By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
President George W. Bush "is making a huge mistake" on Amtrak, former mayor James H. Mosier told Dowagiac City Council Monday night.
At its next meeting City Council intends to adopt a resolution similar to the Cass County Board of Commissioners' March 17 action.
National Railroad Passenger Corp. trains pass through daily, with four stopping in Dowagiac.
The commission "strongly requests that the Bush administration change its position, and that our congressional representatives do all within their power to insure that Amtrak can continue to provide full railroad passenger service throughout our entire nation."
Cureton added, "Amtrak is important to the public. The President is talking about putting man on Mars at untold billions, yet he can't find a billion dollars for a public service for probably millions of people throughout the country."
In a letter to the editor in the March 16 Daily News, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta asserted, "The President and I want to save passenger rail, not kill it." Mineta said the railroad is unreliable, with fares subsidized to the point that "offering free plane tickets to customers would be cheaper for taxpayers."
The Bush plan would let states decide how and where to spend federal inter-city rail money. The federal plan proposes providing 50-50 matching funds for track, train and station improvements, freeing Amtrak to "focus on one thing - running the trains on time," Mineta said. "Whether you agree with our plan or not, there is no denying the fact that Amtrak is dying. Everyone knows it … The answer is top-to-bottom reform…"