If it were up to Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, the United States would not be in the railroad business.
During a Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety meeting, Ohio’s senior senator questioned why the federal government financially supports Amtrak.
Moreno said Amtrak’s amenities, compared to Brightline’s, are tantamount to “a Russian car from the ’70s versus a modern vehicle today.”
“Why are we even in this business?” Moreno asked, according to Cleveland.com. “Why are we subsidizing or owning passenger rail in America when we’re terrible at it? The government is objectively, really, really bad at running that. If we had government airlines, Holy Lord, can you imagine what that would look like? Why don’t we just get out of that business completely, let the private sector run it?”
“Congress has made the decision that it also wants to provide other services that are going to be inherently money losing, and as long as that’s the point of view, then that service needs to be provided as well,” Association of American Railroads President and Chief Executive Officer Ian Jefferies said, according to the report. “It’s probably not an either or.”
Moreno replied: “The only thing I’d say is that providing air travel is also a public service, but there’s no government owned airline, for good reason,” according to Cleveland.com.
The hearing, “On the Right Track: Modernizing America’s Rail,” primarily focused on the U.S. freight and passenger rail network and whether lawmakers should consider any regulatory and policy updates.
Taxpayer subsidies of Amtrak are a frequent target of conservatives. During his tenure with the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk called for the privatization of Amtrak and the U.S. Postal Service, which critics of government inefficiency also routinely target.
Progressive Railroading reported that the Trump administration's budget proposal for the U.S. Department of Transportation allocates more than $2.4 billion for Amtrak operations, which is about the same as the funding levels in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025.
Moreno’s comments on Amtrak come as some state leaders are examining whether the state can support a new Amtrak line connecting Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Cleveland. Such a line wouldn’t start until at least 2030 and would likely require ongoing state subsidies.
However, Moreno pointed to Brightline Florida as one reason the federal government shouldn’t be supporting passenger rail.
“Over the past decade, Brightline, Florida, has been the only private passenger rail system in the country to construct and operate a modern, consumer-focused service that connects cities with characteristics essential for successful rail operations,” Husein Cumber, senior advisor for Brightline Holdings, said in prepared testimony to the committee. “Building upon important lessons from Florida, we are now developing Brightline West, which will connect Southern California and Las Vegas.
“Both projects represent a model where the private sector plays a lead role in establishing a blueprint for how our nation can build intercity passenger rail, while at the same time stimulating a new industrial base that will reverberate across the country, driving economic growth, creating jobs, and setting a new standard for passenger rail travel in America,” Cumber added.
Clarence E. Anthony, the CEO and executive director of the National League of Cities, touted Amtrak’s success.
“Amtrak had its best year yet in 2024 with more customers and generated more revenue than ever before, while also making record-setting capital investment and setting eighteen ridership records at the route level,” Anthony said in prepared testimony.
Amtrak carried a record 32.8 million intercity passengers in fiscal 2024, an increase of 15% from fiscal 2023. Ridership numbers are higher than the pre-COVID-19 peak.
“We are also seeing a boon with new and more frequent services like the new Chicago to-Twin Cities Borealis in partnership with the Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois Departments of Transportation,” Anthony said.
