Budget cuts could end Amtrak service to Sandusky

SANDUSKY — Will passenger trains pull out of Sandusky, never to return?A national group that represents train passengers says that President Donald Trump's budget proposal, if adopted by Congress, would end passenger rail service for Sandusky and other communities along the lake, such as Cleveland and Elyria.The National Association of Railroad Passengers is trying to organize a series of demonstrations on June 23 to protest the cuts. More information on the rallies is available at townswithouttrains.com.Sandusky is served by Amtrak's Capitol Limited train, which runs from Washington, D.C., to Chicago. The westbound train boards passengers in Sandusky daily at 4:02 a.m. The eastbound train stops in Sandusky at 12:40 a.m.About 10,000 people board the train in Sandusky every year, said Jim Mathews, president and CEO of the National Association of Railroad Passengers. The train station in Sandusky, 1200 N. Depot St., isn't staffed.Trump's budget proposal for 2018 would cut federal grants to Amtrak from about $1.4 billion this year to $774 million next year by eliminating all federal support for Amtrak's long-distance trains, funneling the remaining money to the Northeast Corridor train that runs from Boston to New York to Washington, and to trains supported by states.The budget plan says that Amtrak's long-distance trains "consistently suffer from poor on-time performance, serve a small percentage of the population, and generate the vast majority of Amtrak's operating losses."The railroad passengers group contends that Ohio would lose all passenger train service under the proposed budget and says the same thing is true in many other states. Mathews said if Congress OK's Trump's proposal, 225 communities would lose service, including Sandusky."This is a back door way of killing Amtrak," he said.Train service helps tourism in the places which have train stations, and train travel is particularly useful for the elderly and the disabled, Mathews said.He said his group counts 28,000 members in 50 states, up from 19,000 about two years ago, when Mathews took over as the group's president. People who join the group can count on getting news about the fight to preserve passenger rail service in the U.S. and also obtain Amtrak discounts, he said.Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.Will the platform where the Amtrak train stops become a silent, empty relic? Jim Mathews, president of a national rail passengers group.