Amtrak’s long-distance routes, and the national rail network they are part of, would come to an end under the Trump administration’s proposed budget, which would eliminate federal funding for them.
The proposal would cut the dollars that support 15 long-distance passenger routes, including the historic services that make it possible to cross the country from east to west, and south to north. 23 states, whose only passenger rail service is on those lines would lose service. About 220 cities would lose rail service.
Amtrak would continue to operate in the Northeast Corridor, from Boston to Washington, where heavy volume makes the system critical, and trains operated under state subsidies, such as the trains that connect New York to Buffalo and points between.
Among the threatened routes are such historic names as the Sunset Limited, the Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief and the California Zephyr.
