IndyStar: “[Amtrak’s] detailed proposal calls for four daily trips for both the Chicago-Indianapolis-Cincinnati route and the Chicago-Indianapolis-Louisville route, and introduces the Indianapolis International Airport as a train stop”
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today celebrated the expected opportunity that’s coming to the Hoosier State when elements of President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan get signed into law next month. Amtrak introduced new proposals last week following the U.S. Senate’s passage of the bipartisan infrastructure deal that includes new train stops and opportunities for families across the state — such as stops at the Indianapolis International Airport and in Columbus, Indiana (as part of the proposed Indianapolis-Louisville line).
Amtrak’s proposed train lines are a part of President Biden’s promise to revitalize Indiana’s infrastructure system through his once-in-a-generation investment called the American Jobs Plan. Indiana wouldn’t only receive new public transit options, but Hoosier families will see a robust investment in broadband internet services and repairs to the crumbling roads and bridges they drive on each day. Democrats promised to bring solutions to some of today’s most-pressing issues facing families, and the American Jobs Plan delivers that opportunity for them.
In contrast, Indiana Republicans continue to be the party that says “NO” to better opportunity for the state and its communities. U.S. Senators Todd Young and Mike Braun both voted “NO” on the Jobs Plan by deferring back to the Indiana Republican Party’s partisan excuse of “spending” – despite Republicans adding $7.8 trillion to the national debt under the Trump Administration. Indiana Republicans have lost their way and vision for the state, and their partisanship is holding Hoosier families back from a better tomorrow.
Amtrak has big plans for Indianapolis. Here’s what stands in the way.
IndyStar // Kayla Dwyer
“Amtrak’s proposed plans for daily service through Indianapolis, including a new route to Louisville, are still just that: proposals.
They hinge on a historic infrastructure bill that reached the U.S. House this week, where its future is unclear and at the mercy of political priorities.
In the spring, Amtrak released a general plan for 39 new routes over the next 15 years — including new services connecting Indianapolis to Chicago, Cincinnati and Louisville — responding to President Joe Biden’s pitch for an ambitious $2.3 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan. Amtrak updated its proposal last week, not long after the now-$1.2 trillion bill cleared the Senate.
The more detailed proposal calls for four daily trips for both the Chicago-Indianapolis-Cincinnati route and the Chicago-Indianapolis-Louisville route, and introduces the Indianapolis International Airport as a train stop.” […]
“The potential pitfalls aside, a broad infrastructure bill is a bipartisan issue that both the Donald Trump and Biden administrations have pushed for. And Amtrak has a special place in “Amtrak Joe’s” heart: The president rode the train to and from Washington, D.C., almost daily during his 36 years as a Senator from Delaware.
In May, Biden visited Philadelphia to ring in Amtrak’s 50th birthday and give another pitch for his infrastructure plan.
Biden’s original pitch included $80 billion for rail, which has been shaved down to $66 billion. Amtrak says its vision is a $75 billion investment.
It’s unclear how the potential shortage of $9 billion would impact Amtrak’s proposal, but the national rail service makes several cases for aiding the Midwest on its website. Louisville is the fourth-largest metro area without Amtrak service. Indianapolis has service only three times a week, and the city has added 200,000 jobs since 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Amtrak calls the intersections of I-65, I-70, I-465, and I-69 some of the worst truck bottlenecks in the country and says the city needs new travel alternatives, or else congestion will get worse.
Let’s not forget Indiana’s special connection to the White House through Pete Buttigieg, the Transportation Secretary and former South Bend mayor.”
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