Feds ‘confident’ Amtrak route can be saved

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) said Monday it is “confident” it can save Amtrak service between Indianapolis and Chicago that Indiana state officials had said they may be forced to cut. 

Indiana officials have said a move by the Obama administration to consider states, rather than Amtrak, the legal operators of short-haul routes would force them to stop running trains on the company’s “Hoosier State” line, which is popular with commuters. 

Acting FRA Administrator Sarah Feinberg said Monday that her agency is working with Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) officials to come up with a potential solution to the legal standoff. 

{mosads}”The Federal Railroad Administration is pleased to be partnering with INDOT as it finalizes its agreements with Amtrak and Iowa Pacific to continue the Hoosier State service,” she said in a statement. “We are confident that our joint commitment will help enable continued safe access for passengers between Indianapolis and Chicago. We look forward to continuing our productive discussion to reach a positive outcome with the State of Indiana.”

The Hoosier State line is one of nearly 30 state-supported Amtrak routes that have become popular with lawmakers as a way to boost commuter rail service within their jurisdictions. 

Amtrak has said its state-supported routes were responsible for 14.7 million of its 30.9 million overall passengers in fiscal 2014, which concluded at the end of September. The Hoosier State train carried 33,930 passengers during that period, according to the company. 

Indiana lawmakers have called for the federal government to get involved in the standoff.

“Amtrak continues to operate the rail cars, provide engines and crews, and operate the reservation and ticketing services,” Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) wrote in letter to Feinberg earlier this month. “INDOT does not function in any of these capacities. It does not ‘conduct rail operations over rail infrastructure.’ Indeed, INDOT does not fit any common-sense definition of a ‘railroad,’ so the communities along the HSL are rightly puzzled by the FRA’s decision.”

Officials with the Indiana Transportation Department have continued operating the trains between Indianapolis and Chicago while the FRA reviewed a request to reconsider changing the terms of the state-supported rail program.