UPDATE: The current version of the U.S. House THUD COVID-relief legislation (S. Con Res 5), contains $1.5 billion for Amtrak, specifically $820,388,160 for the Northeast Corridor and $679,611,840 for the National Network.

MIPRC is asking Midwestern members of Congress to support $1.54 billion in additional FY 2021 funding for Amtrak as part of their pending COVID-19 relief legislation to restore daily service on the national passenger railroad's long-distance train routes.

As Congress closes in on a deal for new COVID-19 relief legislation and FY 2021 appropriations, MIPRC is asking Midwestern members to ensure Amtrak gets enough funding between relief and 2021 appropriations to restore daily long-distance service and provide crucial funding for state-supported Amtrak services.

Commissioners, partners and allies of the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission met via Zoom on Nov. 10-11 for MIPRC’s 2020 Annual Meeting, to assess regional developments since 2019 and plan for 2021.

MIPRC asked Midwestern members of Congress to support the provisions and authorizations for passenger rail development contained in the TRAIN Act (Division D--Rail) of the House of Representatives’ proposed new five-year surface transportation authorization bill, HR 2, the “Moving Forward Act,” and to support a few important additions. (The bill was approved in the House on July 1 by a 233-188 vote).

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission supports the on-time performance standards in the Federal Railroad Administration’s proposed new rule Metrics and Minimum Standards for Intercity Passenger Rail Service. In formal comments filed June 1, MIPRC lauded the rule, jointly developed by FRA and Amtrak, agreeing with its main components while offering several suggestions on how particular aspects of the rule can be strengthened.

MIPRC Chair Bob Guy offered brief testimony in support of the Federal Railroad Administration’s proposed notice of proposed rulemaking on Metrics and Minimum Standards for Intercity Passenger Rail Service during the agency’s April 30 telephonic public hearing.

The efforts of MIPRC  and other passenger rail advocates to support Amtrak’s request for $1 billion in emergency funding  for this fiscal year – including money to offset state losses – paid off late last month when Congress passed, and President Trump signed, the latest COVID-19 relief/stimulus bill.

MIPRC today sent a letter to Midwestern members of Congress in support of Amtrak’s request for $1 billion in emergency funding  for this fiscal year – including $200 million to offset state losses – and include it in the latest COVID-19 relief/stimulus bill currently being negotiated.

One key to successful passenger rail service is reliable schedules giving travelers a certain – or near-certain – expectation that trains arrive at or leave the station when the timetable says they will.

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission has released a first-ever video explaining our states' vision to protect and expand passenger rail service in the Midwest.

Passenger rail ridership in the Midwest maintained strong overall growth over the decade from federal fiscal years 2009 to 2019, according to MIPRC’s annual evaluation of Amtrak data. Ridership on state-supported corridor services rose 14 percent over the 10 years from Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2009 to FFY 2019, while ridership on the region’s long-distance trains rose five percent in the same period.

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission combined its annual meeting and visit to Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., this October to amplify the region’s voice as Congress begins discussing renewal of the law that sets federal policy and authorizes spending on surface transportation (the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation [FAST] Act of 2015, which expires in 2020).
 

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission on April 26 submitted written  “outside witness testimony” to the House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies regarding appropriations to the U.S. Department of Transportation and to Amtrak for Federal Fiscal Year 2020.

Ridership and ticket revenue on state-supported passenger trains in the Midwest enjoyed robust growth over the 10 years from Fiscal Year 2008 to FY 2018, according to an analysis by the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission.

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission’s 2018 annual meeting convened in Milwaukee on October 3-5 to review developments since the 2017 annual meeting and lay the groundwork for what promises to be a busy 2019.

There is more to Amtrak than the Northeast Corridor, and good things are happening in the Midwest thanks to sustained federal investment in regional passenger rail. That was the message delivered last month when MIPRC commissioners and partners visited Washington, D.C., to meet with Midwestern members of Congress and federal officials.

Ridership on both state-supported and long-distance routes in the Midwest grew on almost every route in the 10 years from Fiscal Year 2007 to FY 2017.

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission last month endorsed the Missouri Department of Transportation’s application for a $73.1 million federal INFRA (Infrastructure For Rebuilding America) grant to help replace the 127-year-old Merchants Bridge spanning the Mississippi River between Venice, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri.

Siemens will build 137 new, single-level passenger cars for California and some of the Midwest’s state-supported routes, replacing a bi-level design that failed federally-mandated crash tests, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced on November 8.