Debbie Dingell: “Amtrak is equally important to Michigan and the Midwest, where it provides competition to the airlines and links major…”

“Amtrak is equally important to Michigan and the Midwest, where it provides competition to the airlines and links major cities, alleviating congestion on roads and in airports. Americans have chosen to ride Amtrak at increasing rates. Between 1996 and 2001, systemwide ridership grew from 19.7 million to 25.3 million. Last year, Amtrak served over 500,000 people in Michigan, many of whom are my constituents. It is important that Congress let President Bush know that Amtrak must be kept running. Passenger rail service should not be stopped in its tracks, especially as riders begin to receive the benefits of Amtrak's roll out of high-speed service. Amtrak owns 96 miles of track in Michigan in the Detroit-Chicago high-speed corridor. The ultimate goal of this high-speed project is to reduce the total time between Detroit and Chicago from the current 6 hours to 3 and one-half hours.”