Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Amtrak

Rail Advocate: Biden Ascension Wouldn’t Necessarily Help Amtrak

8:57 AM PDT on September 2, 2008

9_2_08_amtrak.jpgThe Washington Post today has a piece summing up Joe Biden's ties to Amtrak. There's not a lot of new material in the story (Biden takes the train between Delaware and DC, he has a pro-rail record in the Senate, his son serves on the Amtrak board, etc.), but what caught our attention was a quote from David Johnson of the National Association of Railroad Passengers.

Johnson said an Obama-Biden victory wouldn't necessarily translate into an avalanche of federal funds for Amtrak. He noted that Al Gore was a big booster of passenger rail when he was in Congress "and yet some of the biggest cuts in service came during the Clinton-Gore administration." 

In 2000, President Bill Clinton proposed a $989 million funding package for Amtrak. According to the Post, the FY 2008 Amtrak allocation was around $1.3 billion.

Photo: relvax/Flickr

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Caltrans and Metro Using “Auxiliary Lane” Freeway Widening Loophole for Non-Aux Lane Projects

Beyond just using harmful loopholes legally, Metro and Caltrans deceptively bypass environmental regulations in order to keep on widening freeways

December 8, 2023

Puente Creek Bike Path Coming to La Puente, Valinda, and City of Industry

The Puente Creek Bikeway will provide a safe alternative to busy Amar Road between the area’s main north-south arterials, Hacienda Boulevard and Azusa Avenue.

December 5, 2023
See all posts