The Amtrak Hoosier State line has been saved for at least another year.
The agreement between the Indiana Department of Transportation and Amtrak to fund the service by splitting the cost between the state and local stops along the way was announced Tuesday by Gov. Pence’s office. However, to keep the train stopping in Crawfordsville, we’re going to have to help pay for it.
Supporters of the Hoosier State, including Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton, were optimistic about the future of the line, but said a better deal would be sought in the coming months.
“I was involved in conference calls every week and can say that INDOT did a solid job of negotiating with Amtrak,” Barton said. “However, we should have never been in this situation.”
The situation Barton referred to stems from the 2008 announcement by Congress that they would cease funding rail routes less than 750 miles long. Amtrak notified the state last spring they would need to make up the $3 million difference to continue service.
“My belief is that the state had no intention of saving the rail line until they heard how many people cared about it, and cared loudly,” Barton said, referring to the Amtrak Summit held in Lafayette in August, attended by mayors and concerned citizens from around the state, which received statewide media attention.
But while the Indianapolis to Chicago service is saved until at least October 2014, the City of Crawfordsville will have to pay to keep the local stop open. Barton said INDOT has agreed to pay half of the sum, and that Crawfordsville, Lafayette, Rensselaer and Dyer will make up the rest in monthly installments.
“The numbers are based on riders, so we’re at less than 10 percent,” Barton said. “For the short term, our payments will be in the neighborhood of $10,000 a month.”
Barton said the city has enough funds appropriated to cover those payments for several months, but the mayor plans to brief the City Council on the agreement and ask them to decide if the cost is worth the service.
“What we need to find out is the Hoosier State important to a vocal minority, or to the whole community?” Barton said. “But the other communities have made it clear they won’t help pay for other stops. Either we fund it or risk losing our stop on the line.”
Both Pence and Barton have said they will continue working over the next year with Amtrak to figure it out.
“We’re headed in the right direction,” Barton said, adding that the city is currently looking for partners to help with the costs of maintaining the service. “We think we can get a better deal out of them.”