Bush's plan to end $1.1 billion federal subsidy would derail riders on three state lines.
Some college students would need to find different lifts home. Some girls and their mothers would miss magical trips to American Girl Place in Chicago. And Pat Romanek wouldn't see her children as often.
If Amtrak is cut from the federal budget, as proposed by the White House, trains would stop in their tracks across Michigan. For Romanek, 74, of Westland, trips to see her kids in Chicago will end.
"That'd put a real dent in my life, I think," she said. "At my age, I'm not going to be driving by myself."
Passenger trains in Michigan - and the rest of the country - will likely be halted if federal lawmakers back a White House plan to drop support for Amtrak, railroad officials warned. Such a move would put an end to the red ink Amtrak has spilled over recent decades. But those aren't the losses Michigan riders of Amtrak are concerned about.
Behind the budget battles over Amtrak are people whose lives are affected in ways big and small by the nation's government-subsidized passenger rail system.
In budget plans mapped out this month, President Bush's administration said it wants to eliminate a $1.1 billion subsidy that now pays for Amtrak service and force the railroad into bankruptcy. Amtrak officials say that if that happens, they will have few alternatives to shutting down service entirely.
"Zero money means zero trains," said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.
Amtrak's three Michigan routes - connecting Detroit, Port Huron and Grand Rapids to Chicago - carried a record 600,000 passengers last year.
By far the most-used Michigan line is the Wolverine route, which rumbles from Pontiac, Birmingham, Royal Oak, Detroit, Dearborn and Ann Arbor in Metro Detroit, on its way to Chicago.
Passenger advocates worry that cutting Amtrak's federal subsidy would leave thousands of business travelers and college students in Ann Arbor, East Lansing and Kalamazoo looking for a new way to get around. In recent years, Amtrak has become a popular way for families to travel to Chicago to visit American Girl Place - Amtrak even offers discounts for American Girl travel packages, so little girls can visit the doll/accessories/furniture/clothing nirvana in downtown Chicago.
A survey of Michigan Amtrak passengers found that about 15 percent used the train because they do not have a car; about half said that if it were not for the train, they would not make the trip they were currently on.
"It takes away a travel option, and more choices make cities better places to work, live and invest," said John DeLora, executive director of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers, which lobbies for improved train service.
The Bush administration wants states to pay a bigger share of the bill. States now pay about $130 million to run Amtrak trains in places that otherwise might not have service.
Michigan pays about $7.1 million for routes serving Port Huron and Grand Rapids (the federal government picks up the complete tab for the Wolverine route). It is unlikely the state, already wrestling with deep budget cuts, could afford to run the service on its own.
"If the president's budget is adopted, there would be no Amtrak operational funding. That means the Detroit-Pontiac train would go and the state-funded trains would go because the state does not pay the full cost," Magliari said.
In the 35 years since Congress authorized it to run the nation's passenger trains, Amtrak has cost taxpayers about $29 billion. In recent years, the percentage of Amtrak trains running on time has dropped, and needed repairs to its trains and track have been delayed, according to the White House's Office of Management and Budget.
Problems have arisen because Washington hasn't given Amtrak enough money for maintenance, said DeLora. ""If you fixed the maintenance problems, the costs would go down," he said.
Officials said pulling Amtrak's funding will force the railroad into bankruptcy, and that would require it to make its services more efficient.
"Some people have portrayed this as an attempt to kill Amtrak," Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said. "I've got news for you: If I wanted to kill Amtrak, I wouldn't have to lift a finger. The system as it stands now is dying, and everyone knows it."
Congressional leaders say they don't yet know whether they will approve the administration's plan.
Waiting for a train to Chicago last week, Ryan McClain of Dearborn said he can see both sides. When he lived in Chicago, he used trains regularly. But the railroad needs to find a way to fix its losses, he said.
"Amtrak needs to find a way to be profitable on its own. It's not a business if you lose money every year," he said. "I'm a fan of the train. But I'd like to see them get healthier."
You can reach Brad Heath at (313) 222-2563 or bheath@detnews.com.
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