad service that could have major implications in the state.
“Amtrak’s plan to cut staff by 20%, and reduce service on the Empire Builder from daily to triweekly on Monday, Oct. 19, would decimate rural economies in Montana and leave tens of thousands without daily access to the national transportation network,” Daines wrote in a letter published on his official website. “The Empire Builder provides rural Montanans a safe and reliable mode of transportation to and from major cities, giving them greater access to necessities such as world class healthcare.”
Running between Chicago and Seattle or Portland, Amtrak’s Empire Builder route has several stops in Montana, including one in Whitefish and two on the eastern and western entrances of Glacier National Park.
Long a proponent of the service, Daines sent a bipartisan letter in June urging Amtrak President and CEO William J. Flynn to scrap the downsizing plan.
Daines is locked in a tight reelection fight against Gov. Steve Bullock.
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